PAX East 2010: PC Gaming Is In Partially Vegetative State

[Asehujiko]

Let's consider, $200 for an Xbox 360? Or $1000 for a top of the line computer?

For the umpteeenth bazzionth fucking time: ALIENWARE IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRICE OF AN AVERAGE PC. It's the same as saying wii owners are buying overpriced crap and only taking into account the cost of one of those gold plated monstrosities.

Also, I'm intrigued as to where you live where they sell xboxes for $200. They usually go for ?250 around here, which is about $400.

 

[Agrael]

One thing is true... I will not get a console - no, I do not have anything against consoles (I love PS3...XBOX360 controller is comfortable as hell), but I love my PC.

So yeah, I have missed a lot of good games.. but.. damn...

 

[ilion]

pc games are not superior, but when they are good, THEY ARE VERY GOOD, i was there in the golden years of the pc, games like Thief , Planescape torment, Homeworld, military simulators... the pc was just the first platform to target the adult gamer, something consoles dont often try, thats why pc gamers are bitter, and with good reason.

 

[Delusibeta]

Let's consider, $200 for an Xbox 360? Or $1000 for a top of the line computer?

For the umpteeenth bazzionth fucking time: ALIENWARE IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRICE OF AN AVERAGE PC. It's the same as saying wii owners are buying overpriced crap and only taking into account the cost of one of those gold plated monstrosities.

Also, I'm intrigued as to where you live where they sell xboxes for $200. They usually go for ?250 around here, which is about $400.

On a similar note, you'll save at least $10 for every game you buy. With that and the monster deals Steam does, the difference would evaporate over a console generation. And then, you can throw a further $500 dollars at it* and you can probably go for half of another console generation.

(*laptops excluded)

 

[TsunamiWombat]

All I can hear is MEW MEW MEW BUSINESS IS HARD.

QQ Moar, PC developers. Quit bitching, stop making MMO's, and stop jacking up the visual demands of your game and GET CREATIVE instead of requiring MOAR POWER and maybe your costs would be lower.

Me am PC gamer, me am angered.

 

[Shjade]

Thief

Stop it! I'm gettin' all misty.

I can't get Thief to run on this computer, either. Some kind of conflict with a multi-core setup that I'm not comp-savvy enough to change without breaking something. This is one of the things consoles have up on PCs: they tend to work without requiring tweaking. Maybe not always, but it tends to be that something works or it doesn't work, not "it works if you go into this system config file and change this line to read "-1" and blahblahblah...urgh. That said, I can't imagine playing Thief on a console with a controller anyway. Definitely a keys-and-mouse game.

I'm jonesin' for my Thief. ;.;

 

[Whodat]

I was born on the PC and I have a console but hell if I die playing a console! PC FOREVER!!

 

[Treblaine]

Great, another reason to hate WoW.

It's amazing, I didn't think I could hate Activision any more.

 

[Anarien]

It might help the PC market if the developers stopped badmouthing and belittling their customers/potential customers and showed care and appreciation. And importantly, to not treat your PC customer like a criminal right off the bat. That said, yes gaming is a business first. But every business has to see what's strong and try to improve in order to not alienate its customer base. By talking about the PC gaming sector in this way, they're being disrespectful toward the very customers who will buy their products and who want more.

Yes, consoles are where the money is right now, but even that's iffy. Another aspect is that the PC has a much higher install base than any console. Don't develop for those who have bleeding edge systems, develop for a wider hardware audience. Then maybe your profits will grow.

If it's a good game, and the pricing feels right, then I'll buy it. That goes for any platform.

 

[tkioz]

"The state of PC gaming industry right now is directly in response to World of Warcraft," said Kreiner. "You guys are all playing World of Warcraft, except for you, sir, you are the only one." He continued pointing at the gamer who brought it up, "As a game developer, my total available market is you."

I'd like to call bullshit, the WoW argument doesn't carry water, how many people like me are counted in blizzards "subscriber" stats, people who haven't played the game in over a year, or people who signed up for 3 months and grew bored with the game?

I'd have to say part of the problem with PC gaming is the cost of the hardware, to get the best Xbox or PS3 experience possible one needs to buy the console (not counting TV/Speakers) but a top end graphics card alone can run to the same cost as a console, let alone things like good quality RAM, a good fast hard drive, a decent CPU (note I'm leaving out monitor and speakers here as well). And no I'm not talking about the alienware shit.

I know I can't afford to upgrade my machine to top of the line, I could pay my rent for two months at that cost, so I switched to my 360. Developers can't expect an endless bottomless pit of cash from their customers, we just don't have it, and well gamers are cheap bastards as a rule.

 

[jasoncyrus]

Of course Blizzard etc removing LAN capabilities from SC2 and the like isnt exactly helping the market either. Assholes.

 

[Treblaine]

Let's consider, $200 for an Xbox 360? Or $1000 for a top of the line computer?

Ignorant comment is ignorant.

A $200 Xbox Arcade is no where near up to standard, most of the features are inaccessible due to the lack of a HDD drive. Not to mention you have to pay $50 every year to get any online multiplayer though it's not any online multiplayer anybody would be satisfied with compared to PC. And the system is pretty much guaranteed to be dead after 3 years and with no warranty to replace it. And of course console games are significantly more expensive than PC titles and very limited backwards backwards-compatibility. Can Xbox 360 play every game since the mid 90's? PC can and improve the graphics while they are at it.

So we are talking more like $400 to $450 for the 3 years you'll likely have a functioning Xbox.

But even a $450 PC will VICIOUSLY SPANK the Xbox 360 in performance, only a few PS3 exclusives can match the quality and performance that a $500 PC can offer and can continue the vicious spanking for as long as 6 years with a few steady upgrades. And of course you will have a fully functional PC for work, play, creation and all the flexibility that a REAL home computer needs.

The advantages with PC in frame stability, resolution, control, options and online capability.

I am so crushingly disappointed at how peer-to-peer is accepted as the status quo for Console Multiplayer.

You can end up paying just as much only you get SO MUCH MORE!

And lets not forget most people have a PC that is only £150 upgrade away from being an extremely capable gaming PC.

 

[icaritos]

It is still in my belief that PC gaming wont come out on top for a loooong time.

Things like consoles and the iPad confirm that for me.

Come out on top in what way?

I don't think the iPad's much of a threat to anyone, at all, in any way - PCs and the current consoles included.

IPad is a joke, not much discussion value there. But ya he is probally refering to sales and reach in the PC gaming platform, it might hurt but it is true that PC gaming has become a lot more incovinient these past few years. The only reason i havent upgraded my PC the past few months is because i see no game coming out that make use of the PC setting. I think someone in this thread said so before, we have new graphics cards with 10x more power than a PS3 but all games made are tailored PS3 spec with minor improvements on the PC.

 

[ilion]

Thief

Stop it! I'm gettin' all misty.

I can't get Thief to run on this computer, either. Some kind of conflict with a multi-core setup that I'm not comp-savvy enough to change without breaking something. This is one of the things consoles have up on PCs: they tend to work without requiring tweaking. Maybe not always, but it tends to be that something works or it doesn't work, not "it works if you go into this system config file and change this line to read "-1" and blahblahblah...urgh. That said, I can't imagine playing Thief on a console with a controller anyway. Definitely a keys-and-mouse game.

I'm jonesin' for my Thief. ;.;

You can play it, go to the ttlg forums, they have this patch called DDfix, that solves all your problems, i play on my core duo laptop.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

Wow allready uses several side games, like bejeweled, peggles and even tamagoshi. Bet there are tons of others by now as I dont play wow for six months now. And it gets quit competitive between guildies and even funny when officers go bitchy drama on raids and soon new side game achievements by players start spamming the guild chat, lol. At least in my guild showed that I wasnt the only one not taking wow too seriously.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Bad console ports have also done their bit to hurt PC gaming.

Every few years analysts say PC gaming is dead, then we get some good games and suddenly they say PC gaming is on top of the world, can't be beat! Then we have a lull and suddenly they are once again saying PC gaming is dead.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

as for pc games dead, its sad. I own a cheap laptop, enough for me to surf the internet, download music and videos and do my assignements for work and at the moment my post graduation so I am a Pc gamer for pratical reasons, my budget is tight and my average laptop ironically costed less then the average console. And there are still many games out there to entertain me.
But one thing I do have to complain. Compatability. Many times I bought a game to find out my hardware was not compatible with it. Or worse, do an upgrade on my system software and the game stops working cause its no longer compatible with the new configurations, and since I am no computer experts its a hell of a nightmare to me try to troubleshoot it. Many hours and days spent on internet forums try to solve it, see who got same problem as me and how did they work it ou, then i try to use several sugestions involving loads of comands, tasks, more software and add-ons, new hardware configuration, and I try to do it with the expertise of a butcher performing a complex plastic surgery (once I fucked up my pc so much I had to format the disk and reinstall everything all over again).
I dont intend to become a console gamer at any time but for the purpose of gaming consoles are far superior. I dont think PC gaming will ever return to the spot light.

 

[Audioave10]

I'm a PC only gamer because its my hobby! I don't look down on console gamers, I just don't play the
games. I've never had a console. These exectutives are like most...out of touch and only in it for the
money.

 

[Treblaine]

It is still in my belief that PC gaming wont come out on top for a loooong time.

Things like consoles and the iPad confirm that for me.

Come out on top in what way?

I don't think the iPad's much of a threat to anyone, at all, in any way - PCs and the current consoles included.

IPad is a joke, not much discussion value there. But ya he is probally refering to sales and reach in the PC gaming platform, it might hurt but it is true that PC gaming has become a lot more incovinient these past few years. The only reason i havent upgraded my PC the past few months is because i see no game coming out that make use of the PC setting. I think someone in this thread said so before, we have new graphics cards with 10x more power than a PS3 but all games made are tailored PS3 spec with minor improvements on the PC.

Ehhhhh what?

Just Cause 2 only barely reaches 60fps at 1920x1200 when all the settings are maxed out even on the very latest GTX 470 graphics card

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-470-480-review/25

Add in the PC-exclusive CUDA physics and Bokeh filter and the top-of-the-range GTX 480 still isn't able to offer "Ideal" performance.

You can match console performance of games like Batman Arkham Asylum on even the most modest gaming PCs but the latest PC hardware you can 'turn it up to 11'
-From 720p to 1080p+
-from 30fps to 60fps
-torn frames to 100% V-sync
-no/2xAA to 4xAA/8xAA
-increase texture quality
-Advanced physics like CUDA
-Stereoscopic 3D (not my cup of tea)
-Save anywhere (JC2 allows it on PC... not on console though)
-mouse aim
-mods

Oh the list just goes on and on.

But though I have a GTX 280 and Quad Core and I don't see myself upgrading any time soon.

In fact I'm building a Gaming PC for my cousins and I'm confident using an old 8800 GTS and Pentium Dual-Core will max out most recent PC games (monitor res will be only 1440x900).

 

[RelexCryo]

You see, DRM is only bad if its implemented wrong. Games that restrict you from installing on as many PC's as you wish, CD-Keys, that's all fine. Maintaining a CONSTANT internet connection is fucking retarded. Its meant to stop piracy, something that is MUCH harder to do on a console. I think I speak for the common working man when I say I earn my money and happily buy my multimedia products with the satisfaction they'll actually WORK when I install them on my computer.

Because let's remember, kids: You pay for what you get. And I pay for simplicity, quality, and fun.

At the same time, while PC graphics are endlessly expandable, its on the costly side of thing. Let's consider, $200 for an Xbox 360? Or $1000 for a top of the line computer?

Wow. You brilliantly summarized everything I wanted to say.