Poll: Console Gamers: Excited?

[Vrex360]

Well I must admit I am enthusiastic about the rise in console gaming and any would be attention being given to them. Because gaming can only evolve further like this and with games like Bioshock which have deep and varied gameplay to function perfectly on consoles kind of helps destroy the myth that a console limits what can be done with a game. Also with titles like Halo 3, a game that I adore, filled with lots of appropriate content, I think it's safe to say that gaming is getting better for both sides, because I don't think PC gaming will ever die out.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

• Console players are just PC players who haven't played PC yet.
• PC games are like console games except w/ better graphics & more options for controls. (you CAN use a controller on PC if you want, most people dont though)
• console gamers who call PC gamers "elitists" are just trying to spin the fact that consoles are old technology the week after they're launched. PC gamers don't have anything against consoles or console players, just developers who ruin PC games.
• PC is the development platform for consoles. Without graphics card makers like nVIDIA & ATi making graphics cards for PC, console graphics would progress MUCH slower. Console gamers should be grateful to PC gamers.

p.s. I have PC gamed for 18 years & console gamed for 13. I've owned every major console barring the stone age consoles (colecovision, atari 2600, etc..), atari jaguar, gamecube, N64 & Saturn. I've built 7 gaming PCs.

 

[Ryuk2]

Are we abandoned? Sure i won't get Heavy Rain, but that's about it.
Sure i won't get to play MW2, but i don't like it. There's place in world of gaming for all of us.

 

[Dys]

Umm, console projects have been getting preferential treatment to PC projects for ages. We don't see many crappy PC-Console ports (if I recall, saints row 2, GTA4 etc all worked fine on console releases). PC gamers don't feel entitled to different set ups because they are better, but because the platforms are fundamentally different and as such different systems are necissary to give similar gameplay.

Treating two very different platforms differently isn't giving preferential treatment, it's being sensible. I truly don't understand this consoel backlash and all the bitching about this perceived sense of entitlement PC gamers have, the console market would crash and burn if titles were ported to xbox 360/ps3 as poorly as they are to PC. There would most likely be blood on the streets if, god forbid, a game was released on the PC before consoles (The PC release of dragon age was delayed so as to be released alongside the console versions, funny how games like assasins creed and grand theft auto are released before the PC version).

There are pros and cons to every platform, and every platform is different. Removing the pros without replacing other incentives or fixing the problems with the consoles is stupid and obviously followers fo the platform are going to be annoyed. So no, I'm not excited about the potential for the quality of console games to improve, as I don't see it. They have been evolving at a consistant rate for years, and the increase quality of console games and (perceived) decrease in PC games are two mutually exclusive trends.

 

[Vrex360]

Well I must admit I am enthusiastic about the rise in console gaming and any would be attention being given to them. Because gaming can only evolve further like this and with games like Bioshock which have deep and varied gameplay to function perfectly on consoles kind of helps destroy the myth that a console limits what can be done with a game.

Consoles have limitations, one of them being the controller. BioShock is simple compared to some FPS games on the PC, such as System Shock, System Shock 2 and STALKER.

Also with titles like Halo 3, a game that I adore, filled with lots of appropriate content, I think it's safe to say that gaming is getting better for both sides, because I don't think PC gaming will ever die out.

Halo 3? Really? You think it's a good example of the game industry marching forward?

Okay yes I am capable of admitting of admitting with with a lot more available keys and buttons on a keyboard there is room for a lot of complexity in a PC game. I do not doubt that, what I was saying though is that Bioshock had a lot of features cut out from a standard game in order to balance out but it still worked and fit beautifully together and maybe it's just the start and in future more complex games will evolve for consoles. I also just wanted to point out that the whole 'mouse control for FPS's' has always been a weakness for me when I play an FPS. I've spent a lot of time with joysticks and it is simply what I am used to and trying to point and aim with a mouse just feels kind of loose and unwieldy, I'm not saying it's a bad control mechanism. I'm just saying I could never adjust to this, I think there is no real limitation. I've played many FPS's on Consoles and never at any point did I feel like there was a weakness in using a controller over a mouse. In fact as I said it was when I tried playing an FPS with a mouse that everything went to hell for me.

Also, if you want the real truth... yes as a matter of fact I do believe that Halo 3 and by extension popular games do help the industry move forward. First of all, despite the complaints from people saying it 'failed to deliver what it promised' it had promised saved film, file share, forge, screenshots, four player co-op, customisable options in multiplayer, unlockable skulls for campaign and when it came out it had all those features. Hence it did not dissapoint me, I respect your opinion if you don't like it and I can accept that there are more innovative games out there but honestly when lots of people get together in anticipation for a game and the media hears about it and rolls with it and it's on the evening news... it makes you realise that gaming has come a long way. From a humble beginning as simple pixel mainpulators in an obscure bar to being on every news paper on every channel and excitedly awakened by the masses.... that's a symbol of how gaming is marching forward.

So I guess I'm saying I disagree but respect your opinion.

 

[Marowit]

*snip*

here let me quote you the whole sentence:

"(lets face it, it's so much easier to plug a console into your TV than it is to build your own gaming rig - paying for a gaming rig isn't an option for most people). "

I can see how you might have mistaken it for me stating that people can't afford to build their own. I was saying that people can't afford to buy one from Dell, Alienware, etc...

Building a rig is the way to go, paying for a pre-built one is too expensive for the vast majority of people.

yeah, I guess i did take it wrong, but then again, I firmly believe anyone who is a serious gamer should do market research, and thus avoid companies that sell "Gaming" rigs entirely, especially alienware(after all they cost almost double if not more than base cost for a brand name case and some zip ties... not really worth it)

That is exactly my point.

When you're 9-15 years old, your parents are going to be the ones buying this stuff for you, and most parents aren't going to know how to build computers/trust their kids to learn how to without them (or without knowing they've done it at at school).

Sure I'll teach my kids how to put together a computer, but most people don't have that experience. Could you imagine what the average parent would do if their 13 year old presented them with a parts list, and asked for $800.00 to buy them?

Hence, why consoles are so popular with the current crop of gamers who are in that age range. I would venture to say that NES/Sega Genesis were as popular, but it's different now. Everyone has an internet connection, where as that use to be just a PC thing. So console users now are use to paying for any extra content (why should the game be super-long when DLC can trickle out over the next year?), and PC users just wanting what they always had - the ability to mod/produce their own maps/have dedicated servers.

That's where it all falls down though. Consoles are inherently more popular, because of their simplicity to use for gaming (not a flame - consoles have always been meant for 1 thing).

So since there is a larger base of consumers for consoles, whom now think that having to pay for anything that doesn't come in the box is O.K.. Now console-only-consumers think PC users are 'entitled' or 'elitist' just because we want our medium to be preserved. It actually plays very well into the producers hands - PC gamers become the bad guys, and they get to make more money.

 

[Vrex360]

Okay yes I am capable of admitting of admitting with with a lot more available keys and buttons on a keyboard there is room for a lot of complexity in a PC game. I do not doubt that, what I was saying though is that Bioshock had a lot of features cut out from a standard game in order to balance out but it still worked and fit beautifully together and maybe it's just the start and in future more complex games will evolve for consoles.

BioShock isn't unique. There are many console games that are equally complex, or more complex. The only thing that can limit the complexity of a console game is technology (primarily the controller).

I've played many FPS's on Consoles and never at any point did I feel like there was a weakness in using a controller over a mouse. In fact as I said it was when I tried playing an FPS with a mouse that everything went to hell for me.

It's a fact that a mouse provides superior speed and accuracy. You could never compete in Quake deathmatch with a gamepad, the gameplay is way too fast for that.

Also, if you want the real truth... yes as a matter of fact I do believe that Halo 3 and by extension popular games do help the industry move forward. First of all, despite the complaints from people saying it 'failed to deliver what it promised' it had promised saved film, file share, forge, screenshots, four player co-op, customisable options in multiplayer, unlockable skulls for campaign and when it came out it had all those features. Hence it did not dissapoint me, I respect your opinion if you don't like it and I can accept that there are more innovative games out there but honestly when lots of people get together in anticipation for a game and the media hears about it and rolls with it and it's on the evening news... it makes you realise that gaming has come a long way. From a humble beginning as simple pixel mainpulators in an obscure bar to being on every news paper on every channel and excitedly awakened by the masses.... that's a symbol of how gaming is marching forward.

Sure, but mainstream popularity doesn't result in quality games. Gaming has in many ways degraded in quality after the first Playstation was released.

I wasn't really suggesting that Bioshock was unique, I was just setting it up as an example. I know there are even more complex games then that I was just using that one as an example because Bioshock is a game I am greatly familiar with.

Second point, I can understand people saying that the mouse control can feel a little more free and that the controller can be a little restrictive as well as difficult to use in certain game genres (I kind of have to agree with Yahtzee on the Halo Wars review when he said with without click and drag it made playing the game harder) and with less buttons it can sometimes mean less features. But with a nice amount of work put into it I think that a controller can prove capable to play games with. I never said the mouse was a bad feature, just that it doesn't sit right for me. I guess I started off with a joystick and I'll die with a joystick (of course back when I was really young I said the same thing about Dpads, I had an early childhood playing Mario games on Super Nintendo and oh boy did I suck). Besides with the right configurations some complex games expected to only work for the PC have functioned on the consoles. I mean the FPS successfully survived and I've been playing a lot of console FPS's and never felt that it was hindered in any way. If it works smoothly that's all that matters for me, and while some FPS's do feel stiff I never had that problem with games like Halo or Bioshock or Portal or most other FPS's.

Finally, I don't really think game quality has decreased. Rather the technology has gotten better and we are moving forward, yes sometimes it's easier to simply package what we've seen a thousand times before and although I love Halo 3 I can admit it is very similar to Halo 2 just with a few tweaks but the thing is at least people are working. I mean Bioware came out with Mass Effect, a game of such awesomeness that it blew my mind and that was alongside the release of Halo 3. This may sound a little fanboyish but I really believe that Halo 3's hype helped 2007 be a significant year for gaming. Because it helped get the public's eye. And now that games are becoming more popular, soon people with great ideas and new ways of thinking will most likely start popping up and making some great original titles. It may take a while but I won't deny there is a very good chance it'll happen. I mean these days everyone wants a piece of the game industry. So while mainstream popularity does not by itself equal great games, I think that it's effect of bringing people together can at least make people more interested in games and in turn more people will put new ideas into this industry. That's my assessment anyway, I'm an optimist.

 

[Mr. Socky]

What I meant was in the area of literal computing power. It's fine for some silly little games...

I checked your profile and was shocked to discover that you were born in 1993.

Those "silly little games" include one of the best games ever made [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrono_Trigger].

...but there just isn't enough hardware for content creation on the handheld (the failure known as Scribblenauts proved this, though that could be blamed more for the extensive use of touchscreen crap). If you ever read things for content creation (like the Unreal Editor) they suggest having a very, very powerful computer to even run it. It requires a lot of processing power.

Making Pacman involved content creation. It has nothing to do with processing power or modern 3D engines.

You may have immediately written me off as a graphics whore, but I am not. I'm looking at things from a modern perspective. Some of my favorite games are the ones that came out in the 90's, yes, the ones with crappy graphics. I also still play old GBA games.

The issue is that older games are almost exclusively done with hard coding. An engine that allows you to make a modern game without extensive programming knowledge would take up a lot of power. Making the next Pacman is all well and good, but making it easily, with good graphics, is a whole other matter entirely. Even compiling something like that (with the engine seeing what you've done and converting it to proper code) would be a complete pain.
If what I'm saying isn't clear, PM me.
And what does my age have to do with anything???

 

[mindclockwork]

overally pc is most useable platfrom out of all. also it's vunerable to hacking and piracy, more than consoles. consoles are easier to profit from. however most games are playable on computers anyways through emulators and such.

i for one am all out pc-player, never owned a console. i don't just believe that "everything" will be consolized. im on quite opposite side in my opinion.

 

[Mr. Socky]

The issue is that older games are almost exclusively done with hard coding. An engine that allows you to make a modern game without extensive programming knowledge would take up a lot of power. Making the next Pacman is all well and good, but making it easily, with good graphics, is a whole other matter entirely. Even compiling something like that (with the engine seeing what you've done and converting it to proper code) would be a complete pain.

What is your point?

And what does my age have to do with anything???

When someone says that the DS only has "silly little games," it's a safe bet that the person is young. It's usually the younger players who dismiss older games and worship NEXT GEN HD over everything else.

Well, I don't worship HD and my point was that modern content creation tools require a ridiculous amount of computing power. Unless you like DOS.

 

[spm1138]

I game on both platforms and I am pretty disheartened by the way console gaming is pushing out PC gaming for most publishers.

Partly because of the differing demographics on the two platforms and how publishers approach consoles.

To be blunt, a lot of publishers have the idea that console gamers can only cope with simple games (hurrr) and like to make sure the lowest common denominator will "get" anything they release.

This has meant a gradual shift away from anything that might involve people having to use their brains.

Don't get me wrong, I like immediate and visceral games too but I don't think everything has to be really incredibly simple for the Zoolanders among us.

 

[Doug]

So, as developers slowly "abandon" and "turn their back on" PC Gamers with console exclusives, dropped support for games (ie. Dedicated Servers, Less Patching, Boycotters, etc.) and a more general consensus for PC Gamers to quit feeling so entitled, are any console gamers like myself getting a little excited?

Are you retarded? You're enjoying the fact a group of gamers are losing good features. Why aren't you demanding that the console game makers treat you as good as they had the PC gamers?

Just going "Huh-huh, those PC gamers are getting screwed" is rather short-sighted view - imagine how good XBox Live games could be with dedicated servers for rent; you could have big battlefield style games (Battlefield 1943 was alright, but very much 'battlefield lite').

Gaming should be taking steps forward for the gamer, not towards the 'being milked like cash cows' zone.

 

[razerdoh]

well atleast we will have D3 and SC2 to ourselfs!

 

[Allan53]

Huh? PC gamers being spoiled? PC gaming is in its death throes.

Between the limited support and MASSIVE pricing of games (yes, it is more then consoles), when games are released on PC they have requirements so high that a new game doesn't just cost $100, it costs that PLUS the money to upgrade your machine so you can play it at decent (note: decent, NOT best) quality. So a new game (assuming a new one every 3 months or so, which is not unreasonable I think) would run you more in the area of $300, as opposed to about a third that for consoles.

And before console people say "oh, but we have to pay $1000 for the console!", putting together a computer will cost you about $1500, and needs to be constantly upgraded. Consoles are a once-off expense, a PS3 can play any PS3 game, you don't need to buy the new controller or whatever.

Note: I own both a PS2 and my self-built gaming computer, so I think I have some idea what I'm talking about.

 

[Over_Krill]

Huh? PC gamers being spoiled? PC gaming is in its death throes.

Between the limited support and MASSIVE pricing of games (yes, it is more then consoles), when games are released on PC they have requirements so high that a new game doesn't just cost $100, it costs that PLUS the money to upgrade your machine so you can play it at decent (note: decent, NOT best) quality. So a new game (assuming a new one every 3 months or so, which is not unreasonable I think) would run you more in the area of $300, as opposed to about a third that for consoles.

And before console people say "oh, but we have to pay $1000 for the console!", putting together a computer will cost you about $1500, and needs to be constantly upgraded. Consoles are a once-off expense, a PS3 can play any PS3 game, you don't need to buy the new controller or whatever.

Note: I own both a PS2 and my self-built gaming computer, so I think I have some idea what I'm talking about.

first point games form digital online retailers or import games you can get PC games for about $55 Australian dollars i think you can import 360 and PS3 game for about $70 i do not know about this i have not done it.

Second point i have had my PC for over 12 months and have not upgraded it and i will not need to for at least another 2 years. I have to ask do how many PC games do you buy you do not need the best of every thing to run new games you can just lower the setting(and $200 what kind hardware are you buying every 3 months for your PC).

My experience my PC has cost me a lot less than any of my consoles just because i can get my games half price $55 vs $100.

 

[Twilight_guy]

It kind of sounds like your dancing because someone else's life is getting worst. I think it would be nice for developers to put more effort into making cool console exclusive stuff but I'd be more happy if we could all just get along and put effort into making games that everyone can enjoy.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

*snip*

here let me quote you the whole sentence:

"(lets face it, it's so much easier to plug a console into your TV than it is to build your own gaming rig - paying for a gaming rig isn't an option for most people). "

I can see how you might have mistaken it for me stating that people can't afford to build their own. I was saying that people can't afford to buy one from Dell, Alienware, etc...

Building a rig is the way to go, paying for a pre-built one is too expensive for the vast majority of people.

yeah, I guess i did take it wrong, but then again, I firmly believe anyone who is a serious gamer should do market research, and thus avoid companies that sell "Gaming" rigs entirely, especially alienware(after all they cost almost double if not more than base cost for a brand name case and some zip ties... not really worth it)

That is exactly my point.

When you're 9-15 years old, your parents are going to be the ones buying this stuff for you, and most parents aren't going to know how to build computers/trust their kids to learn how to without them (or without knowing they've done it at at school).

Sure I'll teach my kids how to put together a computer, but most people don't have that experience. Could you imagine what the average parent would do if their 13 year old presented them with a parts list, and asked for $800.00 to buy them?

Hence, why consoles are so popular with the current crop of gamers who are in that age range. I would venture to say that NES/Sega Genesis were as popular, but it's different now. Everyone has an internet connection, where as that use to be just a PC thing. So console users now are use to paying for any extra content (why should the game be super-long when DLC can trickle out over the next year?), and PC users just wanting what they always had - the ability to mod/produce their own maps/have dedicated servers.

That's where it all falls down though. Consoles are inherently more popular, because of their simplicity to use for gaming (not a flame - consoles have always been meant for 1 thing).

So since there is a larger base of consumers for consoles, whom now think that having to pay for anything that doesn't come in the box is O.K.. Now console-only-consumers think PC users are 'entitled' or 'elitist' just because we want our medium to be preserved. It actually plays very well into the producers hands - PC gamers become the bad guys, and they get to make more money.

I can see what you're getting at with parents... I was fortunate to have a parent who could see that I had enough of an understanding to figure it out... of course the money never came from my mom, no i had to go do odd jobs for people and earn it lol probably why she trusted me, since she lost nothing in letting me do it...

And yeah, I can see the whole playing up the whole thing to make the producers more cash... It just sucks, is all... why must PC games be hurt so that console games can make developers more money...

 

[Sparcrypt]

If I was a developer I wouldnt care about PC games at all. Too many people pirate them then justify it however they like (dont start, dont care.. no matter WHAT your personal reason is, a very very large amount of people pirate 'to get it free'. End of story). End of day, console games make them more money so thats their focus.

If you want to complain about developers making money... well.. the LFD2 boycotters are that way ---->

 

[GuiltBlade]

You sound as if console gamers are an oppressed mass beneath a favouritist market who showers gifts and bounties onto spoilt pc gamers and console gamers can only look forward to second hand cast aways.

Lets be fair here, for the most part modern major releases are designed for a console first then ported over to the pc. And many of the things you mention as new to the PC gaming world are in fact old PC gaming features which were then removed due to interface issues and player tastes. CO-OP play started on the PC then became unpopular due to gamers personal tastes and having to share a keyboard (well save for people who back then could afford additional plug-ins).
Console Gamers then gained these features due to the different nature of a games console over a PC and since then has become wildly popular again because of the console.

Leaving aside any sort of impotent rage (as my brain shut down by paragraph 3 and my coffee is getting cold).
There are reasons why certain titles are more commonly seen on pc instead of console and vice versa. Take the Neverwinter Nights series. On a pc its a good experience because of the level of complexity and the difference in input devices. If you put that onto a games console then not only would it be considered ugly and unplayable, but it would seem overly complex and strain a consoles ability to run in much the same way as Oblivion and Fallout3.
But the reverse is true as titles such as Assassins Creed, Call of Duty and practically any game involving space ships or planes becomes much more gripping on a console system with the immediacy of the experience, the mostly unviolated online gameplay (save for the verbal butchery, and an input device where a brief panic moment doesn't leave you searching frantically for the left ALT key only to hit the windows button.

To be honest I prefer my RPG's to be be on a pc for the customisation and because their often better supported on a pc, same with strategy games. But for anything I want to play online, FPS's, Slash'em'ups and simulators I would rather buy a console version.

So in summery PC good, Consoles good, Industry and online smack talkers spawn of the abyss.

 

[twistedshadows]

I'm actually not so much of a PC gamer, but I noticed that....

To any PC, Console fanyboys out there who may completely lose their head over this...can't we all just get along?

and a more general consensus for PC Gamers to quit feeling so entitled

You're kind of perpetuating the hate, there. Just sayin'.

OT: Consoles have actually been getting a lot of attention for a while now. I do enjoy the attention consoles are getting, because that means the games I buy are (usually/almost) as good as the PC versions. However, I don't want attention diverted from PC games in favor of consoles. It would be nice to have developers trying to push for something better on all platforms instead of focusing on one or the other.