Poll: PC Gaming Future?
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Yes I'm fully aware that making a PC is easy as I've never owned a prebuilt machine, but just browse around a bit and even on the escapist you'll find people saying consoles are better than PC simply because "You don't need to upgrade your video card every week to keep up" .Glademaster said:
My favorite is "PC has more glitches" and his proof was rage, which was promptly fixed and now it's the best version of the game. There's 10,000 ways to argue about which is better, honestly I think it matters what said person needs or cares about.
But yes PCs are very very easy to make.
Yes and that is a giant load if people even bothered to look into it they would know that you don't need to upgrade your video card every two weeks and if you do know about it then why are perpetuating the myth the Video cards need upgrading every year when they at most need every 5ish years depending on how much power you want.Snotnarok said:
The only reason people make those arguments is because they don't know better there are reasons why consoles are better in some ways but upgrading isn't really one of them.
Exactly. My old laptop with a graphics card straight from the stone age and a CPU stolen from my TI calculator could still power Starcraft 2 on low to medium settings.
The only reason why someone would need to upgrade their videocard every year is when he/she runs 3 monitors Eyefinity and wants to play every game on absolute max the moment it comes out.
I can still play my games from 1997, 1998 and so on if I wanted to do so. On the same platform, the PC.
PC gaming will always be around until technology negates the need for having such a large box of tricks and makes a control system more intuitive than the humble keyboard and mouse.
PC gaming will always be around until technology negates the need for having such a large box of tricks and makes a control system more intuitive than the humble keyboard and mouse.
Actually you don't need to upgrade a PC that often at all. My last upgrade was 3 years ago, there isn't a single game I can't play, and that upgrade was actually cheaper than a console.
Also pre-build rigs are available everywhere if you don't have the know-how to build one yourself.
No, I don't think PC gaming is dead, quite the contrary.
Also pre-build rigs are available everywhere if you don't have the know-how to build one yourself.
No, I don't think PC gaming is dead, quite the contrary.
For me, the problem with PC gaming as my primary medium is that the games all try to use every scrap of resource available... only, they don't know what resources I have. As a result, I'm faced with the inability to play on my crappy machine more often than not, and the games that should barely work are risky to buy... if they don't for some reason, I'm sure not going to get my money back.
Granted, console games try to use all their resources, too... but in that case the limit is known. Games for consoles just WORK (with some few exceptions), I don't have to worry about them... and the console costs me $400ish for the life of the system, as opposed to the thousand bucks I have to spend on a good computer... at the right time... to have any hope of playing modern games. The computer I bought two years ago is useless to me for gaming, while my Wii and my PS3 are still going strong with each new title that comes out. I don't have the money to buy a new laptop every year to stay on the cutting edge, and the idea of shelling out for a new graphics card and keeping up with the components on a tower is only slightly less unappealing.
As long as games push the envelope graphically, I think this will continue to be a problem for people with my priorities... each better compy will only be able to play the new games for a short while, even less with all the other junk my computer seems to think it has to run. Virus scans, spyware scans, registry scans, updates and the stuff all that's supposed to protect me from all want a slice of the pie, and keeping track of it all, turning off what I don't need, and worst of all finding a way to SHUT IT UP about reactivating it is just a bunch of aggravation I don't want to deal with.
I just want to come home, fire up my machine, and play. My consoles let me do that.
Granted, console games try to use all their resources, too... but in that case the limit is known. Games for consoles just WORK (with some few exceptions), I don't have to worry about them... and the console costs me $400ish for the life of the system, as opposed to the thousand bucks I have to spend on a good computer... at the right time... to have any hope of playing modern games. The computer I bought two years ago is useless to me for gaming, while my Wii and my PS3 are still going strong with each new title that comes out. I don't have the money to buy a new laptop every year to stay on the cutting edge, and the idea of shelling out for a new graphics card and keeping up with the components on a tower is only slightly less unappealing.
As long as games push the envelope graphically, I think this will continue to be a problem for people with my priorities... each better compy will only be able to play the new games for a short while, even less with all the other junk my computer seems to think it has to run. Virus scans, spyware scans, registry scans, updates and the stuff all that's supposed to protect me from all want a slice of the pie, and keeping track of it all, turning off what I don't need, and worst of all finding a way to SHUT IT UP about reactivating it is just a bunch of aggravation I don't want to deal with.
I just want to come home, fire up my machine, and play. My consoles let me do that.
That question is difficult to answer, because the developers have no real power.AD-Stu said:
In terms of mainstream gaming, the publishers control just about all of it, and if they say "consoles", the developers will say "Which ones, and do we port?".
One could argue that the developers would wield considerable influence over what they make because they're essential to keeping their respective franchises alive, but we can't even assume that anymore.
Remember: the original developer of Call of Duty 4.x turned out to be COMPLETELY expendable.
Their predecessor went right on to (sadly) set sales records.
Depends on how you define 'superior'. It is entirely a subjective if I want to I can define superior as the one with a slower processor for example. You may argue with me but since there is no set criteria we are working by then it doesn't matter. People calming not only that their's is better based on their own set of criteria and not considering that they areas of interest might be biased, but also that everyone else is inferior to them is what makes me mad. I ahte people who says "oh mine can process 34 million vectors per second and your can process 23 million, I'm the bestest ever and my system wins" without considering that their are other factors at play. In general I hate people who feel the need to say that "I like X therefore I am better" and that's at the core of so many arguments that someone who owns a PC has the better system and thus is better. It's so idiotic to not only associate your being with a hunk of metal and say possession somehow affect the quality of a person but then to go further and make the rating scale completely arbitrary and thus easily manipulated into being unapproachably biased. It's like two cell phone networks, one with more coverage and one with better service both making commercials claiming to be clearly superior based on their one strength and ignore the other factor as if it doesn't exist. That kind of thinking infuriates me.brainslurper said:
Oh I thought you meant will we have a program from every developer that monitors every single thing we do with our computers, even if it doesnt relate to their game or how it operates on our computers etc before we are allowed to play a game.
OT: From the way things are going I reckon more and more people are going to use consoles. The next generation of them is going to be rather impressive I reckon.
OT: From the way things are going I reckon more and more people are going to use consoles. The next generation of them is going to be rather impressive I reckon.
Consoles will die, and not because they "go away" but in the fact that there is only 1 degree of seperation between the desktop PC and the console, and that's the "Walled Garden" that console operating system software is. That's it. Your console is nothing more then a PC with DRM (mac). Kind of like the shitty mac for gamers. Overpriced shitty hardware specs even for when it was released and so far down in a walled garden that if you do anything with it outside of what the gods at sony or microsoft want you to they hit you with the banhammer so hard your kids kids will feel it. You buy it anyways because you just want something that works. That you don't have to think about using. Sit down, flip the switch, spread your cheeks and take it.
I love my xbox don't get me wrong, but, that's exactly what it is.
Nothing more. SO PC gaming isn't dying, it's slowly eating the console market..
EDIT: In closing I would like to say that I think after teh next console cycle.. they will stop marketing consoles as "gaming devices" all together and start calling them Home Theater Devices. Not Home Theater PC's because they still want to make money from the "PC GAMERS."
I love my xbox don't get me wrong, but, that's exactly what it is.
Nothing more. SO PC gaming isn't dying, it's slowly eating the console market..
EDIT: In closing I would like to say that I think after teh next console cycle.. they will stop marketing consoles as "gaming devices" all together and start calling them Home Theater Devices. Not Home Theater PC's because they still want to make money from the "PC GAMERS."
Relax, Clint. Chillax.clint945 said:
PCs are required to develop games, as consoles still aren't their own SKU. PCs are the required creation tool for the entire games industry, which means that whether a game is or isn't a console exclusive is merely a matter of choice and projected sales. The only way the PC could be conceivably harmed by the coming developments is if they include the creation of entire games on something that works as a creation tool, a devkit and a console all at once.
The only thing motivating the focus away from home computer development is piracy. Yes, all of the consoles have been hacked by now, but the process is fairly exotic and time-consuming, compared to the simplicity of finding a cracked executable file online. So the price gateway into pirated console gaming is acting as a deterrent for most gamers, who either:
a) crack their PC games at a fraction of the required effort;
b) pony up the cash, swallow their pride and play their console games fair and square
Have you look at ways to crack your average Wii? The basic tutorial for the whole process reminds me of open heart surgery, and we're consistently reminded that we run the very real risk of bricking our hard-earned piece of hardware. Cracking a game on PC is as simple as heading to your nearest Torrent tracker, or GameCopyWorld. Except in highly exotic cases, no hardware modifications are required. The worst I've read involved unplugging your IDE disc drives for a specific game to fail its expected disc check... after which it'd load anyway.
The short of it is that PC gaming isn't going anywhere, but the Glorious Nineties are well behind us. We're a loud and outspoken minority, and the industry's moved away from us. I think we'll have to contend with consolized gaming as a symptom of the changing times, and with the occasional indie dev being brave enough to remember those of us who aren't afraid to use an entire keyboard for a single game.
Captcha: parjure, contenu
What? I committed perjury against this post's content? What?! Do I get an attorney? I WANT MY PHONE CALL!
Neither will die.
Consoles will always survive because they are fundamentally more efficient. You have economies of scale from making millions of them. You also have games making more efficient use of the system, because they are designed around it. Current consoles are weak but that's because they are old. That will change.
PCs will continue to exist because there will always be people who aren't happy with the power level offered by consoles. There will be elistists who want to spend thousands on absurd rendering power, just as audiophiles continue to spend thousands on audio equipment, even though the human ear can't detect the difference. Then there will be people who want substantially less rendering power than the console offers. Casual gamers, who really bought their PC just to browse the web and do their tax.
Smartphones won't displace consoles because there is no space on a smartphone for two analogue sticks and lots of buttons. There might however be handheld consoles that have the capabilities of smartphones. In fifty years they may be sufficiently powerful that there is no need for a home console. But most people will not want phones that are bulkier than necessary just to play games. Smartphones may steal the casual market from the PC.
Consoles will always survive because they are fundamentally more efficient. You have economies of scale from making millions of them. You also have games making more efficient use of the system, because they are designed around it. Current consoles are weak but that's because they are old. That will change.
PCs will continue to exist because there will always be people who aren't happy with the power level offered by consoles. There will be elistists who want to spend thousands on absurd rendering power, just as audiophiles continue to spend thousands on audio equipment, even though the human ear can't detect the difference. Then there will be people who want substantially less rendering power than the console offers. Casual gamers, who really bought their PC just to browse the web and do their tax.
Smartphones won't displace consoles because there is no space on a smartphone for two analogue sticks and lots of buttons. There might however be handheld consoles that have the capabilities of smartphones. In fifty years they may be sufficiently powerful that there is no need for a home console. But most people will not want phones that are bulkier than necessary just to play games. Smartphones may steal the casual market from the PC.
Desktops are FAR FAR away from being on the way out considering you can make both a desktop and a laptop for $2000 and the desktop will always have the better performance and value at this day and age...JET1971 said:
But to the OP, I am an avid PC gamer as well, but it is completely bonkers to believe that either PC OR consoles are going anywhere. the only reason the PC evolves so much is because of console generations, and vice verse. There will always be PC gaming in one form or another, and there will always be consoles.
You are correct in saying it takes more work to operate/build/maintain a PC, considering consoles have got to the stage of 'maintenance' meaning turning the thing off after you use it (no antivirus software, reinstalling OS, drivers, etc)
But to the point, neither PC nor consoles will die
Quite to the contrary desktop PC sales and models have been steadily dropping the past 10 years. On the flip side Laptop/notebook sales and models have been increasing. It is now the opposite of what it was 10 years ago when there was like twice as many sales and models for desktops compared to laptops. If you happened to actualy read the whole paragraph you would have noticed I said desktop systems will become an enthusiast or gamer system rather than what someone will buy because they want a computer. Its called a niche market, they still exist but most people wont want one. I know 5 people who still has a desktop and about 30 who have a laptop, thats the way it is going for personal computers. Even many bussineses are switching over to laptops.Ben Saville said:
Intel, ATI, and Nvidia are all working on getting a mobile GPU thats as good as a desktop GPU. maybe not the top of the line GPU's but as good as the lowest high end GPU. plenty to run any game at high resolutions unless another FarCry comes out where its years before anything can max the graphics. They are doing this because the mainstream market is moving towards laptops and away from desktops, and it may take several more years before they have the performance with the issues of heat and small form factor but it will eventualy happen.
PC's do not evolve because of consoles, consoles have absolutly nothing to do with the evolution of PC's. Gaming in general has something to do with increases in GPU but so does 3D modeling, animation, and art. You realize thata high end GPU for a CAD/3D animation workstation runs in the thousands of dollars?
http://www.techpowerup.com/127435/New_NVIDIA_Fermi-Class_Quadro_Launches_the_Era_of_Computational_Visualization.html
Thats where gaming video cards gets there technology from and an example of why PC's evolve. High end servers and workstations are where the innovation begins Not some outdated console. Simply put consoles evolve because of the PC and PC's evolve because of high end servers and workstations.
And I have no clue what you are talking about consoles have gotten to the stage of turning it off as far as maintanence goes? Are you saying an Atari 2600 required antivirus and updates? No quite the opposite consoles have evolved to requiring updates and some maintanence they probably have a built in firewall for all we know but sure as shit the next generation will probably have a firewall and will be guaranteed to need firmware updates and other maintanence because they will become even more like a PC. And thats already began with the change from PS2/Xbox to the PS3/360 generation.
Quite to the contrary desktop PC sales and models have been steadily dropping the past 10 years. On the flip side Laptop/notebook sales and models have been increasing. It is now the opposite of what it was 10 years ago when there was like twice as many sales and models for desktops compared to laptops. If you happened to actualy read the whole paragraph you would have noticed I said desktop systems will become an enthusiast or gamer system rather than what someone will buy because they want a computer. Its called a niche market, they still exist but most people wont want one. I know 5 people who still has a desktop and about 30 who have a laptop, thats the way it is going for personal computers. Even many bussineses are switching over to laptops.JET1971 said:
Intel, ATI, and Nvidia are all working on getting a mobile GPU thats as good as a desktop GPU. maybe not the top of the line GPU's but as good as the lowest high end GPU. plenty to run any game at high resolutions unless another FarCry comes out where its years before anything can max the graphics. They are doing this because the mainstream market is moving towards laptops and away from desktops, and it may take several more years before they have the performance with the issues of heat and small form factor but it will eventualy happen.
PC's do not evolve because of consoles, consoles have absolutly nothing to do with the evolution of PC's. Gaming in general has something to do with increases in GPU but so does 3D modeling, animation, and art. You realize thata high end GPU for a CAD/3D animation workstation runs in the thousands of dollars?
http://www.techpowerup.com/127435/New_NVIDIA_Fermi-Class_Quadro_Launches_the_Era_of_Computational_Visualization.html
Thats where gaming video cards gets there technology from and an example of why PC's evolve. High end servers and workstations are where the innovation begins Not some outdated console. Simply put consoles evolve because of the PC and PC's evolve because of high end servers and workstations.
And I have no clue what you are talking about consoles have gotten to the stage of turning it off as far as maintanence goes? Are you saying an Atari 2600 required antivirus and updates? No quite the opposite consoles have evolved to requiring updates and some maintanence they probably have a built in firewall for all we know but sure as shit the next generation will probably have a firewall and will be guaranteed to need firmware updates and other maintanence because they will become even more like a PC. And thats already began with the change from PS2/Xbox to the PS3/360 generation.[/quote]
Yes, consoles are outdated now, but at the start of this console generation, look at what happened, AMD and nVidia were tripping over themselves to bring out GPUs that were able to out-perform the modern console. Graphic card development has slowed for a little while now because there has been no new console to compete with on the graphic front, and there has been little need to develop a new GPU for most purposes, because console is setting the restriction for graphics in games. So, in short i should have clarified that consoles are a force for evolution, but not the ONLY one.
as far as the maintenance point, I should have clarified again. there is no point comparing how games are managed on the two because now there is almost no difference, but on a console you don't have to maintain it in the same fashion as a PC, and there is no setup of the operating system on a console. there is however almost 0 advantage when it comes to games, as you pointed out quite validly.
Finally, on your point of desktops, I would definitely believe that laptop sales are increasing to the desktops detriment, but I wouldn't necessarily believe that to be the decline of the desktop. desktop packages may be decreasing in sales, but at the same time people are taking to building their own systems now, too. Laptops, myself being the owner of a gaming laptop, unfortunately, are far behind desktops in a price
erformance ratio. That is by no means saying laptops are bad, bit it does lean toward the one inherent problem with them, and that is the lack of standard parts. That is the only thing that makes them more expensive, because parts must be produced on a smaller volume than desktop components, and hence will be more expensive.The point I was trying to make is that there is a place for both PC and console, and that I don't think either will be going anywhere. as far as desktops, in the future that will be completely likely, but right now, I would be highly surprised.
Yes, consoles are outdated now, but at the start of this console generation, look at what happened, AMD and nVidia were tripping over themselves to bring out GPUs that were able to out-perform the modern console. Graphic card development has slowed for a little while now because there has been no new console to compete with on the graphic front, and there has been little need to develop a new GPU for most purposes, because console is setting the restriction for graphics in games. So, in short i should have clarified that consoles are a force for evolution, but not the ONLY one.JET1971 said:
as far as the maintenance point, I should have clarified again. there is no point comparing how games are managed on the two because now there is almost no difference, but on a console you don't have to maintain it in the same fashion as a PC, and there is no setup of the operating system on a console. there is however almost 0 advantage when it comes to games, as you pointed out quite validly.
Finally, on your point of desktops, I would definitely believe that laptop sales are increasing to the desktops detriment, but I wouldn't necessarily believe that to be the decline of the desktop. desktop packages may be decreasing in sales, but at the same time people are taking to building their own systems now, too. Laptops, myself being the owner of a gaming laptop, unfortunately, are far behind desktops in a price
erformance ratio. That is by no means saying laptops are bad, bit it does lean toward the one inherent problem with them, and that is the lack of standard parts. That is the only thing that makes them more expensive, because parts must be produced on a smaller volume than desktop components, and hence will be more expensive.The point I was trying to make is that there is a place for both PC and console, and that I don't think either will be going anywhere. as far as desktops, in the future that will be completely likely, but right now, I would be highly surprised.[/quote]
Wait, what?Ben Saville said:
ATI released the X1800 XT more than a month before before the Xbox 360 and it's a superior GPU to the Xenos although both use R500 chipsets.
nVidia released the GeForce 8800 GTX 3 days before the Playstation 3 launched, and is a massively superior GPU to the RSX and is a full generation ahead of it.
How to play a game on a XboX 360 and PS3: Take game disc out of box, Put Disc in console, wait for disc to load and download any updates, Play.
How to play a game on PC: Double Click Icon.
Easy enough for ya?
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Also The reason for an explosion in the sales of Laptops/Netbooks?
One Word........Facebook
How to play a game on PC: Double Click Icon.
Easy enough for ya?
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Also The reason for an explosion in the sales of Laptops/Netbooks?
One Word........Facebook
I'm a PC gamer, myself. The last consoles I bought were an Aqua PS2 and a PSP. The PS2 now sits somewhere in the attic, along with the Sega Saturn and the Master System. I still play on the PSP, mostly GBA games (Oh the irony!) but I still use it regularly.
But my undisputed system of choice is the PC, but inside the PC Gamer "niche", because let's face it, PC gaming is becoming a niche, I'm part of an even more exclusive circle: The Laptop gamer.
I own two portable PC's, a big 15.6" Toshiba L650-1HM and a 10" Toshiba NB550D. While the L650 could be considered a gaming machine, with it's 8GB's of RAM, 256GB SSD, i3 processor and Mobility Radeon 5650, it's still below par when it comes to true gaming laptops. The netbook on the other hand is much weaker and it doesn't even have windows on it anymore, so my gaming needs on that machine are usually filled with Linux native games, like the HIB#4, Minecraft and a few others.
While I do agree that with console games becoming the norm, so to speak, PC Gaming is taking a somewhat big hit and the evidence is already showing, Rage's graphical issues, Skyrim's console oriented Inventory, among many other examples. For one I could never get used to using a controller as the default interface option, I need my keyboard and mouse in order to get immersed in a game, sort of oxymoronic but that's how I feel, and I wouldn't trade the comfort of having both my workstation and gaming machine in a single piece of hardware, not in a long time. (And if Razer actually does release the Blade, I think I'll finally purchase a true gaming laptop.)
All this to say I think PC gaming will survive, probably not as the leading platform, but it will. The only problem lies with game developers themselves, right now it is mostly up to them to give us a true PC game instead of the under-par console ports we've been getting lately.
But my undisputed system of choice is the PC, but inside the PC Gamer "niche", because let's face it, PC gaming is becoming a niche, I'm part of an even more exclusive circle: The Laptop gamer.
I own two portable PC's, a big 15.6" Toshiba L650-1HM and a 10" Toshiba NB550D. While the L650 could be considered a gaming machine, with it's 8GB's of RAM, 256GB SSD, i3 processor and Mobility Radeon 5650, it's still below par when it comes to true gaming laptops. The netbook on the other hand is much weaker and it doesn't even have windows on it anymore, so my gaming needs on that machine are usually filled with Linux native games, like the HIB#4, Minecraft and a few others.
While I do agree that with console games becoming the norm, so to speak, PC Gaming is taking a somewhat big hit and the evidence is already showing, Rage's graphical issues, Skyrim's console oriented Inventory, among many other examples. For one I could never get used to using a controller as the default interface option, I need my keyboard and mouse in order to get immersed in a game, sort of oxymoronic but that's how I feel, and I wouldn't trade the comfort of having both my workstation and gaming machine in a single piece of hardware, not in a long time. (And if Razer actually does release the Blade, I think I'll finally purchase a true gaming laptop.)
All this to say I think PC gaming will survive, probably not as the leading platform, but it will. The only problem lies with game developers themselves, right now it is mostly up to them to give us a true PC game instead of the under-par console ports we've been getting lately.