The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race

[lacktheknack]

How many PC gamers actually continuously upgrade their machine? It's expensive and pointless. I'm a PC gamer and have friends who are also PC gamers and I never witnessed this phenomenon.

A lot of people tend to rather over do the amount of problems they're going to face on a PC. The amount of times I see console players list "drivers" specifically as a reason for avoiding PC gaming is baffling.

Drivers?

You mean, the things you download off most manufacturer sites with a "click here to auto-detect" button, install and restart?

The things that take five minutes to update?

THAT'S why people are avoiding PCs?

Uh.

...

Um.

Yeah, exactly. Pops up 4 or 5 times in any given thread on the subject. Saw someone list the process of installing a game as a problem the other day. Not the time it takes to install, but the process of clicking 'next' a few times. Then there's the stuff where people seem to think they break down every 5 minutes.

Fun fact: In the last five years, I've had to troubleshoot THREE games, and one was for problems that were present on the console version (Dammit Fable 3!). Dark Souls fixed ITSELF by letting it sit for an hour. My other PC gaming frineds have had to fix NO games in the last while.

Not to mention that Steam reduces the clicking to "would you like to install this?" -> "yes".

Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[FallenMessiah88]

When was it that you used that picutre Yahtzee? Was it 2007 or 2008? Whatever year it was, arguing over who is "smarter" or more "intelligent" for using a different platform is just as retarded now is it was then.

Microsoft isn't really doing a goob job with the Xbox One, but then again that's just good for Sony and Nintendo. Free market and all that jazz.

 

[Lightknight]

I will say that while you can build a gaming machine for relatively cheap, you'd be talking about a machine that would quickly become outdated after a few years as well as one that would not typically allow for peak settings in today's game. But, it could absolutely play today's games as well as tomorrows games for a few years on lower settings.

If you want to do it right and have a pc that will last as long as the consoles do, I'd recommend putting in the extra hundred bucks. If you know computers well enough to put them together (beware, it is a steep learning curve but worth knowing) then you can put a high-range pc together for around $1,000 if you wait for deals on components. The $700 machine is more of a mid-range but is all you really need if you're not a graphiophile.

 

[EeviStev]

My views on gaming platforms are identical to Yahtzees, as described in the article. I've been an XBox 360 man since launch for the convenience of the games working out of the box (among other reasons), while using my definitely-in-no-way-a-gaming-laptop laptop for indies on Steam and oldies from GoG. The past few days, reading up on the frothing mass of disappointment and doom that has been the Xbone reveal so far, there came a point (pretty early on, actually) where a switch was flipped and I mentally threw my hands up and declared "Fuck that noise". I can get a gaming rig- an upgrade from my almost decade-old laptop that will be like night and day- and have my ninety-two-strong Steam library, as well as my future buying options, intact. Besides, I don't even like sports.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Those kind of people have a pc in the same with other have cars. They want to mod it up, make it faster, louder etc My thoughts are, whats the point in spending all that money just to play the handful of games that need a rig that powerful? An even when they port those games to the 360, like Crysis 2 and Far Cry 3 - the gameplay is still the same. FC3 was good fun, but C2 was crap.....but certain people seem to take graphics over game play.

Also even when a developer brings out a shitty game like Aliens CM, gamers will mod it to make it look better. But why? Now i think modders do some amazing stuff, but they shouldnt need to patch games. I would rather just not buy the game than have to look and hope modders have fixed it. Isnt that just allowing developers to release buggy games?

I like Steam, its great for gaming, i just use it for older games like xcom. I wish they would have worked with MS. Cheaper games are good for every body and i guess there sales are like console gamers buying used. I know there is a steambox in the works, but i dont know who they are aiming to sell it to. PC gamers wont buy it, console gamers will get those games anyway and i doubt non gamers will waste money on it. Unless Steam box is something like an app on a smart tv?

But as ive said to many people. Consoles are for gamers who enjoy playing games. PC's are for people that want top of the range graphic, high def and 60fps (as in gaming isnt the primary reason).

It is interesting reading people talking about cost of parts and what parts to get. But for me personally, building a pc just for gaming isnt worth it as i mostly rent games. But for those that like buying, collecting and building up a huge catalogue of titles that they will replay in 10 years time. Then PC is the way to go as its BC. Especially now as console exclusives are getting very thin on the ground when you compare it to the exclusives the PS2 had.

 

[neppakyo]

But as ive said to many people. Consoles are for gamers who enjoy playing games. PC's are for people that want top of the range graphic, high def and 60fps.

I can't play console games anymore. The shitty 30FPS and below are horrible. I see flickering, lines, and it makes me nauseous. I need the FPS to be at least 40 for my eyes and brain.

So games at 60FPS are awesome, and smooth. Plus I dont feel like throwing up

 

[Pink Gregory]

Y'know, maybe it's a tech enthusiast thing, but I've never understood why crowing about what your PC can do with it's hardware is important.

Surely there's much, much more to PC gaming than just the shiniest graphics?

The massive back catalogue, the ease of independent development and distribution - and therefore the flourishing of creativity and innovation, the easy availability of technical support, the relative user-friendliness compared to even five years ago, the multi-purpose nature of the thing?

Hearing gamers repeating the (true) industry problem of focusing on high-end shiny graphics and how such things are unnecessary, and then in the same breath crowing about how their PC can handle these high-end shiny graphics so well seems a little, well, hypocritical. These probably aren't the same people speaking, but that's how it seems to me.

Much as I can admit, as both a console and PC gamer, that PC is objectively the better platform by now; having the obnoxious 'elitist' attitude that implies 'you shouldn't be permitted to play vidyagaems unless it's on a PC' is a poisonous and unnecessary attitude to have. I think that's what we mean when we refer to 'PC elitists'.

 

[gadjo]

Yeah, I had already come to this conclusion not long before this article. I have been a console gamer all my life. I was always of the mindset that it would be far too expensive, complicated, and invasive. I held on because PC's lacked local multiplayer. Now all of those things are applying to consoles anyway. With my recent introduction to steam, I'm starting to think gaming is going to have to go back to where it all began: PC.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

I will say that while you can build a gaming machine for relatively cheap, you'd be talking about a machine that would quickly become outdated after a few years as well as one that would not typically allow for peak settings in today's game. But, it could absolutely play today's games as well as tomorrows games for a few years on lower settings.

The important metric here is how PC's and consoles stack up against one another, now how well PC's and their games scale. That "mid-range" desktop PC nowadays will put you on rough parity with the next-generation consoles' graphical capability -- take a look at how little RAM these next-generation consoles have, for example, and tell me they're going to be a serious competitor.

If you care about graphics, load times, and responsiveness.

 

[Vegosiux]

I stopped reading at "Xbone". Resorting to such annoying slang comes across as amateurish

It's a fan nickname, and it's going to stick. Especially since (unlike "spunkgargleweewee") it's almost intuitive how the portmanteau was created, and I am sure as heck (I am so classy) that even if the community thought this was the second coming, it would still come up with it, albeit using it in a more affectionate manner.

As for OT, well, Yahtzee, what can I say, I can't wait for your tomorrow's rhymes.

 

[GAunderrated]

How many PC gamers actually continuously upgrade their machine? It's expensive and pointless. I'm a PC gamer and have friends who are also PC gamers and I never witnessed this phenomenon.

I do a major upgrade to my pc about once every 5-7 years. Not really that often and I am always able to run things smoothly on the highest settings. It is kinda funny how people think pc gaming is a type of money sink when they have spent more money on an xbox this generation than i did on my pc.

Heck if you payed $399 + tax, payed for Xbox live the past 6 years your cost just for the system is around $750 without even touching game prices.

With that said I own all consoles as well and find myself using them a lot less than my pc these past 4 years.

 

[The Deadpool]

The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race

Yahtzee contemplates the potential fallout from elitism in PC and console gaming.

Read Full Article

I thought for SURE you'd finish this up with something a reference to this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueQlVlkF6p4

No, I don't like Joni Mitchell's voice... Sue me =P

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

I stopped reading at "Xbone". Resorting to such annoying slang comes across as amateurish

Well, somebody's awfully defensive. It wasn't us that picked a name for the blasted thing that's not only confusing, but the inevitable shorthand for which sounds derisive.

 

[1337mokro]

Emulators.

The current consoles are nothing but cheap PC's who should all be able to run emulators. There is no reason why a console that runs on a version of windows is unable to run a fucking emulator.

Anyway welcome back Yahtzee. We kept your can of spray on tan and blond wavy hair wig safe in anticipation of your return. Now with our powers combined we can form the Master Gaming Zord and crush the peasant rebellion.

The current consoles are pretty darn far way from cheap PC's that's part of the problem, because the architecture is so twisted emulating is seriously hard.

To give you a level of the scope of the problem, we haven't actually managed to successfully emulate PS2 games yet. it's almost there but after years of work and roughly 10x the hardware. Emulating PS3 and 360 games may be a decade off yet. Unless your console has a PC hardware layout (like the PS4 and One) then you need an insane amount of power to emulate a console with relatively weak stats.

Whilst that is true we also have to keep something else in mind. These are all emulators made by people working from the outside in. It basically involved designing simulated consoles that run the same as the physical ones. A program made by the people with direct access to the very design documents might find someway to make a better working version.

Although with things like the PS3 the problem is quite clear. The goddamned Cell architecture. However the 360? That should not be such a big deal for the people that made it or heck if they wanted to they could hire hackers and coders from the community to build an emulator for next to nothing compared to professional techmonkeys.

 

[hazabaza1]

I?m also looking forward to 4K monitors coming up and you can?t stop me!

My god man, you only need two or three monitors, four thousand is just over the top!

 

[cricket chirps]

-Insert Chorus of cheering applause- This entire article has summed up what i've been thinking since the xbox one announcement.
I will say it again: I NEVER thought that the ones who would turn me away from consoles and towards PC gaming would be the ones selling the consoles.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

I do a major upgrade to my pc about once every 5-7 years. Not really that often and I am always able to run things smoothly on the highest settings. It is kinda funny how people think pc gaming is a type of money sink when they have spent more money on an xbox this generation than i did on my pc.

A lot of people also forget that once you get set up, there are a lot of components that needn't be replaced or upgraded. You don't need a new monitor, tower, power supply, cables (if you're so inclined), speakers, input devices, operating system, hard drive, or other peripherals every time you upgrade. The only components you need to upgrade regularly are your CPU/motherboard, RAM, and graphics card -- that stuff can be bought incrementally and still runs cheaper than buying a console every generation if you know what, when, and where to buy.

All that's before you factor in the PC paying for itself in the difference in price between console and PC games. Really, if the next generation of consoles live up to their respective announcements, there is no reason left to stick with consoles if you're a serious gamer.

 

[Jodah]

One thing that doesn't get covered enough regarding PC gaming is overall utility. I'll forego the discussion of being more expensive, as that fact is at best arguable. The main difference is that a gaming PC is also used for everything any other computer is for. You can use it for school, work, browsing, tv, music, gaming, or anything else. Consoles are trying to do that now but they are literally decades behind and have inferior controls for most of the tasks. Anyone who argues a controller is better than a keyboard for web-browsing, for example, needs beaten with a haddock.