What does PC gaming really mean?

[walsfeo]

Be gentle guys, this is the first thread I've posted to the Escapist forums.

After watching Movie Bob's PC Gaming is dead, and seeing how the responses to it have ranged far and wide, I have a laser focused question to ask. I don't care if you think PC gaming is soon to be dead, or why it's necessarily better or worse than console gaming, but what makes PC gaming PC gaming?

What makes PC gaming unique, what other platforms besides a desktop restricted machine can count as PC gaming? Is it the form factor of the hardware, the interface, the networking freedom, or something else entirely?

It can't just be as simple as Mouse, Keyboard, and Screen. Or is it?

 

[LondonBeer]

Playing games on a PC.

 

[Zantos]

Never really thought about it, though I'd say it's just gaming that happens on a PC. But i could strive to come up with a few differences that makes PCs unique.

With the whole PC compatible controllers now I'd say the one distinct difference is that as games progress with PCs you can gradually upgrade to keep up with the requirements whereas console gaming is sit complacent for 5 years then buy a whole new console.

Also I think someone once said that after the initial "Ooooh this is new and shiney period" PCs tend to have higher capabilities so even when a game is released cross platform it will (or has the capacity to, whether or not this is fulfilled is up to the developer) look better and maybe even be longer (though that just seems to be an apology for how long it took to port when it happens).

That's another thing, console games have a habit of coming out first by a long margin (see Ass creed bro and fable 3 as examples).

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

Superior hardware for the superior race.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

Console gaming: xbox 360, ps3, nintendo 64, etc.

Handheld gaming: psp, gameboy color, etc.

PC gaming: pc, mac, etc.

 

[KefkaCultist]

Playing games on a PC.

Pretty much this yeah.

Also, the mouse and keyboard add a lot more customizable options for controls. Another big draw of PC gaming is the ability to mod your games and usually great modding communities for them.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Personal Computer Gaming.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Being a PC Gamer different things to different people but the main thing for many is the boom in the nineties when they first started playing, fuelled by genres like FPS and RTS. Basically, people who are either a fan of Valve or Blizzard. The popularity of FPS on consoles is a body blow to many PC gamers and others are sad because the industry doesn't seem so interested in RTS so Bob can push their buttons and get views by saying that FPS are now mainly consoles games and that RTS is a sad irrelevancy.

 

[NyteRaven]

Console gaming: xbox 360, ps3, nintendo 64, etc.

Handheld gaming: psp, gameboy color, etc.

PC gaming: pc, mac, etc.

Say what to the bold section? I mean really, there's no need for that kind of language.

...Sorry, just couldn't help it

Well, for me it comes down to the strange and very simple fact of, Consoles are called consoles, and therefore that's console gaming, PC's are, well, not consoles... and before anyone starts trying to tear me a new one, Handhelds/portables were originally called Handhel/Portable consoles... at least in the UK, you know, that place where we hate everyone yet the furthest we'll actually go in general is a strongly worded letter.

Basically, people who are either a fan of Valve or Blizzard.

To be honest with you, I'm at best apathetic to those companies, and, yes I am a PC gamer more than a console gamer, for me, the best developer at the moment, and for a few years now, is a development studio called Relic Entertainment, but hey, that's just me.

 

[walsfeo]

Playing games on a PC.

Never really thought about it, though I'd say it's just gaming that happens on a PC.

If it's just gaming on a specific kind of machine, and the game experience isn't really any different, then is it really a unique thing worth considering as unique? I don't think of the gas I burn in my car as any different than the gas my parents burn in their car. The gas is essentially the same and the roads are the same.

But i could strive to come up with a few differences that makes PCs unique.

Thank you for indulging me.

With the whole PC compatible controllers now I'd say the one distinct difference is that as games progress with PCs you can gradually upgrade to keep up with the requirements whereas console gaming is sit complacent for 5 years then buy a whole new console.

Also I think someone once said that after the initial "Ooooh this is new and shiney period" PCs tend to have higher capabilities so even when a game is released cross platform it will (or has the capacity to, whether or not this is fulfilled is up to the developer) look better and maybe even be longer (though that just seems to be an apology for how long it took to port when it happens).

That's another thing, console games have a habit of coming out first by a long margin (see Ass creed bro and fable 3 as examples).

Great points, and certainly ones I bring up when expressing the differences between the platforms, but how does the hardware really differentiate the kind of experience from PCs to specialized consoles? There are many out of game differences between the two - currently PCs still have more non-game functionality and don't compete with TV show watching time for entertainment hours. Now most homes have multiple TVs, and many have multiple HD TVs so that conflict is less and less.

Is the PC game experience substantially different? I imagine for MMOs it would still be radically different, but most games could just as easily have been developed for PC or Console and the choice is just a market choice not a game play choice.

 

[kasperbbs]

To me it just means playing games on the PC, nothing special about it, except different controls, but you can connect a gamepad if you want to. Some games might be exclusive to the PC or the consoles, but that doesn't bother me all that much, even if i would like to try some titles that aren't available for my system, but the same applies to the ps3 and the xbox owners. Well the only thing that i really love about the PC that consoles don't have is modding, im a big rpg fan and theres a lot of user generated content for games like oblivion, fallout 3/nv, dao that really improved my experience and kept me playing these games for a long time.

 

[magicmonkeybars]

In a word modding, beinjg able to change the games you play when you're so inclined.
Not being stuck in an inconvenient control scheme, not having to wait for a developer to get off its ass and fix what's broken.
Post abandonment community fixes.
I suppose it's all about the freedom to do with the software as you please.

 

[PatrickXD]

PC gaming for me means playing gaes on the PC. I do this just as often as I play consoles. PC games have a better selection of RTS's and, of course, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. going for them. However, I can't really say if I prefer one or the other.

 

[walsfeo]

Also, the mouse and keyboard add a lot more customizable options for controls. Another big draw of PC gaming is the ability to mod your games and usually great modding communities for them.

So communities and mods seems to be the one big advantage of PC gaming, and mods are something of a super user/enthusiast activity. Or at least it is certainly possible to do extreme mods on PCs (Simpsons Doom as an example) than it is for consoles.

Savvy design houses can include community tools and some mod tools, but it is unlikely they'd permit the kind of deep mod'ing that has allowed some PC games to maintain appeal once basic game play options have become tiresome.


That isn't something I'd thought of, thanks!

 

[Zantos]

Great points, and certainly ones I bring up when expressing the differences between the platforms, but how does the hardware really differentiate the kind of experience from PCs to specialized consoles? There are many out of game differences between the two - currently PCs still have more non-game functionality and don't compete with TV show watching time for entertainment hours. Now most homes have multiple TVs, and many have multiple HD TVs so that conflict is less and less.

Is the PC game experience substantially different? I imagine for MMOs it would still be radically different, but most games could just as easily have been developed for PC or Console and the choice is just a market choice not a game play choice.

I think you're right about market choice, it does seem to be the driving factor behind the whole discussion. Although apparently Crysis 2 will be using the PCs greater hardware capacity making my point still valid, however minor it may be.

The point about non-game functionality is a really good one that i overlooked. Thinking about it, my primary use for the xbox360 is to distract me if i set my PC to do something that will take up the processor for a few hours (and probably test the hardware's melting point). The consoles would be making a mistake trying to shoulder any further into the PCs out of game activities. It only barely works with phones now you can check emails and facebook and watch youtube and all other 400 things my grandad would think is witchcraft, and even then the only major edge over doing everything on a comp is the fact that you tend to have your phone with you and on at all times. Consoles may be able to claim some things in gaming over the PC, but they fall the moment you want to tab out and do something else.

 

[Jordi]

Be gentle guys, this is the first thread I've posted to the Escapist forums.

After watching Movie Bob's PC Gaming is dead, and seeing how the responses to it have ranged far and wide, I have a laser focused question to ask. I don't care if you think PC gaming is soon to be dead, or why it's necessarily better or worse than console gaming, but what makes PC gaming PC gaming?

What makes PC gaming unique, what other platforms besides a desktop restricted machine can count as PC gaming? Is it the form factor of the hardware, the interface, the networking freedom, or something else entirely?

It can't just be as simple as Mouse, Keyboard, and Screen. Or is it?

Actually I think that the controls are one of the most important differences. It just means that there are different things you can do more easily. This mostly applies to games with a strategic component, or shooters where a mouse provides you with much more speed and precision than a thumbstick.

Related to this is that for a PC game you have to sit behind a desk, whereas you can play a console game from the couch (or since the Wii: in front of the couch). I think this makes console gaming more relaxed, or at least seem more like real entertainment (you might associate your computer and sitting upright with work). This (plus the controllers) also leads to it being more natural to play with multiple people at the same time, which is far less common with PC gaming.

Another major difference, although for me not nearly as important, is that PCs have different levels of performance from each other. If you have a decent PC, they are probably better than console graphics and many PC gamers taunt that as an advantage. I think there is another aspect to this though, and that is that these differences in hardware means adds a layer of complexity to making PC games versus console games, where you know exactly what kind of "computer" the user has. It's probably because of this, and piracy, that it is becoming less popular among developers to focus on the PC as a platform.

Finally, there is the fact that many PC games can have mods. This adds a lot of replayability to games and also breeds nice communities.

So yeah, there are a lot of differences.

 

[Wolfram23]

For me I think it means two things. First, and most obvious, is simply gaming on a PC. But the second is that you also have to be at least a little bit tech savvy and know how to troubleshoot, fix issues, install mods, and customize settings. I mean, you don't have to but I definitely think that's one aspect of PC gaming that sets it apart. Some people find that to also be the tedious downfall but other people find that to be rather enjoyable.

 

[Kasoroth]

As others have mentioned, modding is one of the major differences. The fundamental trait that separates a PC from a console is that a console is locked down by the manufacturer to only run what the manufacturer wants to let you run.

It's possible to use a keyboard and mouse on a console (though most games released for consoles tend to avoid this). It's possible to use a control-pad type controller on a PC (and quite a few PC games support this rather well, especially if they're also available on consoles. The only real differences between the 42" TV in my living room and the 24" monitor on my desk are that the monitor has slightly higher resolution, and the TV has a built in tuner for over-the-air video broadcasts (if I had an antenna to plug into it).

I have a PC on the desk and a PC in the living room. I also have a console connected to each display as well, but they are rarely used and quite old (TurboGrafx 16 and PS2).

All the differences of control schemes, game styles, and what room they're placed in are basically quirks of market targeting and past hardware limitations, not fundamental differences. For example, some older PCs, like the C64, were designed to be used with standard TVs, but due to the low resolution of SD TVs, this was poorly suited to many non-gaming tasks. Making a high res monitor big enough to be suitable for TV viewing was prohibitively expensive at the time. Game consoles stayed with standard TV display technologies, while PCs temporarily diverged with separate display technologies until TVs could meet their requirements. Now with HDTVs being the norm, there is no more need for two separate categories of display technology.

Really, the only fundamental difference is open vs locked down. A major consequence of this difference is that PC games tend to have a much more active modding community.

-Kasoroth

 

[lacktheknack]

Playing games on that gizmo you use for Facebook, word processing, web browsing, Youtube, etc.

 

[MrJoyless]

I would say PC gaming is playing games on a PC to the exclusion of other platforms, aka if a game comes out on PC, 360, and PS3 you buy the PC version.

This makes me a console gamer because given the choice I buy games for my 360 over PC versions because my current PC cannot run those games at the level of my XBox. Do i still play many PC exclusive games, you bet, but I sure as hell would rather play Black Ops on my console than the PC version (which i have played). No its not a console bais, i used to play PC shooters like CSSource, Unreal Tournament, etc but i enjoy playing shooters on my console more.