PC Gaming? Really?

[Killroy]

It has now been almost one year since I have owned an Xbox360. 10 months to be exact. Since that time, I have played it more than any other gaming device I own aside from my PS2. The PC, which has always been my gaming avenue of choice, has done nothing but gather dust in that time. Although I am in the middle of upgrading the PC in order to check out some UT3, Crysis and Hellgate, it still looks as if the PC just will not be the gaming device of choice...at least not by me.

I have been one happy gamer this last year, playing (and finishing) games in numbers that reminded me of the mid-'90s when I had more PC gmaes to play than I could get to. In the last year, here are the games I have enjoyed on my 360:

Games Completed
BioShock - 8/07 - Finished
Darkness - 6/07 - Finished
Crackdown - 2/07 - Finished
Lost Planet - 1/07 - Finished
Call of Duty 3 - 11/06 - Finished
Gears of War - 11/06 - Finished
Saints Row - 8/06 - Finished
Hitman Blood Money - 5/06 - Finished

Games in the Process of Being Completed
Stranglehold - 9/-7 - In Progress
Skate - 9/07 - In Progress
Stuntman - 8/07 - In Progress
Overlord - 6/07 - In Progress
Rainbow Six Vegas - 11/06 - In Progress
Viva Pinata - 11/06 - In Progress
Dead Rising - 8/06 - In Progress
Burnout Revenge - 3/06 - In Progress

Games Released That Will Be Completed
Halo 3
Flatout Ultimate Carnage
Orange Box
Beautifulo Katamari
Thrillville Off the Rails

These are just the ones I liked and do not even count for PS3 or Wii titles or the sports\racing titles that were rated well. That's not even getting into the Future releases of Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Jericho, Ace Combat, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band, Merceneries 2, etc, etc. Even the PS2 had more games worth playing this year than my PC did. Seriously, I never thought I would say it...but PC Gaming is dead at the moment, with no real end in sight.

Has, as swivel likes to state, MMORPG's ruined the PC gaming scene? Is it pirating? Or is it simply that the consoles are just a better vehicle for not only the players (in terms of hardware and ease-of-use), but the creators as well?

[CPL CHUD]

The only two reasons I ended up getting a 360 is because I don't own a PC and I missed playing games. Before that I really haven't been keeping up with gaming for over a year. I think PC game developers kind of screwed themselves by releasing these games that I needed (and I suspect a lot of other people needed) massive upgrades to my tower to even be able to play. Eventually my computer went tits up, I have full access to the internet at work, so I went for the cheaper 360.

Also, as you've pointed out, the games are really cool. I've spent lots of time playing Dead Rising, Halo 3 has got me totally hooked, and The Orange Box finally lets me experience what I consider to be one of the smoothest games in the last five years.

[Killroy]

I also meant to add in the OP, I wasn't even including the handhelds. Swivel swears by his PSP and I am sure I will own one as well someday. But again, with all of these cheap alternatives for great gaming, what can the PC possibly offer any better aside from graphics that you will heavily pay to see?

Can you imagine when the consoles get their MMORPG like WoW?

[CPL CHUD]

I'm thinking the best thing going for PC gaming is the ability to mod. Think about all the kick ass free mods that sprouted out of Half-Life. If they gave 360 owners some kind of tool set to do their own programing for game mods I can't think of a single reason to buy a PC for gaming alone.

[Morbid]

I'm thinking the best thing going for PC gaming is the ability to mod. Think about all the kick ass free mods that sprouted out of Half-Life. If they gave 360 owners some kind of tool set to do their own programing for game mods I can't think of a single reason to buy a PC for gaming alone.

I think that the consoles ability to go broadband is what really killed it for the PC. It truly was the only major difference between the two platforms aside from hardware...and the hardware gap was getting a lot smaller, a lot quicker. The only thing I can think of that would really help the PC out right now would be some games, of course, but also a surge in independent game development like we saw back in the early days when upstart companies like id and the rest were not being limited by any boundaries or many constraints.

[swivel]

Ironically, the future of PC Gaming will be the low-end games. Really, that's always been the truth of the matter, it will just become more and more apparent as the consoles become more powerful.

For all the bluster with the sales numbers, the PC is still far and away the most popular gaming platform on the planet. Nothing else comes even close to comparing. Of course, the games being played the most are:

1. Internet Poker
2. Pogo/Yahoo/MSN
3. Solitaire/Freecell/Minesweeper
4. Fantasy Football
5. MMORPG's (WOW)

The first four in this list absolutely swamp all console gaming combined. You just don't see any numbers for them in the sales lists. And this will be the future of PC gaming.

I always laugh when people say that PC gaming is going to "go away". Let's ignore the fact pointed out above, that PC gaming is more prevalent than all other formats combined. The simple truth is this: Almost everyone owns a PC. And people like to play games. Ergo, people will always play games on their PC.

The only way that PC gaming will go away is if PC's go away. And they never will. Sure, they might all be laptops, and then wearables, and then implants, but they will always be "Personal Computers". We will always need the perfectly reliable memory and the computational power. And these two things will serve as a lattice for games. Forever.



(Morbid, my new PSP should be in this week and hacked. If you want my old one, it has an extended battery, 4GB Sandisk Ultra card, the best firmware, an expensive and permanent screen guard, and comes pre-loaded)

[swivel]

How bizarre. You'd have to check the posting times to see that this was a coincidence, and not me reporting something I just read. In the last hour, a report was linked to at MaxConsoles that shows that PC gaming is still tops.

PCs are the most-used gaming platform for kids of all age groups, according to a new report from NPD Group.

For many kids, inheriting an old console like a PSOne, N64 or Game Boy was how they got their first real taste of the deliciousness of interactive entertainment.

But NPD's new study, Kids & Gaming, found that the faithful PC "dominates as the top system used for gaming by kids of all age groups."

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=21891

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7559&Itemid=2

[Morbid]

Maybe I should have been a bit more specific. When talking about gaming, I was omitting the toddlers, gamblers and work gamers and was specifically talking about games that you would find in...oh, I don't know, a gaming magazine? :)

No doubt the PC has the stranglehold on all the Minesweeper, Solitaire and Leapster demographic, but it is quite apparent that the PC gaming landscape has changed dramatically over the last two years. The PC isn't going anywhere, of course, but in regards to being the gaming system it was 5 and 10 years ago, well, they are over at the moment.

I can remember when the doomsayers would gnash their teeth and tear their clothes "PC Gaming is Dead! Consoles are Winning!" and then us PC users would bitch slap them and point out all the shortcomings of their beloved consoles, point at our long list beautiful games completely unplayable on their kiddie boxes, and go back to playing Half-Life. Well, I don't see that any longer. Not only can I not point out any major shortcomings with the consoles, I don't even have a long list of games for the PC to fall back on...just a handful which in order to see in their full glory, you would have to buy ONE CARD that can cost twice as much as a current console.

[kakihara]

The only way that PC gaming will go away is if PC's go away. And they never will. Sure, they might all be laptops, and then wearables, and then implants, but they will always be "Personal Computers". We will always need the perfectly reliable memory and the computational power. And these two things will serve as a lattice for games. Forever.

You maniacal bastard! You have come back from the future to enslave us with your implants! You will never get me with your doohizzies and gizmotronics! NEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr_Vindictive]

I bought a 360 about a month ago. I've always been a HUGE PC gamer but I hate having to upgrade my video card and such every few months just to keep up with new games. I figured I'd just buy the 360 and not worry about upgrading.

I've been happy with it so far. Sadly, I had to purchase the Wifi adapter for about $100 fucking dollars, but it's been money well spent. I would rather game with a keyboard/mouse as I'm mainly a FPS gamer, but I can handle the controller. So far I've had a ton of fun with Bioshock, Halo 3, Crackdown, Call Of Duty 3, etc.

If anyone is interested, my gamer tag is "Skaboi". Throw over an invite.

Also, Killroy, UT3 = suck. The graphics are good but it's the same thing as the previous 3 versions. I was very disappointed by the demo. I'll just wait and pick up the 360 version.

[swivel]

I'll just wait and pick up the 360 version.

If there is a 360 version. I read a story a few days ago saying that it is in doubt.

[Morbid]

If there is a 360 version. I read a story a few days ago saying that it is in doubt.

It would be kinda dumb to even bother with the development costs. No way in hell UT3 will pull the Halo 3 crowd.

[Mr_Vindictive]

While I understand your points about UT3 probably not getting a 360 release, you must also consider that the other regular XBOX versions of the games sold quite well and got decent reviews.

Also, the 360 has already set a precedent of being a huge Unreal Engine console with Bioshock, Gears Of War, etc. I have a feeling that the success of Gears alone will cause Epic to release UT3 on the console.

[swivel]

While I understand your points about UT3 probably not getting a 360 release, you must also consider that the other regular XBOX versions of the games sold quite well and got decent reviews.

Also, the 360 has already set a precedent of being a huge Unreal Engine console with Bioshock, Gears Of War, etc. I have a feeling that the success of Gears alone will cause Epic to release UT3 on the console.

Looks like a timed exclusive only.

Edit: PS3 is getting keyboard/mouse support. FINALLY! An FPS on a console that I could play (assuming my PC is stolen)

[Morbid]

Looks like a timed exclusive only.

Edit: PS3 is getting keyboard/mouse support. FINALLY! An FPS on a console that I could play (assuming my PC is stolen)

Meh. Unless I am playing on-line against other humans, I'd rather use the controller. Nothing like pulling an actual trigger and getting feedback from it, rather than pressing a button. :p

[swivel]

Meh. Unless I am playing on-line against other humans, I'd rather use the controller. Nothing like pulling an actual trigger and getting feedback from it, rather than pressing a button. :p

I would argue that there is a trade-off on realism, and the PC wins.

While you do get a trigger for firing the guns, you look around by pressing your right thumb a few millimeters each way. With the mouse, your view of the world around you is as responsive as your neck, twitching this way and that, spinning around in an instant. I think that this mechanic is far and away more immersive than the difference between pressing a button with your pointer finger as it is curled around a plastic thing sideways, and pressing a button with your pointer finger as it is curled over a plating thing vertically. Hell, with the mouse, I can just pretend that I am shooting everyone gangsta-style.


(This post is meant for everyone BUT Morbid, who has become a hopeless console-fanboy and 360 nuthugger. R.I.P.)

[Mr_Vindictive]

I have to agree with Swivel. There is just more interactivity when it comes to PC gaming. I would choose a keyboard/mouse over a controller any day. It's not the joysticks and such that aggravate me, but the design of most controllers. I have huge hands and playing on the original XBOX or PS2 became an exercise in hand cramps.

I would still like to have some keyboard/mouse functionality on the 360, but I must say that it's controller is one of the best I've ever used. It's large and fits perfectly in my hands. I've found that I'm not nearly half as good at FPS with a controller as I am with a keyboard/mouse.

The day that I'll be able to hook up my CyberSnipa keypad along with my G5 mouse to my 360 will be the greatest day of gaming that anyone has ever experienced....if it ever happens, that is.

[Morbid]

I would argue that there is a trade-off on realism, and the PC wins.

While you do get a trigger for firing the guns, you look around by pressing your right thumb a few millimeters each way. With the mouse, your view of the world around you is as responsive as your neck, twitching this way and that, spinning around in an instant. I think that this mechanic is far and away more immersive than the difference between pressing a button with your pointer finger as it is curled around a plastic thing sideways, and pressing a button with your pointer finger as it is curled over a plating thing vertically. Hell, with the mouse, I can just pretend that I am shooting everyone gangsta-style.


(This post is meant for everyone BUT Morbid, who has become a hopeless console-fanboy and 360 nuthugger. R.I.P.)

I'll respond anyway. :)

I wholeheartedly agree that the mouse is GREAT for head turning and aiming. There is no way in hell that I could ever get the accuracy and speed I get from the controller that I get with mouse and keyboard. But after spending considerable amount of time with FPS games on the console, I have to admit that no amount of "fast turning" comes close to the realism that squeezing a trigger to fire your automatic machine gun, while the controller recoils non-stop in your hands, or the satisfaction of squeezing BOTH triggers when you are going akimbo with your pistols.

So, while I agree with you on the "neck" aspect of the mouse, and the precision it brings when shooting (which, in some cases is unrealistic depending on the character you are playing), but I will easily trade that for triggers with recoil and the fact that the enemy I am facing is not going to be easily dispatched because I just placed my crosshairs directly between his eyes in the same, easy fashion as clicking a link. Part of the fun I had with Bioshock using the 360 controller was the act of actually trying to hit one of those fucking security bots or Spider Slicer's with Electro-Bolt 3, something I would have NO PROBLEM doing on the PC version.

I dunno...call me a console fanboy all you want, but it's not true. I just like them for gaming as much as I do PC, and in the case of current times, better than the PC.

[swivel]

Since you haven't played Bioshock on the PC, I chaulk up your ass-talking to more fanboyish bullshit.

Try the game first and see what the programmers did with the interface. The recoil and unpredictability of where your bullets go are programmed in. I don't know what piece-of-shit FPS's you have been playing on the PC, but the ones I play make hitting what you are aiming at rightly difficult. From the kickback of Farcry, COD, Quake, and Doom 3, to the reticule-sway of any good sniper weapon.

Crawl back in your hole you stupid console-fanboy. You have to play games on more than one system before you get to make comparisons. And since you haven't played a PC game in over a year, you get to fuck off.

[Morbid]

Since you haven't played Bioshock on the PC, I chaulk up your ass-talking to more fanboyish bullshit.

Try the game first and see what the programmers did with the interface. The recoil and unpredictability of where your bullets go are programmed in. I don't know what piece-of-shit FPS's you have been playing on the PC, but the ones I play make hitting what you are aiming at rightly difficult. From the kickback of Farcry, COD, Quake, and Doom 3, to the reticule-sway of any good sniper weapon.

Crawl back in your hole you stupid console-fanboy. You have to play games on more than one system before you get to make comparisons. And since you haven't played a PC game in over a year, you get to fuck off.

Yeah, that's a real mature reply. Keep balling up your fists with these little outbursts, swivel...no one in this thread looks more fanboy-ish than you.

Funny you blasting on me for playing games on the systems I am actually talking about, since you haven't played jack shit on anything but your cumstained hand-helds. Get back to me once you have actually played and finished ANY of the FPS games on the PS3 OR the 360. Until then, shut the fuck up.

[Morbid]

Try the game first and see what the programmers did with the interface. The recoil and unpredictability of where your bullets go are programmed in.

Forgot to address this. You mean that the programmers actually fuck with your precision? If that's the case, then that's pretty fucked up. My aiming issues with the controller are not programmed in, it is purely my inability to precisely aim with a thumbstick. But if I have my crosshairs on someone when I shoot (not counting any auto weapon that I am just spraying around the room), they will get hit.

Seems strange that they would handicap a mouse user.

[swivel]

Yeah, that's a real mature reply. Keep balling up your fists with these little outbursts, swivel...no one in this thread looks more fanboy-ish than you.

Funny you blasting on me for playing games on the systems I am actually talking about, since you haven't played jack shit on anything but your cumstained hand-helds. Get back to me once you have actually played and finished ANY of the FPS games on the PS3 OR the 360. Until then, shut the fuck up.

That's right... let it out... have a good cry...

Fucking baby.

[KillBill20]

I've always enjoyed playing games on my gaming systems as apposed to on the PC. The main reason is because I've never had a PC powerful enough to run half the games on the market. What I like about a Playstation or whatever is the fact that you can just blindly pick up a game and you know it'll run on it. There is no need to have to sit around through lengthy install times, only to find out that you don't have the latest graphics card needed to run the game.

I've always like the game pad better than a keyboard. But enjoyed the mouse better than the analog stick for aiming purposes.

And for what it counts the best FPS ever made was on a counsel. Goldeneye for the N64, bitches!!!! :D

~Kyle

[AnalBreeze]

Goldeneye for the N64, bitches!!!! :D

~Kyle

Yeah, Well you call us bitches one more time and you gonna see how fun Blackin'eye is! :slap:

[brokenandtwisted]

Eh...I still play PC games when I have the time. :o I like strategy and simulation games. I play WoW too, swivel. ;)