Is PC Gaming Really Dead?

[wynterlyn]

So I decided to start this thread after my recent experiences with gaming on the PC.

First lemme start of by saying that I don't really have a high end gaming computer and I have never personally owned a Console. I have only played the NFS series, RoadRash, the FiFa and Football Manager Series as well as the COD ones. I have never needed a high end computer for any of those games. However, recently I decided to pick up Skyrim, BF3 and MW3. All these games requires a decent gaming computer to truly have a smooth gaming experience.

On my current computer Skyrim is virtually unplayable. It is so choppy and is very slow. I personally feel it is much cheaper to invest in a gaming console rather than putting together a gaming computer. The initial cost could well be over $1000 when compared to an Xbox which is around $299. And with new products coming out for the PC it is like you have to replace something every 6 months to stay with the newer games coming out. I've finally decided to quit gaming on the PC and make that move to Consoles.

These are my reasons why I feel Console gaming is better than PC gaming.

1. Don't need to spend $3,000 on a PC to play console port games when the games were design in console in mind.
2. Don't need to worry about system requirements, finding/downlaoding drivers, updates and bios updates from websites.
3. Console will last 5-8 years without needing to upgrade like PC where you need to upgrade every 3-6 months to keep up with games
4. Lots of great exclusives games that will never be on PC...never.
5. Don't need to worry about bugs, glitches, game breaking issues or missing content that can be found on PC games
6. Able to sit back on the couch or sit anywhere with wireless controllers and able to play split screen with family/friends.
7. Don't need to worry about playing an online game with aimbotters/speed hackers or cheaters in general.
8. Developers will support console better than the PC leaving game breaking bugs unsolved or unsolved performance issue on PC
9. Motion controls that will never be or happen on PC
10. Able to rent games on gamefly if money is tight that you can never do on PC
11. Never need to worry about your electric bill being high due to playing on the PC
12. Console platform is the best choice as it was design for gaming


Do you'll think console gaming is better and that PC gaming is dying? I mean besides MMOs games are just that much better on consoles and I don't care about MMOs at all.

[Caiada]

No, it probably won't ever be. It's just niche for the foreseeable future.

Also, this is an argument just waiting to happen, so don't be surprised if it's locked.

[redmund]

1. Flat out not true. You can assemble a PC now for ~$600 that will last you for the next 2 years and will play anything current at max settings (save for maybe BF3) on a single display.
2. That's fair enough, kind of comes with the territory.
3. Also a gross exaggeration. A PC built 3 years ago can still play current games perfectly well.
4. This goes both ways. There are many many games on the PC that you'll never see on a console. The indie scene in particular is gigantic on the PC.
5. Bullshit. Console games are just as bug riddled as PC games. For a recent example, just look at Skyrim. Both console versions have game breaking quest bugs that still aren't fixed and the PS3 version becomes literally unplayable after ~35 hours of play because the machine can't handle the large save files. It slows to a complete crawl, requiring a restart of the machine itself. 30 minutes later, it's back to a slow, stuttery, broken mess.
6. You can hook your PC up to your TV just fine. Sure, most games don't have split-screen, I'll grant you that, but split-screen is also disappearing slowly from console games.
7. Maybe it's not as rampant as on the PC, but there are still cheaters out there on the consoles.
8. Nope. Goes both ways. It just depends on the developer/publisher. Some actually want to support their games and foster good will with the community, others just want their money and then abandon the games.
9. Motion controls are overrated.
10. Keeping an eye on Steam sales is better value than rental in many cases. You can often buy a game outright for less than the cost of a rental. You'll also find games that you will never ever see in a brick and mortar store.
11. LOLWUT!?
12. See 11.

As for your initial talk about Skyrim, BF3 etc... well, that's your own fault since you didn't actually do any research (takes less than 5 minutes to check system requirements) before purchasing.

PC gaming is not dying. PC gaming is actually booming right now. Sure, brick and mortar sales are pretty much non-existent, but sales through outlets like Amazon and digital distribution are pretty huge. Also remember that PC gaming also includes a huge casual market for things like Facebook games. Companies like Zynga make obscene amounts of money with their games. If you want numbers, This article has PC sales numbers from 2010 at over $16 billion, and it's on the rise. Compare this to console software sales which stagnated at around $23 billion over the last few years.

PC gaming is fine and I can't believe I spent this long typing out a response to a clueless troll.

no it just seems like that cause computers are expensive now days and cheap ones are old and dying.

Computers are cheaper now than they have ever been. You can build a capable gaming PC for $600. 10 years ago, you'd have paid $1500+ for a reasonably powerful machine.

[Vandexander]

The reasons the OP lists are the reasons that gaming consoles exist in the first place. Gaming consoles are a single-use appliance, designed for basically one thing (gaming), so if they don't do that one thing well, they don't do well as a product and will eventually die.

PCs are general purpose computing devices, and gaming is only one of the many things they can do. They also have a keyboard, which is a very flexible input device that most gaming consoles just don't have (and which was probably used to make the OP). They may not be able to play your FPS shooters or dance-dance games as well as a gaming console, but they don't have to, because they can do much more.

PC gaming isn't going anywhere. It will never be "dead". Consoles will come and go (and you won't be able to play your old console games on your new console, unlike what you can do with many "good old games" (or MAME games) on a PC.

[Caiada]

Playing games from 15 years ago on a PC is a pain in the ass, logistically. It's easier to just hook up an old console or buy it for Virtual Console/XBLA/PSN.

Anyway, consoles are moving a lot closer towards being multi-purpose too, and I don't personally believe keyboards are all they're cracked up to be, writing excluded.

[Deleted]

On my current computer Skyrim is virtually unplayable.

On the PS3 Skyrim is literally unplayable.
Due to a bug.
That apparently consoles can't get.

Derp.

[This name sucks]

Most of your reasons are total bullshit/and or opinions.

1. Don't need to spend $3,000 on a PC to play console port games when the games were design in console in mind. -You don't need to spend $3000 to get a decent computer that can play games unless its skyrim on max settings.
2. Don't need to worry about system requirements, finding/downlaoding drivers, updates and bios updates from websites. -If you need to worry about system requirements, its time for an upgrade. Driver updates are usually automatic now.
3. Console will last 5-8 years without needing to upgrade like PC where you need to upgrade every 3-6 months to keep up with games -Wait are you really complaining that computer's game quality goes up more often than consoles?
4. Lots of great exclusives games that will never be on PC...never. -There are emulators that you can get to play literally 99% of all games that have ever been made.
5. Don't need to worry about bugs, glitches, game breaking issues or missing content that can be found on PC games -Why would they only affect PC and not consoles?
6. Able to sit back on the couch or sit anywhere with wireless controllers and able to play split screen with family/friends. -For me atleast, I can turn my tv into a computer monitor with an HDMI cable.
7. Don't need to worry about playing an online game with aimbotters/speed hackers or cheaters in general. _-Meh, most good games have preventive measures.
8. Developers will support console better than the PC leaving game breaking bugs unsolved or unsolved performance issue on PC -Why is that?
9. Motion controls that will never be or happen on PC -Motion controls are a horrible gimmick that has almost exclusively failed beyond the "oh cool, I now have a shaky crosshair on my screen"
10. Able to rent games on gamefly if money is tight that you can never do on PC -You can "rent" games permentantly for free if you're smart about it.
11. Never need to worry about your electric bill being high due to playing on the PC -What kind of arguement is that?
12. Console platform is the best choice as it was design for gaming -A console is a "computer" that cannot be customized, is locked into hardware that will become outdated and unreplaceable.

[Caiada]

On the PS3 Skyrim is literally unplayable.
Due to a bug.
That apparently consoles can't get.

Derp.

Xbox 360 has no such problem, and is cheaper than any gaming rig. No need to cherry pick.

[Execrator]

They may not be able to play your FPS shooters or dance-dance games as well as a gaming console, but they don't have to, because they can do much more.

PC versions of FPS games crush the console versions in every area. More frequent patches, better fps, higher resolutions, better graphical detail (pc video cards destroy console video cards - especially with stuff like sunshading and shadow detail) and you also have (arguably) better control and accuracy because you're using a mouse to aim instead of a joystick controlled with your thumb..

Oh.. and posting a thread like this in a forum for a PC game... kinda silly.

[Defengar]

99 million Wii`s have been sold
52 million Xbox 360`s have been sold
49 million PS3`s have been sold

there are about 31 million steam accounts. (the most used PC online gaming store)

PC gaming is still a bit of a "niche" market, but its growing fast and is far from small potatoes now.

[Runeweaver]

On the PS3 Skyrim is literally unplayable.
Due to a bug.
That apparently consoles can't get.

Derp.

Wah? I play Skyrim on PS3 (Play everything thats not WoW on PS3)... and I'm having no problems with it at all except for the random Bethesda bug which is easy to solve.

Anyway back on topic. PC Gaming isn't dying... it's just that like others have said, PCs were not meant to be used for gaming as such... more for personal things like business and what not. It's just one thing they are able to do, whereas gaming consoles were primarily built for gaming; therefore majority buy gaming consoles rather than PCs if they want gaming, because that is what they were made for.

[Deleted]

Xbox 360 has no such problem.

So the PS3 isn't a console?
Also: Red Ring of Death. Yeah.

is cheaper than any gaming rig

It better be considering it's almost 7 years old.

No need to cherry pick.

How is stating a massive console only bug cherrypicking?

[This name sucks]

99 million Wii`s have been sold
52 million Xbox 360`s have been sold
49 million PS3`s have been sold

there are about 31 million steam accounts. (the most used PC online gaming store)


PC gaming is still a bit of a "niche" market, but its growing fast and is far from small potatoes now.

Steam is only 31m large? I could have sworn it was bigger than that.

Oh and considering the OP has 15 posts, im sure hes some dumbass whos just trolling, or some who is legitimately clueless and has no idea what they're talking about.

[redmund]

Playing games from 15 years ago on a PC is a pain in the ass, logistically. It's easier to just hook up an old console or buy it for Virtual Console/XBLA/PSN.

15 years ago was 1996 (soon 1997. Quake 2 came out that year). DOS games were nearly dead by '96. Definitely dead by 97. Everything released then was a Windows game. The vast majority of those games will still work in anything. A small minority won't work in x64 editions of Windows but will still most likely work in any 32bit edition. After that, there's XP mode. It doesn't take much effort, at all.

I also like my comfy chair, my controller, and my emulators and rom collections. Good luck matching those with the Virtual Console, XBLA or PSN.

[Shadzta]

3. Console will last 5-8 years without needing to upgrade like PC where you need to upgrade every 3-6 months to keep up with games

i lol'd.

[Defengar]

PC versions of FPS games crush the console versions in every area. More frequent patches, better fps, higher resolutions, better graphical detail (pc video cards destroy console video cards - especially with stuff like sunshading and shadow detail) and you also have (arguably) better control and accuracy because you're using a mouse to aim instead of a joystick controlled with your thumb..

Oh.. and posting a thread like this in a forum for a PC game... kinda silly.

It always gets that way after a few years though.
When the next gen of consoles come out. (Wii U in 2012, XBox 720 in 2013, and PS4 in 2014) they will pull ahead again for a couple years.
Inevitably computers always become better again, but thats just because new computers and parts are constantly being innovated and always coming out. gaming consoles take years for a sequel to be made.

Game graphics havn't improved tremendously for any platform in the last year or so (besides BF3) because all the developers are waiting till the next gen of consoles to come put before adding monstrous amount of polygons to the next generation of games.
Even with the slow graphics upgrades of the last year, the consoles we have now are already starting to show their age. PS3 can easily play BF3 at 60 fps but Xbox 360 is stuck at 30 for example.

[Gandrake]

Even Xbox doesn't run games at full FPS.

You can put a decent computer together for 500 bucks, been using mine and most the parts in it for 7 years. Only recently replaced the Power Supply. I get about 15-20 FPS in Skyrim, which is good enough for me.

[Exodeus]

Xbox 360 has no such problem, and is cheaper than any gaming rig. No need to cherry pick.

BUt Xbox360 has had a million other problems with bad bugs in games not to talk about the not uncommon hardware faliures.

[Loucy]

Many FPS games today is designed to fit computers the most. Take BF3 for example, it was designed to fit computers more than a console and if you don't belive me just google it. Personally i have a computer that i spent around 1600 Euros on and imo, it was worth every single penny. I love being able to play all games at max settings without lag, and i just don't like the console controllers but, i guess it's different from each person.

[This name sucks]

15 years ago was 1996 (soon 1997. Quake 2 came out that year). DOS games were nearly dead by '96. Definitely dead by 97. Everything released then was a Windows game. The vast majority of those games will still work in anything. A small minority won't work in x64 editions of Windows but will still most likely work in any 32bit edition. After that, there's XP mode. It doesn't take much effort, at all.

I also like my comfy chair, my controller, and my emulators and rom collections. Good luck matching those with the Virtual Console, XBLA or PSN.

Damn, making me feel old.