I just think the whole XBox One ordeal is a nice example of how f*cked up the mentality in the gaming industry is right now. It shows how people no longer want to get things like always-online and various other restrictions shoved down their throat. And it's nice to see that at least some gamers aren't so ignorant as to go blindingly with every next step their gaming gods set. It's SO important to stay critical and to not accept certain shitty decisions only for the purpose of having even more money sucked out of your wallet. Certainly now it is important to think critically about games, game franchises and other gaming products, as the mainstream gaming industry seems to be reaching a low point in general.
For clarification, as the first two sentences in my previous post might be interpreted wrongly: with f*cked up mentality, I mean the whole capitalist approach as to how producers can get the most money out of their consumers. And it is nice to see how gamers have shown signs (finally) of not longer accepting to be manipulated and 'used'. I have been a gamer for a long time, and I have seen how more and more the 'soul' got sucked out of games, only to be replaced by DLC and microtransactions, something which I've always been lamenting.
I think the whole console thing is getting ridiculous. All you have is a bunch of PCs with extremely limited compatibility and only allowing a few games that you can play with them. But you get to watch television with them, so that makes everything all right!
I think the whole console thing is getting ridiculous. All you have is a bunch of PCs with extremely limited compatibility and only allowing a few games that you can play with them. But you get to watch television with them, so that makes everything all right!
Yeahhh you don't understand the real point to console gaming. Stop pretending you do. Consoles obviously aren't the right choice for you, and that's just fine, but please don't do the whole PC elitist thing. It's incredibly annoying, and furthermore, ignorant.
Yeahhh you don't understand the real point to console gaming. Stop pretending you do. Consoles obviously aren't the right choice for you, and that's just fine, but please don't do the whole PC elitist thing. It's incredibly annoying, and furthermore, ignorant.
You'll have to explain your stance for me, because I honestly don't see their point.
And I don't understand where the whole "elitist" thing is coming from either, for that matter.
I agree with @Chow. Where did he say anything 'elitist', @Quartz? He just spoke the plain truth about consoles. They indeed ARE limited in capacity in comparison to PC's, and especially the latest consoles which can't play the games of their predecessors. Or are you trying to start another, in my honest opinion, useless 'Console vs PC' war?
No no Chow is absolutely right on the technical side, I just think it gets so tiring when people are killjoys. If folks are enjoying their consoles, no matter how inferior, since they're not hurting anyone why not let them enjoy their consoles and not nitpick at their hobbies?
That's all, really. You can all go back to your conversation now. @mlnevese you seem disturbingly quick to want to lock a thread, please relax.
I have a PC and consoles. I use the PC more, because, well... it just does everything better. Although I know a lot of people find consoles less intimidating and prefer them for their convenience; turn it on, put a disc in, play. At least that's the theory; lately they have started adding all sorts of other junk.
I read an article comparing the Xbox One to the PS4 which stated 'we all want to be able to talk to our friends over skype while playing games...' and I thought... no. I've never, ever wanted that. To be honest, it just sounds like it would be annoying.
I used to love consoles, to the exclusion of everything else; but for me it was all about couch co-op. I loved playing games with friends, which is a market that has waned significantly over the years. I do still adore couch multiplayer, but there aren't as many games for that as there used to be. The ones that are out there are either shooter games (Halo, Call of Duty, etc.), limited to two-player co-op (Dungeon Siege 3), or Mario-like. (Don't get me wrong, I love Mario, but there used to be a greater variety than there is now).
Yeah, couch co-op is the only redeeming factor of consoles (which doesn't require multiple machines like a LAN party would, though you do need a good sized TV) and even that is becoming distressingly rare (same for LAN support...it's actually hard to find games these days that support it). (Sins of a Solar empire being one of the more recent examples of retaining LAN AND actually being pretty good sports about it, up to the Trinity collection, but not Rebellion, allows you to use the serial key twice (both local and online, but only 2 max uses of the key can be active online at once), and even encourages you in the manual into giving a friend a copy so you can play together).
And since now most titles are multi-platform (a blessing and a curse), barring a handful of exclusives, they have to dumb the game down to match the weakest machine (Sony is always badly screwed by this, due to always having a fairly significant lead on competitors, but only their exclusives (which aren't very interesting IMO...same for MS really) can really benefit from it, eliminating all the benefits of having a standard profile to design the game for, which would normally be a huge boon since games for PC have to be designed to account for a wide sprectrum of rig load-outs, even within their minimum requirements.
Other then that.....the PC version of most games are innately superior, even when badly ported, because they can be modded and fan-patched easily (Fan patching is what saved Arcanum, ToEE, and AoE3:AD from being utterly unplayably buggy. Even BG has recieved substantial fan support with improving the experience), without having to hack a console or rely on a developer doing it, which could take years or even never happen at all. Also, when a console online game shuts down...it's a coaster or wasted system space, or locks out a bunch of content (PS2 Monster Hunter is an example...but that game can be gotten around since all the data is on-disc and can be unlocked via gameshark, a rare example where it can work)...when a PC MMO shuts down (or they change things you don't like about it), if it was popular enough, people will revive it via private servers (Universal Century Gundam Online is a good example of that, not perfect of course but slowly tweaking its way to legitimacy, but at least it still exists).
Take Skyrim for instances..........the console version is a linear POS with no redeeming qualities (and is the source of a lot of my hate for the game).....while the PC version, if you get the right mods can actually add everything I wanted the game to be (i.e. an actual Elders Scrolls game) (doesn't excuse at all Bethesda MAKING me mod the game to make it enjoyable compared to some previous entries, but does lessen the blow a tiny bit).
i've been a console person all my life until 2 years ago. they have their ups and downs for sure - local co op with only one copy of the game - exclusives - cheaper pc also has some cool stuff - have exclusives, mainly in the form of mmo's - better graphics - steam sales to save money on games
they are both good in different ways. however with the rise of online gaming we are losing the big one that you can sit down with friends on the couch and play together. also the mmo people can now play many of them on the next generation, including planetside 2 and elder scrolls online. i personally am getting a pc, i just yesterday ordered everything and i will put it together myself, with a little help from a friend. however, if i had that kind of money, i would get a PS3 as well.
No no Chow is absolutely right on the technical side, I just think it gets so tiring when people are killjoys. If folks are enjoying their consoles, no matter how inferior, since they're not hurting anyone why not let them enjoy their consoles and not nitpick at their hobbies?
Oh, I don't mind them playing their thing and not hurting anyone with it, and am not trying to be a killjoy. I'm mostly just wondering why they would do that.
Kind of like seeing children play soccer with an old, inflated ball, and kindly suggesting they could get a new and better one with very little money.
I just like consoles for the convenience. I play a lot of racing games and I have a steering wheel for it. I have the steering wheel set up with the console. I've tried playing racing games on my PC, and it's very annoying to have the steering wheel set up with the PC, because anytime I want to use the keyboard the wheel is in the way and I have to move it. I don't feel like having a PC just for racing games, seems kind of wasteful.
Until you get Lufia 2 and one of last levels near the end of the game is nigh unplayable due to a graphics bug that requires painstaking trial and error to work through...including a time limited puzzle for added frustration.
It's an otherwise awesome game, but that part is a doozy get past, and could've been correctly fairly easily via patches (the rom version actually does have a fan-patch that fixes it, while the cart version is a beast to try and play (I have both)).
While I do agree that the ease of patching is no excuse to release games in an obvious beta state while calling them official releases, the ability to patch them at all is a definitely advancement.
There's quite a few games that ended up be much more frustrated then intended due to crappy coding, but not bad enough to render the game unplayable, requiring a recall.
I want to add my 2 cents towards the why own a console and not a PC.
Console can be set up in the living room which is comfy and refreshing (depends on the living room) it allows you to have local co-op which is always awesome (depends on your friends), with it being in the living room you can often have a larger TV than what you own for your pc (not always the case).
There is no installing you just run a disc and sometimes you don't have the money to buy a PC that can play latest games.
I wouldn't be condescending enough to say that console are less intimidating and easier but some people just don't like installing games, or know how to install mods. Some people don't want the faff of maintaining a computer to keep it running at optimum speed.
At the end of the day consoles appeal to a market of people and there is evidence for that. So maybe some people can't see why they are good and will always view them as inferior for gaming but it is more about the individuals circumstance and how they want to play their games rather than the benefits of getting a better PC.
I'd hazard it would actually be technically possible to set your PC to the living room, using a television and a pad from your couch to play stuff. It'd probably be quite difficult, though, so I'll accept your point regardless.
Having the computer set up in the living room isn't any more difficult than setting up a console. It's just a power cord and HDMI cable.
Yeah but there are a bunch of things that I use a computer for that I prefer to do at a desk. Which means either moving the computer back and forth, which would be a huge pain, or leaving it hooked up to the TV and losing some of its flexibility, which is one of the biggest advantages of a computer to begin with.
Having the computer set up in the living room isn't any more difficult than setting up a console. It's just a power cord and HDMI cable.
Yeah but there are a bunch of things that I use a computer for that I prefer to do at a desk. Which means either moving the computer back and forth, which would be a huge pain, or leaving it hooked up to the TV and losing some of it's flexibility, which is one of the biggest advantages of a computer to begin with.
I agree with that, but if people are saying that a console is just an inferior computer, then they shouldn't mind having a computer dedicated to gaming if they want the comfort of sitting on a couch in front of a TV.
@Awong124: Yeah, and you think everyone can just afford a PC dedicated to gaming, and one for other purposes? A good PC solely for gaming already costs twice the price of a console. At least, here in my country.
Building a Computer with the same specifications as a PS4 or Xbox One would cost twice, if not trice. In the PS4 case, it's impossible as GDDR5 Ram is not available for the public in the first place. So anyone really mentioning "Booohooo, I can build a PC which is as good as a next gen console for the same price!" doesn't know what is going on.
Consoles are terribly convenient for those that can't afford a PC. They are gaming consoles after all, granted the One going a different path, but still. They are dedicated to gaming whereas on the PC you can do lots more. And the PC that can run the same things as a console does can cost lots more than a console. A LOT. I got a PC that cost me 900 euros... it's more or less comparable to a next-gen console, with some specs being worse. And I bought it half a year ago!
@Awong124: Yeah, and you think everyone can just afford a PC dedicated to gaming, and one for other purposes? A good PC solely for gaming already costs twice the price of a console. At least, here in my country.
Then a PC isn't superior for gaming in every way now is it?
A current generation console can play maybe a few hundred games. A modern-day PC can play tens, perhaps even hundreds of thousands: it doesn't need to worry about such things as backwards compatibility, but rather has the entire history of gaming available for it, only really barring the current-gen consoles.
I'd say it's more than worth the extra few hundreds of dollars.
A standard PC these days can play everything, and do so at higher frame rates then most consoles can dream of. It's just a matter of tweaking the settings to get them ideal for your system....and to be honest, running on max graphics is sometimes a waste. I find some games actually look better at lower graphic settings due to a lot of pointless additions that don't really add any value.
My Comp is 6 years old and still runs everything that comes out at max settings with no issues, and is just a stock job (425, half of which was due to the monitor) with a better video card that I added 4 years ago due to the one that my comp came with being damaged in an electrical surge and since prices had come down since then, I got one several grades better then the previous model.
Stock PCs these days come with a lot of RAM (you really only need 6 gb Max, unless you just get off running a music player, video player, playing a ram intensive game, playing another ram intensive game in another monitor, surfing the web, converting videos, all at once). 1 GB for the OS, up to 4 GB for the game (since all games are 32-bit still, so they can reach the widest possible audience), and 1 GB for misc stuff.
And most stock PC come with actual video cards these days, instead of graphic processors, since cards have become so cheap and offer much greater performance. Even a 5-6 year old card has all the features you really need to play.
My Comp is 6 years old and still runs everything that comes out at max settings with no issues, and is just a stock job (425, half of which was due to the monitor) with a better video card that I added 4 years ago due to the one that my comp came with being damaged in an electrical surge and since prices had come down since then, I got one several grades better then the previous model.
you can thank consoles for that. Once the new ones come out, expect to start upgrading your pc. and:
PCs will always be superior to consoles, even now with the next-gen consoles, who offer more services besides gaming, but in turn have no backwards compatability, resulting in them being able to play only a limited amount of games. PCs generally still don't suffer from those limitations, and still are more flexible up to today. So they logically are still better investments than consoles, which will be replaced by another model in the course of four or five years. It's just a fact. Yet I already see some disgruntled console gamers sharpen their claws and this topic is starting to indeed lead to a PC vs Console war. Each system has its pros and cons, so let's not waste time fighting?
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And I don't understand where the whole "elitist" thing is coming from either, for that matter.
That's all, really. You can all go back to your conversation now. @mlnevese you seem disturbingly quick to want to lock a thread, please relax.
I read an article comparing the Xbox One to the PS4 which stated 'we all want to be able to talk to our friends over skype while playing games...' and I thought... no. I've never, ever wanted that. To be honest, it just sounds like it would be annoying.
And since now most titles are multi-platform (a blessing and a curse), barring a handful of exclusives, they have to dumb the game down to match the weakest machine (Sony is always badly screwed by this, due to always having a fairly significant lead on competitors, but only their exclusives (which aren't very interesting IMO...same for MS really) can really benefit from it, eliminating all the benefits of having a standard profile to design the game for, which would normally be a huge boon since games for PC have to be designed to account for a wide sprectrum of rig load-outs, even within their minimum requirements.
Other then that.....the PC version of most games are innately superior, even when badly ported, because they can be modded and fan-patched easily (Fan patching is what saved Arcanum, ToEE, and AoE3:AD from being utterly unplayably buggy. Even BG has recieved substantial fan support with improving the experience), without having to hack a console or rely on a developer doing it, which could take years or even never happen at all. Also, when a console online game shuts down...it's a coaster or wasted system space, or locks out a bunch of content (PS2 Monster Hunter is an example...but that game can be gotten around since all the data is on-disc and can be unlocked via gameshark, a rare example where it can work)...when a PC MMO shuts down (or they change things you don't like about it), if it was popular enough, people will revive it via private servers (Universal Century Gundam Online is a good example of that, not perfect of course but slowly tweaking its way to legitimacy, but at least it still exists).
Take Skyrim for instances..........the console version is a linear POS with no redeeming qualities (and is the source of a lot of my hate for the game).....while the PC version, if you get the right mods can actually add everything I wanted the game to be (i.e. an actual Elders Scrolls game) (doesn't excuse at all Bethesda MAKING me mod the game to make it enjoyable compared to some previous entries, but does lessen the blow a tiny bit).
- local co op with only one copy of the game
- exclusives
- cheaper
pc also has some cool stuff
- have exclusives, mainly in the form of mmo's
- better graphics
- steam sales to save money on games
they are both good in different ways. however with the rise of online gaming we are losing the big one that you can sit down with friends on the couch and play together. also the mmo people can now play many of them on the next generation, including planetside 2 and elder scrolls online. i personally am getting a pc, i just yesterday ordered everything and i will put it together myself, with a little help from a friend. however, if i had that kind of money, i would get a PS3 as well.
Kind of like seeing children play soccer with an old, inflated ball, and kindly suggesting they could get a new and better one with very little money.
Until you get Lufia 2 and one of last levels near the end of the game is nigh unplayable due to a graphics bug that requires painstaking trial and error to work through...including a time limited puzzle for added frustration.
It's an otherwise awesome game, but that part is a doozy get past, and could've been correctly fairly easily via patches (the rom version actually does have a fan-patch that fixes it, while the cart version is a beast to try and play (I have both)).
While I do agree that the ease of patching is no excuse to release games in an obvious beta state while calling them official releases, the ability to patch them at all is a definitely advancement.
There's quite a few games that ended up be much more frustrated then intended due to crappy coding, but not bad enough to render the game unplayable, requiring a recall.
Console can be set up in the living room which is comfy and refreshing (depends on the living room) it allows you to have local co-op which is always awesome (depends on your friends), with it being in the living room you can often have a larger TV than what you own for your pc (not always the case).
There is no installing you just run a disc and sometimes you don't have the money to buy a PC that can play latest games.
I wouldn't be condescending enough to say that console are less intimidating and easier but some people just don't like installing games, or know how to install mods. Some people don't want the faff of maintaining a computer to keep it running at optimum speed.
At the end of the day consoles appeal to a market of people and there is evidence for that. So maybe some people can't see why they are good and will always view them as inferior for gaming but it is more about the individuals circumstance and how they want to play their games rather than the benefits of getting a better PC.
Consoles are terribly convenient for those that can't afford a PC. They are gaming consoles after all, granted the One going a different path, but still. They are dedicated to gaming whereas on the PC you can do lots more. And the PC that can run the same things as a console does can cost lots more than a console. A LOT. I got a PC that cost me 900 euros... it's more or less comparable to a next-gen console, with some specs being worse. And I bought it half a year ago!
I'd say it's more than worth the extra few hundreds of dollars.
My Comp is 6 years old and still runs everything that comes out at max settings with no issues, and is just a stock job (425, half of which was due to the monitor) with a better video card that I added 4 years ago due to the one that my comp came with being damaged in an electrical surge and since prices had come down since then, I got one several grades better then the previous model.
Stock PCs these days come with a lot of RAM (you really only need 6 gb Max, unless you just get off running a music player, video player, playing a ram intensive game, playing another ram intensive game in another monitor, surfing the web, converting videos, all at once). 1 GB for the OS, up to 4 GB for the game (since all games are 32-bit still, so they can reach the widest possible audience), and 1 GB for misc stuff.
And most stock PC come with actual video cards these days, instead of graphic processors, since cards have become so cheap and offer much greater performance. Even a 5-6 year old card has all the features you really need to play.
and: I don't want to tweak. I just want to sit down and play a game.
Consoles are generally hassle free.
But to each their own.