Is the PC entering into a new Golden Era?

[MisterSparkle]

PC install process takes 10 mins then another 10-15 for patching/updating.

Seeing this complaint a lot. Hopefully we are smart and buying games that have at least 20 hours of single player worth to them, and for multiplayer games, hundreds of hours. So 1/2 of an hour to install a game being a problem, just doesn't compute to me.

 

[Earley]

Since the days of Atari 2600 I have been waffling back and fourth between consoles and pcs.

The last time the PC completely stole me away from consoles was the early 90s with the Kings Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Codename Iceman, Red Baron, A-10 Tank Killer, etc, etc games and until now (for me) that just seemed like a bygone era for PC gaming.

For me and my gaming, the consoles have been dominating since the Sega Genisis, Super Nintendo, N64, Sony Playstation, Xbox, Xbox360/PS3. PC did not capture my attention until Grand Theft Auto 3 and Battlefield 1942 in 2001-2002, but those only held me so long until I was sucked back into console land around 2003. I tried to get back into PC gaming in 2007 with a completely new rig, but it just never seemed to have enough power to run the games the way I wanted to run them. Even with top of the line stuff like two 8800 ultras, things just were not fully enjoyable or problem free.... At that time the PC just could not compare to sitting in my lazy boy and gaming with my console on a 120" projection screen.

However, with the release of ATIs 5000 series, PC gaming has completely stole the show for me. Running three dell 20.1 2007fps at 4800x1200 is soo much better than console gaming at 720p on my 120" projector that I have not turned my xbox on in about a month! The selection of PC games is fantastic! I now have Over Flanders Fields and IL2 to satisfy my flight sim cravings, Dirt 2 looks amazing and is awesome fun with an eyefinity triple screen setup, Crysis has never looked or played better than with my 5970 Ocd to 900/1200 and I have not even gotten around to re-discovering some of my old favorites again!

With the PC I have an abundant selection of Joysticks, controllers and racing wheels to boot! It just seems that the sky is the limit with PC gaming because the consoles, no matter how hard they try, just cannot compete with the detail & depth of the PC experience now. Yes I know the consoles are cheaper to use and play, but anybody that has had the fortune of experiencing eyefinity & alternate triple sceening solutions knows exactly what I am talking about. The new PC experience is just sublime and I really hope this kicks off a new golden era, because it certainly feels like the beginning of a beautiful era!

Nope, the PC as a gaming platform is dying away and is now a niche, where it used to be king. Enjoy it now because consoles are the new rulers of gaming. I lament this trend too.

 

[gravityparade]

The software has a long way to go before it catches up with the hardware. And Software producers are not interested in progress because they can make more money making DX9 games with old tech, and charge more for less content.

 

[Q-BZ]

Nope, the PC as a gaming platform is dying away and is now a niche, where it used to be king. Enjoy it now because consoles are the new rulers of gaming. I lament this trend too.

I'm forced to agree with this as much as I terribly lament it myself.

Except the consoles have BEEN the rulers of gaming for a while. It's not something that's a brand new phenomenon.

I'll always choose the PC first whenever I can and for as long as I can but I'm under no mistaken illusions about it: It's basically another console and it's treated like a second class one more often than not, nevermind how prolific the PC is used for gaming, especially once you get out of the United States. All kinds of pesky facts we can all come up with to underscore how stupid the situation is but it's preaching to the choir.


If you take out all the console ports that come to the PC...what are you left with? Honestly? When I see threads around here asking people about their best games or most anticipated games...most of the responses are console ports. I'm including myself in that category.


What incentive is there for me to want to upgrade hardware? For a bunch of console ports? My GTX 280 SSC and my Intel qx9650 are going to last me a long, long time.

The last time a publisher had the nerve to put out something that pushed the limits (Crysis) almost everyone had a coronary over it because they couldn't max out their settings from the word "go." Yes, I know the game could have had some better coding and optimizations upfront and all that, but still.

So you have bitching and backlashing for something like that or you have bitching and backlashing if there isn't enough or any "pushing the envelope."

You can't have it both ways, folks.

 

[Oscar Meyer]

I'm forced to agree with this as much as I terribly lament it myself.

Except the consoles have BEEN the rulers of gaming for a while. It's not something that's a brand new phenomenon.

I'll always choose the PC first whenever I can and for as long as I can but I'm under no mistaken illusions about it: It's basically another console and it's treated like a second class one more often than not, nevermind how prolific the PC is used for gaming, especially once you get out of the United States. All kinds of pesky facts we can all come up with to underscore how stupid the situation is but it's preaching to the choir.


If you take out all the console ports that come to the PC...what are you left with? Honestly? When I see threads around here asking people about their best games or most anticipated games...most of the responses are console ports. I'm including myself in that category.


What incentive is there for me to want to upgrade hardware? For a bunch of console ports? My GTX 280 SSC and my Intel qx9650 are going to last me a long, long time.

The last time a publisher had the nerve to put out something that pushed the limits (Crysis) almost everyone had a coronary over it because they couldn't max out their settings from the word "go." Yes, I know the game could have had some better coding and optimizations upfront and all that, but still.

So you have bitching and backlashing for something like that or you have bitching and backlashing if there isn't enough or any "pushing the envelope."

You can't have it both ways, folks.

I don't understand what all the complaining is about. What are people really expecting in terms of game innovations on the PC? So what if PC games are mostly console ports these days...what else could they possibly be? What I mean is how different is an xbox360 from a PC in terms of gaming? A fully suped up PC is really just an XBOX 360 on steroids. Analogy would be consoles as Honda Accords. A new PC rig with all the expensive goodies are ferraris and lamborghinis. Is the driving experience on a ferrari all of the sudden 100% different from the Accord? Are you no longer driving on roads with speed limits? or driving without pushing pedals or a sterring wheel? Does the Ferrari allow for driving with mind control only?
I mean jeez, It's still a car. The PC is still a PC, and games will still be confined within certain limitations, or what programmers limit themselves to do. If games were more in the "golden era" 10 years ago, name one PC game today that doesnt have the same features or more?
I think people should stop their complaining and play more games...just be happy they are even porting console games to the PC rather than ditch the PC all together, especially when PC games hardly make money compared to overall industry. And there will always be games on the PC that you could never experience the same on a console, RTS's for example. But there is nothing you could experience on a console that you couldn't get on a PC....other than unported games.

 

[Q-BZ]

I don't understand what all the complaining is about. What are people really expecting in terms of game innovations on the PC? So what if PC games are mostly console ports these days...what else could they possibly be?

All that's fine. I and others are simply tired of the PC being treated like a second class citizen.



Don't get me wrong: I'm not against console ports at all when they're done right. Besides, if I were...I wouldn't have much to play would I?

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1476103

^^ I'm going to save myself a bunch of typing because the conversation in this thread is more or less starting to dovetail with that thread.

What I mean is how different is an xbox360 from a PC in terms of gaming? A fully suped up PC is really just an XBOX 360 on steroids.

Now you're helping me make the point I was trying to in the other thread.

Analogy would be consoles as Honda Accords. A new PC rig with all the expensive goodies are ferraris and lamborghinis. Is the driving experience on a ferrari all of the sudden 100% different from the Accord? Are you no longer driving on roads with speed limits? or driving without pushing pedals or a sterring wheel? Does the Ferrari allow for driving with mind control only?
I mean jeez, It's still a car. The PC is still a PC, and games will still be confined within certain limitations, or what programmers limit themselves to do.

Agreed.

If games were more in the "golden era" 10 years ago, name one PC game today that doesn't have the same features or more?

Do you mean versuse their console counterparts? None that I can think of off the top of my head except for some games seeing incredible delays on DLC or possibly never seeing that DLC at all.

I think people should stop their complaining and play more games...just be happy they are even porting console games to the PC rather than ditch the PC all together, especially when PC games hardly make money compared to overall industry.

I play plenty of games. I have fun. I'll never abandon the PC.

Here's what bothers me about that line:

I don't believe this "PC games don't make money" line any more than I believe this "piracy is killing PC gaming and that's why developers do this and that or don't bother" rubbish, either.

Sometimes it really looks and sounds to me like some publishers and developers are all but looking for any excuse they can to drop supporting the PC and I find all of those reasons and excuses to be complete rubbish.

And there will always be games on the PC that you could never experience the same on a console, RTS's for example. But there is nothing you could experience on a console that you couldn't get on a PC....other than unported games.

Agreed.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

I don't understand what all the complaining is about. What are people really expecting in terms of game innovations on the PC? So what if PC games are mostly console ports these days...what else could they possibly be? What I mean is how different is an xbox360 from a PC in terms of gaming? A fully suped up PC is really just an XBOX 360 on steroids. Analogy would be consoles as Honda Accords. A new PC rig with all the expensive goodies are ferraris and lamborghinis. Is the driving experience on a ferrari all of the sudden 100% different from the Accord? Are you no longer driving on roads with speed limits? or driving without pushing pedals or a sterring wheel? Does the Ferrari allow for driving with mind control only?
I mean jeez, It's still a car. The PC is still a PC, and games will still be confined within certain limitations, or what programmers limit themselves to do. If games were more in the "golden era" 10 years ago, name one PC game today that doesnt have the same features or more?
I think people should stop their complaining and play more games...just be happy they are even porting console games to the PC rather than ditch the PC all together, especially when PC games hardly make money compared to overall industry. And there will always be games on the PC that you could never experience the same on a console, RTS's for example. But there is nothing you could experience on a console that you couldn't get on a PC....other than unported games.

Quality does matter to some people and the quality between a really good PC and a console is huge

I'd actually prefer they didn't port console games, if they didn't do that we'd have a gap in the market for developers to make good PC games, as long as we keep putting up with shitty ports we're never going to see more PC orientated games.

I will continue to fob off rubbish like MW2 and buy PROPER games like Dragon Age Origins, thats the most I can really do.

 

[LeninGHOLA]

Here is a thought; why don't we just stop buying consoles and console games and just buy PC? The last game I bought for the 360 was CoD4 when it came out...3 years ago? I pump about $70 a month into Steam though.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

Nope, the PC as a gaming platform is dying away and is now a niche, where it used to be king. Enjoy it now because consoles are the new rulers of gaming. I lament this trend too.

The PC was always a niche for gaming. Yes, it was a bit bigger market at one point, but think about how many people gamed on NES, Genesis, TG16 (ok, but I liked it ) SNES, PSX in comparison. I really don't think much has changed other than the whole multi-plat thing. There were always bad PC console ports in the past. Many of them worse than the ones we have now. At the very least, with a multiplatform game, you have an established baseline now. It usually won't be any worse than the console versions, and if they do it right (like Bioware,) it far exceeds the consoles. Some of the PC ports in the past were so bad, that they weren't even the same game afterward. You'd get a rare one like Blackthorne, or something from the Amiga like Another World (Out of this World in the US,) or Flashback which would end up being as good or better, but a lot of times they were crap. The main difference is that there were a lot more PC Only developers a while back. Now there aren't, but that doesn't qualify the PC as a niche market anymore than it has been in the past.

 

[Q-BZ]

Quality does matter to some people and the quality between a really good PC and a console is huge

Definitely agree with this!

I'd actually prefer they didn't port console games, if they didn't do that we'd have a gap in the market for developers to make good PC games, as long as we keep putting up with shitty ports we're never going to see more PC orientated games.

I'll agree with you as far as: No one wants shitty ports but if a good console games gets ported well...fine! I'll buy it especially if it's optimized well for the PC. They round things out nicely when done well.

I will continue to fob off rubbish like MW2 and buy PROPER games like Dragon Age Origins, that's the most I can really do.

Except Dragon Age isn't any more of a PC exclusive than MW2 is but I think I get your point.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

Quality does matter to some people and the quality between a really good PC and a console is huge

I'd actually prefer they didn't port console games, if they didn't do that we'd have a gap in the market for developers to make good PC games, as long as we keep putting up with shitty ports we're never going to see more PC orientated games.

I will continue to fob off rubbish like MW2 and buy PROPER games like Dragon Age Origins, thats the most I can really do.

I love a good PC exclusive, especially if it has historical roots on the PC. However, I also have no problem at all with well executed multi-platform development. It seems that we are getting a slight increase in people doing this correctly. Bioware, some divisions of Capcom (at the very least the one responsible for Street Fighter IV,) and even a few EA titles have turned out well. (Mirror's Edge being one of them, and VSync/Mouse issue aside Dead Space turned out well, or at least satisfactorily (IMO.)) Bethesda also did a nice job with PC customization. Also, as mentioned previously, there has been a lovely surge of indie titles. I've been buying them up like crazy on Steam, and have been enjoying them thoroughly in between the larger titles that I play.

 

[Mystic-Micro]

I have said this over and over again. The days of exclusives are over. Games costs too much money to NOT get ported over to other platforms.

It makes no sense to NOT develop for a market that already exists. You can even see that the PC platform is a market worth developing for, hence we get console ports.

People port to other platforms to sell more, especially when the demand is there. Good riddance to exclusives. Keep it with the first party devs for their platform promotion, the rest of the market of 90%+ developers make games for every system.

Let the consumer decide what platform to play it on.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Except Dragon Age isn't any more of a PC exclusive than MW2 is but I think I get your point.

Well no, but you can tell from its design that it's a PC game ported to the console and MW2 is a console game ported to the PC.

The difference is that IW built MW2 using the lowest common denominator mentality and the PC version ended up with all of the constraints of a console game. Where as it's obvious that Bioware made the best game they could with their resources/time and did not sacrafice game quality to make it appeal to the average joe console player with an attention span of 20 minutes.

What they produced was a masterpiece, a truly epic gaming experience that quite frankly we've not had in a long time, which is why all the polls voting on what the GOTY should be have DAO way ahead of games like MW2, despite the numbers that MW2 sold at.

 

[Q-BZ]

Well no, but you can tell from its design that it's a PC game ported to the console and MW2 is a console game ported to the PC.

Ah! Very important distinction there.

The difference is that IW built MW2 using the lowest common denominator mentality and the PC version ended up with all of the constraints of a console game. Where as it's obvious that Bioware made the best game they could with their resources/time and did not sacrafice game quality to make it appeal to the average joe console player with an attention span of 20 minutes.

What they produced was a masterpiece, a truly epic gaming experience that quite frankly we've not had in a long time, which is why all the polls voting on what the GOTY should be have DAO way ahead of games like MW2, despite the numbers that MW2 sold at.

^^ Thanks for that clarification. On that note, I agree with you 100 percent.

I have said this over and over again. The days of exclusives are over. Games costs too much money to NOT get ported over to other platforms.

It makes no sense to NOT develop for a market that already exists. You can even see that the PC platform is a market worth developing for, hence we get console ports.

People port to other platforms to sell more, especially when the demand is there. Good riddance to exclusives. Keep it with the first party devs for their platform promotion, the rest of the market of 90%+ developers make games for every system.

Let the consumer decide what platform to play it on.

I'll agree with this as well with the usual "as long as it's done right" etc. etc.

 

[BravO)))]

I think we are. With the looming release of next gen consoles in 2012, pc will be a tested bed for next gen engines before they are ported over. DX11 will help this come to being as well imo.

 

[nerdydesi]

I think we are. With the looming release of next gen consoles in 2012, pc will be a tested bed for next gen engines before they are ported over. DX11 will help this come to being as well imo.

I believe I have heard that PC gaming does better as a console generation drags on and right before the release of the next generation of consoles. I am already getting a bit tired of the PS3/360's graphics and 2012 is a bit to wait for me.

But does this mean that when the new consoles come out, PC gaming will go down the crapper again or even worse?

I wonder if the next console's technical boost will be tiny, like the Gamecube to Wii, due to the latter's immense success. Its funny how many PS3/360 owners look down upon the Wii and hate its casualness and they believe they are hardcore but are shocked when PC gamers look at them the same they do Wii owners. Hypocrites.

 

[phide]

Oh and by the way...PC games are still glitchy and crashy. Always will be. We just don't care

I rarely have issues these days. Left 4 Dead 2 has the tendency to crash when you spawn 400 gas cans, spawn 200 witches on top of those gas cans, then throw a moly in that gas can/witch stew, but aside from that? Rarely an issue.

 

[boxterduke]

PC technology is entering a golden era.
PC gaming software is entering a nadir.

So true.
What is keeping me away from PC Gaming is all the stupid DRM software.
I used to be a 100% PC Gamer with no consoles what so ever in the house.
Now I just buy games for the PS3 and I have not played on the PC for a while.
Not playing saved me cash upgrading hardware. Now I'm happy with my Q6600 and aging 8800GT
If I was playing then that video card would have been upgraded a couple times already.

 

[BravO)))]

So true.
What is keeping me away from PC Gaming is all the stupid DRM software.

Not this again. Drm is a bad, but people made it a lot worse than what it really was. That said, Drm is being phased out for an active cd check, dd program such a steam, or internet key check so things for the pc are getting better.

 

[Oscar Meyer]

I think most PC gamers are just having too high of expectations. They are expecting somekind of exponential "wow" factor that scales with their mhz and texel fillrate. Games are just a medium of entertainment and are flawed just like other mediums. Look at movies. What new movies have come out lately where you had to go "holy shit" as when you first saw Terminator 2 or Jurrassic Park? Its hard to elicit that now when everything's been done to death. So what would have to be new or innovative in PC gaming to do the same? a holodeck?


The first time I had that "wow" factor was when I first saw doom 2 being 3d accelerated. The second time was when I saw Final Fantasy 7 on the PC (Yes a console port). Ever since then, every new "wow" moment has been smaller than the last.We're just getting too saturated with our senses that it's hard to impress further. Expectations too high. It's better to just not expect PC games to be this or that, or console games to be this or that. Rather just think that a good game is a good game and vice versa. Trying to find some kind of "golden days of PC gaming" might just be distracting enough to take the fun out of playing a game.