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Why PC game?

G

GaiusBaltar

n00b
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
5
I hope nobody takes this post the wrong way. With that being said 'Why do people play games on their PC as opposed to a console'? I had a gaming PC back in the day for Half Life 2, Max Payne, Soldier of Fortune and my personal favorite game of all time, Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast. Amongst others these games weren't being offered on consoles at the time. Now that the PC has so very few exclusive titles why do people still game on a PC?
I know there is a graphical and performance jump but is it really that significant? I prefer playing on a controller so keyboard and mouse isnt that important to me. I really dont like MMOs or RTS games.
With all of that being said im interested in building a gaming PC once again but Im not really sure of what games stand out on the PC anymore. Would a 600 dollar PC outperform an Xbox 360 outright and completely? Thanks for reading.
 
Sounds like you already answered some of your own questions. PCs are definitely better for RTS and MMORPG type games. It's also better, IMO, for FPS games due to a keyboard and mouse being far superior to a controller.
 
1. Better graphics.
2. Mouse and keyboard support.
3. No Xbox Live requirement for online gaming.
4. Higher skill threshold in multiplayer games. A keyboard and mouse are much easier to use than a controller, so PC players become much better than console players and are therefore more of a challenge.
5. Flexibility: I have a wireless Xbox 360 controller and PC receiver, so I can always use that to play games with if I choose, as opposed to consoles where I would be forced to use a controller no matter what.
6. PC-exclusive games appeal to me more than console-exclusive games. I'd rather play STALKER than Halo.
 
Sims. I don't mean flying or racing games, but flight sims and racing sims. They just don't work with console controllers.
 
A hand built $600 PC destroys an xbox360 interms of graphics games wise the best thing you can do is go to steampowered.com and browse around most every popular game on PC is on steam now. Most all have videos and demos.
 
Control. You have so much control over game settings, there's more buttons, you're not limited to relying on crappy voice chat in every game (which when you live with somebody else can be an issue - or if you just don't feel like talking to a bunch of whining 12 year olds).

You can also tweak/mod games a LOT more than any console. Yeah, certain PC games (mostly console ports, lol) are locked down from tweaking/modding, but more are open to it and most popular games have active modding communities that can completely transform the game.
 
I can concur to whats been posted above. Consoles are mediocre at best. graphics are terrible, pay to play online sucks & just the overall experience playing on a console really isnt that great. Plus you cant beat the Steam sales period. Metro 2033 for a console is like 55 bucks I just bought it on steam for 10 bux lol

Plus the games are more expensive then PC games & pc games look 100 times better.
 
Please use the search feature to find other threads,really, this has been covered a billion times already on [H] and always ends the same, some person claiming a controller is more accurate then a mouse and so on.
 
Your post has just flooded my mind with reasons that I really don't want to spend the time typing out.

So I'll just say gaming on a pc has always been better than gaming on a console to me, at least since '94 or so. Despite the PC not having many exclusives these days, I'll still take the multiplatform PC version over xbox/ps3 any day.
 
pay on one screen, porn on a second, work on a third, streaming music in the background, alt-tab to go browsing. really just a much more rounded experience for everything I do.
 
GaiusBaltar said:
I know there is a graphical and performance jump but is it really that significant?
Click to expand...

Oh yes, big time. I've compared a few multi platform games on my pc to my 360 on the same screen at 1920x1080. The games on the pc look near perfect, where as the 360 games look have the upscaled ugly look to them. My tv hides the scaling a little better, but my monitor shows just how dated console games look.

but I still like playing console games, don't get me wrong. :)
 
I like being able to tweak games. For example being able to turn off the blinding amounts of bloom from the medal of honor beta almost made the game playable.
 
Majinhoju said:
Oh yes, big time. I've compared a few multi platform games on my pc to my 360 on the same screen at 1920x1080. The games on the pc look near perfect, where as the 360 games look have the upscaled ugly look to them. My tv hides the scaling a little better, but my monitor shows just how dated console games look.

but I still like playing console games, don't get me wrong. :)
Click to expand...

This!
 
Mods & Tweaks.

I play old consoles everyday though. Usually my Super Nintendo or Playstation 1.
 
I am the type of person who simply prefers an all-in-one machine. That's why it's PC for me. Not only can it play games but also can do more than what consoles can do. However, I still own a PS3 for exclusive game titles and for having parties.
 
Five words:

Keyboard Mouse World Wide Web

edit: Interestingly enough, all of these things also apply to the Sony Playstation 3 in a way.
 
Another thing: I wait for sales before buying PC games, so I end up getting them for considerably less than console games cost. While it's true that console games end up cheaper down the line, PC games tend to be discounted sooner and by a larger amount than console games. The base price is also lower (a new release console game here costs $70 at retail, compared to $40-50 for most new PC games).
 
GaiusBaltar said:
I had a gaming PC back in the day for Half Life 2, Max Payne, Soldier of Fortune and my personal favorite game of all time, Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast. Amongst others these games weren't being offered on consoles at the time. Now that the PC has so very few exclusive titles why do people still game on a PC?
Click to expand...

Wait, that counts as back in the day?


Anywho, for a specific example-- I (finally) got to playing The Witcher. I understand that the console version is quite different, so I'm not sure how its handled on them, but on the PC the inventory management flat out sucks. In short, it's too small. Trekking back and forth to an inn to store items is tedious (or impossible, depending on where you're at in the game). I don't need that sort of design flaw getting in my way of enjoying a game.

So I hit up google and found a quick inventory mod. Problem solved in a few seconds and I can fully enjoy the game. And hot damn, what a game it was. On a console, I'd be forced to live with a stupid design choice.

And then everything else everyone already mentioned. Cheaper game prices, more tweaks/control of product, better detail, better control options, etc. etc. etc.
 
Wenglish said:
Anywho, for a specific example-- I (finally) got to playing The Witcher. I understand that the console version is quite different
Click to expand...
There is no console version of The Witcher. It was in development, but it's been put on hold indefinitely and at this point will probably never be released.
 
We should make an archive of these threads, or maybe give them their own hidden little spot on the forums. Make them a category that is so small nobody can read, and mods will just move them there until they disappear.
 
because I hate moving to the TV just to play a game. If its available for PC then most likely I'll choose the PC version over consoles.

I hate inserting/swapping disks all the time...ok thats a bit of a stretch but PC/Steam is so convinient for managing games, connecting with people multi-tasking etc the PC platform is waaaay more flexible than consoles will ever be.
 
Decko87 said:
We should make an archive of these threads, or maybe give them their own hidden little spot on the forums. Make them a category that is so small nobody can read, and mods will just move them there until they disappear.
Click to expand...
This.

The merits of PC gaming are obvious and plentiful.
 
PC is where the console learned its place I like to think. You couldn't have consoles without it , for gaming PCs excel at FPS , RTS and MMO gaming. PCs sit at the bleeding edge of technology and pioneer many console innovations.

I can understand why some people prefer console gaming , its far more simple and there generally isn't hardware hassle to deal with (at least nothing like it can be on PC) and its cheaper. But you also lose out on graphics and some of the strongest MP community's.

I see console MP community's as something of a flighty thing. For some games its quite strong (Halo) but I think what appeals to people like us on this forum is that personally choice is the best part. Being able to customize and modify a game to your liking isn't something you can achieve on consoles (at least not to the degree you can on the PC by far).

I don't have a problem personally with console gamers , I console game from time to time and its how I stay in contact with my brother over seas. I just know my roots are in PC gaming and will be for as long as it sticks around ... which I don't see it going anywhere any time soon.
 
The way I see it everyone needs to buy a PC. They use it for all sorts of things. I consider PC gaming to have several advantages associated with simplification and cost effectiveness. I have many members in my family and each need access to a PC with steam we can get a bunch of games free and we can use better computers that are more enjoyable to use because they are built to handle games. I just say take the money you would have spent on a console and apply it toward upgrading your PC. Also the console is just a loss leader trap. Once you get it every game and accessory is far more expensive to purchase and use. Think about similar controllers for PC are around $10 vs $50 for consoles. Of course you do not even need a controller with a PC.


Also I consider PC gaming to be an educational experience. You learn how to work a computer and interact with the computer world and the internet. This seems stupid to you but for alot of people it is not really trivial. If you give them a console they never really learn anything. Stick disk in play.

Anyhow its probably a waste because eventually the thing that makes more money for companies tends to win out.
 
The gap between console generations is generally 5 years. In that time the console's hardware becomes obsolete and technology tends to stagnate since there's only so much you can do on a 3+ year old machine with 512MB of ram.

It used to be that even late in a console's life, PC gamers would get games that were developed specifically for mid to high-end PCs, and would have to be stripped down to port to a console. Now, though, games are made stripped down then ported to the PC. It's sad, but publishers know where the money is and developers like developing for one specific set of hardware. After that they can just dump it off to some lowly flophouse dev for the PC port.
 
As others have said it is user interface. If consoles (and console) games supported keyboard/mouse then I would probably be content with a console. The sad thing is that these devices CAN support keyboard/mouse but the vendors discourage/disable the ability to use such devices. Some games do indeed work better with a controller but most of the games *I* like perform better with a keyboard/mouse.

GaiusBaltar said:
I hope nobody takes this post the wrong way. With that being said 'Why do people play games on their PC as opposed to a console'? I had a gaming PC back in the day for Half Life 2, Max Payne, Soldier of Fortune and my personal favorite game of all time, Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast. Amongst others these games weren't being offered on consoles at the time. Now that the PC has so very few exclusive titles why do people still game on a PC?
I know there is a graphical and performance jump but is it really that significant? I prefer playing on a controller so keyboard and mouse isnt that important to me. I really dont like MMOs or RTS games.
With all of that being said im interested in building a gaming PC once again but Im not really sure of what games stand out on the PC anymore. Would a 600 dollar PC outperform an Xbox 360 outright and completely? Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...
 
Zero82z said:
There is no console version of The Witcher. It was in development, but it's been put on hold indefinitely and at this point will probably never be released.
Click to expand...


Learn something new every day. Probably a good thing it wasn't released. I remember seeing a few articles about it (and it also shows you just how much I pay attention to the console market).
 
I concur with most of the reasons given by other posters. I would feel bad shelling out money for something solely being used for gaming, but if it's also used as a blu ray player, power point presenter for group meetings/study sessions, etc., then I feel like I'm getting more out of my purchase. Games look better on the PC than on consoles. I love modding my games, which is a problem on consoles. Finally, being able to customize settings is a big bonus for me as well.

I saw a commercial for the PS3 Move, and man, I really hope it gets adapted to PC like the Xbox controller has.
 
My favorite reason is the you get to design, build and tweak your own rig. You can build anything from a budget banger to a quad SLI dream system. Then you get to tweak it with overclocks, cooling and mods. I enjoy that as much as the games sometimes.
 
I can never get the hang of the double thumb joysticks for aiming for any games. >_< Keyboard/mouse moving/aiming is so much easier.

And you can't carry your console around like I can with my laptop. :p
 

My question to you is Why not PC game? The experience is just better

I own the 360, PS3 and Wii. The PS3 gets used for watching Blue Rays. My son and I game on our consoles rarely. He had to have a 360 because his friends had one. It gathers dust. We game 98% of the time on our PCs.....The PC platform is just more fun and worth every penny.

You stated you used to PC game. If you recall it used to cost $1000+ for a decent gaming PC. Now you can build one for $600.

I've found that I've wasted $1000s of dollars on consoles I rarely play since the PS2......Don't be a victim. ;)
 
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I own a PS3, Xbox 360, and a Wii and all of them are connected. I kit you not, I still have unwrap games for my PS3 that I have yet to played including God Of war 3. On my PC I have a Nvidia surround portrait setup and I just feel more @ home playing games on my PC. Maybe because I can alt-tab and work on things or msg my friends. I think PC got even better now that we have somewhat of standard controller the X-Box 360. I can now enjoy platform games better in my opinion. Right now I am playing Batman AA on the PC and love it. The only thing I hate is I only get to game for about 1.5 hours on the weekdays, due to family, work and exercise. My 2 cents
 
sings, "anything you can do i can do better"

only downside to PC gaming versus console is that it costs more. That said, the cost of a desktop v. a budget gaming rig isn't much more than the cost of an xbox. When you add in the fact that there are no steam sales, that difference shrinks more.

graphics are better
kb/m OR controller (depending on game)
multiplayer is free
less kiddies on multiplayer
 
Zero82z said:
3. No Xbox Live requirement for online gaming.
Click to expand...

This for the WIN!!!!!! Seriously I've gone through to many of these threads and I know there are others here chomping at the mouth to answer your questions, so I'll pass. But not having to pay for online gaming is huge. Sure I could have Xbox Live silver, but then I can't play online unless its the weekend and are restricted to when I get those new demos... No thanks MS$.
 
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