Why PC Gaming Sucks

[Crossed_Body]

But I'm not though. My opinions might be unpopular but again this is a forum for a PC game.

 

Your opinions are unpopular because most of them are based on falsehoods and ignorance.

[PoorLepRecon]

I have news for you: unless you bought your PC this year, it's already outdated.

 

Whether or not it is "outdated" is largely irrelevant. My friend is using an "outdated" ATI 4870, but that slugger can still run Skyrim on pretty much max settings. What matters is how good the hardware you buy is and how well the devs can code the game.

 

PC hardware may be vastly superior in every way, but developers cannot make the most of that. They have to basically design their program to work "reasonably well" on a few select configurations and then hope that everything else in between is alright. With a console, you have exact parameters and specifications for which to design and test your game on. These specifications will never deviate or vary.

 

Yes well these exact perameters hold back the gaming industry by forcing devs to use 7+ year old hardware to make their games on.

[Sinkhan]

I wish you'd actually read thoroughly instead of just browsing through. If you read the link I just posted, you'd know that Crytek is focused now on F2P games. They just said they're not making "premium" games anymore e.g. Crysis or Far Cry. I know you've refused to do this the whole time, but try to read between the lines: they weren't making money making those games. They'd rather make lesser quality F2P games because they think it would make more money.

 

What does this have anything to do with my point? You can suggest all you want about what I may said, but do not think it makes you correct or elevates you to a higher position. Whether or not they are focused on making F2P "lower quality games" has nothing to do with the actual reason why they weren't making money with the other games; that's a result, not a cause.

 

You've still not addressed my original argument. I claimed that developers on the PC are never able to produce a game that is fully optimized for every game system. At most they are able to make a fairly reasonable game on a couple of standard systems; in console development you just make your game the best it can be on one specific hardware platform. The subsequent argument was that developers purposefully make their game less intensive by introducing cartoony graphics. My original argument was completely twisted along this path about how developers and consumers are less concerned about the graphics nowadays, but a sound argument to challenge my first suggestion has not been presented.

 

In essence, my overarching point is that PC gaming sacrifices a lot of efficiency for flexibility. Crytek didn't fail because they made a realistic game, they failed because they made a realistic game that wouldn't run on most people's computers. They made an engine that wasn't particularly optimized at first (although they did do a bit in Warhead), but capable of rendering some pretty impressive graphics. Now imagine a world where PC was just another console. If you took top of the line hardware from the era of Crytek's release and put it on a machine that Crytek specifically optimized for and nothing else and then expected everyone to have the same thing, Crysis would run fabulously on it.

 

And you just supported my point again. Crytek produced a top notch game and it tanked. While PCs do have the advantage of having superior technical details, it doesn't actually play out that way in real life. It's just some point PC gamers use to say "see? PC is better" while playing a game that could be played on a console.

 

It is here that I think you just like arguing with people for the sake of it. This argument was always in support of your OP. For the same cost, you will always get a machine that will be able to run games less efficiently, but that's more attributed to the game and not the hardware. This leads to you having to tend to have to pay more for the same performance.

 

Also, can you veer away from trying to psychologically analyze me? It's kind of pathetic coming from a guy who writes about Runescape.

 

Psychological analysis? Where? Pointless ad hominem?

It's kind of pathetic coming from a guy who writes about Runescape.

 

Right here!

 

If you want commentary, I will say your argumentative style relies heavily on logical fallacies.

 

I have news for you: unless you bought your PC this year, it's already outdated.

 

Whether or not it is "outdated" is largely irrelevant. My friend is using an "outdated" ATI 4870, but that slugger can still run Skyrim on pretty much max settings. What matters is how good the hardware you buy is and how well the devs can code the game.

 

PC hardware may be vastly superior in every way, but developers cannot make the most of that. They have to basically design their program to work "reasonably well" on a few select configurations and then hope that everything else in between is alright. With a console, you have exact parameters and specifications for which to design and test your game on. These specifications will never deviate or vary.

 

Yes well these exact perameters hold back the gaming industry by forcing devs to use 7+ year old hardware to make their games on.

 

It certainly is; but for the time being it does allow developers to produce a refined and optimized product. Over the years the graphics quality of games has steadily improved on the console, but the hardware really hasn't (Mostly just HD sizing and measures to shrink the physical model and reduce cooling) It can be largely attributed to developers learning the technical limitations and specifications of hardware and then exploiting everything they can about it.

 

Gran Turismo 5 looks stunning and is a noticeable improvement to GT5:Prologue.

[Aeon_]

Regardless of whether I'll get jumped on for my opinion, this argument is silly. It's like comparing a flintlock pistol to a modern day rifle. Of course a Gaming PC is ACTUALLY better for gaming, as it has upgrades constantly appearing, whereas the X360/PS3 is stuck with 6-7 year old technology. But a real point I don't think anyone has addressed is the fact a fairly large percentage of gamers are teenagers, or in their 20s. They generally don't have the spare money for buying a good quality PC. I personally at least, got both my laptop (£250) and X360 (£250 at the time) from my parents, as did the overwhelming majority of teenagers, and maybe even a few college students. Looking up some statistics I found 15% of gamers are teenagers. That's 15% of people that play the games in the first place that probably didn't buy it in the first place. Your average parent won't buy you a £750 gaming computer for your birthday/christmas.

[Were]

Skyrim on Xbox360? Loading screens that take 20-30 seconds? Very small FOV? No mods? No thanks, Ill stick to my PC, short loading times and tweaking settings to my liking.

[Estonian dude]

I kinda thought this thread would be the most popular thread on the forums for some time. And this thread, all by itself already kinda makes the point, why the PC community is bad. The truth is, every system is so widespread that they all have some silly idiotic trolling morons among the userbase.

 

I personally am a bit more of a PC guy, but the truth is that for sports games and action games (and racing, since I don't have a wheel) I prefer consoles any day. Purely because of the controller. There is something magical with analog sticks that makes them a lot more comfortable than the keyboard. And the controlled pressure on face buttons on PS controller, for example... Having half a gas on a curve in GT5 -> impossible to go back.

Consoles also have awesome exclusives, that really bring out the positive sides of consoles. As said, even with such inferior hardware, games like Uncharted 2 and 3 look so amazing that it makes some newest PC games look outdated.

For FPS's and RTS's I'll take the PC any day. Mouse and keyboard are the only way to go.

Everything else lies in between.

[indy500fan]

I love PC gaming, and I find it vastly superior to console gaming. But I also don't really give a crap whether anyone else thinks that or not. If someone found game apps on the phone to be the ultimate way to play, I would not agree with them at all but also wouldn't really care if they did think that way.

[sohkmj1]

I do PC gaming, with consoles the only way to communicate is with a headset (as far as I know anyways), which I don't like, to the point where I just mute people using voice chat.

And also because I never had a console growing up, so I played everything on a PC.

[jasignhagj]

Snip

 

This should be fun.

 

Piracy-DRM

 

Only shitty developers resort to excessive DRM. This is a pretty weak argument, there are very few games on PC that have DRM that is even that disruptive, and there is usually a crack to get around it if it's causing you problems.

 

And Diablo 3 is always online not because of priacy, but because of the auction house.

 

Expenses

 

You say that $500 is necessary, but everyone needs a computer anyways. For $200 - $300 you can turn your home PC into a gaming computer easily. For this comparison to be fair, you also need to remember that the console were $500+ on release. That's not even considering games, which are insanely more expensive for console. As of now there are only 6 game on steam that cost $60. Almost every major console release is $60 or more at release, and the price stays that high for a long time. PC platforms like steam and amazon have amazing prices to begin with, and often hold sales where you can get popular titles for 75% or more off. They even sell the entire catalogue of certian publishers for up to 90% off.

 

Bugs / Glitches / etc.

 

Another baseless argument. To start things off, all games list the required specs to run the game at minimum and recommended settings. If you buy a game without knowing how much RAM you need to run it, it is entirely your fault. As for actual bugs, apparently you never play console games either if you genuinely think only PC games have bugs. The difference is pushing a patch is much easier on PC, and should the developers ignore the bug, the community can still fix the issue on PC, while the console player is stuck with a broken game.

 

It's Less Comfortable

 

100% your opinion. Personally I play Xbox on my monitor and in a computer chair, because I have a harder time aiming properly on a large screen or when lounging on a couch.

 

Your display/graphics argument is just stupid. First, all HDTVs over 40" are 1080p these days, so I'm not sure what you're talking about there. When your console is outputting 720p on a 1080p TV, it's going to look blurry because that's not the TV's native resolution. Resolution is just one of many things that affect graphics anyways. Consoles output lower quality textures. Look at a brick wall up close on a console. It will probably look blurry. On PC, that texture will be much sharper. Consoles also have lower polygon models, so details on objects will be missing. PC also has anti aliasing. Notice how straight lines look jagged in console games? On PC you can use anti aliasing to smooth the lines out so they look way better.

 

It's Less Social

 

Splitscreen is probably the best feature that consoles have, although personally I'd prefer to have a whole screen that a quarter of one to play on. LAN parties are actually quite fun, you shouldn't judge them based on one photo off the internet.

 

Crappy community

 

I hope you're joking. Console communities are just awful. Last time I played COD, someone felt the need to call me a "[bleep]ing [bleep] who likes to [bleep] your dad" and reminded me that "I [bleep]ed your mom last night and she liked it. Tell her the tip is under the pillow". When I play any PC game with the exception of LoL, the community is far more mature. It looks like you're judging the PC community by the less mature players in Runescape.

 

Borrowing games / Instant play

 

While you can't lend digital downloads to a friend on PC or console, I can log into my steam account on my friend's computer and play my games there. Next generation of consoles will likely be exclusively digital downloads anyways. Developers are already restricting the ability to share console games with online access passes and the like.

 

As for instant play, I'll take the extra speed and quieter noise level of a hard drive over the slow, jet engine noise of the Xbox disk drive any day. Installing games is hardly painful, I can't remember the last time an install took me more than 10 minutes.

 

_

 

I don't think consoles are useless, although I would say PC gaming is superior. I own an Xbox because of Halo and GoW, plus all my friends have one and only a few have gaming PCs (although I am converting them).

 

EDIT: Completely forgot to mention a major plus for PC, Modding. A game like Skyrim is way more fun on PC because of the countless mods you can install.

[Sbrideau]

I thought this thread was locked?

 

Also I just skimmed over the last post, but I wanted to point this out:

 

Snip

 

 

Crappy community

 

I hope you're joking. Console communities are just awful. Last time I played COD, someone felt the need to call me a "[bleep]ing [bleep] who likes to [bleep] your dad" and reminded me that "I [bleep]ed your mom last night and she liked it. Tell her the tip is under the pillow". When I play any PC game with the exception of LoL, the community is far more mature. It looks like you're judging the PC community by the less mature players in Runescape.

 

 

 

It looks like you're judging he console community by the less mature players in COD.

[Alg]

Crappy community

 

I hope you're joking. Console communities are just awful. Last time I played COD, someone felt the need to call me a "[bleep]ing [bleep] who likes to [bleep] your dad" and reminded me that "I [bleep]ed your mom last night and she liked it. Tell her the tip is under the pillow". When I play any PC game with the exception of LoL, the community is far more mature. It looks like you're judging the PC community by the less mature players in Runescape.

PC gamers do have their fair share of elitists, though, and they can be quite unpleasant to talk to. I've got something of a theory about that...

It seems to be a matter of accessibility - Part of the appeal of consoles is that they're extremely accessible: All you need to do is plug it into your TV and you can play any of its games. That puts it in the hands of loud [wagon]. They might not even be in the majority, but they stand out.

 

PCs on the other hand require knowledge of computers. You can't just plug it in and expect it to play any game, and often it takes work to get the experience you want out of it. The end result is that your community isn't comprised of anyone with disposable income, though it does include people who think their knowledge makes them better than everyone and can't wait to share. Again, they're not the majority, but they're the ones everyone sees.

 

Of course, you'll also have [wagon] no matter what game you play. That's not a matter of what platform you're using, it probably has more to do with the anonymous nature of online interactions and competitive games. Consoles are just available to everyone instead of people with a knowledge of computers (That knowledge is probably also what allows people on this thread to get good computers so cheaply. Your mileage may vary).

 

My preference is just to not use voice chat in any game. It works surprisingly well. There's no risk of running into vulgar twelve year olds in a single player game, unless the writers stuck one in under everyone's noses :razz:

[champion]

The PC gaming community is full of pseudo-intellectual neckbeards.

[Bubs]

The console gaming community is full of prepubescent inbreds.

 

(Which had sexual intercourse with my mother, and possibly sister/father/dog/kitchen table, last night.)

 

 

 

I'll stick with PC for obvious reasons.

 

 

EDIT: They also defecate on my chest.

[jasignhagj]

I thought this thread was locked?

 

Also I just skimmed over the last post, but I wanted to point this out:

 

Snip

 

 

Crappy community

 

I hope you're joking. Console communities are just awful. Last time I played COD, someone felt the need to call me a "[bleep]ing [bleep] who likes to [bleep] your dad" and reminded me that "I [bleep]ed your mom last night and she liked it. Tell her the tip is under the pillow". When I play any PC game with the exception of LoL, the community is far more mature. It looks like you're judging the PC community by the less mature players in Runescape.

 

 

 

It looks like you're judging he console community by the less mature players in COD.

 

Cod was just the most recent example I had. In Gears, Halo, BF3, Madden and even Civilization players who act like that are in the majority. That's not to say that there aren't some nice people on Xbox Live, but title for title the people I play with on PC are much nicer and more willing to play as a team.

 

Snip

PC gamers do have their fair share of elitists, though, and they can be quite unpleasant to talk to. I've got something of a theory about that...

That theory actually makes a lot of sense.

 

I try to not come off as a PC elitist, except in response to hyperbolic arguments like Faux's.

[Sir_Squab]

I kinda thought this thread would be the most popular thread on the forums for some time. And this thread, all by itself already kinda makes the point, why the PC community is bad. The truth is, every system is so widespread that they all have some silly idiotic trolling morons among the userbase.

 

I personally am a bit more of a PC guy, but the truth is that for sports games and action games (and racing, since I don't have a wheel) I prefer consoles any day. Purely because of the controller. There is something magical with analog sticks that makes them a lot more comfortable than the keyboard. And the controlled pressure on face buttons on PS controller, for example... Having half a gas on a curve in GT5 -> impossible to go back.

Consoles also have awesome exclusives, that really bring out the positive sides of consoles. As said, even with such inferior hardware, games like Uncharted 2 and 3 look so amazing that it makes some newest PC games look outdated.

For FPS's and RTS's I'll take the PC any day. Mouse and keyboard are the only way to go.

Everything else lies in between.

 

What's stopping you from getting something resembling a PS controller for the PC?

 

Also, people, stop saying the PC or console community sucks. Both of them have douchebags, both of them will have [wagon]. A certain amount of it will depend on the game you play.

[Estonian dude]

I actually do have one remote that I can use on both. And with a little magic, I can play with my Sony PS3 controller aswell.

But simply that's not the same. PC has games designed for mouse and keyboard, while consoles have games designed for controllers.

[Crossed_Body]

PC has games designed for mouse and keyboard, while consoles have games designed for controllers.

 

PC has games designed for mouse and keyboard, but that doesn't mean the controller isn't the superior alternative at times. Being "designed for" doesn't necessarily mean that option is the best one.

 

 

Console shooters are designed for the controller, but a mouse and keyboard would be the superior option. Games like Assassin's Creed where you don't have to aim are on PC too, and a controller is arguably the better option for those too. Darksiders is another exampel of that.

[Alg]

Console shooters are designed for the controller, but a mouse and keyboard would be the superior option. Games like Assassin's Creed where you don't have to aim are on PC too, and a controller is arguably the better option for those too. Darksiders is another exampel of that.

As much as they're meant to be played on the PC, even the Elder Scrolls games are better played on a controller if you're a stealth-based character: you have more control over your movement speed thanks to the stick, while on a PC you're limited to toggling between the fastest speed and a generic 'slow' speed.

[Crossed_Body]

As much as they're meant to be played on the PC, even the Elder Scrolls games are better played on a controller if you're a stealth-based character: you have more control over your movement speed thanks to the stick, while on a PC you're limited to toggling between the fastest speed and a generic 'slow' speed.

 

I just did a pacifict + foxiest of hounds playthrough of deus ex human revolution on my pc, no shooting, sneaking only. And it worked perfectly. Normally, those speed thresholds are perfectly fine for stealth.

[Alg]

As much as they're meant to be played on the PC, even the Elder Scrolls games are better played on a controller if you're a stealth-based character: you have more control over your movement speed thanks to the stick, while on a PC you're limited to toggling between the fastest speed and a generic 'slow' speed.

 

I just did a pacifict + foxiest of hounds playthrough of deus ex human revolution on my pc, no shooting, sneaking only. And it worked perfectly. Normally, those speed thresholds are perfectly fine for stealth.

They usually are, but for a long time I played Oblivion on a console (inb4heresy), so it's just something that I missed when I made the switch to PC. The speeds are perfect, I just got used to having that kind of control over it.

 

As with everything else in this thread, it comes down to personal preference.

[Ginger_Warrior]

I can't really contribute anything to this thread, because I've never really gamed much on a PC, especially not online. I've frankly been priced out of it because the hardware costs too much, both upfront and on an annual basis to keep it up-to-date with minimum game system requirements. Perhaps therein lies a point.

[Bubs]

It's been said countless times so far, but the cost is not nearly as high as people make it out to be, and the annual upgrades are just a straight up lie lol

[Sbrideau]

Right on that, I built my PC 3 years ago for $700 and it still plays every game I throw at it at the highest setting with a great FPS amount. Thing is, I still prefer consoles.

[Guest jrhairychest]

I love PC gaming, and I find it vastly superior to console gaming. But I also don't really give a crap whether anyone else thinks that or not. If someone found game apps on the phone to be the ultimate way to play, I would not agree with them at all but also wouldn't really care if they did think that way.

 

Pretty much this. I've been gaming in my spare time for near 30 years now and owned a lot of computers and consoles in my time. Still can't beat PC games.

[Ginger_Warrior]

Even at $700 I could buy two home consoles for that. Could probably get all three preowned.

 

Until PC gaming becomes 'mainstream' I'll stick to that opinion. If we assume that PC games are superior to their console counterparts--which, for what it's worth, I honestly believe that they are by virtue of the fact PCs are simply more powerful--then why are so many people still playing those very same games on consoles which provide an inferior experience?

 

The facts don't add up. If PC gaming really is better, then you have to concede that something, somewhere else, isn't going right.