Are PC Gamers Being Neglected by Developers?

"Watching developers scramble to get their games out on launch day for the PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and now the Wii U just brings to light how neglected the PC is, even though it outpaces all of these systems." | Explosion.com

[dedicatedtogamers]

Um, no, no they're not, especially if you play more than just big-name games that your local Gamestop rep keeps shouting at you to pre-order.

PC games have - among other things - an entire Kickstarter and IndieGoGo craze revolutionizing the indie market for PC games, not to mention the hundreds of WRPGs, shooters, MMOs, adventure games, platformers, and strategy games that come out every year that will never be seen on consoles.

[HammadTheBeast]

They have Steam and Planet side 2. I'd say they,re pretty happy.

[taquito]

yeah....i'm gonna go with no!

boderlands 2 is butter smooth, 1080p, 60 frames, not a jaggie in sight, fov, ssao, 16x af, beautiful, flawless multiplayer connections

sleeping dogs is literally a full generation ahead of the console versions

not to mention 2 of the biggest games of the year are pc exclusives

diablo 3 and guild wars 2, diablo 3 has sold over 10 million, guild wars 2 is at over 4 million and will likely surpass 7 million within a year

new starcraft expansion, mist of panderia, torchlight 2, xcom enemy unknown

and of course, 95% of games on console are all on pc in much, much higher resolutions, better framerates, no jaggies, better draw distance, better shadows, better textures, better everything

everything is better on pc

the only reason i keep my ps3 and 360 is for the rare exclusive and bluray

halo 4 and the last of us are the only console games i will play in the forseeable future, everything else is on pc where it looks a generation beyond anything ps3/360 will ever do

and games like the witcher 2, metro2033, bf3, crysis 2, hard reset look better than anything we will likely see on ps4 or nextbox for years to come

pc-always next gen!

[decrypt]

Well dont forget when the next gen consoles are out, console gamers wont be able to play any of their old games. Unless they decide to hold on to their old boxes and keep rebuying them when they do die(even then good luck with the online content if MS and Sony decide to pull the plug, just like with the last Xbox). Console gaming is just too expensive can never build a library with it.

I personally have over 150 games on Steam. Thousands of older games not a worry in the world that they wont work when the next gen of games arrive.

You are right about only a handful of console exclusives that are really worth playing. Its maybe 1-2 games a year thats about it.

Imo PC is the ultimate gaming machine.

Infact i think its the console gamers that get neglected most of the time by the devs:

No mod support
Many games lack dedicated servers
If the Dev doesnt provide a fix tough luck (as is the case of Skyrim, no community to fix anything).

On PC its rare to see game support being dropped, games keep running for ages, on console Devs just pull the plug on online content so people run to buy the next game.

I think overall its the console gamers that mostly get shafted.

@fatoldman

History has a way of repeating itself, MS and Sony will never like Console gamers to just hold on to old games(think of all the HD remake potential), they might as well drop support for online just so the base can move on. Most likely the way things are going with both of them going with AMD for CPU and GPU solutions it is highly likely BC wont exist. Even if you do decide to stick to your old box, no gaurantee they will keep the online servers. Its only in their interest to drop support soon.

Valve has a lot of competition its highly unlikely they will do anything like that. They know there are many other networks out there waiting to replace them.

[Ducky]

"Well dont forget when the next gen consoles are out, console gamers wont be able to play any of their old games."

We don't really know that, do we?

With Steam, you have to worry about what happens when Valve finally succumbs to the dark side.

[BitbyDeath]

'Most likely the way things are going with both of them going with AMD for CPU and GPU solutions it is highly likely BC wont exist.'

Rumours say Sony are going with Cell.

[Smelly1sam]

Actually what I've heard Valve said they would turn off all of their restrictions to playing the games that you have installed. Also Valve is huge they have as good of a chance to go under as sony/microsoft do.

[Sarcasm]

Borderlands 2 actually has some really good PhysX effects too. I don't care what those Radeon folks say, PhysX looks fantastic when done right. Its just a shame not more games take advantage of it.

[iamgoatman]

Apparently Physx isn't even that difficult to run in BL2 with a AMD card, just so long as you've got a strong CPU.

[tachy0n]

no, have anybody seen the amount of MMO's being released exclusively for PC?

also dont forget the games on steam!

[Kran]

With Ubisoft, yes.

[urwifeminder]

No ive never had it so good ive been rebuying multi plats and am stunned at full 1080p extra detail and smoothness and games are so much cheaper woo hoo.

[deletingthis34675334]

No, if anything more developers are catering to the PC in recent years. PC gaming is seeing a resurgence right now and it is currently the most profitable platform. Sure there are developers out there that release sloppy console ports, but in the grand scheme, things are looking better for PC gaming right now.

[bubblebeam]

"Are PC Gamers Being Neglected by Developers?"
On a whole, yes.
Do I care, no.

At the end of the day we still have mods, and can make games what they were meant to be. PC gaming, while it does recieve some pretty bad console ports, has games of its own.

[Pain_Killer]

We made what skyrim was meant to be.

We modded Crysis 2 to a whole new era with Maldos textures.

We achieved what From Software couldn't while developing dark souls e.g Native 1080p and 60FPS.

We had one of the best looking games of all time, Crysis 1.

[bubblebeam]

Very true. I'd like to add GTA IV, Battlefield (BC), Bulletstorm.

[Somebody]

The used to ignore it but right now it's becoming a hot platform since everyone can make a simple game out of it and milk the gamers dry faster and more consistently than console games. Yes, I'm talking about free to play games. Everyone wants a piece of that pie.

There are old titles that have been revive with the sole purpose of becoming F2Ps like Silent Hunter, Mech Warrior, Age of Empires, Command and Conquer. After years suffering and battling always online DRMs, I'm not liking this kind of resurgence. I thought PC gamers were winning the war against online DRMs only to find out there's an evolved form of it to appear that is infecting the rest.

[hiredhelp]

I gave up my PS3 last winter to build myself another Setup but not just another PC it will be a close door to my console days.. Ive been gaming since 6yrs old now 33 ive had pritty much every console and been in computers since 17yrs old.
My time with consoles have been fantastic my all time faveroute name company will always be Sony purely for there thirst of wide range of games always looking for that next new thing.
But Consoles today are getting more powerfull but still 2gens behind pc and still have higher price tag on games.. With that and other reasons in mind i set out on hanging up my boots and building a top notch rig again and even thoe some publishers choose to push there developers to go console first many have changed that way and now tides turning.
The options on todays gaming world of PC's is unbeatable from Free to Play to new age of indi devs , to devs wanting to go it alone and asking us the gamers for support threw Kickstarters is amazing right down to good old steam with there awsome deals your wallett cant afford but temtptation gets better of you before you know it you got libary games where youve saved bucket loads compared to consoles.
Features most games give u graphic wise is again unbeleavable.
I have bought New AA games on pc costing me from £19.99 -£29.99 witch on consoles be £34.99-£39.99
Saving money now dont get me wrong i miss games such as God of War , GT5,Socom,Killzone list goes on.

Edit must also give attention to the hugly growing modders out there given new leash of life to certain games and creating some great stuff from maps to guns LoL fixing bugs left behind by devs.

[kanetheking]

nope cause i never get a football manager game or a hero's might of magic on the ps3

[dirthurts]

They're coming around. We had a rough spell, but now that consoles are falling soooo far behind, they're wanting more power to play with. Naturally, they're turning to pc.
This, and they finally realized that yes, there is money to be made on pc games. You just have to sell the right product.

[GrahamGolden]

yep

all the games gets exclusives dlc and more exclusive for consoles unlike pc

a stupid example look what offers far cry 3 ps3-xbox content and check pc's

check res6 anthology and check te pc version...NADA

check assasins creed 3 content for ps3 and stand alone game for vita and check what pc gets..again NADA

more more and more. u pc nerds might not like it but consoles games sales triple the numbers of pc games either u admit it or not like it or not agree or disagree this is a simple fact.

very few exceptions like starcraft,diablo and world of wacrap and thats it.

[Wigriff]

Are N4G submissions with controversial headlines crafted specifically to garner hits?

That was meant only as a joke. The semi-sensationalist headline is rather misleading; Sara Swanson can actually write. :)