Console Gaming, Is it the Definitive Gamers Choice . . ?

From XboxOZ360:

"Again many love throwing around this phrase on the internet to get the blood of PC fanboys boiling to an extent, and many know that most articles are just biased towards the console or the PC and not really delving into any reliable information to back up why PC gaming is supposedly dead or why PC owns Consoles and vice-versa, yet the fanboys of both consoles and PC love them.

Over the past few years the gaming industry has made a huge shift from PC to Consoles. Back in the day when you talked about gaming you straight away thought PC or Computer with games such as Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Counter Strike, Starcraft, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft etc… Yet in today's world the moment you talk about games the first thing that comes to your mind is Xbox360/PS3.

You may well ask why? For these 5 basic reasons

• Exclusiveness
• Simplicity
• Community
• Piracy
• Development & Marketing Expenses

For a comprehensive look, hit the link

[Godem]

Nice article, i personally dont think PC gaming is that dead, its just waiting for consoles to trail behind graphically a bit.

The member on that site called 'Shadow Wave' wrote this, which is a VERY GOOD point for + The PC, and i couldn't agree more.

"in the PC’s defense, for THIS generation, Next Gen Consoles are more expensive in the way that buyers have to purchase expensive HDTV’s to get the true experience.

Which works the same with PC’s, you can play the on the lower settings, or upgrade for the better graphics and the ‘true experience’

so imo, in terms of cost at the moment they are both equal.

IMO PC gaming will pickup again in 2 years or so, when PC graphics will be outshining console games dramatically."

Its true, for this generation, you could argue that Consoles required as much money to get them looking AND sounding their best.

[gaminoz]

I hate sitting at a computer to play games. I know some have it hooked up to their tvs, and that there are a lot of adventure and strategy titles that console gamers miss out on, but for me a wireless controller and a Lazy-boy are the way to go.

Also the number of muck ups I've had with games on computer has permanently put me off computer gaming. I'm glad that consoles have 'grown up' and can now display more realistic settings and more mature games. I wasn't really taken with the Sega/NES days.

Still if you like PC that's great. If you like console that's great too. I'm just happy that console gaming has improved so much.

[JsonHenry]

I would throw every console I have ever owned under the bus to spend eternity in console hell if it meant having my gaming rig just one more day.

[Immortal Kaim]

Being a console gamer exclusively I cant really comment on the PC as a gaming platform. It will be interesting to see their perspective on this great article.

I don't think anyone can deny though, the enjoyment of sitting on the lounge, with a massive HDTV and the surround sound blaring :)

[GrathiusXR]

This article took em quite awhile to type up and also digest because there is just so much information regarding the matter on the topics that i have spoken about...

It really is an interesting topic to read and talk about as there are those that think one way and other that think another.

Really guys take a few minutes to read through the article to understand where I'm coming from as i do delve further into the matter and actually discuss my points in each segment to back up my claims.

This is not a console fanboy article, it is a more balanced based article taking in many issues that plague the PC and also the console. and so forth,

[mbmonk]

Intro Section:
- You said "Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Counter Strike, Starcraft, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft etc… " All of these games are coming out on the PC. The only notables that aren't PC exclusives are Valve created games, and they are still best on the PC.

Exclusive Section:
- Who is Sith Lord Jim, and why do you keep quoting him? What makes him quote worthy?
- I think you are using revisionist history. A lot of people think of Nintendo and Sega FIRST when you say gaming. I would imagine many more think of those companies related to gaming than the PC. I don't think the PC was ever the forefront in the gaming public's eye.
- Sales charts != total truth. I agree that Sims and World of Warcraft are the two top sellers, but your article doesn't account for Steam. A lot of these games are sold on Steam. COD 4 was in the top 10 and you glanced right over it. It was in the top 10 and that doesn't account for what it sold on Steam as well.
- Cliffy B != Truth, Cliffy sold 4.5 million on the 360. That is impressive, but WoW sold 4.5 million in a year. It took gears a year and a half to sell that. The two biggest games probably in THE WORLD are PC games. Not ps360 games. Oh and Cliffy gets paid to pull the 360 line. He is just a mouth piece for MS. Even MS admit they are pulling away from the PC as a gaming platform. So Cliffy is just repeating the talking points.

Simplicity Section:
- PC gaming hardware is a nightmare. You have to research you butt of to build a great gaming PC. You have to learn the jargon and acronyms before you can even begin to compare gaming hardware. It should be simpler. Completely agree
- The PS3, as you know, has to do installs to the HDD because the Blu Ray read speeds are crap. But the 360's move to allow installs is even more interesting. The read speeds on the DVD drive are good enough to run a game from the DVD alone. So WHY ARE THEY allowing installs? They don't need the speed increase (BTW, I bet the 30% number released by MS is complete BS. I bet real world testing will show this. MS I am guessing is fudging the numbers to make it sound great). So why the installs for the 360? Because they are facing the issue of having games with multiple DVD's because the game is bigger than 9GB. So they are going to do installs to the hard drive so you don't have to switch disks with GTA5 or MGS4 (if it comes to the 360). ISN'T IT STRANGE HOW THESE CONSOLES ARE BECOME PC'S. It's a common theme that has been happening for years. Installs are coming to the 360 and the PS3. Similar to the PC anyone?
- "John Carmack says no PC Exclusives", But his main point is that the rising cost of developement dictates that. But this isn't just strictly PC gaming. Look at all the games going muliplat on the console front. The cost requires multiplat. Is Carmacks shooter coming the PC? Bet your ass it is. So guess what PC gaming is okay in that scenario.

Community Section:
The PC has a better community. PC gaming has been doing what LIVE is before LIVE.. oh and it's free. Dedicated Server, Free, in game voice and text chat. The only thing Live has is a single sign on for all games. That's it, and it's not worth $50 a year for that. See Xfire and Steam Community.
- DLC, All that premium content you pay for on the ps360 you get for free on the PC. And the games are still $50 dollars on the PC for the most part.
- Mods, I agree with the article.

Piracy Section:
- Mostly agree. I think every download != a lost sale though.
- So why isn't Blizzard and Valve riding the PC piracy train? People steal their games too. I don't hear them crying about it.

Marketing and developement cost section:
- this entire section is a complete cluster f*ck. Almost every point applies to the consoles market as well. This stuff isn't isolated to the PC market. Except for piracy. Again I disagree with the fundemental thesis of "PC gaming was the forefront in the publics eye".
- Titan Quest Closing, Can this guy find anyone else to blame for the game failing besides himself? Pirates, DUMB PLAYERS? (Wow he is reaching now), hardware vendors, and stupid reviewers? Wow. Maybe the game wasn't that good. I passed on it. I played the demo. It was Okay. Maybe it was Iron Lore Entertainments fault.
- You don't have to pay a platform holders fee for the PC. Like you do for the consoles.
- Cliffy says 'unquie' experiences pay off more on the consoles. WoW says high there Cliffy!

That is all for my problems with the article.

I would have assumed that PC gaming would be dead by now. How long have people been saying it's dieing now?

Side Note:
1) Console hardware no longer sucks.
2) PC are thought to be used for the internet and spreadsheet. People don't know that it is a gaming platform. What is the primary reason for a console is to play games. The PC can't focus solely on gaming. It has to do other things. So it can't streamline it's self toward gaming.

[XboxOZ360]

You could possibly go even deeper once you started unraveling the onion skins. As this isn't as easy as Oh mines better than yours sort of thing.

There are far more complex issues at stake now than even just 3-5 years ago. Many younger gamers and even the generations that grew up with just the PS2 and onwards haven't seen the huge changes taking place behind the scenes within the industry.

You're right, once you open it, it's a bit like pandora's box, there's just so much to take into consideration. You could write several major items on this one subject. Which wouldn't be a bad idea actually.

One area many get confused about is the difference between what role a devloper plays in making the game and the publishers role. Many blame a developer for what goes wrong with a game, or likewise the publisher.

Yet some publishers have a heavy hands-on approach with their developers they take on, and some do not. And that to is a story all by its self.

[mistertwoturbo]

I'm just waiting for Starcraft II to get back into my PC gaming mood. Otherwise, the most simplistic reason people like consoles. Is to play it on their TV's. I personally would rather kick back on my bed, and play on my 46" samsung opposed to sitting on my desk 1.5 foot away from the 26" LCD.

and today's consoles are much more advanced than the previous generation. Buy a 360 or PS3, hook that bad boy up to a 5.1 surround sound system. Enjoy movies, and games.

I leave my computer mostly for computer work.

[NewSchoolGamer]

for me because I wanna play MMOs. So I have to upgrade my PC every 2 or 3 years so that I can play that MMO. Not to mention the annoying monthly fees.

[KRUSSIDULL]

YEAH SWEDEN HAS 2% THE GAMES IN TOP 50! ÅÅH SVERIGE FTW!

[ar]

Not bad considering how small Sweden is. =)

[Harry190]

Nuff said. I want to play God Of War,Infamous,white Knight Chronicles,Final Fantasy,LBP and tons of others. That's my choice. $2 inch 1080 p tv,here I come.

[RadientFlux]

I'm an old school pc gamer but shifted over console gaming about 10 years ago when I started making my living working on a computer. I still prefer PC gaming over traditional console games.

Which is why I am such a huge fan of the original Xbox and X360 as it allows me to relax after work and play the games I enjoy on my couch instead of sitting back in front of a computer.

[Rapture333]

The PC experiance for me is an unrivaled experiance that console just hasent matched yet. From gameplay to graphics and the community it's based on, I love it all. PC gaming is my choice gaming platform, it's like playing warhawk then moving on to battlefield 2. Unrivaled.

[Immortal Kaim]

Could you explain in more detail why this is the case? I'm not having a go at you mate, Im just interested in what draws people to the PC as a gaming platform, as I said earlier, I have limited experience with PC gaming.

Cheers

[jinn]

360 is the best of them all