Why this Lifetime Console Gamer is Going PC

VelocityGamer writes: It’s undeniable that plenty of PC gamers and console owners just don’t get along. Most of this is due to the fact that some games are scaled down for PC owners because of console restrictions and console owners not getting the same quality PC owners receive.

[notimetobeidle]

Welcome to the world of easy screenshots. I love it.

[Hockeydud19]

don't forget screen recording. No more dazzle or easy cap haha

[evrfighter]

and dont forget when your buddies start switching over. It don't matter what game you're playing you'll always be able to talk to each other over your headset in crystal clear quality. not that 80's sounding console crap.

That and I've been enjoying Deus EX: HR in 1080p dx11 max settings @ 100fps. I couldn't have asked for a more silky smooth buttery fluid game.

[MaxXAttaxX]

I always have something to look forward to. The next big system.

I get the feeling I have to do everything with PC. Making sure I'm up to speed with everything, etc.

[Substance101]

@nathanexplosion

Clearly your comments show you dont have a gaming PC.

With console you are stuck up waiting for Sony and MS to give you that new hardware. Just read some of the threads these days where more then 50% of you are anxiously waiting for that new hardware but are just locked out at 6 yr old tech and yea that next big console system will be using dated PC tech doesnt look so big anymore.

Any mid range system made in the last few years doesnt need to have its specs checked before buying a game. Most midrange systems of last few years run everything maxed out. Its because this gen games are being heldback by console tech. Devs look at consoles as the lowest denominator, and since 4year old PC tech is far ahead of consoles most games arent stressful on hardware at all.

Good old 8800GTX still playing games in 1080p more then invalidates your comments.

Yes when a game like BF3 does role out then you will need a more uptodate system to run max settings, however the same game on console is now running in a butchered way. Its not even the same game as on PC. Yet a 3-4 year old rig one equipped with a 8800GTX will again be playing BF3 in DX 10 mid - high settings 1080p, which is again leagues ahead of console.

[MaxXAttaxX]

I've bought two PCs in the past 4 years.
A laptop which cost about the same as a PS3 back in 2007. And a desktop which was at least $200 more.
They're both completely inferior to current consoles.

[Hassassin]

@NathanExplosion ...Did you buy mac's????

[ATi_Elite]

I guess you mean FRAPS!!! The handy dandy PC tool that lets you record your games, edit them, and tells you how many Frames per second as well.

[Theonetheonly]

Finally. ;)

[NicSage]

PC rigs can be pretty expensive. I'm thinking about getting a new video card, but the price of the card is more than a new PS3.

[Rush]

It also out performs the PS3's video card about 10 to 1, when you look at it from that prospective it's not asking for to much.

[MaxXAttaxX]

10 to 1 is a great exaggeration.

[-LUKE_SKYWALKER-]

Consoles are a poor mans way of getting his gaming fix.

[NicSage]

I don't think it's so much of a poor mans fix, rather ease of use. I think consoles are less of a headache when it comes to ease of use, tho i've had 2 ps3 repaired and my 4 year old pc is still going strong. So in the long run my pc has come out to be about the same price.

Consoles just seem easier turn it on, things auto update, new features.

Steam makes this pretty easy as well, auto updates, cheaper games in the long run.

I really do enjoy using a controller & the Move, it's lots of fun very similar to using a mouse for some games.

I have lots of family that uses consoles and not PCs so much, so it's a better fit to play games with them on there.

@Rush - MY 9800GT looks better than my ps3, so yeah I know quality of a great video card ;) I'm going to get a 560 Ti from evga, the 2gb version. it's 299.99 but thats only like 70bucks more than the 1gb version. Should improve performance of games big time.
Heck even my 9800 runs games at highest settings except for shadows and some particle stuff like smoke, that seems to drop the framerate quite a bit so I just lower those. I think I should be able to run everything very well with a smokin card like that.

I've got a Core Duo 3.0 E8400, with 4gb of ram. Forget the speed on my ram, but i'm very surpised how well it runs games still and my video card needs an upgrade big time imo it only has 512mb, could play BF3 pretty well with a new one, as well as diablo 3. Two of the biggest pc games i would want to play.

[majiebeast]

Or maybe it just has good games that the pc doesnt get you elitist prick.

[Bladesfist]

@Majiebeast Debatable

[bumnut]

@ferrarifan

Not everyone likes GT5 and Killzone, PC has a much greater variety of games than all consoles combined.

I do agree that Lukes comment made him look a dick.

Most people play consoles for ease of use, not because they are poor.

[Jormungandr]

really... you know where I can get a new PS3 for $180? Tell me... I need to replace mine.

And no $180 didn't come out of thin air. I just dropped $180 on a new video card in April and there isn't a game on the market or coming out in the next year that I wont be able to play max settings @720p.

Oh and the computer I put that video card in is 4 years old already. Built it in early 2007. 2gigs DDR2 800 Ram. Core 2 Duo 2.1ghz. Plays Crysis 2 max settings 1080p no noticeable frame drop.

I expect it to last me 3 years... probably start having to back off on the graphic settings in about a year and a half. The fun part? That $500 video card isn't going to last more than 3 years ether. Maybe an extra 3-5 months, tops.

4gigs of ram, $200 video card... done. Other than those two spec you can't buy a computer under powered enough that it can't play the latest games... they don't make them any more.

Seriously, people need to stop gouging themselves on expensive parts that ultimately don't make the games run any faster or better. If you spend more than $200 on a video card you're ether an idiot, looking for bragging rights, or aren't buying it for gaming.

[Bladesfist]

720p has less than half the detail of 1080p. Do the maths. I prefer my games running at 1080p at 60fps. I honestly have a problem with how blury 720p looks.

[Jormungandr]

You must have amazing vision. That or one really friggen huge TV. Based on everything I've read and my own personal experience: below 60" 720p and 1080p are indistinguishable to the casual observer.

And getting a $500 video card wont save you from having to upgrade your video card again in a year to keep your 1080p resolution going. If your dead set on playing at 1080p then buy a video card for around $120 and replace it every year. The performance difference between a $180 video card and a $500 one really just isn't that great. About 10fps under real world conditions. Meanwhile the difference between a video card made this year and one made next year could be as much as 30fps. It makes better sense to buy cheep and often.

And it's not likely your brain can even register 60fps. Let me ask you this... do dvd movies look like they flicker to you? Because the dvd standard requires a 29.97 fps frame rate. Even when they are using progressive scan it's 29.97 fps. HDTV standards typically run at 24 fps. And blue-ray for non-3d movies uses 29.97 fps again. They double it for 3d.

[Awesome-Xanto]

I use to be a PC gamer, but I left it long ago, and I rarely return to it now. Slightly better graphics are not enough to make me go from the confront of my couch and big screen TV, with a predefined system to the PC, the gameplay is still the same. I also like having everything on ONE service. With PC gaming going from Steam, to Orgins, to GFWL... I just want everything tied to ONE account.

I'm also not fan if digital downloads either, and with PC gaming being primarily digital... I don't know how long it will be before retail PC games are no longer available.

[joab777]

I agree. I had a hard time playing on xbox because I couldn't get trophies
I wouldn't like it being spread over 3-4 sites. And enough cannot b said about friends that r solely console. I cannot write them off after 5 years. And alot of this is "prisoner if the moment" as everything will shift again when next gen consoles release. They still hav the best lineups.

[Awesome-Xanto]

Hopefully Valve will open steam on consoles to third parties and we can have more PS3 games that are compatible with PC gamers.

But your right BF3 may look good on PC, but your rarely see developers using the PC for its hardware. The money is in consoles so most PC games are going to be ports and there will be a lot of consoles games that PC won't get. So its either buy a PC for a select few games that will be better or just keep what consoles you have because it will get better support when it comes to games. Next Gen everything will be back to how it has been for the last 5 or 6 years.

[HenryFord]

Or - you know - get both. I use a XBOX360 and a PC and I will get a PS3 in the next two months...
Games which are available on PC I play on PC, but a lot of times games don't even get released for PC but I want them badly, so I went ahead and bought myself a console - the xbox specifically.

[joab777]

I want to so badly but it isn't the money. Its the fact that I go for achievements and trophies and have alot of friends. I have never minded that graphics are not as good, but now gameplay is better on pc...that is nothing to glance over. But, I nav weighed it and it is still better for me to play w my friends on an inferior version. Id love to buy it for skyrim and single player games but I wouldn't b able to sell my ps3 or xbox because of games like uncharted 3 and gears 3. So, ill stick to what I nav, stop reading about pc versions and hope that next gen consoles realease within the next 18-24 months. Once they do, the landscape will change once again.

[Ramas]

I have both (good pc, not monster, but intel quad core, gtx460, and 4g memory) , however 90% of time i play on my ps3, becouse after i sit in office 8 hours a day, just to go home and sit near pc again 5 hours or so would really suck. Thats why i prefer big tv, and bed :)

[HenryFord]

You just could connect your PC to your TV and you get an entertainment machine, the PS3 cannot mess with that one. Of course, I agree on the part that a lot of games aren't even available for PC, so it makes sense to also own a console. But the PC can give you so much more in terms of enterntainment - just a hint: Look at the software called XBMC.

[Tony P]

I like consoles. But I love PC.

True, the target audiences are largely on consoles. It can be expensive if you want the best out of your games. Consoles have a wealth of great games that never make it to PC.

But PC never starves for games and it never starves for content, even when the publishers or developers think we should.

Because even if every developer abandoned us right now?

We'd just make our own games.

That's what it's about for me. When push comes to shove, I can have everything MY way. Not Sony's. Not Microsoft's. Not Nintendo's. Mine.

So thanks to PC for keeping me free.

[nycredude]

You make it sound like making games is easy. If every developer abandoned us right now? I would go outside and play. That being said when was the last time anyone starved for content on consoles? I am so back up on just my ps3 if I don't buy another game until next year I will be fine. Not to mention the internet, netflix, hulu, PSN, Mediaserver Home and who knows what else they will add.

I use my pc everyday but i don't see it like it is a separate entity. Very often i use my ps3 to stream movies I dled on my pc with the media server. they work together to give me all the content I ever need and then some. I dont understand why everyone thinks the platforms have to be segregated.

[Tony P]

I'm amazed that with your one bubble, you've managed to completely misunderstand and misinterpret my comment.

[00]

Mods here I come.

[Hicken]

Bye.

[yamzilla]

welcome to 2006 author!!

You know, the year that the pc eclipsed the current consoles....

Then 2007 crysis 1 came out and was a full gen ahead of xbox360/ps3

Then metro2011 dx11 came out and we are now at 2 full gens ahead of consoles.....

lol....consoles...for those who no longer care about quality....

and go ahead and say...blah...blah...blahghhh.. ..how's uncharted on pc, how's god of war.....i have one of those $600 launch bluray players,,,,,i just don't use it for gaming....lol...played god of war 3...it was a good 10 hours....then i returned the rental to blockbuster....same with uncharted 1 and 2, unchaterted 2's multiplayer was crap...just like the beta for 3 was////

I cannot believe those things are still here////

The 360 was cool in 2005 when i bought it, i dont even know where it is anymore

ps3 was sweet in 2006

....ohhh.....and by the way....i know its hard for console people to realize this because it did not come with instructions in 10 languages for you like your plastic toy did but you can hook a pc up to your super bigg screen hillbilly dlp/lcd/led/3d walmart super deal 65 inch tv anytime you want.....

pc supports,;
hdmi
dvi
component
s-video
composite

lol... and why would you want a nasty sub-hd 540p,576p,600p,640p,676p,720p dirty console signal on a "big screen tv"

I play my consoles on a 24" monitor because they look like trash on my beautiful panasonic plasma, that's what my pc is hooked up to....you know, something that can actually output 1080p games....only on pc!

[qwertyz]

lol ps3/360 aren't even as powerful as a dual gpu high end pc from 2005 and the 512mb ram they both have has been outdated since 2004! so you are DEAD wrong, consoles have been outdated since 2005.

most multiplatform games that made it to pc in the last few years look better than anything on consoles; dead space 2, far cry 2, call of juarez & bound in blood, bad company 2, bulletstorm, assassins creed2 & brotherhood, red faction: guerrilla & Armageddon and many more

even crysis 1 on medium settings with 8xAA 16xAF @1080p looks better than ANYTHING on consoles including uncharted 3, gears of war 3..EVERYTHING ON CONSOLES.

crysis 2 pc on the lowest settings possible(gamer) at 720p looks better than anything on consoles at max settings even without the directx 11 patch and high res texture pack it makes killzone 3, gears 3, uncharted 3, crysis 2 console version and every other console game look worse than ps2 games lol metro 2033, crysis 1 maxed out(even without mods), crysis: warhead, shogun 2, GTA 4 with mods and witcher 2 also HUMILIATE console games the same way crysis 2 does( makes them all look worse than ps2 games)

LOL consoles FAIL. lets hope MS and sony have some future site this time. ram is dirt cheap now compared to when consoles launched so they should be packing alot of it, xdr 2 is still terribly expensive though(costs about 4-5x as much as gddr5) that's why its not even used in pcs are regular ram or for gpus

[HenryFord]

Care about quality? Sorry, but at least most of the games work on consoles - that is quality for me. PC games are getting worse every day - of course there are counter-examples, but a lot of times PC-Games just don't deliver what they promised. Also the whole "no-demo" and DRM story on PC is riddicoulus, this is what pushes me to piracy every time.
Of course I have to agree in most other points you make, especially the part that you can hook your PC to your TV - I don't get why noone realizes it. The PC is a beast as an entertainment system and can really push the boundaries. I don't even watch TV anymore - if I want a movie/tv show it is just the click of a button and I will receive it in high quality without ads in no time.

[Ranshak]

@henryford

Games work just as well on PC. Steam has made things so much easier, Its simply Install, click play, max all settings out.

Consoles themselves are a DRM, can you play PS2 games on the slim PS3? its the console hardware thats the DRM. Imagine all those games you bought on the PS3 this gen may not work with PS4. Hence you are either left with having multiple consoles hooked up all the time just so you can play your old games. Also if any of those fails you need to keep rebuying old hardware. Thats thousands of USD worth of sofware bought over a single gen that becomes unplayable simply because the console itself is a DRM.

[HenryFord]

You are right - Steam made it a lot easier (the patching process too), but there are still a lot of games which are utter failures, mostly these are Console-Ports, granted. Take GTAIV for example - that was one of the worst experiences I ever had on PC. Don't get me wrong, I am a PC-Player wherever I can (= the games are available on PC) and I love my rig. But yeah - I have to give you that point, probably that comment was a little bit short-sighted.

DRM is a different story though, I have to agree that consoles are itself DRM and if it breaks you loose... mhm, okay - you win ;) I give you that one too.

[Ranshak]

@henry

I agree with you that GTA4 was a pain in the ass registering to multiple places just to be able to play, that was Rockstars mess.

However look at what the modding community have done to that game today. It was already a gen ahead of the console versions when it launched, today its atleast 2 gens ahead.

There are many games on console too which dont work well. Just about every FPS (aside COD), takes dips down to 20-25fps. When a firmware update happens there have been so many times people complain about games crashing, Hell i have seen PS3 folks complain about UC2 and dragon age crashing after firmware updates, now they cant even reverse the said firmware, they can only wait for Sony to release a fix. Atleast on PC when we do get issues we arent at someones mercy, we do have the power to fix things even if a developer chooses to ignore the problem.

This gen of consoles isnt as problem free as people like to believe, there are many games that launch that dont run well without the first few round of patches, fallout vegas is an example. Again for such games console gamers cant do anything they must wait for fixes. PC on the other hand can get fixes done to some extent.

[HATE506]

lol, PC fanboys are the worst

[CBaoth]

Droids suck because anything non-Sony is inferior quality. They conclude if you criticize Sony in any way, shape, or form you must be a fanboy of a different platform. If a game comes out sub-standard on their chosen platform, it's the result of lazy Devs (I forgot every publisher allows for 5 year time schedules, silly me) and has nothing to do w/ the haphazard design of the Saturn-esque PS3. And there is a very special subset here on N4G that believe all european PS3 developers are Gods and can do no wrong. See Guerilla Games.

Bots suck because they think anything with an online focus and multiplatform is instantly better on the 360. PC trumps every facet of XBL and the multi-plats get crushed by their PC big brother and sometimes are now better on PS3. They jealously defend Microsoft's stagnating policies which restrict the advancement of gaming as a whole: i.e. publish a title simultaneously on our platform or don't bother at all, charging for the privilege to play online, requiring a price tag on DLC even when the developers want to give it away for free, and the DVD format as an optical format FOR gaming. If M$ didn't charge a royalty fee on EVERY disk rather than a one-time fee per IP, this wouldn't be an issue like the PC where DVD is used AS a delivery mechanism for said content. Wish someone would tell MS execs that multi-disks aren't a perceived disadvantage. Oh wait. On a special note, bots have invented the industry buzzwords "console exclusivity" which is more moronic than oxymoronic.

WiiTards suck because they think anything non-Nintendo is some generic cash-in on that flavor-of-the-month concept. You do know that Nintendo creates art, don't you? That's why HD doesn't matter. They're completely dismissive of entire genres like FPS but sure to mention that Goldeneye popularized shooters on consoles but everything has gone downhill since. Oh and Nintendo NEVER EVER copies, they just innovate. Latest examples: Nintendo invented portable 3D and the WiiU isn't a tethered tablet with buttons, it's revolutionary!

Uberz are a funny bunch. They suck because while they always brag about the quality of the games on the platform, you'll ALWAYS find in every PC forum "what are your specs" topic usually headlining. They like to brag and worry about framerates more than the games. They laugh at console gamers for arguing over subtle differences in determining the best graphics. "Just get a PC". Ironic considering most sit on the couch using a HDTV rather than a monitor which 95% of the time has less input lag and a crisper image (higher DPI because large HDTV sets naturally have greater spacing between its lines resulting in a blurrier image). Amusing, since I bought my 30" monitor it absolutely smokes my 52" LCD and 42" plasma sets. Throw in a controller and you got more PC gamers trying to be like console gamers than the other way around. The "PC gamers are more mature" mantra is in fact also a myth. Douchebags proliferate every online arena. I don't even know why PC developers develop for the lowest denominators anymore. Everyone apparently owns an i7, 16gigs of DDR3, and 2 6950s/590. Just ask'em lol.

Hope I sufficiently pissed off every fanboy group here. Damn I forgot smartphone geeks.

[Hassassin]

TLDR...

lol but seriously thats a solid fucking brickwall!!

[Raider69]

I have them all!But right know i just love to be in my couch with my mega PC connected to my HDTV and play all great multiplatform games and PC exclusives on high resolutions than my consoles and double the framerates!Some people still think we are in 2006,this is 2011 and connecting a PC to an HDTV is as simple has connecting the hdmi cable to an HDTV not to mention that support for an xbox 360 like controler is getting standard on PC games today,steam is a beast and PC games are way cheaper.

[maxmill]

why are PC fanbois so insecure?

No one cares about your shiny tech, get over it

[Substance101]

So why are you excited when it finally makes its way to console? except its pretty dated by that time.

[earbus]

Im stepping up the mods are just so enticing will get a good rig with mid range cards cross fire then build from there .

[Bladesfist]

Heres the roundup. If you want a cheap way of playing your games then get console. Im not going to say ease of use as I have had more rrod's on my xbox than problems on my PC. Plus the problems on PC i can fix by myself. If you want to invest in a PC you will get Mod support which adds play time. You will get cheaper games. At least £10 cheaper on day one and with sales and steam it gets even cheaper. This balances the cost of the initial product. And ofcourse your PC will be able to do whatever you want, has backwards compatibility and a wider range of titles.

[Ranshak]

Well Xbox 360 costs 300usd, then you need to pay 50usd for XBL, so thats already 350usd on the first year of purchase. You can get a PC for 500usd that will easily outperform the Xbox 360 multiple times.

Hence the difference is 150usd initially which isnt much at all. Then consider the crazy discounts we have on Steam or the day one games being cheaper. I would say PC is far cheaper then owning a console.

[LNDCalling]

And?.

I'm assuming from this article and some of the comments that people have forgotten that many gamers own both a console and a gaming PC, especialy PS3 only owners as its a combination that makes sense!

I have drifted in and out of gaming mostly on PC to Console but BOTH makes most sense, there's too much to miss on consoles otherwise and sharp high definition graphics aren't the be all and end all of what makes a game good, not by a long shot!

In short the PC community should respect more what console developers are able to achieve on closed systems, unfortunately thats someting not in their nature which is a shame because in many cases console only developers put some of the PC developers to shame!

[thebudgetgamer]

i may add a gaming pc to what i own already, but i can't ever see myself saying i'm going strictly to any one platform.

[Pixel_Pusher]

I'll have mine in a couple of months. I can't f**kin' wait to play BF3 on max settings. : )

[Sidewinder-]

PC - The way it's meant to be played.

[gazgriff2k12]

an error has occurred

[chak_]

Welcome to PC

I played with horror NBA 2K11 yesterday on PS3.

Man I suffered. 30 fps, 720p, full of edges everywhere. I cried.

I'm used to my smooth 120fps 1080p full AA, it really DOES hurt.

I'm not going back for sure.

[josephps3]

PC Biggest Advantage Over Consoles: Multiple Screens

Sure the PC has better graphics and mouse and keyboard provides better controls but my friend has a 3 monitor setup and once you try that you can`t go back to a single monitor. I`ve seen 5 monitor setup...omg that`s even better but 3 is good enough for me.

Having peripheral vision really draws you into the gaming environment. You get lost in it. You`re totally drenched and submerged. You have to look to your right and left like you would in real life. I mean turn your eyeballs and not swipe your mouse. Multiple monitors is the console`s killer next gen in my opinion. Graphics always get better every generation but multiple monitors is something that really adds gaming value. Your enjoyment drastically increases much more than better graphics.

Put it this way, if I had to choose, I`d rather continue having ps3 graphics with 3 monitors for next gen instead of having better graphics but still single monitor. For me, the biggest reason why I`d strongly consider moving from ps3 to console is to play games with multiple monitors.

[TitanUp]

luke makes pc gamers look bad that comment was uncalled for love my pc but gaming is gaming if you don't have a nice rig to play on im not going to make fun of you ill recommend places on the net to buy one at that you don't need to build yourself but other than that im not going to criticize console gamers.

[_Aarix_]

:( i wish I was a pc gamer. Unfortunatly, if i combine school, my job and practice, I barely have time for my 360. On top of my whole paycheck going toward my new truck. :(