What's up with the PC gaming industry?

[Task Force]

Now days if you want PC games you usually have to order it off the internet, or download thought websites stores/Steam.

Last time i actual bought a game from a store was when i got Shogun 2 Total war. because of its size.

[Arclight]

Originally Posted by Krauter

I'm definitely not saying PCs aren't worth their weight and then some, I'd much rather shell out money for a new PC then for a new Console, but from a purely gaming point of view, aren't consoles cheaper as a new game system (PlayStation, PS2, PS3 for example) comes out every what, 10 years or so?

Never said they weren't. It's just that an argument leveled against PC gaming for a long time is the prohibitive cost. That is holding less and less true as technology progresses. Not saying it's cheaper, just that that gap is getting smaller, to the point where you can make up the difference by getting games cheaper. PC games tend to go for 40-50, while console games go for 60,-. Over the course of 5 years, depending on how many games you buy, it can even out.

Compared to PC upgrades being required as games get more and more graphically and power intensive to use? SH5 being one example?

I still don't understand where this notion of SH5 being that demanding came from. I had my 8800 at the time and that ran it just fine. Yes, older cards had trouble with it, but something like the 7600, from the previous generation, was ancient even then, being released in 2006.

The upgrading is a bit of a mixed bag. If you buy a good system it will last you 4-5 years. If all you do is play console ports, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting it to last as long as the consoles it was competing with at the time. Upgrading is really only "required" to keep up with the latest in PC gaming, and with almost all games being released on all platforms nowadays, those PC exclusives that might prompt an upgrade are few and far between.

I went to my current card and CPU not to play console ports: I'm pretty sure my old 8800 and dual-core could still run Battlefield 3 on the same level as a 360 or PS3. I upgraded for things like Shogun 2 and Arma 2.


All things considered, if you buy a good rig you only "need" to swap out a graphics card after 4-5 years and you're good to go for another 4-5. After that a new PC would be a good idea though.

[Krauter]

Originally Posted by Arclight

I still don't understand where this notion of SH5 being that demanding came from. I had my 8800 at the time and that ran it just fine. Yes, older cards had trouble with it, but something like the 7600, from the previous generation, was ancient even then, being released in 2006.

The upgrading is a bit of a mixed bag. If you buy a good system it will last you 4-5 years. If all you do is play console ports, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting it to last as long as the consoles it was competing with at the time. Upgrading is really only "required" to keep up with the latest in PC gaming, and with almost all games being released on all platforms nowadays, those PC exclusives that might prompt an upgrade are few and far between.

I went to my current card and CPU not to play console ports: I'm pretty sure my old 8800 and dual-core could still run Battlefield 3 on the same level as a 360 or PS3. I upgraded for things like Shogun 2 and Arma 2.


All things considered, if you buy a good rig you only "need" to swap out a graphics card after 4-5 years and you're good to go for another 4-5. After that a new PC would be a good idea though.

Personally I never had any trouble running SH5 on my gaming rig at home, but from reading the SH5 boards when it came out I assumed it had been an issue for a good deal of people. As you state, I've only ever had to replace the graphics card on the gaming rig at home every 4-5 years.

I guess it also depends on what games people run on their PCs. Someone such as you, who plays Arma 2, Black Shark DCS or the SH series requires a little bit more PC power then someone running say HOI series, or the odd FPS. Or is this logic flawed

[Stealhead]

@Nick the best bet you have for Vietnam era is the Thirdwire series of games they dont have the most highly detailed flight mechanics(not acardey by any means just not FSX) but at the same time they are fairly enjoyable to play.

http://www.thirdwire.com/project_sf2v.htm that is the Vietnam one I highly recommend that you get the mod Air & Ground War Expansion Pack http://combatace.com/files/file/1046...r-2011-update/ please note that you also have to get the previous packs for that mod. There is also Yankee Air Pirate which you must buy and I do not have the free mod listed above is quite good oh the joy of flying a 105 at 500 knots low and seeing the storm of 23mm,37mm,and 57mm fly all around you.(that detail is not in the base game) Oh there are some Korean era mods possible with the series as well there are MiG-15s,F-84s,F-86s,Ourgans,Mysters,Vampires,Meteors to name a few.The mods add massively to this series to say the least.If it flew in the sky for a military from 1940 to today you can find it in some form.

They also have stuff covering 50,60,70 80 Cold War Europe and one covering Israel. Not bad sims for what you get with the mods in particular.

As to the base topic I agree PC gaming is not dead it is just more focused on sales via Down Loads though some like Madden are not around any more I suspect this is because most guys if they enjoy the sports games they have a 360 or PS3 for those and a PC for other games.I am middle of the road as to DLC I gave up on Rise of Flight because of it though for Fallout 3 and New Veags it does not bother me so much.Of course with Fallout you know that you are getting many hours of extra play time and new perks as well as gear and weapons with Rise you are getting a plane that maybe you will not enjoy flying or is not balanced against foes.It all depends on what the DLC costs vs. what I am getting.

[Arclight]

No that's pretty much spot on.

For gods sake, Arma 2 in kinda nuts. It's only now with the 460 that it's running smoothly. Simulators in general are very demanding.

But yeah, I guess that's a distinction you have to make. If you run those demanding games you'll need (near-) top of the line stuff when you build a system. For simpler games you can get away with a cheaper system and still get those 4-5 years out of it before considering an upgrade.

It comes back to those PC exclusives though. Arma 2 or DCS simply isn't going to run on a 360, so for gaming in general you don't need the more expensive hardware.

[CaptainMattJ.]

The advantages i see in PC gaming are more lengthy than consoles.

Mods
Graphical superiority
Much more enjoyable PC exclusives that are too demanding for consoles
Steam and its insane sales
Less annoying, foul-mouth, incredibly rude and ignorant, screaming little brats
Graphic card upgrades are cheaper then buying a new console, because graphics is often the only thing people need to upgrade as often ( if you have a good quad core and some RAM and a nice cooling system.)
Im seeing many more freebie DLCs or added maps/content for PC game console ports nowadays, with CODWAW, BFBC2, Left For Dead 2 ect.

The ability to easily multitask.
The ability to not have to use discs every time you want to play (for most games at least)


the cons are short

High initial cost.
More Upkeep
More expensive parts that could break or die
some OS annoyances.
Viruses.

The cons are pretty easy to avoid. keep a couple programs like malwarebytes, avast, auslogics defrag, Ccleaner and your computer shouldnt have much problem with program upkeep. And the initial cost is worth it.

[Stealhead]

Not mention the fact that with a PC you can use it for many other purposes such as surfing the web,various photo and video editing programs you can connect with your TV as well.Consoles can do some of these of course but not as well or as easily.

I agree on the ability to mod programs as well this is possible with counsels but you have to modify the system and the mods have to made on a PC.The biggest benefit of counsels would be that they are much more useful for group entertainment if you have friends over it is much easier to play a game on the Wii,360 or PS3 and honestly as a group some of the Wii games are pretty fun.

"Less annoying, foul-mouth, incredibly rude and ignorant, screaming little brats" .......hmmm I would disagree on this one depends on the game being played if it is an FPS the number will be the exact same at least on many PC games most players dont use voice also many games like COd series have tons of no foul language servers all one must do is find the ones that have these rules and enforce them. That is another benefit right there for the PC in most cases much better server control with counsels you have none.I have see guys get pretty foul mouthed or texted playing Total War multi player given that a much smaller nuber of folks play the Total War games compaired to COD games that makes the potty mouth ratio about the same.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Highbury

I know what you mean when it comes to Madden 12 McBee. Yes there are alot of PC games still through DLC but EA Sports has given it up all together.

I played the EA hockey alot more then the football, but back in the 90's the PC version was the premier version and the consoles (which at the time were NES and Sega Genesis) got a massively scaled back version. Worse graphics, no ability to run a full season, etc. Then a few years ago I read that Madden would be discontinued on PC, and NHL and FIFA titles would no longer be developed for PC. So while the consoles got new game engines and features, the PC versions just got new rosters for an old game. For the 2011 year they cancelled all PC sports titles.

The weak excuse I was told was that the PC games are more modable. So someone with year X can download rosters and graphics to make it virtually the same as year Y. Something an Xbox cannot do. I am not sure if that is true, and really it doesn't matter if it is. The fact is that PC sports gaming is indeed dead or dying.

I play they hockey game too. I just wanted the Russian superleague. It's kinda funny, I work with a guy who used to work at EA (he worked on the NCAA football games. So we got swap computer game company horror stories.