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PC Games or Consoles??

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by cg it

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Ever since console games evolved from the handheld kiddie games to full fledged video games, there has been a debate going on in the gaming world of which platform will triumph [and which one will die out] PC or Console.

With all the really good console games like Halo 2, Splinter Cell, and UbiSoft making cross platform games like Ghost Recon, Rainbow 6 Raven Shield, the lines between a PC game and a console game are beginning to blur. console games almost rival PC games and PC games drove the technology and sales in graphics, AI, processor speeds, memory. Virtually the entire industry was and is geared for the hard core gamer to buy the latest and greated PC hardware to play the latest and greatest PC games. With the console market and console games rivaling those of the PC, no longer is the latest and greatest PC hardware to run the latest and greatest PC games driving the computer hardware industry. Don't need a $3,0000+ rig with the colored lights, fancy smancy custom case [with built in coffee maker] to play great looking games. All one needs is a $250.00 Console, a Broadband connection and $50.00 for a game.

Console games are good for the consumer pocket book, but it's bad for the consumer computer industry.

The entire computer industry [not just the gaming community] is going to have a shakeout. With Microsoft's product activation that keeps people from giving their friends the latest product, coupled with their 3 year new product lifecycle which forces computer users to buy the new operating system to get the latest and greatest [which they can't afford], I foresee the PC game industry taking a nose dive into oblivion. Gamers will abandon the PC platform in favor for the console simply because of affordability and the lack of quality PC games because of developers and producers of PC games creating cross platform games with decrease the quality of the PC game but increase the quality of the console game.

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by jaqui

they port them to linux.

free os, that doesn't require latest and greatest in tech.

so it's a viable option to get away from the m$ $$$$$grab

by tomsal

Speaking as a PC gamer (though I do play consoles too - just not close to the amount I play PC games) for pretty much my entire life (since I was 8 and I'm in my 30's now), I heard this demise of the PC gaming industry speil many many times. The first was back in the mid 90's that I can remember, then again it was in the late 90's then I heard about it around 2000 - 2001.

Consoles will outsell PCs that's just common sense. You are talking much cheaper gear and that "instant gratification" style of gaming that a very large number of people go for.

However, PC gaming is a niche market -- and it ALWAYS has been. I believe that PC games will stick around for at least the next 5-10 years. Remember there are some of us who like the more complex and in-depth games that PCs provide and consoles STILL don't.

Where is an MMO as engrossing as Ever Quest or World of Warcraft? (If you say Final Fantasy I'll shoot you dead..lol)

Fact is some folks really enjoy tinkering with their PCs, buying this new gear, tweaking that ...upgrading this. Its those people that love that stuff that keep the PC gaming industry alive.

Furthermore, there are a lot of MMOs right now making HORDES of cash for companies like Sony and Blizzard (22.5 MILLION per MONTH on World of Warcraft alone). And that's the key, hundres of thousands of subscribers to these games -- as long as people keep forking over the cash on a monthly basis...it is very safe to say game publishers will still show an interest in making new titles.

by cg it

However the cost of creating a PC game these days is HUGE and the amount of time it takes to get the game to the market is now about 3 years sometimes 4. An average PC game takes about $18 million USD to make [and then some ] and takes anywhere from a year and a half up to 3 years and more to ge them to the market. Console games don't take very long to make and costs a heck of a lot less. The profit margins on console games are..well... they are light years ahead of PC games. Doesn't take 30 high priced programmers to create a console game because console games don't have to meet the hardware and O/S requirements that PC games do.

I grant you MMOs are like huge cash cows for game developers and publishers. I play Eve Online at $30.00 a month [but not for long. the credit card companies just doubled the minimum monthly payments].

I loved the in depth story lines of the old single player games. Descent series, Diablo series, the Unreal series, the single player RPG games, GhostRecon single player, Heck I stil play them, Now more than playing the new games.

by cg it

The other thing that will kill PC games is TV advertising. Spike TV advertizes console games. Something that hasn't been done before. They show action on a console not a PC. Used to be the geeks had all the cool games and if you went over there and watched him play it, ya wanted to go out and buy a computer to play em. Then the kids would start playing and they all wanted a computer so they could play em to. Now, with console games having great graphics and online play [where they used to be these really ugly 2D games] coupled with TV advertising, consoles are gonna kill the PC gaming industry. One can play a quality great looking console game [first person shooters] online with friends with $250.00 equipment, not big ticket item [big expensive PC].

by jdclyde

that you get from a PC. A first person shooter using the little hand controller "bytes" compared to mouse/keyboard combinations you can get.

For non-techs I tell them to just get the console because they don't have the virus/malware issues running rampant (yet).

They also don't have to worry about Windoze crashing in the middle of a frag session.

And $800 for a low end gaming system IS a little steeper than a lot of people want to pay to just play games.

But they both will be around for a long time. M$ won't want PC gaming to die because that IS why a lot of people have systems, even though they chose other reasons (excuses?) to justify the expense.

by tomsal

...generally are tech "geeks" first. So they buy and build the "mondo rigs" - just because that in and of itself is a hobby for them. Then aside from the gaming, most love fiddly with programming and eeegatz dare I say Hacking (don't get negative thinking though, some folks hack but its just to learn explore and they hack their own stuff -- heck I did that.).

Also don't forget PC games FAR FAR FAR outlive console titles. So yeah you need more expensive gear, and yeah you pay about the same or higher for a PC game. But I get way way more life out of a PC game more often than not then a console game.

Only just now they are starting to make it possible to download content for console games.

Still doesn't touch the ENORMOUS amount of content for PC games... maps, hacks, add-ons, mods....a complete avanlance of items available for PC games versus the dinky amount of "content upgrades" you can download to a console game...oooooh I can download 20 new maps for an XBOX or PS fps game.

Versus the 3 to 4 THOUSAND maps/levels I can download for a PC fps.

And its so much better to play with a keyboard mouse over a console.

by jdclyde

it doesn't have the negative stigmas that have been associated with the word "hack".

People to stupid to understand the difference are just so plentiful.

Then there is the whole hacker/cracker terminology thing. Today, there now is no difference between the two. Just like Gay USED to mean HAPPY, it is now and forever more will mean homosexual. Gay old time indead.

As for PC gamers, I see lots of NON-geeks are the most addicted to these and pay a fortune to someone else to make a gaming system.

Even case modes has gone generic with pre-moded cases. Have you ever heard of anything so stupid as to try to be original by purchasing a pre-moded case? ( and paying MORE for it than the normal case )

for laughs I loaded DOOM I and II last week. too funny how much time I used to spend playing that on the LAN at school after hours!

by tomsal

Tweak is a more accurate "kinder" term to use, I agree.

Tell me about the modded cases...L-A-M-E!!!!

What the heck are people thinking. That's all part of the fun when you put together a system for yourself (gaming or otherwise). I enjoy selecting the parts, the case...assembling everything very carefully (when it comes to my PC's I'm a freak about cable neatness inside the case). I enjoy tweaking the hardware, configuring a freshly installed OS and getting all the latest drivers on the system.

But to pay someone to do this stuff for you...BEH, sacrilege to geekdom!

by smorty71

I've grown up on consoles (starting with the Atari 2600), so I never had the desire (or need) to do any PC gaming.

Plus, after sitting in front of a computer all day for work, I like to be able to stretch out on the couch and relax while I play. Plus, my TV is much (MUCH!) bigger than my monitor, so the experience is better.

As for the controls, I don't have a problem playing a game like Counter-Strike on a console controller.

There were rumors (long ago) that MS was trying to figure out how to support PC games on the XBOX 360.

IMO, the first console maker to pull that little trick off would really shift the market in their favor. And MS seems like a natural choice because they could integrate the necessary OS elements into their console.

BTW, if anyone uses XBOX Live, my Gamertag is (surprise) sMoRTy71. Look me up if you play Halo 2, Burnout 3 or NHL2K5.

by tomsal

..Haven't used/played either for 2 1/2 months now that I've been using all my "gaming time" on World of Warcraft.

My 16 year old nephew always logs in with my Xbox and plays Halo 2 though when he is over my place. So if you see a "Rikker" online that's me or (more likely) that's my nephew. lol.

I agree with your point too -- it would be HUGE if MS could some how pull off PC titles working on the Xbox 360 -- like you said they could get the OS parts working, they make the DirectX drivers.

If a title like WOW could be played on Xbox 360 over Xbox Live, then you'd give me a serious argument against my stand on PC games over Consoles.

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