5 Reasons you still need to be a PC gamer

[08993]

I was a PC gamer from 1998-2010. I switched to console (PS3) a few weeks back for a few reasons:

DRM - because I used to switch to and from Window/Linux a lot and lot of my games locked me out due to too many installs. Funnily enough I'd only switch back to Windows because of games!

Playing on a Sofa with wireless controller - This is luxury, not huddled over a keyboard/mouse.

Media Servers - Again I can control my PC media library from the couch.

Linux - Not needing to play games on the PC any more has finally freed me from Windows.

Another bonus for me was that I can't mod/cheat the hell out of games any more. If I got a bit bored of a PC game I'd mod/godmode through it just to see the end, I'm having to put more effort into PS3 games and I'm actually getting more enjoyment from it.

[Sikh]

Yes but I don't have £300 to keep my PC up to date, thats the problem with PC gaming. Atleast with a console I know that the games wont change much until a new console comes out. Oh and playing PC games 1280x1024 (if the game isn't too taxing, I sometimes have to drop the resolutions) on a 19" monitor compared to 1080p on a 37" TV......I'll pick the TV :p

You obviously didnt get his point. He was saying the "bleeding edge" was a bull**** reason. My old PC was around his and i spent 200 more to keep it going for another year. It would go 1600(resolution) pretty nicely too.

Playing 1080p from a PC is better then ANY console as PC natively supports 1080 on ALL games. All consoles do is upscale or etc. So idk what your point is there.

PC gaming will stay alive me because theres people like me and spookie and a few others(anaron, sethos, dirtylarry, etc) that will know what games go where. BF BC2? Guess what PC. That game is garbage on consoles compared to PC and yes ive played it on my 360 and PS3 and I still prefer PC for that game.

Also, HOPEFULLY if they keep there acts together, BF3 will be PC only and you console people there will miss out, and im totally happy with that :).

IF your smart and build a PC to your necessities you really dont spend much. Its cheaper then a console for all the stuff youll buy for the console and does A LOT more then a console.

@08993: Your case is different, I would get annoyed of the DRM too but for me im tri booting 7/ubuntu/backtrack and so far my DRM hasnt broken for any of my RETAIL games. Also most of my steam games keep there own DRM through steam so those NEVER break.

Thats one thing I love about steam, doesnt matter what you do on your computer, as long as you are in steam your DRM is fresh doesnt have to reactivate.

[Hedon]

Playing 1080p from a PC is better then ANY console as PC natively supports 1080 on ALL games. All consoles do is upscale.

The PS3 and 360 do have some native 1080p titles (not upscaled), though rare.

BF3 will be PC only and you console people there will miss out, and im totally happy with that

I would rather PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers get BF3 so everyone can enjoy the title. To me it's all about gamers as a group of people that enjoy playing games. I think everyone would be happier if everyone had more opportunities than less.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I was a PC gamer from 1998-2010. I switched to console (PS3) a few weeks back for a few reasons:

DRM - because I used to switch to and from Window/Linux a lot and lot of my games locked me out due to too many installs. Funnily enough I'd only switch back to Windows because of games!

Playing on a Sofa with wireless controller - This is luxury, not huddled over a keyboard/mouse.

Media Servers - Again I can control my PC media library from the couch.

Linux - Not needing to play games on the PC any more has finally freed me from Windows.

Another bonus for me was that I can't mod/cheat the hell out of games any more. If I got a bit bored of a PC game I'd mod/godmode through it just to see the end, I'm having to put more effort into PS3 games and I'm actually getting more enjoyment from it.

You bring up some good points but the last one is more about self-control. On the PC platform, the ability to mod or edit the game to your liking is a perk.

[Omen1393]

#5 contradicts #1 (in the grand scheme of cost), #3 can be done on consoles, and #2 is subjective and irrelevant (given that console gamers are generally never pitted against pc gamers). Not a very solid list.

-Spenser

One could say that you can afford to be on the bleeding edge because the games are $10 cheaper.

[spenser.d]

5 doesn't contradict number 1. You don't necessarily need a high cost system to play bleeding edge games.

3 can't be done on a console - since when could you play Space Quest on a 360? Heck, can you play Halo 1 on a 360 after April?

2 - debatable. I hear a lot of people say "Wish I had a KB/Mouse on a console". Personal preference really.

So yeah, I agree. PC Gaming's not going away. And after seeing pricing of PC games vs Console games - i'm happy to be a PC gamer.

Yes 5 does contradict 1. A "low cost" PC is still significantly more expensive than consoles and you still have to update it much more frequently.

3 can be done. Heard of Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network? And yes, Xbox games can still be played on Xbox 360 - you just can't go online with them, which isn't an issue in Halo 1 anyways as it never had Xbox Live to begin with.

-Spenser

[Kreuger]

Im sorry but I cant stand controls of a computer game. I have to have a controller, preferably a PS type.

[BajiRav]

5 doesn't contradict number 1. You don't necessarily need a high cost system to play bleeding edge games.

3 can't be done on a console - since when could you play Space Quest on a 360? Heck, can you play Halo 1 on a 360 after April?

2 - debatable. I hear a lot of people say "Wish I had a KB/Mouse on a console". Personal preference really.

So yeah, I agree. PC Gaming's not going away. And after seeing pricing of PC games vs Console games - i'm happy to be a PC gamer.

Yes! (for the bolded part)

[Udedenkz]

For #2,

Frankly, I never seen a hard core FPS game on a console (or one that hasn't been dumbed down for a console system), I may be wrong though. Maybe there are many FPS games of Quake III equivalent?

[Massiveterra]

isn't there already a sticky with this same exact topic?

[lalalawawawa]

Im sorry but I cant stand controls of a computer game. I have to have a controller, preferably a PS type.

Ok. You take your controller. I will take my keyboard and mouse. 1vs1 in every real (real as in Quake / Unreal Tournament / Counter Strike) first person shooter game. No auto aim, no auto fire, no auto whatever. If you kill once, you win, and consoles are better. :)

[BajiRav]

Ok. You take your controller. I will take my keyboard and mouse. 1vs1 in every real (real as in Quake / Unreal Tournament / Counter Strike) first person shooter game. No auto aim, no auto fire, no auto whatever. If you kill once, you win, and consoles are better. :)

WTF is a "real FPS"? :laugh:

[Sikh]

The PS3 and 360 do have some native 1080p titles (not upscaled), though rare.

I would rather PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers get BF3 so everyone can enjoy the title. To me it's all about gamers as a group of people that enjoy playing games. I think everyone would be happier if everyone had more opportunities than less.

I believe they should keep BF "exclusive" to PC. BF on the xbox 360 and ps2 sucked. Nothing like 1942 or 2.

Also, like i said ALL games on PC are native 1080. Better then some like consoles, and i mean all consoles. But I was refering to his post about resolution and pointing out PC > consoles in 1080p.

[Xilo]

WTF is a "real FPS"? :laugh:

Real FPS = no auto assist for one thing

[Lamp0]

I believe they should keep BF "exclusive" to PC. BF on the xbox 360 and ps2 sucked. Nothing like 1942 or 2.

Why would they do that? Battlefield on Xbox360 is brilliant!

[Sikh]

Why would they do that? Battlefield on Xbox360 is brilliant!

Battlefield Modern Combat or whatever its called Sucks on 360 and PS2. I stand by keeping Battlefield PC only.

[Lamp0]

Battlefield Modern Combat or whatever its called Sucks on 360 and PS2. I stand by keeping Battlefield PC only.

I never played that, but Bad Company is brilliant.

[Udedenkz]

WTF is a "real FPS"? :laugh:

IMO,

- No auto-aim or any partial implementation of thereof

- No Giant-Cursor

- No hit-everything within the giant cursor no matter what

- The necessity of dynamic switching between precision aiming (per pixel cursor movement) and fast twich shooting (the enemy behind you), in other words a controller which allows precision while the speed of the cursor shouldn't be static or limited in range.*

- A game which rewards those that have fast response time and skill.

- Main strategy should be: if it moves kill it.

I just remembered, in CS:S, in a surf map, where both sides spawn with bulletproof glass between them, I jumped off, did a 180 turn (to look at the other side) and got a scope-less headshot with a scout.

[toadeater]

#2 is subjective and irrelevant (given that console gamers are generally never pitted against pc gamers).

It might be subjective, but it's not irrelevant. Many kinds of games are a better experience with a mouse + keyboard control scheme than with console controls. The right controller for the right job.

Never mind that you can buy console style controllers for the PC. Natal will even be available for PCs. Or what if you want simulator controls like a steering wheel, or an entire airplane cockpit? If money is no object, you can even play RTSes or D&D on the MS Surface.

Consoles are cheap, dumbed-down PCs, a console cannot compete against a PC for quality. Ease of use maybe, but not quality. If you say people can play whatever they want, sure, except that console gaming is screwing over PC games. All we get is dumbed-down games because publishers want to make everything cross-platform to maximize profits.

I really don't have anything good to say about consoles, except for maybe the Wii and portable consoles because they are unique platforms. The PS3 and Xbox are a cancer of the gaming industry because they're nothing but dumbed-down PCs with monkey-oriented controllers.

[spenser.d]

^^^Sucks to be you then I guess ;)

[Purple Haze]

I HATE keyboards for games. My left hand (specifically the middle/ring/pinky fingers) is too stupid to be of use on its own. I don't play FPSs online, so I couldn't care less about that, either.

[Crompee]

I'll give you 1 reason:

1) Starcraft 2 is about to enter beta!

[giantpotato]

A PC can do almost everything a console can do.

Do you like using a controller? Just hook it up to a PC.

Do you like playing on a couch in front of a TV? Hook up your PC to your TV and grab your controller.

And you don't need a top of the line PC to play the latest games. If you just set your resolution to 1280x720, the equivalent of what's output by consoles, you can get by with a 2-3 year old video card with graphics equivalent to consoles.

With Games for Windows Live, PC gamers now even have a gamertag + achievements.

IMO the only advantage consoles have are console-exclusive titles. Damn you Microsoft, why can't you just release Halo 3 + ODST + Reach on PC. :angry:

[Slammers]

This is all about gaming right!

Excellent system exclusive games make excellent use of whatever control schemes and graphics capabilities the systems they are on have, and different people will be comfortable paying different prices for games than others. So really all your points are useless, it all depends on the person and what game they are playing.

For me a still need to be a PC gamer because I couldn't handle missing out on the PC exclusive first person shooters and strategy games, plus I personally prefer the keyboard mouse combo for many genres and like to push my games at a super high rez with AA and AF. Still for other people these points could mean little to nothing. I own a Wii for all my casual, first party and local multiplayer games and have just as much fun on it as on my computer.

I think the only definite plus for PC gaming that no one can argue is that the capabilities of the gfx are technically much much higher.

My two cents.

[ylcard]

A PC can do almost everything a console can do.

Do you like using a controller? Just hook it up to a PC.

Do you like playing on a couch in front of a TV? Hook up your PC to your TV and grab your controller.

And you don't need a top of the line PC to play the latest games. If you just set your resolution to 1280x720, the equivalent of what's output by consoles, you can get by with a 2-3 year old video card with graphics equivalent to consoles.

With Games for Windows Live, PC gamers now even have a gamertag + achievements.

IMO the only advantage consoles have are console-exclusive titles. Damn you Microsoft, why can't you just release Halo 3 + ODST + Reach on PC. :angry:

Well, a PC can do everything a Console can do, not almost everything, but everything. Well maybe except for that Wii crap, but who the hell plays that anyway ? :)

I'm pretty sure you can hook up a keyboard/mouse to consoles these days.. maybe I'm wrong, no one of checking it out for me.. gave my old PS2 away to my nephew.

You also don't need to purchase a new (newer) Xbox360/PS3, they last for a long time, my PS2 that I mentioned before is now 5 years old and it still works and the games created for PS2 work fine.

Overall I'm a PC guy, I can't stand using the console, even games that I love playing on the PC..