Hellswaters

Well I just finished reading a small article which was showing the issues with console to PC (or the other way around.) Its not a bad read if you have some time to read through it all, even though I do find it contradicts its self at some points.

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2009/...orting-games/4

I know in it, they say that the reason for missing features isnt laziness, but its choice, however, it also sounds like alot of it is lazy. For example, they say that the changing of code is now all pretty much automatic, and they do a good job of optimizing things. However a lot of ports I have played do a poor job at optimizing. The article also talks about things such as control remapping, and that for some games its imposable to do due to the complexity of it, yet games such as Arma2, or FSX have control remapping.

Ultimately, I would prefer it if they would take time and make it right for PC. Most developers already do this, but it would appear that after the console version is released they dont touch the PC version, its just to prevent piracy. Take that month your holding the PC to prevent pirates, and make the PC one right.

snooggums

I would prefer that developers would clarify what style of interface the game was originally designed for, and of course they should make any input on the computer customizable.

The new Batman game for example would play much better with a console controller (easily found for a PC) than the keyboard because of how quickly you need to switch between multiple keys for combos. An FPS game that was originally aimed at a console will often be a breeze to play on a PC due to faster freedom of movement with a mouse.

I would just prefer to know what I'm getting into.

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ScratchMonkey

A nasty example of how the market is driving developers to develop first for consoles (where the big money is) and then hack the result to fit a PC. It's really the same issue that clobbers Linux users, that the platform that "wags the dog" of game developers is the one with the most users, and PC gamers are now just a niche market.

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Ypnos

That's sad but true. Consoles are killing PC gaming, by creating precedents such as downloadable content you have to pay for, including maps! Not only that, but by the nature of consoles, modders are a dying breed and innovative ideas like Counter-Strike and Desert Combat (for BF2) won't be coming back.

Worst of all, though, is the fact that the longevity of games is also a thing of the past. Even for games that are pretty much exclusive to PCs, such as MMORPG and RTS are now being churned out at the same pace as console games. Sounds exactly like what wretched shows like "Pop Idol" and "X-Factor" have done to music. But that's another rant altogether lol.

-Str!ker-

I completely agree, I miss the old days of Quake III and Unreal 2004 where there was innovation and a larger interest of creating maps and mods. You simply don't get that with most games these days.

Tarenth

I'm curious, but is it the accessibility and lower price level of console games that has made it overtake the PC market?

For PC games you have to play on a 'relatively' expensive rig that can cost hundreds it not thousands of dollars and you do so looking at a monitor with speakers.

With a console you play with a dedicated system that can cost a few hundred dollars and what you're looking at is a full television screen with sound options ranging from TV speakers to full blown surround sound. Throw in multiplayer that used to be the domain of the PC and you have a cheaper more cinematic set up.

Are there any benefits to being a PC gamer versus a console junkie?

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Vulcan

Most blame it on pirating. Which is for the most part the truth. That is a rather long debated topic though.

I actually don't mind playing a non fps game on a controller. It's less of a strain on your hands and arms than using a keyboard constantly but have faith the PC market will never die and this only allows for more creative games to shine a bit more rather than being drowned out by run of the mill mass marketing.

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Sir-Nerd

Not everyone has speakers, I have a surround sound headset and a sound card that costs 100 bucks (80 for headset, 20 for soundcard), and I get quality audio that rivals the expensive surround sound of home theaters. Plus I can enjoy this without disturbing the neighbors with the booming bass or anything.

This compensates for the ridiculous resolution settings that you have to play with. Ever tried playing a PS3 game on a television other than the large HD Screens, they look horrible with jaggys galore.

With my monitor (a modest 19inch 1280*1024) I can tweak the games Video options, so Anti Aliasing can make it look way better.

I have all the services of a multiplayer game, that you have to pay for with services such as Xbox Live, for free. I think i would go nuts if I had to pay a subscription just to talk with people online. Sure I pay for the broadband, but you have to do that with console online game as well.


As for just plain benefits, i can name several.

1. Mods: I have mods that I play more than the games themselves. A great example is Project Reality. I've only played 60 hours of Vanilla BF2, but I've devoted hundreds to PR.
DLC is usually free (who wants to pay 10 bucks for some extra guns) and also games with custom maps, like CSS, enjoy hundreds of maps made by the community.

2. Free games: Games such as Flash and free, community driven games are all over the internet, you just have to find them.

3. Ways to buy the game: With a console, you have two options. You can either purchase retail, or download them onto the consoles limited hard rive space. The latter has a serious disadvantage cause sometime its limited to your individual console. With the computer, I can buy retail, download directly from the company, download from a service such as Steam and be able to transfer, or do things that are on the less than legal side. I can even copy my games without any special software onto a disk for a backup in case something bad happens to the original disk.

I seriously doubt PC gamers are gonna go away, or falter. They've gotten through the game crash of the '83, there's nothing wrong today.

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