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PC Games (Games)

PC Gaming Isn't Going Anywhere 102

Posted by Zonk from the mouse-and-keyboard-for-the-win dept.
Grimrod writes "Dave Long, one of the editors of GamerDad, has a unique look at the PC as a game platform and how it gets forgotten among the constant barrage of console gunfire in his latest Long Shot column. From the article, 'It might never be like 1998 again on the computer, the year that PC gaming was probably at its very peak, but it's far better than analysts and even armchair soothsayers would have you believe. I got caught up in the hype myself to a certain extent. I started to believe I didn't need the computer for games. Now that I'm back on the inside with current hardware, I realize again how dumb that idea was.'"
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PC Gaming Isn't Going Anywhere More

PC Gaming Isn't Going Anywhere

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  • you mean "just about the same as everyone else"?

    • Re:By unique look... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by nekoes ( 613370 )
      Yeah seriously, I think I'm going to come up with a site that writes meaningless shit about games just to see if I can get on games.slashdot. Then again IGN gets away with that kind of crap all the time, their "feature" on CRPGs lacked anything resembeling content. Then there was that "article" about MMO's not even a day ago... I'm all for games journalism but some of this stuff is ridiculous. Gamerdad needs to stop writing forever.

      3

    • Yeah, I come to the same conclusion everytime I play a game on a console.

    • Re:By unique look... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by abandonment ( 739466 ) <mike.wuetherick@ ... minus physicist> on Saturday July 23, 2005 @03:35AM (#13142804) Homepage
      FTA :
      >> Halo 2 especially takes online multiplayer to a
      >> new level of fun because of the integrated voice
      >> chat of Xbox Live.

      Perhaps he actually means: by ripping off ideas that were possible 10 years previously in pc games (i mean i was using roger wilco to play delta force 2 with 50 player servers back before hardware accelerated video cards existed...)

      half-life 1 had integrated voice chat 5 years (or more) before halo2 - AND had multiplayer (gameplay & weapons & community) that kicked ass over halo's (the continued popularity of cs proves this)...

      I still don't get why people would pay money for xbox live, when you can get all of this and much more on a pc...

      then there's the new 'HD' craze that the console manufacturers are trying to promote with the new round of consoles...

      yippee-freakin do - my console can now do resolutions that computers do 10 years ago - without hardware acceleration...weee

      current-gen consoles can only go as high (resolution-wise) as standard ntsc video resolution, which is the equivalent of what quake1 in software mode could do (320×482 approx)

      now, suddenly consoles can do 'hd' resolutions, which are basically what we've had on PC's for the past 7-8 years:

      HDTV 1080i 1920×1080 (16:9)
      HDTV 720p 1280×720 (16:9)
      EDTV 480p 704×480

      (source: wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_resolution [wikipedia.org] )

      is this really 'that' interesting? i mean 1920x1080 isn't something to scoff at, but by the time the consoles are out and people actually have tv's that can display this kind of resolution, computers will be running dual & triple display games at 2 to 3 times this resolutions, not to mention SLI video cards, dual core 64 bit processors and other PC-only enhancements that are coming down the pipeline...

      (sure some of the consoles will have dual-core processors, but they are still nowhere near the processor speed of what we will be targetting as our lowest-end gaming machine in few years...)

      consoles are pure marketing bs...mind you, as a developer they provide a single, stable hardware platform to develop games for, so IN THEORY, we can optimize game performance more for the consoles...

      • If you really want to compare Roger Wilco to Xbox Live voice chat, then you're on crack.

        They are nowhere close. Xbox Live voice has things like team chat and proximity chat built in. You don't have to screw around with anything- they just works.

        I played huge amounts of on-line games on the PC for years and years. Now that I am on the Xbox, I think that my $50 Live subscription is the best $50 I have ever paid for gaming. You don't really understand it until you use it.

        Then when you use it, the thought
        • i guess the online gaming experience that i usually had was alot more a conscious decision.

          with counter-strike, i never played on anything but our own servers pretty much from day one - me and a couple buddies started our own clan (which is still going long after i stopped playing & participating) - guaranteed low-pings, guaranteed friendly players, and guaranteed challenging gameplay due to the skill-level from everyone involved.

          counter-strike didn't need much more than a 150 machine when it first st
          • Well, I'm in clans on Xbox Live. Same thing you are talking about. Every Wednesday we get together for some games. In fact, we can go to Bungie.net to see our scores, how we compare to each other, etc. etc. Xbox Live isn't just 'force-fed.'

            Yes, voice chat is voice chat. And it is very nice to have a 'conference call' with your buddies while waiting for the host to set up the new game settings.

            When I get into a game with someone who is an idiot, I can mute them- and still just listen to everyone else.
            • yeah half-life had easy muting of idiots as well.

              as much as i don't like to admit it - microsoft does seem to have thought out the xbox live system fairly well ;}

              i've heard alot of good reviews of it.
            • I'll agree xbox live is one of the better online arrangments to come out there, but I can't justify it as a good use of my 50 dollars when I've got a better set up on my PC. I had recently got it after hearing such good reviews only to find out that Halo 2's multiplayer was ridiculously gimped. I had come into the game thinking that I was going to be able to play what maps I wanted to play, with what gametype I wanted to play, the way I wanted to play it. Of course Bungie doesn't actually offer that kind of
              • Okay, Live was not working for you- but I don't understand one of your comments.

                You don't like matchmaking, because you don't get to play with your friends. Okay- understand that.

                But, you don't like to play unranked team games, because it usually degenerates into crap (which I agree with whole-heartedly). Got it.

                But the last part didn't make sense to me. You don't want to create your own game, and limit it to your friends list...

                But, with Counter Strike, you feel it is better because you can set up y
      • "now, suddenly consoles can do 'hd' resolutions, which are basically what we've had on PC's for the past 7-8 years:"

        If the best argument for the PC is its resolution, the PC market is pretty dead. Resolution means nothing. At least back in the day you could argue that a PC could handle higher poly counts, better lighting, bigger textures, etc., but if you have to fall back on pixel counting, I'd say there's a problem with your argument.

        If you're defending the PC, at least mention some meaningful game
        • I do not enjoy most online games. I like City of Heroes, due by the fact that I've been able to find people who like comic books and I get to PLAY as a hero, but I seriously feel that the automatic assumption that every game on a PC (or any other platform, but I don't like consoles either) needs to be "online" or "high resolution" is a very poor one.

          Instead, I'd like to suggest the limitations of console input devices limit the sorts of games that can be played on them, and THAT is the biggest single reaso

          • Instead, I'd like to suggest the limitations of console input devices limit the sorts of games that can be played on them, and THAT is the biggest single reason I see for gaming as it's meant to be, on a PC.

            I could also mention the fact that a PC Game developer can ASSUME a high quality display, stereo sound and a couple of complex input devices.

            There are no limitations, not since October of 2000. (USB ports on the PS2)

            I must also say that gaming consoles predate gaming on PC's. (not counting text b


            • There are no limitations, not since October of 2000. (USB ports on the PS2)

              Yes, but that equipment is not standard. Hey, PS2s can have hard drives, too. See how well that went over?
              Oh, and last time I checked, NTSC wasn't something I'd want to spend long periods of time staring at. Interlaced 640x480 != high quality.

              Consoles have had stereo sound as the default since the late 80's when the Genesis came out.

              Yes, but there are millions and millions of people - people who also have game consoles - wh
              • "Oh, and last time I checked, NTSC wasn't something I'd want to spend long periods of time staring at. Interlaced 640x480 != high quality."

                Call it what you may, but most every American spends many hours a week staring at it. And again, if resolution is one of the top reasons for PC gaming, doesn't that say something about the quality of games? If a developer can't figure out how to make a decent game in 640x480, frankly they don't deserve to be making games. I'm not discounting PC games, but surely you c

              • Yes, but that equipment is not standard. Hey, PS2s can have hard drives, too. See how well that went over?

                Went over pretty well...in Japan Went over well among Final Fantasy fans here in the states and Linux kit owners of course. The problem with the HD wasn't rejection by gamers but overcaution by SCEA. Had the HD came out in 2002, as was originally planned, it would have been better received. But SCEA wanted to wait until it had a killer app for it, and Square took too long to do the NTSC version

                • blame Ion Storm doing Deus Ex 2 for the Xbox when the PS2 would have been a better home for it. USB ports, so they wouldn't have had to change the controls at all

                  this sort of proves his point. the xbox can have keyboard and mouse controls too, the point being that no-one knows/cares.

                  another important factor is the location of the device. where is your console? its in the fron room, you sit on the sofa and play. where do you put your mouse and keyboard? on the coffee table? welcome to back pain. the PC

            • I'd say this is a joke, but then again I'm reading slashdot, so this sort of crap is a mainstay of the community.

              There are no limitations, not since October of 2000. (USB ports on the PS2)

              Whether or not computers or consoles have the ability of using seperate input devices (which I guuess consoles do, now) it's pretty much the default ones that really matter since a lot of people will not be willing to design a game for what most users may not own. That said, keyboard and mouse can do pretty much anythi

              • it's pretty much the default ones that really matter since a lot of people will not be willing to design a game for what most users may not own.

                It can't be that hard to just throw in keyboard/moust support as an extra. We all know of PC games like sports titles that can be played with the keyboard/mouse or with some Dual Shock lookalike controller. They don't have to design the game around a specific control scheme/set up at all.

                That said, a kbm setup will work with pretty much every game out the

      • The games won't require 2 or 3 monitors because not enough gamers have them. A hard core gamer probably invests in a single 21" screen instead of dual 19". Also because framerate is so important, and the framerate hit between 3200x1200 and 1600x1200 is so huge, don't expect that to happen anytime soon. If dual screen gaming ever catches on, the second monitor will only be for stat info because few people are willing to game with a one or two inch gap right in the center of their view.

        Dual core? xbox360
      • You're right, but I'm not so sure about resolution anymore.

        My main machine is a notebook from last year, so it's got some trouble running, say GTA in > 1024x768.
        However, the card has AA on-board so I gave it a try. And tell you what, GTA looks better in 800x600 with AA on than it does in 1024x768 with AA off.

        Console games look great for the resolutions they offer. There's a lot you can do that doesn't rely on upping the pixel count.
      • the current generation PS2 can do up to 1080i, off the top of my head only two pieces of software do that, one is the Linux kit, the other being Gran Tursimo 4. It can also output VGA (sync on green)

      • The main reasons console games are more popular are 1) it is cheaper to buy a state-of-the-art machine that will play all the games your friends are bragging about and, 2) everything just works.

        I love my PC games, still the best way to play RTS, FPS, simulations, and funkie titles that will never make it to a console. But, when I just want to "tray-and-play" a game with some friends, it is hard to beat a console.

        • Another thing I've noticed (more recently) is that consoles are much more 'group' friendly - whether it's from multi-screen play (less so in this regard) or from simple gameplay functionality.

          When you want to sit down and slug away for 50 hours on an RPG - PC's can't be beat.

          But when you have a couple of buddies over and want to have a game that you can do 'pass the controller' with, console games (at least some of them) are easier to adopt into this type of gameplay.

          This isn't entirely from the living r
  • declining rapidly, outside of certain genres, since the XBox came out. MS cannibalized a large portion of PC developer resources to bolster their library on the console. Ruining a large number of games in the process(like Deus Ex: Invisible War).

    The number of games I wanted on the PC used to be on about equal footing to the number of games I wanted on consoles. Not so any longer.

    • PC gaming has been declining rapidly, outside of certain genres, since the XBox came out.

      "Certain genres" may be more important than some may think. Particularly, startup developers and developers of "casual" games find it a lot harder to get published on a console than to self-publish on Windows.

    • What do you base this on outside your own personal experience? What are these "certain genres" that have been spared this "decline" that you are talking about? Why would you say the XBox has had any more impact on the landscape of PC gaming than the Playstation or GameCube? Can you please clarify what you mean by "cannibalized...PC developer resources" and then relate to us how you came to conclude that "a large portion" of said resources were taken. By your reference to Deus Ex 2, are you inferring that FP
      • Comparing what's coming out to what used to. I've been a PC gamer since you could be a PC gamer. That's a long time. Genres I loved have risen and died. I've gotten sick of FPSes. I've rekindled an appreciation of them. I've gotten sick of them again.

        Even over the last few years I've seen the decline worsen. Gaming shops that might have a PC section, if you're lucky, which might be almost as big as the gamecube section, if you're lucky, and might stock new/rarer things, if you're lucky.

        And a lot of

    • Re:Huh? PC gaming has been (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I am loathe to say this, because I love Warren Spector (when he is not pontificating on the "sad state" of the industry) and Harvey Smith- but the only folks who ruined Deus Ex: IW were Ion Storm themselves. They missed the mark, simple as that. There are plenty of games that exist in masterwork form on both the PC and the console. Halo and Grand Theft Auto 3 come to mind.

      PC gaming isn't going anywhere for many reasons. A constantly upgradable platform, a user base that is much smarter and more likely
      • yes, Ion Storm were the developers that ruined DX2, but I think it's the Xbox's limitations that forced them to make the wrong decisions. First off, I don't think DX2 could ever meet the level of uniqueness DX had, since there was already DX, so they were bound for an inferior sequel right off the bat. They did make a pretty interesting story, and the graphics/physics system was ahead of its time.

        BUT, Ion Storm was forced to remove the more endearing gameplay mechanics because of the knowledge it was bei
    • First I've heard of it...I still play a ton of new games and more are coming out etc etc.

      Or is this one of those things where the media says it's declining so it MUST be true. I mean I have an Xbox, a PS2 and a Gamecube and I couldn't tell you one game that's coming out for them. The Gamecube get's played more as that's my 11 year old son's favorite. But the Xbox and PS2 are hardly touched. I mean, when they first came out they were played much more...but now they mainly collect dust while I play World of
      • World of Warcraft has caused most of my other gaming stuff to gather much dust(even AFTER hitting lvl 60). BF2, no real interest. Shrug, I'm sick of that entire genre. All 3 of the games your playing were the type I was thinking when I said "except certain genres."

  • He's right (Score:4, Insightful)

    by fwice ( 841569 ) on Saturday July 23, 2005 @12:17AM (#13142100)
    He's right. The computer isn't dead for gaming, and in my opinion, will never be overshadowed by consoles. I've pretty much stopped enjoying console games, excluding the GTA's, n64's goldeneye and smash brothers, and my old SNES and nintendo games. Nothing else new on console is worth playing.

    But on the computer I've had tons of games that were tons of fun. starting back with civilization and progressing up through warcraft II, duke nukem, doom, quake, AOE, and then halflife & cs(!)

    what makes most PC games so much better than the console games is the amount of personal interactivity with people. I can talk to the people i'm playing with in counter-strike. I can't do that with a console (excluding some horrid voicecom). And it's so much easier to use the mouse / keyboard combination for gaming than a controller (no matter how i try, i can't aim in halo worth a shit with an xbox controller)

    but, as of late, i've gone totally retro and dusted off the NES and the atari for some old school fun times :]

    • Re:He's right (Score:5, Insightful)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Saturday July 23, 2005 @12:24AM (#13142131) Homepage Journal
      "The computer isn't dead for gaming, and in my opinion, will never be overshadowed by consoles."

      Actually it's always been overshadowed by consoles. Game developers make a lot more money on consoles than they do the PC. PC Game makers, for example, shoot for 100,000 copies sold. Console game makers shoot for half a mil.

      "what makes most PC games so much better than the console games is the amount of personal interactivity with people. I can talk to the people i'm playing with in counter-strike. I can't do that with a console (excluding some horrid voicecom)."

      Heh. You should try buying a second controller and inviting a friend over. ;)

      • Game developers make a lot more money on consoles than they do the PC.

        A lot of game developers who sell games for Windows and/or Mac OS make zero money on consoles because they can't seem to get noticed by a licensed console game publisher. Unlike PCs, consoles have a digital imprimatur [wikipedia.org].

      • Troll...? Bullshit.

        I used to work at a software company that licensed some code to a game developer you've all heard of. Those were the numbers thrown out.

        Was it the controller comment maybe? Apologies if it came out rude, but come on. Who all here has had friends over to play Nintendo? Who can honestly say that playing Quake is a better social experience than that?
        • tbh i didnt think it was troll or rude or anything, but a well made point. if it wasnt my post id be using my mod points to raise it up :[
      • Heh. You should try buying a second controller and inviting a friend over. ;)

        And split the already crappy resolution? Acceptable for MarioKart, but makes Halo nearly unplayable.

        • Many games have all players on the screen, anyway. Games like Tekken or Smash Bros. are very popular.
          • Smash Bros' zooming out is the worst. You're character ends up being about 6 pixels, you can barely see shere he is, let alone what he's doing.

            I've never cared much for fighting games, anyway. The only use I have for them is teaching my little brother some humility (he usually wins the first round, as I'm figuring out the controls, then I proceed to dominate him).

      • If you look at games like World of Warcraft, they've now hit the 3.5 million subscribers mark. That's steady income for Blizzard for years to come. True, it's the exception to the rule, but even the GTA's which sold millions aren't going to see that sort of long-term revenue stream.

        That's not to say that many console games have more widespread distribution than PC games, only that it's not fair to compare them directly. PC games make their money in different ways - expansion packs, digital downloads
      • Heh. You should try buying a second controller and inviting a friend over. ;)

        So we can share a split screen and see what the other is doing at all times? No thanks. What if I want to play with 4 friends? OOh... now my screen is split 4 ways, my field of vision is restricted, and now all of us can easily tell where each other is at all times. Doesn't that kinda take the fun out of a First Person Shooter?

        • "Doesn't that kinda take the fun out of a First Person Shooter?"

          Sure. Unlike the PC, though, there are a LOT more games out there than just FPSs.

          Playing with people on-line is very sterile compared to playing against the guy sitting right next to you. I had a lot more fun playing Killer Instinct with my step-brothers than I ever did playing Quake on-line. Heck, I remember going to a friend's house when I was kid. He had an NES and he'd invite a bunch of us over. We'd all take turns. Sometimes it wa

          • Sure. Unlike the PC, though, there are a LOT more games out there than just FPSs.

            I'm not disagreeing with you, at all. The GP poster was talking about FPS games, so I stayed within the same genre. As for the games you mentioned, they are more designed towards cooperative playing. Try both running in 2 different directions in Contra. The easiest way to show that the spirit is cooperation (or attacking each other, in the case of Killer Instinct) is the fact that you share a single screen.

            Playing in a

    • Re:He's right (Score:2, Informative)

      by Seumas ( 6865 ) *
      If PC games were going anywhere, all the really cool games wouldn't be coming out on PC first and later ported to consoles. Doom? Counterstrike?

      Not to mention, there are a few popular PC titles that I don't believe are available on any other platform.

      You know, a few silly titles like World of Warcraft, Everquest, Ultima Online, Dungeon Siege, Neverwinter Nights, The Sims, The Sims Online...
      • Sure it used to take years for a console port of a PC game to appear and now it takes what...months? and now there's more multiplatform games than ever and more console to PC ports than there ever were.

        There's 3 console EQ games, EQOA (mmorpg) and Champions of Norrath, Champions: Return to Arms (diablo clones)

        There's console Sim games too.

        As for the others, just because they haven't been ported doesn't mean they won't or that they can't. Any one of those could be done on a console.
        • Of course they could be done on a console. But they aren't. And that isn't stopping them from being massively popular games. So any suggestion that PC games are dying (or whatever) is just silly. More people are playing videogames on PCs than ever before in the history of games. How is that "dying"?!

          By the way, would you actually want to try playing WoW or Counterstrike on a freaking console?! What a nightmare that would be!
          • Who says they aren't. Last I heard blizzard was thinking of doing a console version of WoW.

            Sure there's a lot of PC owners playing games...web games. But there are a hell of a lot more console "gamers" than PC "gamers"

            How would it be any different from playng them on a PC. You do know that PS2's have USB ports, so the people that do play MMORPG's on the PS2 just plug a keyboard in.

            As for FPS' I simply do not understand the antipathy PC gamers have for proper analog controls. They work fine, though it
            • How would it be any different from playng them on a PC. You do know that PS2's have USB ports, so the people that do play MMORPG's on the PS2 just plug a keyboard in.

              Why would you do that? Even if your console of choice and your television support HDTV, do you really want to play an MMORPG from fifteen feet away? You're still going to need a place to put your USB mouse and keyboard so you can play.

              As for FPS' I simply do not understand the antipathy PC gamers have for proper analog controls. They work f

              • Why would you do that? Even if your console of choice and your television support HDTV, do you really want to play an MMORPG from fifteen feet away? You're still going to need a place to put your USB mouse and keyboard so you can play.

                Why wouldn't you?

                Fifteen feet? More like 6 feet. And you can just use a tv tray, cushioned portable writing pad, or just put the keyboard on your lap. It's not clunky at all.

                Two things. Again, there's nothing like playing a few inches away from the interface and the

          • "So any suggestion that PC games are dying (or whatever) is just silly. More people are playing videogames on PCs than ever before in the history of games. How is that "dying"?!"

            Half-Life, Myst, and The Sims have each sold around 8-10 million copies. I don't know what the numbers are on HL2, Doom 3, etc, but I'm pretty sure none of them have passed that mark yet. Also, sales of one specific game don't really mean anything. Halo 2 has sold something like 6 million copies, which is much more than the avera
    • And it's so much easier to use the mouse / keyboard combination for gaming than a controller (no matter how i try, i can't aim in halo worth a shit with an xbox controller)


      Perhaps you should be blaming your ham handed self and not the controller. Subtle movements! You need to build up your thumb muscles and dexterity. The mouse skills (and muscles) you have are useless with an analog stick.
      It will just take time and practice.
  • PC Gaming is why we have innovation, and why 90% of us buy new computers. I just dropped 1200$ on building a new computer not too long ago, why? So I could play awesome computer games, not so I could more efficiently use Microsoft Word. The fact of the matter is, except for the slim minority of computer users who buy new hardware when their existing is in need of a reformat, gaming is why we buy the latest processor when a P2 will do most jobs just fine.
    • "PC Gaming is why we have innovation, and why 90% of us buy new computers."

      90% of who? all humans? slashdotters? Do businesses buy computers to entertain cubical dwellers? Is a forty year old housewife more likely buy a computer to play Doom 3, or to organize recipes? Don't assume that the people you know are representative of society. People tend to gravitate towards people that have similar motives and priorities. I agree with the innovation part, but just because a medium does something first doesn't m
    • "PC Gaming is why we have innovation,"

      Care to elaborate on that one? The biggest PC games of last year were three FPSs and an MMORPG. Doesn't really scream "innovation" to me. Sure, they each introduced their own little changes to each genre, but for the most part they were refined, evolutionary sequels. If PC gaming does in fact innovate, it's only in a few genres, and only in a few games within each of those genres.

      The PC might be more versatile, but that doesn't automatically breed innovation. The

  • Me too (Score:3, Funny)

    by Linus Torvaalds ( 876626 ) on Saturday July 23, 2005 @12:41AM (#13142207)

    I got caught up in the hype myself to a certain extent. I started to believe I didn't need the computer for games.

    Yeah, me too. I thought that if I stared at the CD and concentrated really hard, that I could play the game purely with the power of my mind.

    Damn hype.

  • The Future of PC Games Is and Always Has Been... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SteevR ( 612047 ) on Saturday July 23, 2005 @01:07AM (#13142318) Homepage Journal
    ...the independent developer community. Folks like Carmack, Romero, Garriot and many others developed games on the various personal computer platforms of their day on a shoestring. These individuals are the ones that, for the most part, made PC gaming great.

    In terms of a lot of indie content not being "AAA" grade these days... a lot of the great indie content people seem to be chained by their balls into mod work. If these guys realized their own talent and struck out on their own with a low-cost engine like Torque, or an open source option like CrystalSpace, Nebula, or Rygax, we would see far more successful indie game companies selling their work.

    Console manufacturers make money off of these guys through buyouts or licensing once they get really successful. Eventually many companies become "exclusive partners", get locked into multiple-title deals, or otherwise lose their independence from the Big Publisher model of game business. An exception of course is Id, which we all know has a positively unique management situation. Valve also is regaining some cajones in this department.

    So there are always indies, and indies are what make PC gaming greatest- past, present, future.
  • I'm pretty sure that the reason that PC gaming has been in decline is that it hasn't been going anywhere.

  • Yep, the same old stuff (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fr0dicus ( 641320 ) on Saturday July 23, 2005 @05:32AM (#13143063) Journal
    Picks out some anal simulation game, keyboard/mouse control, how he's got stuck into a particular sandbox online game. This isn't new at all.

    I still get annoyed at the keyboard/mouse argument. Yes, it's quicker and more accurate. Few except people with godlike joypad skills could deny that. But why is that necessarily good? People look at me strangely when I ask, but after playing a lot of Quake 3 and then just sitting back to spectate for a second at these guys with incredible hit percentages, bouncing about like rabbits, not failing to hit each other as they did, the whole thing just looks like a farce. It wasn't too bad in futuristic settings, but as soon as the whole thing moved into realistic war settings like Enemy Territory and Battlefield I just checked out completely. Anyone who's fired a gun will tell you that that kind of accuracy is completely off the scale, especially when jumping around. This is not a John Woo movie. Now I crave the relative poorness of the joypad control. It's a great leveller, and introduces far more tactics into the game than any amount of extra HUD that a greater definition can offer.

    I recently finally got tired of WoW, and thank God I did. I'd have been upset to miss out on Resident Evil 4, God of War, GT4/Forza, never mind how the new handhelds are building up.

    The upshot? Anyone want to buy a Radeon 9800 Pro?

    • The upshot? Anyone want to buy a Radeon 9800 Pro?
      Sure.
    • Picks out some anal simulation game,
      I don't think a game about simulating an anus really appeals to me all that much. Maybe one that simulated the whole body, but the arsehole... nah, not for me.
    • I actually completely agree. With an analog thumbstick I actually have to aim, as opposed to just instintively pointing the mouse. I also like having a trigger (at least on an xbox/dreamcast controller), as opposed to a mouse button. Its a lot more satisfying to play an FPS when it takes a bit of effort to make shots, as opposed to just pointing and clicking, at least if shooting is the only thing going on. I still enjoyed Deus Ex/Deus Ex 2 on PC, but those usually involved a bit more than shooting (and

  • Graphics cards (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Elkboy ( 770849 )

    I don't get why people complain so much about the cost of the latest graphics cards and use this as a measuring stick for the cost of PC gaming in general. Yes, the latest graphics cards are ridicously expensive, but they press the prices of older cards down really fast. A card from the last generation or the one before that still run the majority of games excellently for very little money.

    Sure, it's still more expensive to buy a PC than a console, but except gaming and media, consoles can't do much. A PC

    • Sure, it's still more expensive to buy a PC than a console, but except gaming and media, consoles can't do much. A PC can do whatever you make it do, not just what Sony and Microsoft thinks you should do with it.

      And my 3.5 year old PC that can't play Doom 3 or Half-Life 2 worth a shit still does all that other stuff just fine. The only reasons to stay on the upgrade treadmill (or to get on it as often) are playing games or doing high-end multimedia or graphics work. Since I don't do any of the latter, and
    • A PC can do whatever you make it do, not just what Sony and Microsoft thinks you should do with it.

      Dear PC user,

      Thank you for writing. We at Microsoft are aware of this issue, and you will be relieved to know that we have partnered with several major computing companies to ensure that in the future, your PC will not do what you want it to do.

      Thank you for your concern.

      Signed,
      Microsoft Palladium team

  • Right (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Sv-Manowar ( 772313 ) on Saturday July 23, 2005 @07:12AM (#13143230) Homepage Journal
    He's right, as most peoples PC's are being continuously upgraded and replaced, the market for PC games continues to stay steady, whereas with consoles only being replaced every 7-8 years, they gradually loose their selling power in the couple of years before they are replaced

    PC gaming might not be as strong as it once was, but it will be stable for a long time to come
    • "He's right, as most peoples PC's are being continuously upgraded and replaced, the market for PC games continues to stay steady, whereas with consoles only being replaced every 7-8 years, they gradually loose their selling power in the couple of years before they are replaced"

      Which is why Halo 2 and GTA:SA were two of the best-selling games this generation, and why Zelda: Twilight Princess is one of the most anticipated games in the last five years. All of those titles have released (or will release) wi
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Most people have never seen the inside of their PC or upgraded it. To them, it's a magic box. Don't confuse the behavior of the average slashdot reader with that of the general population.

  • PC Gaming not dying. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by meezeh ( 885698 )
    Consoles will always be for the casual gamer that really has no idea about games. Competetive gaming, and the chance of gaming becoming a sport, lies in the computer. No other platform can handle competetive gaming.
    • You obviously haven't played a console game in a while. "Casual gamer" You do realize that all the FPS's fanboys are "casual gamers " compared to the greybeards that played wizardry, Ultima I and all those hex based turn based civil war wargames with low res graphics.

      Please tell me the reason why consoles can't do competitive gaming. They've got multitaps, they've got lan play, the've got online play so what is it they lack?

    • Yes videogames as sport. Way to cling to the most meaningless concept ever. If that's what is going to save PC gaming then you can have it.
    • I think that this goes back to the original point of the post, which was more aimed at RPG/MMO than it was at 'PC GAMING' in general.

      First, I'm a greybeard. I've been running RPG's fairly seriously for 30 years. I've written fiction, I've written software (including some text based games in the mainframe days)... That's my background.

      Okay, so here is my take on this.

      Number 1: RPG's are story driven. The player(s) need to accomplish something in the world, and even if the means is largely combat, the

  • Yes it's dying, it's turning into the modern equivalent of the late Amiga game market. niche games (like the turn based wargames) ports, games from Europe, and games by dev houses that are anti-console snobs.

    Oh sure the PC will play home for indie games for dev houses too poor to go console, but if those guys have a hit, say goodbye to them.

    The consoles can handle any genre, even ones like the strategy titles. Just because they haven't played host to such games much in the past doesn't mean they can't b
    • As I said, casual gamers. PC gamers on the whole don't need to upgrade and often end up playing a certain game for 4/5 years. I've been playing the original Quake for 9 years. It isn't dead, it takes much more skill, and is much more competetive than any console game. Anti-console snob's isn't a very good way to look at it. These people know that the only way for eSports to become close to sports is through the PC platform. I mean, who the hell would want to play a first person shooter with a pad... Mous
      • So a casual gamer is a gamer that doesn't play PC games?

        It seems funny to me that other people posting in this thread are so keen on discussing the upgradability of PC's and here you are saying you don't need to upgrade and have been playing Quake for 9 years.

        Define much more skill

        Define competitive

        There isn't a single genre out there that couldn't be played with a analog pad with some modifications to the control system. That's good UI design at it's core.

        • Uh...FPS's that don't have an "auto-aim" option and/or hitboxes the size of freakin planets for one.

          I'm sorry but you just can't get the same level of control in an fps with a gamepad as you can with a mouse. The keyboard part I believe could be but not the mouse.

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