I think I’m a gaming Fudd. I’m a die hard PC Gamer and I’m really only interested in First Person Shooters (especially if they are in the Horror genre) and Simulators. I really don’t care about any other game types, even if I’ve dabbled in RTS and RPG’s.
Because of the FPS Fixation, I scoff at Consoles. Reason being is Mouse Aiming. Controller Aiming flat blows. And WASD combined with Mouse Aiming allows for very smooth and fluid movement. Controllers, not so much.
Unfortunately PC gaming is pretty much on life support. It’s going to be dead soon.
I remember not having a problem with a new game requiring a hardware upgrade to run. I used to think, if you had to upgrade, you should anyway. Well, computers all pretty much fast enough and have enough RAMs and Gigs and graphics… I’m not seeing the need to upgrade just because a 60 dollar game requires it. I’d rather just not play the game.
And why the hell are these games still so expensive. 60 bucks for a game? PLEASE. Production Costs? Really, I can watch a movie on Blue Ray that cost over 200 million to make, and the disk cost me 20 bucks. The excuse is that less people play games so the cost is higher. Well, I tell you what, 99% of the gamers I know all wait till those prices come way down anyway. You make that next Call of Duty 8 or whatever it is, brand new blockbuster game… and price that at 20 bucks – You will end up making more because all the gamers that wait will just go ahead and buy it. You guys are up in the freaking night.
Yeah, I’m just kind of turned off on the whole gaming industry. Because let me tell you. All the new high tech games with the Online Gaming experience and all that crap… The Games are No More Fun than back in the day when we were playing RAINBOW SIX: ROGUE SPEAR in a LAN PARTY. That was awesome and gaming has gone down hill.
Movies recoup at least some portion of their production cost through theatre showings and broadcast agreements. Games pretty much have to get it all back at retail. And AAA games seem to involve roughly the same production and marketing budgets as a blockbuster movie, probably at greater risk (due to smaller sales, higher per-unit cost, support costs, and so forth). Truthfully, software of non-trivial complexity is expensive, and most games are pretty complicated, and the overhead in art and other assets is getting fairly absurd as games approach higher and higher fidelity.
Inflation’s a right bitch, though. 60USD from 2009 is worth less than 40USD from 1990 (or some the first inflation calculator I could find says). Meanwhile, Wolfenstein 3-D sold for $35 in 1992, or thereabouts. Inflation makes that $55 by 2009. In real dollars, the consumer cost of games hasn’t changed that much, even while the cost of production has skyrocketed.
I don’t think PC gaming is dead, just yet, either. It seems to go in cycles, waxing and waning as consoles come and go. The current console cycle has been pretty long, but digital distribution for the PC is much less expensive and simpler than digital distribution on the consoles, and I think digital distribution is where things are going, long term. This also has the potential to cut out a substantial amount of the distribution cost, but it’s still a mistake to assume that digital distribution means that moving product is free. Especially if games continue to balloon in size.
But I don’t much disagree that gameplay remains about the same. I really dig co-operative gameplay, for instance, but the basic idea’s been around quite a long time. For instance, I’m reasonably certain you could drop multiple people in a DOOM level and lay waste to monsters. And it wasn’t really new, then, either, with various games offering simultaneous multiplayer in the arcade of the 1980’s.
Dead Rising & Dead Rising 2 are just 2 awesome console games and I’m still playing GTA IV every now and then when I need to take some frustration out. Consoles aren’t just for games anymore as my 360 & PS3 both get equal time playing Netflix and I can even access our laptop through the media center on the 360. I can surf with my PS3 on the big screen (my blue tooth keyboard & mouse makes things much easier) and I can catch up on the news on my 360. Games are expensive, but if you play a lot I would suggest a subscription to Gamefly. If you think about the lifespan of the average game is less than a month (when it’s beaten and now just sitting in the case) it makes more sense to be able to get multiple games in a month for less than a quarter the cost of 1 game. I’m the opposite…I never really got into PC games because it seemed that the newest & coolest games required a powerful machine to run at the highest resolution and fastest speed and I just couldn’t afford that.
I actually liked the GTA games III and later, on the PC too.. even if the porting was glitchy.
Yup, that’s my problem with PC. Too many times I’ve bought a game just to find out it didn’t work. Screw that. With consoles, I get a game, I know it will work. I won’t have to have the most expensive upgrades just to play the latest games. Buy game. Put in console. Play. I like that. Also, if you happen to like any other games besides FPS’s and RTS’s then you have to get a console. I like variety.
Well, buying a console isn’t free. But the big expense is the HD TV to get the most out of the graphics, unless you like playing your games at 640×480, which is what a typical TV can do. The native resolution on my monitor is 1280×1024, and that’s not anything special.
While an XBox may only run $300, a good TV will cost you another six hundred to a thousand.
Is a 48 inch plasma good enough?
[Quote]The Games are No More Fun than back in the day when we were playing RAINBOW SIX: ROGUE SPEAR in a LAN PARTY.[/quote]
I don’t know about that, playing Gears of War 2 online in Horde mode with friends can get pretty intense, even better than the old Quake3/Half Life/Counterstrike days at the LAN parties!
Glad I’m not the only one who still prefers PCs, in fact enough so that I will never own a console (unless they make one with every game mouse and keyboard compatible, then I might consider it) and if they simply stop making PC games I’ll just be SOL. Haven’t found too many recent games that are worthwhile to me anyway.
Well I’m right there with ya;) I run a hacked first gen xbox as a TV/Myth frontend in our bedroom but I don’t really have much need for it for real “gaming”.
That said I’m too busy to really put time into gaming anymore, which is unfortunate, but I think that’s where allot of us are;) I don’t want to play games online against 14 year old’s I don’t have the patience in what is supposed to be my time to relax:)
Luke
I can’t afford to keep up with new PC prices. I’d rather buy the console and know I won’t have to buy a new graphics card or a new console for a while. Gaming PC = $1200+. Xbox 360= $300
I’m with you. I just can’t play a shooter on a console. I need the mouse and keyboard, and consoles also blow for RTS, MMO’s, and strategy games. I took a long hiatus from the console systems after the SNES.
I did step up and buy a PS3 last year. Mainly because I needed a blu ray player for my new tv, and figured I might as well get one with games while I was at it. I only buy used games for it, so that keeps the costs down. Anyone that pays retail for new releases is a fool.
Same thing for the PC games, just wait a year or two and you can buy “Ultimate Super Gold Edition” with all the expansion packs in the bargain bin for $10-$20.
Well I wait until the Steam Christmas sales then pick them up for $5-10 but of course it’s arguable if you actually own something you don’t have a physical copy of;)
Luke
I highly recommend “Uncharted 2” for the PS3 if you haven’t tried it yet. This is one of the best overall games I’ve played on any platform.
Love me some PC gaming. I remember staying late one day after work playing on a LAN game for the 1st time (RAINBOW SIX: ROGUE SPEAR) it was great. Cant stand using my thumbs for anything other than jumping.
I would recommend a game from “People Can Fly” (who is now owned by Epic) called “Painkiller”. It involves Purgatory, Satan, and the lot as one fights their way out of Hell to be reunited with their wife who was granted entry into Heaven.
The story is a hair superfluous, but the environments and enemies are incredible. The weapons selection seems limited (at first) but once one learns the tricks, one shall slaughter the legions of Satan while laughing maniacally. A gun that launches a blender blade? Done. A Gun that launches 3″ wide by 2ft long logs AND grenades? DONE.
The game rocks, Mr. Ogre. Try it and I bet you would like it.
Due to carpal tunnel type damage (I blame the Atari 2600 joystick buttons), my thumbs are in agony after about 10 minutes of console controller thumbing. I am a die hard PC gamer, FPS, RTS, Sim, whatever…. and I have to use a mouse & keyboard.
I looked at the PS3 & Xbox because they have keyboards available for them, but the games do not utilize them. KB is for online chatting mostly. WTF?
I think they would get a lot more players cross over if they would just use the current user interface devices most of the world is used to. Hell, I can get a Xbox controller for my PC, why can’t I get a KB & mouse for my Xbox?
If the Xbox could use a WASD pad and a mouse for aiming – I would already have one.
There is still good PC gaming to be had.
If FPS is your thing, look for Rage when it hits shelves in Q3-Q4 this year. I’ve always liked id’s games and this one looks promising. I still think Q3A was the best pure deathmatch game ever.
And yeah, Painkiller was nuts. So was Serious Sam.
Mark
I’ll look for Rage when it comes out…
I miss doing some Quake Lan Partying.
Did Mass Effect 1 0r 2 come out for the PC? That would redeem PC’s a little. Favorite games of all time.
Yes they did. The PC versions were much better graphically, and a bit better in the interface, although the inventory system was still hobbled by being too console centric. (Alpha Protocol and Assassin’s Creed I and II both suffer from this issue.)
Max Payne with Kung Fu edition v3 is still one of the best PC gaming experiences around.
I had immense trouble with the PC port of Mass Effect 1. Interface didn’t bother me terribly, but the game just wasn’t stable. And it got less stable as it went on. Had to save in the middle of the big last boss fight, IIRC, because it crashed at least once trying to get through the fight. This may have been fixed in the last year with an update to my video drivers or a patch to the game or something, I dunno.
They did manage to make the hacking mini-game very slightly less obnoxious on the PC.
I am a former die hard PC gamer — until a friend convinced me to try the XBox 360 a few years back. Though I still prefer some games on the PC, I can finally play FPS’s on a console somewhat decently. Probably only took a few years of practice…
One thing the 360 has hands down over the PC is the ease of connecting with friends to play games online and the seamless integration of VOIP. I’ve never seen this type of social “networking” on any PC games outside of MMOs like World of Warcraft.