PC vs Console gaming

[SoulBlazer]

I realize the vast majority of people on the forum are into console games only, and mostly older games. But does anyone on here spend any time on a regualr day playing PC games as well as console games?

The PC gaming market is quite small comapred to the console one -- according to the IDSA's 2002 figures, only about 2 billion of the 12 billion that were spent on games. But I've always played PC games as much as, if not MORE then, console games. It seems the PC market has more 'fresh' and unique games to it. Not to say it does'nt have a lot of 'me also!' games (Good god, how many FPS's can we get????) but it's a heaven for small publishers who can sell their games cheaply as direct download.

Looking at the games I plan to buy the rest of the year, I see four PC games (Homeworld 2 being the next one due out) as compared to two GBA, one PS2, and one GC game.

Of course, I also suspect part of this could be my love for strategy/simulation games, something that has always done better on computers. But when it comes to RPG's, I never got into the PC style of doing that, with a few exceptions like Planescape: Torment and Morrowind. Weird how that just happened.

I'd urge anyone who thinks there are no 'good' games coming out these days to get a modern PC and see what you can get out there for either free or very cheap.

[Pantechnicon]

I used to spend a lot more time playing PC games, but I've pretty much given up on them, excluding emulation, and confine my gaming to consoles.

My brother-in-law was kind enough to get me a subscription to PC Gamer Monthly as a Christmas present. I read it, I think the games are cool, but when I start thinking about playing them I get sort of sick to my stomach when I consider how one has to spend several hundred dollars on top of the cost of the game just to get a system capable of running them. Oh, and before you any of you tell me you've already got the shiat-hot gaming PC with the big video card and 3D sound or whatever, I challenge you to perform no upgrades to you b0><o4 then tell me the same thing in one year's time.

I work in computer support, and no one knows more than me that Moore's Law is a universal truth. You will never have enough speed and you will never have enough RAM. So personally it's not worth it to try and stay on the bleeding edge. The PC's in my house are functional, for work and Web, and all gaming is done through the consoles.

I would rather "plug and play" than plug, crash, spend, upgrade, rebuild, plug again and then play.

[bargora]

I haven't really played a lot of computer games since around 1997 or so. My computer became obsolete around then, and even when I upgraded, I just used it to play older games.

I still mean to finish X-Wing: Alliance and Grim Fandango, though, and I'd like to install that copy of Independence War that came from ebay. Also, I'd like to figure out that Star Fleet Battles game that I installed last year..

[Oobgarm]

90% console for me. I never had a decent computer to play games on, as our old Tandy was a complete turd, followed by the 486 Packard Bell shitbox. Loved playing Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego on those old things, though.

Once I got my own PC, I got into Unreal Tournament, and some of the more in depth Sim City stuff. I've got a 1 ghz now, it's decent and all, but with a busted power fan, all I can do is surf the web and that's about it.

Even if it were fixed, my roots are with consoles, and that's where my loyalty will remain.

[Kamisama]

Many years ago i spend many hours playing pc games, but today (and the last years) i mainly play console games and the few pc games that i play are no mainstream games but other games like 2D Shooters for example which pop up from time to time.

[NoahsMyBro]

I play Freecell, Hearts, and the occasional Minesweeper, as well as KReversi and Gnometris, a few hours per week, probably.

Aside from that, it's consoles all the way for me.

BUT...I may just start on the consoles soon for something new.. well, that's a topic for another thread...

[calthaer]

I play PC games more than my consoles, in general. Besides the fact that consoles just don't have comparable strategy games (IMO Vandal Hearts / FFTactics / whatever doesn't really hold a candle to Warcraft III or Heroes of Might & Magic or Age of EMpires II or Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri or Starcraft or Master of Orion or...), you also don't really get great games like Thief, Deus Ex, System Shock, Freedom Force, the original Unreal...I mean the list could go on and on. Sure, there are duds like the Survivor games or something, but there are duds for any system. The cool thing about PC duds is the fact that you can usually wait until they go down to $10 to get them and you risk a lot less than you would with any console - those games are at least $20 a piece and often are more like $30-50 per game.

I just wish they'd make more quality games other than FPS and strategy for the PC. I'd buy a good platformer if it came out for the PC, and buy the Mega Man X games that capcom puts out even though I own the ones for PS1 already.

[Gunstarhero]

I use my PC for Strategy games and thats it. PC is the only real option for quality strategy games IMHO, even though there are good ones on consoles to be had, they are usually a few years too late and the controls aren't usually up to the standard of a Mouse and Keyboard. Another reason I use PC's for strictly strategy games is that I am not required to spend mega dollars on constant video card and sound card upgrades..etc..

I play mainly Axis and Allies, and Panzer Generall II on a consistent basis, very low maintenance and low speed, freeing up virtually all of my gaming money for Console games. Console gaming is far superior, not technologically, but in many other ways. It's more comfortable, its more nostalgic, and they can be used on big tv's. Not to mention you are not required to fiddle with patch upgrades and bugs to get the games to boot up, at least for classic Cartridge consoles. I don't know about the XBox and its hard drive, it probably has bugs and patch downloads to deal with doesn't it?

Console games are my choice, they are often pick-up-and-play. I can rest on my couch while viewing a large screen, as opposed to sitting in my computer chair and looking at a 17" moniter, which gets rather uncomfortable. And except for strategy games, I prefer console controllers over keyboard and mouse.

[Darth Sensei]

Nothing compares to LAN gaming with First Person Shooters. I have never mastered FPS on consoles.

I'm a computer geek by trade anyway, so maintaining a PC is no sweat.

Also, Simulations are much better on PC's. Flight Sims and others offer so much more depth than consoles.

Just my 2 cents.

[zektor]

I play my PC the most out of everything, but 99% of that play is emulation related The other 1% is Hoyle Card Games... Tri Towers!

[Kid Fenris]

Not counting shameful emulation, my PC provides about 15 percent of my playing time. I mostly tackle RPGs like Fallout, Planescape: Torment, and Septerra Core (hey, I like it), but I also dig the LucasArts graphic adventure games, and a bit of Half-Life and Deus Ex on the side.

I also like the tendency for PC games to drop in price fairly quickly. Nothing beats scanning bargain bins for Anachronox and curiously awful American-made anime-style games like Tsunami 2265. Now if only they'd re-release Sam and Max as a budget title.

[Jorpho]

Indeed. Console games remain too expensive. Even if you ignore all the great games you can play through emulation and all of the quasi-legal abandonware, there are still many great games for the PC that can be had for free or for a very low price. And you don't necessarily need a top-of-the line machine to enjoy them.
________
Mexico hotels

[YoshiM]

Personally I think the PC market is kinda in the same rut as the console industry. FPS, RTS, MMORPGs and clicky-action RPGs seem to be the major flavor of many a Wal-Mart software isle with dashes of Deer Hunter-esque, some flight sims, and childrens games. The modern stuff that requires high end computers doesn't really trip my trigger. Like my console games, I'm a retro-gamer on computer too. The newest game on my PC's hard drive since my reinstall is Civilization 3 and the demo for Warcraft 3.

But Soulblazer is right, there are a lot of *good* games you can get on PC for pennies. Computer software is usually plentiful at the Goodwill stores and go for cheap. EB sells used games for decent prices. For free you can go to a variety of sources to see what the homebrew crowd is doing.

As for me gaming on PC- it gets less attention but it comes in spurts. Recently I just installed Crimson Skies and have walked away after getting my ass handed to me by a regular at the MSN Zone. I'll probably crawl back and will try it again.

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[The Unknown Gamer]

Call me a rebel I like both, may it is because I like a classic games and the super 3-D games that our out there. Besides it was as I noticed before I got my PC. There are good games out there but not everything is availible for everything, but most are availible for computers. Then there are those amazing PC games out there, I'm talking about the lastest ones such as Tron 2.0 I just wish my machine could run it. Then there is DOOM 3 the long delayed game I swear I am going to find some place to play it. I like games, I don't drink and I don't do drugs, execpt for women there is always games.

[ubikuberalles]

I like both too. However, I've noticed that I tend to play strategy games on the PC. Or at least games where I can do something else at the same time like eat lunch, watch TV or listen to some music. With the console systems it's total immersion baby! All I am doing at that moment is play the game. So what it boils down to is if it requires my full attention, then I'm playing on the console. If it's something I can walk away from at any time (without even having to hit pause), then I'm playing on the PC.

[evilmess]

I was a console gamer long before i was a pc gamer but once I got my first pc i gave up consoles for a few years until I got tired of trying to keep my pc specs high enough to play the latest and greatest games.

So now I mostly play consoles again but i'm building a mame/emu box and it's more powerful than my everyday pc.

but i tend follow the same philosophy as retrotaku...

I would rather "plug and play" than plug, crash, spend, upgrade, rebuild, plug again and then play.

[Griking]

I play Computer Games about 80% of the time and console games the other 20%. Nothing beats a keyboard and a mouse for a game control in my opinion. I know I'll get a lot of flack for saying this but I feel that a lot of console games are "dumbed down" compared to PC games.

[thegreatescape]

I play both, but i go through these "internal fads" in which i will spend all my time and money on one or the other. Right now im in PC mode, especially with my friends coming over in 3 weeks for a lan and me spending every penny i could muster on a pc upgrade (k6-2 450 to a Duron 1.3).

These fads last around 3-4 weeks and i usually end up with a crap load of games and hardware for whatever i was into. My console trend ended just a few days ago and during that time i purchased a master system 2 and around 12 mega drive games and 4 saturn games (its a lot for an unemployed uni student)

PC's are great for- Lan's, online, Total annihilation, Mechwarrior and Keyboard/mouse combo.

Consoles are sweeet for- classic games that dont need to be set up for ems or XMS, etc. Arcade games rule and so does sega, aswell as all the kick ass fighting games (guilty gear anyone ?)