andrewdelvard

Was there ever any doubt? Well yes suprisingly there was, even with me who is a dedicated pc games player.

BBC NEWS | Technology | PC 'rules supreme' in games world

HankScorpio

I can't remember the last PC game I bought, I was sick of always having to tune graphics settings, have a certain soundcard, open a specific set of ports on the firewall, blah blah blah.

Remember doing (or trying to do) Race Driver online, what a faff, and even once running, couldn't deal with 4 people within 2 miles of each other without lag or dropouts. I can now jump on the PS3 and be playing with people from all over in a few minutes with very few problems.

I also got sick of always looking at the next generation of graphics cards every time a game came out that I wanted and never willing to spend 250+ every four months, always settling for something poorer. At lest with a console, the gfx are designed for what's in the box, not what 0.5% of the customers might have.

andrewdelvard

True things can get a little more fiddly but that can be fun. I've certainly not been forced in the past 8 months of owning my current rig to open ports or tune graphic settings.
I frequently play on US, Australian, Far Eastern 64 player servers without any issues.
If a person wants to look at buying a more advanced graphic cards thats just great. If a PS4 or XBOX 720 was just around the corner people would have the choice of sticking with what they have or moving on.

BlkKnight

PC games do indeed rock.

High cost of ownership (of the PC) is offset by the cheaper games.

Since XP / Vista you don't really need to tweak the system too much. Yes you have to set the game up (once) for your hardware, but it's no biggie.

scoobyverysoon

iTrader: (1)

I love COD 4 on the PC - just the ease of joining like any of 15000 servers is great.

Iain Young

Erm, no it's not. PC games tend to be on average around £10-15 cheaper than the console games. I can buy 2.5 xbox 360s for the price I paid for just the graphics card in my system about a year ago. My sound card cost more than a 360 as well. They are already out of date. At that rate, you'd have to buy one hell of a lot of games to make up the difference,


Setting up is ok. It's the number of bugs in PC games that annoy me. There's always patches you have to download, and frequently they don't fix the issues.

HankScorpio

2nd user market for PC games isn't as prevalent either, most of the console games I've got are either ebay, store pre-owned or rentals.

StickyMicky

My local games shop does not even stock PC titles anymore!

spectrum48k

I'm with Hank - I simply haven't looked at any PC games for a LONG time. I've got an Xbox360 and PS3 sitting connected to the net and they offer everything I need.

Conversely, I think the best control method for a fps is mouse & keyboard *so far*, but I'm prepared to compromise on a console.

And of course there's the cost of upgrading your PC hardware, where a graphics card alone can be more than a console, whereas for the next 5 years you can be confident your console spec won't change!

Of course there's the downside at some point you'll be using a console with 5 year old technology.

What's also changed is that all major game engines leverage multi-platform availability - in the past iD's game engines wouldn't appear on consoles, along with Crytek's and many others. That situation has completely changed. In fact CryEngine 3 has just been announced yesterday as available for Xbox360 and PS3, paving the way for at least Crysis on the consoles.

Geezer

This is exactly what I found and why I eventually abandoned PCs for gaming. My current PC is very old, but I simply can't justify upgrading it just to play games that I can get for not much more for my PS3 or my son's 360. Also, I don't really want a large ungainly PC in my lounge, so I am limited to playing it on a small screen in the study. Gaming on a large flat panel in the comfort of my lounge is much better for someone of my age!

If they added a truly decent browser to consoles and a decent email client, I could do away with my PC altogether TBH.

Geezer

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

The only PC games I play are FPS games, I've tried time and time again to get used to a gamepad FPS but nothing beats a keyboard and mouse!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yep, FPS for me dont work on the consoles, maybe if I hadn't been spoilt by playing them on the PC. Downside for me is Vista, what a pain in the **** that is !

Dont really play many games nowadays though but might get into something on the pc again, not World of Warcraft though, they are all addicted to it at work and its all a bit tragic.

Iain Young

[quote=J4CKO;8599052]Yep, FPS for me dont work on the consoles, maybe if I hadn't been spoilt by playing them on the PC.[quote]

I play them on both. Don;t have a problem with either. Youd just need to take time to learn the controls

Why? Personally, I've found gaming to be much improved on Vista compared to XP, although I admit I haven't bought any new PC games for a while (certainly not this year).

kernel

Still not found a good driving simulation game for a console that supports league racing with upwards of 25 drivers. PC gaming for me still.

GC8WRX

PC all the way, i would pwn anyone on cod 5 who uses a joypad, my razer mouse and keyboard are v precise!

Geezer

I have to admit that aiming is more precise with a mouse, but for all other functions, I find gamepads much better. As I only play against other people using gamepads, I now actually find the console experience easier!

I would dread to think of the carnage that would happen if they ever managed to allow consoles and PCs to play against each other though!

Geezer

speedymonkey

Too right

I am a big fan of both Pc and Ps3 games.

FP games will ALWAYS be a better experience on the Pc (but really only a 1 player experience)

If your after a multi player experience where you can join your mates and have a laugh, then Ps3's/Xbox'e are the way

Both have their good and not so good points, thats why i have both as im a gaming boff (well used to be but my pc isnt once what it used to be)

Still, gaming is for nerds, sio i guess i am one

Ps, ive been drinking stella so ill cap the lot of ya, IIIIIII EEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!

ScooByer Trade

I agree pc games kick ***, i would be on cloud 9 with GPL, maybe that G25 steering wheel and with some downloaded cars and tracks.But the computers here are laptops and not really designed for longish wheel to wheel bashing sessions.

1uke

iTrader: (2)

I have a ps3 and a newly built gaming pc and i just cant bring myself to play my ps3 because my pc grapihcs own the ps3 so bad now and my gpu (ati 4850 oc) only cost me £110. You dont have to spend a fortune you just got to know whats good and not in the pc world! I thought my ps3 graphics looked stunning on my 43inch plasma when i got it, now it cant even compete with a gpu thats almost 3 times cheaper!

RA Dunk

Been playing FPS games on the PC for the better part of 8 years now and refuse to use anything else, , if you build a decent PC for gaming you will find you dont need to upgrade as much as you think, maybe the odd GFX cars every two years or so

Geezer

Er, that's only one component . You Still have to consider your CPU and whatever else you need to upgrade to keep up with the latest games. A 360 or PS3 will deliver high quality graphics without upgrade for it's entire lifetime, so you don't have to worry about upgrading it to play Call of Duty 26!

Also, like in photography, things will inevitably look sharper on a smaller screen, so unless your pc is plugged into your 43"plasma, that argument doesn't really stand up.

The argument used to be very clear cut, consoles just didn't deliver, but the latest ones do. The situation has changed and whilst at the moment there is no clear 'winner', the momentum is very definately with consoles. Ultimately, what people buy will decide where the R&D goes, and that is increasingly becoming a console.

All IMHO, of course

Geezer

1uke

iTrader: (2)

I have conected my ps3 to my 24inch monitor and then compared and vice versa connected my pc to my 43inch tv but due to tv's res not being as good as monitors i use my monitor for pc.With all the anti-aliasing etc pcs can have the ps3 become outdated almost before it got realeased here! The main reason I have a ps3/xbox 360 aswell is alot of games dont get released for the pc

Geezer

And that pretty much backs up what I said, you can see where the money is going to go.

If I had unlimited money, I would game on a PC, but I don't, and consoles have now reached a point where they are more than acceptable.

Geezer

+Doc+

I find the newer slower FPS games (eg COD 4) are much more console friendly, using a controller has become easier than mouse and keyboard on these due to the pace of the gameplay.
Trying to play the original UT with a controller would be impossible, this is the only game I still bother with on the PC.

1uke

iTrader: (2)

I dont have unlimited money I just try and spend it wisely and do alot of research on whats good and not in the pc world, You would be surprised how much is all hype out there and u can spend 1/4 of the money and get same results if not better! my pc rig I have just built probably cost me just under £400 to upgrade a few areas, and now kicks **** on alot of pcs costing 3 times that. Obviously I have overclocked everything quite extensively etc.

Consoles have always been acceptable and used to be the only thing you could play games on really in the saga days, but i dont think they are needed when pc's can do the job alot better. Once you got a good base system pc all you need to do every year is upgrade which doesnt have to cost alot ie buy a better processor/motherboard then next year a better gpu/ram etc

Alot of pc games you can get for free if you know where to look on the web, or get at alot cheaper prices than consoles so you make your money back very soon!

You can never aim as accuratly/quick with a controller even with aim assist etc, compared to pointing a mouse at a nme even tho a controller feels more involving. Why do you think mouses arnt alowed to be used on ps3 games.... Because they give unfair advantage to Mousers!
Shame mouses cant feel alot more involving like controllers but I guess thats the future of gaming to come.

Iain Young

That's the point though isn't it. You've upgraded. I spent nearly £400 on a graphics card a couple of years ago, and it's now already out of date and too slow to run the latest pc stuff at a decent resolution.

I can buy a full xbox system for under £200, and it won't have the problems of software bugs, dodgy online play, going out of date the instant you buy it, I can easily play games from the comfort of my sofa, and it's quieter than a PC too

Out of interest, what spec is your system?

I have a good spec gaming PC, a PS3, a Wii, and an Xbox 360. For gaming, the 360 gets about 80% of use, the PS3 about 10% the Wii about 8%, and the PC about 2%. It's not just the fact that most PC software is bug ridden and resource hungry, but there is very little software of interest released compared to the consoles these days.

I hope you are not promoting illegal activities there.

It's just different. These days I can aim just as easily with the joypad as I can with the mouse. It just takes practise. (and p.s. the plaural of mouse is mice, not mouses ).

1uke

iTrader: (2)

Whats ur name Pslewis? (and p.p.s its plural)

This is my point of view and of alot of others I suspect. I have always been a gamer and have always owned consoles aswell but there nothin but another revenue waster aimed at the gamers when a pc would do the job and better.

And you spent £400 on a gpu alone bet they saw you coming from a mile away

Iain Young

A typo

Same here, (I started on a Dragon 32 and ZX80). The problem is that these days, the PC simply doesn't do a better job when you compare costs. You build me a PC for £100 and see how it compares with a 360 (you can buy a 360 bundled with COD4 for £129 now).

PCs can run games very well, and can look stunning, but you have to pay over the odds for the ability to do this. Personally, I've completely given up on PC gaming, and am quite happy to instead play on the consoles from the comfort of my sofa, using my 50" plasma tv and surround setup

It was BFG 8800GTX (overclocked). Now out of date and not able to run the latest PC games at full resolution. Works fine at xbox (and lower)resolutions, but that sorta defeats the point doesn't it. Was thinking of upgrading to the new 295 cards until I saw the prices (they can go for over £500 for the GPU alone).

You still haven't told us what spec your gaming PC is...

Geezer

£400? That's quite a lot for an upgrade, and how long will it last you? OK, if you didn't upgrade for 5 years, then fine, but you certianly won't be playing the latest games on it in 5 years time.

So, I play Call of Duty 5 on my PS3, how exactly is it better on the PC? The graphics will look a little better, but the gameplay is the same, I can play online with the PS3 too. I'm struggling to see why a PC would be so much better?

Also, upgrade every year? You are joking?

But can you play them online? In my experience, cracked games were only ever any good for single player. Even if you get round that, you still have the hassle of waiting for some hacker to incorporate the latest fix in to a hacked .exe. It simply is a hassle, you cannot deny it, even if you are willing to put up with.

As for the price differential, over the course of, say 5 years, if you are upgrading a component in your PC every year, you are going to more than wipe off any savings you made on games. Add to that the high initial cost of getting a complete PC and it makes very little sense economically!

No, but everyone is on a level playing field, so what's the problem?

Geezer

1uke

iTrader: (2)

I'm not going to get into a silly pick hole argument I'v said my basic points of view/facts. You can pick holes/twist everything in life if you want to??? I want to keep this constructive and to the point and if we cant agree no point carrying on. My pc owns my ps3 in every area which is why im thinking of selling it with alot of moneys worth of games etc. You forget the pc is a multi task machine how much do you value being able to browse the internet fast and do all office stuff etc

Ok this is abit nerdy for scoobynet surely???
Asus p5q pro
Asus 4850 Oc with uprated fan
Ocz 1066ghz ram 4gb
Antec 900 with 7 fans
Ocz 1000w psu
Core 2 duo 2.66ghz running at 3.4ghz uprated fans etc
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers 200W
Roccat Kone mouse
Dell 24inch monitor
etc
etc
Everything i brought at very resonable prices/in sales and been slowly upgrading last 2 or 3 years. This computer benchmarks very well compared with bundle machines which costs alot more. Pc's are alot easier to make urself than a engine thats for sure!! theres alot of hype about Quad cores and expensive geforce 290 etc but hardly any games out there can use quad cores or the power of such graphics cards aless your powering 2 x 30inch monitors etc and have several applications open whilst gaming?