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Dear Mr. Levine,
Give everyone a PC that can run 80% of the games on the market.
They will buy PC games for those Kick ass PCs.
???
Profit!
Give everyone a PC that can run 80% of the games on the market.
They will buy PC games for those Kick ass PCs.
???
Profit!
Well My comp can run all those games that are out there in the market for about a minute before it crashes.
I do wish PC gaming could see a resurrection and for those willing to put in a little time, it's not that hard. A big problem is that most computer manufacturers offer 'gaming' PC's that run into the thousands of dollars when in reality, most gaming rigs built to handle 80% of the market can be build for less than $1,000.
"Apparently, Mr. Levine doesn’t have couch or a wireless controller. Trust us, those two things will absolutely change your perception of comfort gaming, Mr. Levine."- Can't figure out which slot the video card goes into huh Brad?
"Apparently, Mr. Levine doesn’t have couch or a wireless controller. Trust us, those two things will absolutely change your perception of comfort gaming, Mr. Levine."- Can't figure out which slot the video card goes into huh Brad?
First: There is a lot of PC gaming going on if you look at the MMO market.
Second: Developers continue to make games, that push the PC gaming hardware and therefore limited their own sales.
Second: Developers continue to make games, that push the PC gaming hardware and therefore limited their own sales.
Also the perception, that 2 inches away from a computer monitor is the most comfortable position to play games in, is strange and twisted.
Dear Mr Levine,
Give everyone a game that can run on 80% of user's PCs.
They will buy cheaper machines for those kick ass games.
I'm hijacking SnakeDude's sentences cause Bioshock still runs like crap on my PC (even medium settings look horrible), and I can do L4D on high settings for some reason, and my PC is 5 years old with Frankenstein parts.
Also, I enjoy playing games on my desk than on the couch. I'm less likely to get stuck there all day :P
Give everyone a game that can run on 80% of user's PCs.
They will buy cheaper machines for those kick ass games.
I'm hijacking SnakeDude's sentences cause Bioshock still runs like crap on my PC (even medium settings look horrible), and I can do L4D on high settings for some reason, and my PC is 5 years old with Frankenstein parts.
Also, I enjoy playing games on my desk than on the couch. I'm less likely to get stuck there all day :P
There is a lot of PC gaming even outside the MMO market. Yeah, I know sales aren't as high as on the console, but I'm quite happy with my PC as a gaming rig. I pretty much have access to every game I want, with a few minor exceptions (Ninja Gaiden 2, Valkyria Chronicles, Street Fighter II HD, and a few upcoming games like Resident Evil 5 and the Final Fantasy 13's).
uhm, Valve's rocking out with its cock out.
PC gaming is super-popular.
it's mostly all I play.
from tf2, to tfc, to the new tomb raider, and fallout3 .. all on my pc.
PC gaming is super-popular.
it's mostly all I play.
from tf2, to tfc, to the new tomb raider, and fallout3 .. all on my pc.
"Apparently, Mr. Levine doesn’t have couch or a wireless controller. Trust us, those two things will absolutely change your perception of comfort gaming, Mr. Levine."
I don't think he meant comfortable in that sense. I think he meant comfortable in the sense of familiarity and control. I'm more comfortable playing FPS games on my PC than on a console, and I'm more comfortable playing a third-person adventure game on a console.
I don't think he meant comfortable in that sense. I think he meant comfortable in the sense of familiarity and control. I'm more comfortable playing FPS games on my PC than on a console, and I'm more comfortable playing a third-person adventure game on a console.
I'm also more comfortable playing on a chair with mouse and keyboard rather than on a couch. I find that when I'm playing on a couch I'm not really into the game and I'm being distracted all the time.
These arguments about price are ridiculous. It cost me 800 dollars (AU) to buy a rig that runs crysis on max with no aa or af at 1680x1050. 8800GT oc'ed + q6600 (g0 chip) oc'ed to 3GHz + ddr2 800 memory (2gb), whereas a ps3 costs 1000, and an xbox costs much less but is also less powerful. However notice the PC is more powerful than xbox + ps3 combined.
Different games for different set ups. CoD4 and valve games seemed more like PC purchases to me, Dead Space/Mass Effect I wouldn't hesitate to buy on a console.
you see those tech specs orao? while they are basically english for people like us you take that over to some mom in hollywood and tell her to buy this for her little crying puke so he can play the games his friends are playing. She'll look at you with a glazed over look and buy him a 360 because its easier. whether you agree or not pc gaming is complicated not because of price, but because there isnt a clear definition of what can play what and what you should be buying to play the newest games. not games from months ago. normal people are not wowed by that. they want the latest and greatest to run at max so they can show it off at their next tupperware party. make pc gaming as accessible as going out and buying a wii and then you can start building pc gaming into something everyone can do and maybe grandma will end up playing WoW or Crysis.
The problem with PC gaming now is that there is no "golden configs" for PC gaming developers to work with.
Years ago, there were a few different types of each component and it was easier which is why things worked (or they didn't). Now there is literally an infinite amount of combinations that can be assembled for hardware and the choice is either to optimize for the top end or optimize for the minimum. Not to mention that "running well" is completely subjective to the person playing.
Years ago, there were a few different types of each component and it was easier which is why things worked (or they didn't). Now there is literally an infinite amount of combinations that can be assembled for hardware and the choice is either to optimize for the top end or optimize for the minimum. Not to mention that "running well" is completely subjective to the person playing.
Release some PC games without DRM/Securom, and I'll buy them. Bioshock was a pretty bad trend setter in that department.
Come on Ken. Help us, help you.
Come on Ken. Help us, help you.
I agree Demtor.
We're not babies, some of us have been playing PC games their entire life, and would be more than glad to pitch in. You can even keep the chains around our necks, but the ones around our legs... um... we need those to move!
We're not babies, some of us have been playing PC games their entire life, and would be more than glad to pitch in. You can even keep the chains around our necks, but the ones around our legs... um... we need those to move!
The PC market is too splintered and subject to the greed of publishers and hardware vendors. The absolutely retarded DRM schemes that we are seeing right now are just kicking it while it's down. Hardware vendors are to blame for creating an inpenetrable wall of numbers that drive away anyone who isn't an enthusiast, system sellers for misleading consumers and publishers for downright fraudulent specifications. Developers also need to get their act together - GTA IV for example, a major release, is fucked on PC.
I echo Levine's sentiments, I enjoy some games on my console but there are some that I just have to play on my PC and that is where I feel most at home and in control.
I don't think there will be much change unless the big hardware vendors make a real effort to help the average consumer make informed choices and software publishers stop lying about required specs (minimum should be to get 30fps at lower settings, not fucking get as far as starting the game).
I echo Levine's sentiments, I enjoy some games on my console but there are some that I just have to play on my PC and that is where I feel most at home and in control.
I don't think there will be much change unless the big hardware vendors make a real effort to help the average consumer make informed choices and software publishers stop lying about required specs (minimum should be to get 30fps at lower settings, not fucking get as far as starting the game).
Brad Nicholson can take his controller and couch and shove them right up his ass.
Mouse, Keyboard, and a good office chair are the WAY TO BE.
Mouse, Keyboard, and a good office chair are the WAY TO BE.
Ya well Pc games are not for stupid people that can't set up the own machine to play games and I like it that way.
The more complicated it is the less I have to put up with punk ass little kids and asshat with out a clue on xbox live. On the PC they are almost non existant and it is far more pleasant.
The more complicated it is the less I have to put up with punk ass little kids and asshat with out a clue on xbox live. On the PC they are almost non existant and it is far more pleasant.
Destructoid own jim sterling (or how ever you spell it) Is a prime example of a person I would never want to meet in game on xbox live and I am happy he does not play Pc left 4 dead or any other game.
Anthony Burch though your awsome welcome to PC left 4 dead land.
Anthony Burch though your awsome welcome to PC left 4 dead land.
You know, I'd be glad to get into PC gaming, if I had a computer that could reliably run all the new games. Also, if it was easier to get a 360 gamepad working with said games. (I just don't like the mouse and keyboard. Get over it.)
With MS moving to monopolise the PC controller market with the 360 pad you're halfway there Sharpless, now to just get a computer with a upper range video card and CPU made in the last two years. :P
Pisses me off when nothing supports the use of common controllers like the Logitech's any more and demands you use a 360 one. I've got a couple of wireless controllers for my 360 anyway but you can't use them without buying some proprietary piece of shit receiver from MS. Vultures.
Pisses me off when nothing supports the use of common controllers like the Logitech's any more and demands you use a 360 one. I've got a couple of wireless controllers for my 360 anyway but you can't use them without buying some proprietary piece of shit receiver from MS. Vultures.
@MotoRobo
You're the idiot. He never said that problem hadn't been addressed in consoles - he merely said it was a problem present in PCs.
Ever thought maybe he liked the strengths that you yourself commented on over consoles despite the PCs other weaknesses?
You're the idiot. He never said that problem hadn't been addressed in consoles - he merely said it was a problem present in PCs.
Ever thought maybe he liked the strengths that you yourself commented on over consoles despite the PCs other weaknesses?
Is it hard to get a 360 pad working with games? Most everything is tailored specifically for those. I use a Dualshock 2 for PC games all the time. Which, is why PC's are awesome, coz' you can use whatever controllers you can plug into the computer =D.
While building a gaming PC is cheap as shit, most people can't do that, so the only thing that can help PC's would be the retail mfr's making reasonable 3D hardware standard on every PC, because it's really not that expensive to get something decent in there. A video card that costs $50 _retail_ can run most PC games at some level. However Intel does everything they can to prevent this, so they can keep their shitty onboard video crap on as much as possible. And of course, all the mfr's are fine with it too, as it's the cheapest crap possible. Microsoft standardizing Vista on all retail computers could have helped, but they pussied out and let shitty onboard Intel chips be certified as "Vista Ready".
While building a gaming PC is cheap as shit, most people can't do that, so the only thing that can help PC's would be the retail mfr's making reasonable 3D hardware standard on every PC, because it's really not that expensive to get something decent in there. A video card that costs $50 _retail_ can run most PC games at some level. However Intel does everything they can to prevent this, so they can keep their shitty onboard video crap on as much as possible. And of course, all the mfr's are fine with it too, as it's the cheapest crap possible. Microsoft standardizing Vista on all retail computers could have helped, but they pussied out and let shitty onboard Intel chips be certified as "Vista Ready".
@Wedge
Agreed on all points. (Except I don't use a dualshock 2.)
Alos from looking down allt he comments again I must once again respectfully as Cube to GTFO.
Funny Jim's the reason he wouldn't want to play console games because Cube appears to be the kind of person that puts me off playing ANY games online. PC or otherwise.
Agreed on all points. (Except I don't use a dualshock 2.)
Alos from looking down allt he comments again I must once again respectfully as Cube to GTFO.
Funny Jim's the reason he wouldn't want to play console games because Cube appears to be the kind of person that puts me off playing ANY games online. PC or otherwise.
Personally, it's all about price for me. Don't say that it's cheap as shit, because it really isn't. For someone dirt poor like me, 50 bones for a video card is asking for a lot when there is other shit that needs to be paid. I agree that there needs to be standardization in PC gaming, along with an affordable price tag to go along with it.
I don't see how a price being comparable to a current console isn't cheap as shit. A current console is what $300-$400? The sponsor for the dToid contest isn't actually that bad, they would build you a gaming PC in that price range. Stick a video card in this thing and you're good to go. However hobbyist retailers still aren't the Dells and HPs and all that crap, where too many computers are still bought, and it's unlikely they'll ever be motivated to improve either.
I could not agree more with your last sentence, Brad.
Once I got my serious set-up...set up, I've never looked back at PC gaming.
My gaming enjoyment comes from a ratio of screen size versus sitting angle. I call the "Maxin' And Relaxin' Ratio." If I'm PC gaming, I'm at a ratio of 19"-to-90-degrees (think standard workstation setup.) If I'm console gaming, the ratio is turned up to a much more comfy 42"-to-120-degree ratio (think couch-slouchin'.)
I should make a chart, or something.
Once I got my serious set-up...set up, I've never looked back at PC gaming.
My gaming enjoyment comes from a ratio of screen size versus sitting angle. I call the "Maxin' And Relaxin' Ratio." If I'm PC gaming, I'm at a ratio of 19"-to-90-degrees (think standard workstation setup.) If I'm console gaming, the ratio is turned up to a much more comfy 42"-to-120-degree ratio (think couch-slouchin'.)
I should make a chart, or something.
I wasn't aware that PC gaming wasn't successful, just that Console gaming has become more popular. Anyone remember that post Conrad put up a little while ago that showed how many gaming PCs were being sold? Has anyone ever seen any hard facts on the "decline" of PC gaming? Seems like at least every month someone complains about PC gaming and life goes on as usual.
I can't help but laugh when people try to run games on intel intergrated chip set and ask me why it does not work.
Those are the problem, intel forces there crap GPU on every pre built machine and they can't do jack, but people with no idea what they are doing think it does since it is a "new PC" and it had a new CPU or what ever.
I mean really you can get a 4 year old GPU for like $20 and it will out perform those things then they go and buy some crappy CSI game or something.
So theere you go the main reason why people have performance issues they have no clue what will give them performance per dollar spent.
Or they buy some crappy laptop system with and intel chipset rather than a real GPU from aTI or nvida, and they expect desktop level perfromance from that thing and that is not what it is for a system like that is nothing more than a fancy type writer and you could have got one with a GPU in it for the same price.
Those are the problem, intel forces there crap GPU on every pre built machine and they can't do jack, but people with no idea what they are doing think it does since it is a "new PC" and it had a new CPU or what ever.
I mean really you can get a 4 year old GPU for like $20 and it will out perform those things then they go and buy some crappy CSI game or something.
So theere you go the main reason why people have performance issues they have no clue what will give them performance per dollar spent.
Or they buy some crappy laptop system with and intel chipset rather than a real GPU from aTI or nvida, and they expect desktop level perfromance from that thing and that is not what it is for a system like that is nothing more than a fancy type writer and you could have got one with a GPU in it for the same price.
and really If you are on the internet already you must have a damn PC. If you add a cheep $200 gpu you will be playing games.
CPU and RAM performance does not matter that much these days when running games and almost never has only in the early days it did.
I never ever see games bound by the CPU anymore hell even retired pc I use as a home theater PC runs crysis warhead on high detail with decent GPU, and it is a hell of a lot better looking than anything on a console.
CPU and RAM performance does not matter that much these days when running games and almost never has only in the early days it did.
I never ever see games bound by the CPU anymore hell even retired pc I use as a home theater PC runs crysis warhead on high detail with decent GPU, and it is a hell of a lot better looking than anything on a console.
And one last thing nobody has any idea HOw much that whole "I can sit on the couch with big TV arguments" make NO sense and is lame.
You can hook your DAmn HDTV into your PC the plug is right there on the damn GPU and there is a 3d mouse that acts like the wii and it works get over it that makes no sense.
Hell you can even connect a machine to the damn HDtv wirelesslesy and they do not have to be in the same room I do.
http://gizmodo.com/5015936/monster-digital-express-hd-system-their-first-wireless-hdmi-kit
You can hook your DAmn HDTV into your PC the plug is right there on the damn GPU and there is a 3d mouse that acts like the wii and it works get over it that makes no sense.
Hell you can even connect a machine to the damn HDtv wirelesslesy and they do not have to be in the same room I do.
http://gizmodo.com/5015936/monster-digital-express-hd-system-their-first-wireless-hdmi-kit
The problem with PC gaming is industry perception. There are no real, tangible issues, sales or otherwise.
@ Heretic:
Of course PC gaming isn't popular just because I do it. It's popular because:
http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Jetsetlemming/rock-paper-shotgun-interviews-pcga-president-randy-stude-quick-summary-holy-shit--112580.phtml
PC gaming sales are $33 billion ($10 billion if you ignore digital distribution like the NPD does) annually compared to $8 billion for all consoles and handhelds combined.
@ Heretic:
Of course PC gaming isn't popular just because I do it. It's popular because:
http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Jetsetlemming/rock-paper-shotgun-interviews-pcga-president-randy-stude-quick-summary-holy-shit--112580.phtml
PC gaming sales are $33 billion ($10 billion if you ignore digital distribution like the NPD does) annually compared to $8 billion for all consoles and handhelds combined.
@MotoRobo
'the things he's complaining about are the trade-offs for a PC's strengths. If he prefers the flipside then he would rationally prefer consoles.'
Correct mwe if I'm wrong but I'm not seeing him say anywhere that he prefers the flipside only that he would like for hardware companies to address these issues somewhat.
As a previous poster mentioned had Microsoft had the balls to standardise Vista this would have gone some way to achieving this (admittedly only a small way and knowing Microsoft they'd have ballsd it up - but nevertheless).
'the things he's complaining about are the trade-offs for a PC's strengths. If he prefers the flipside then he would rationally prefer consoles.'
Correct mwe if I'm wrong but I'm not seeing him say anywhere that he prefers the flipside only that he would like for hardware companies to address these issues somewhat.
As a previous poster mentioned had Microsoft had the balls to standardise Vista this would have gone some way to achieving this (admittedly only a small way and knowing Microsoft they'd have ballsd it up - but nevertheless).
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