by ~RobtheDoodler
It’s a funny thought really, isn’t it? Walking a Dinosaur I mean. It sounds ludicrous doesn’t it? Who in their right mind would even think of walking such a beast? (Well, okay besides Fred Flinstone or our little friend in the picture above that is.) But if such a concept is ludicrous, then why do we still insist on playing games on our PCs?
Trust me, I’m not just expressing sour grapes here. But go ahead and call me an elitist, traitor or even a traitorious old dorf who’s time has past! But bear with me and I think by the end of this post you’ll either agree with me or at the very list walk away with food for thought.
Overview of Gaming Today
Let’s take a short overview of gaming today. Basically, if you like gaming, ANY type of games, you’re sure to find a platform and game for you. Like word games? Then how about Words With Friends? (You know Hasbro is scratching their heads wondering how Scrabble lost out to this upstart!) If Arcade Games are more your style well, you’ll be happy to know Atari has made all of your favorites available!
And of course there’s plenty of MMOs, RPGs, FPS, RTS, and I’m sure a few more acronyms I’ve forgotten to mention.
All of these are available for you to play by yourself or with your friends. You can play them on everything from dedicated devices, handhelds, tablets, phones, and yes PCs and Consoles.
Truly the gaming world has never experienced such a cornocopia of choice gaming options.
And there’s the rub, there’s just too many gaming options today. So many in fact that game night has become as complicated as deciding which fork to you’re suppose to use at a fancy french resturaunt. (Hint: Work from the outside in.)
The Problem With Too Many Choices
Let’s face it, people hate complications. And there’s nothing people hate more than being forced into making choices. Reason being, most of the time we feel we’re always making the wrong one!
Nothing highlights this more than the gaming communities insistence on playing games on their PCs. (And to be clear, I don’t just mean Windows PCs. I mean ALL PCs, including Apple and Linux machines)
Sure, in the past gaming was a major reason we’ve seen the developments in Personal Computers so far. Storage, Graphics, and Sound have all dramatically improved to the point that playing a cartoon character is no longer just a series of choices, but a seamless flow of people and realistic cinematic scenes.
But is that really the role PCs should play in our future? Or maybe we should look at gaming for what it really is, entertainment. And if that’s the case, maybe we should look at it being a consumer device. Maybe not one just for gaming but for all our Entertainment needs. This would then relegate the PC back to doing what it does best, computing.
Predicting The Future
Every great Science Fiction writer envisioned a future were everything was driven by an individual’s desire to access information and entertainment from the devices around them. Every great Science Fiction Visionary has envisioned some version of this desire.
And just as it is in the Science Fiction community so has it been in the Technology world. Steve Jobs may get all the credit for bringing the consumers a device to realize their entertainment dreams, but it was another Founding Father of Personal Computing that first expressed this concept. Yep, that’s right William Henry Gates III or as you might better know him, Bill Gates.
Back in mid-90′s Bill Gates wrote a book called The Road Ahead. Where Gates shares his visions for the future. And way back then he was already looking at the home and entertainmnet being a central driver for techonlogy. PC were were still around, but their function was more menial and trivial. No longer being the driver it is today, but more of a convient method for data entry.
Pulling The Plug
This brings me back to why I think the PC Gaming Industry is really on life support and Gamers just need to go ahead an pull the plug. We should put an end to our own misery.
Why should we be forced to choose between PC or Console? Consoles are designed for Entertainment. The same box that can play your DVDs, Stream Live Events and Music can also play games. Not only that, consoles that cost under $300 can seamlessly allow voice and video communication while playing games that would force everyone to pay at a 2x’s, if not 3x’s that for a computer to do the same.
Why? Why must we continually accept substandard graphics, performance for our entertainmnet dollar, when we could achieve and progress so much further? It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
So I ask you, my brothers and sisters in the gaming world, why do you insist on playing PC Games? Or have you like me decided to pull the plug and are now looking foward to the future of console gaming?
I made the switch years ago due to financial reasons; it’s simply more affordable, long-term, to be a console gamer. That said, I still play some games on PC (MMOs and such), but the overwhelming majority of my gamin is on console. 50″ TV and a comfy couch outweigh just about any positive from PC for me.
However, I’ve pretty much given up on trying to explain this to others over the years, for reasons you’ll probably see in future comments.
@Somdean DANG! If I had a 50″ TV I’d make sure and play all my games on it as well! LOL!
And as for the comments go? I’m sure we’ll find plenty of interesting ones!
Advantages of the PC over consoles.
1. Better graphics.
2. Faster processing.
3. More storage.
4. Faster hardware evolution.
5. Better input methods.
6. Incrementally upgradable hardware (most Macs excluded).
7. Developing for PC is (for now) more open.
Although consoles have come a long way, they still lag behind computers and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
@Milas I’m not going to comment too much at the moment on these because they’re great fodder for a future post.
But your #6 Incrementally Upgradable Hardware does give me pause for thought. On one hand upgrading incrementally is a nice feature, but in the end it’s just another expense that typically isn’t necessary on consoles. But I’ll hold out any final judgement on that one until my next post!
Thanks for commenting!
I realized when I posted that every advantage I cited could be a disadvantage from someone else’s viewpoint. I look forward to your next post on the topic. It should be interesting.
No, not a disadvantage. But more a fallacy imho.
A pc vs. console post? I honestly dont see how this will end well (ill keep it civil).
The reason i play PC games instead of consoles is because i refuse to deal with the poor console graphics and generally want to get a better value out of my games (consoles are too restrictive).
One of the main restrictions of a console is the input. You are required to use the controller that the company designs for you. It is possible to have aesthetic mods, but in the end you’re stuck with the same number of buttons/joysticks. For PC gaming, you can choose your input. I prefer games to not be limited by what a controller is capable of.
Another complaint about consoles is how cost inefficient their hardware is. Its much worse now since the current generation is so old, but you can build a rig that completely blows consoles out of the water for less than $400. Even if you compare it to the newest versions coming out, the newest xbox is going to contain a graphics card that hit the PC gaming scene over three years ago, and its going to cost more than 300 initially.
My final reason for PCs > consoles is the value of the games themselves. Console games are overpriced. They have to pay large fees to use that platform, and used to be generally $10 more than their PC versions (some still are, but now big corporations use that as extra money >.>). The games also are basically in their finished format. It is possible for them to be patched (and is becoming more common), but console gaming completely gets rid of mods. Mods can increase the replayability of any game, and increase the total value of that game for the player (skyrim being the key example of that right now).
PCs are greater than consoles right now, and I honestly dont see that changing without anything major happening. Consoles mediocrity is currently uncontested because they basically cater to a different marketshare of gamers. There are only 2 main competitors for the “high end” consoles (nintendo is in a completely different market segment than Xbox/playstation). They do not have to be extremely better than their competitors, they just have to save money and be close in order to achieve a large number of supporters. That is not really supportive of innovation, and will only cause the gaming industry to stall out (which they already have because of those that cater to consoles have had to reduce the graphics/size of games).
@Admon ROFL! Yeah, this definitely has the potential for ending poorly. And true, it’s an old debate. But I think it’s worth revisiting because as I look deeper into it many of the old arguments just don’t apply. As I told Mirlas I’m not going to reply in full here because I’m planning on this feeding into another post on the topic.
However, I wanted to say thanks for giving me more than just a list of items. By explaining your thoughts on each item it offers me a challenge to find a solid rebuttal to each point!
And I like a good challenge. BWAHAHAHAH!!! >}
I still primarily play pc games because the games I want to play are only on it. Nearly any Blizzard game, and then Valve’s Half-life and Team Fortress 2. I realize the Orange Box was an Xbox release, but I’m loathe to play a first-person shooter with a controller. Maybe the next Xbox will allow better input devices.
@Lord Kaladar
So if I understood you correctly you only feel consoles are good at FPS and nothing else? Maybe I misunderstand but if both Team Fortress and all of Valve’s games are available on Xbox. Also, Blizzard is beginning to rethink their philosophy of PC only games.
As for controllers, well.. I’ll address that in my next post!
lol
No, I don’t think FPSs are the only things consoles do well, but it’s what they are primarily used for. The Kinect will chip away at that over time though.
Yes, I’ve heard the foul rumors that Blizzard was going to release D3 on the xBox. I doubt that for the initial release, but I don’t think it would do well after you get more than 4-6 abilities or more than 4-5 enemies around you at once. Precision targeting in HUGE crowds of mobs would also be cumbersome for non-aoe spells.
BWAHAHA!!! All I can say is stay tuned my friend. Stay tuned. *runs off cackling*
I don’t understand why PCs can’t be entertainment devices? My PC is my games console, my TV, my radio… it’s literally everything except my mobile phone (I do use skype as a landline). On top of that, it doubles up as my work station. It’s everything but my bed. It’s far closer to what you’re describing than a console is, and what’s more it’s an open system to boot.
You’re absolutely correct! There isn’t any reason a PC can’t be you’re console. But at the same time, why must console players continually be segrated?
I could go on and on but that would take away the whole point of creating this entire series on >PC vs Consoles.
Anyways, thanks a ton for stopping by and giving your thoughts!
What do you mean by segregated exactly?
In my eyes, your vision of the future has consoles becoming PCs anyhow. The centre of information access… Well that’s what a PC is. Games consoles provide a subset of the functions of a PC in a closed system for a fixed price (well, until subscription internet access anyhow) with a fixed performance. Neither a preference for consoles nor for PCs is holding back progress in my eyes. It’s the popularisation of video gaming that’s all but stopped meaningful progress. No one’s pushing the boundaries any more because big money is available to the killer game, and the killer game these days requires millions upon millions of dollars, which makes the developer (or rather the publisher) incredibly risk averse. It’s why we see annual installments of all the most popular franchises, each of which are basically a lick of paint on the previous iteration.
True enough. My point throughout this series is to highlight more the similarities than differences between Consoles and PCs. And yes, TODAY PCs offer more flexibility than console and will probably continue to do so in the future.
However, as “Pure Gaming Machines”/i> or “Entertainment Hubs” are concerned PCs are overly complex to configure and manage for today’s consumers.
As I’ve stated before, today “MOST” consumers arecfocused on convenience and ease of use. This is why Tablets and Smart Phones have taken over the way we access and consume media today. (Well in my opinion anyways.)
As to you question about what I mean about “segration” between PCs and Consoles, that’s covered in more detail in the series. But simply, Game Developers today tend to create and manage PC games seperately from Console ones.
Sure Rev’s may release the same title on multiple platforms, but usually the don’t allow the players the ability to play together. Yes, there are a few exceptions. But this is still the rule for most Co-op/MMOx titles currently released or in development today.
I hope that better explains what I meant by segregation.
Advantages of PC:
1) (A lot) better graphics.
2) Better customization to your needs anytime.
3) Better customization even of your games (mod scene/cheats/whatever you like is really easy to apply on any PC version while near impossible on console).
4) Better integration. You can have all your games, work and even video entertainment at one place just a “click away”. You can for example read manual alt-tabbing between it and your game even.
5) Better controls, better prices of games.
All in all I find truly amusing calling “dinosaur” a lot more sophisticated and powerful solution. But the truth is for “non-technical” majority consoles are simple to use, simple to play. Just please call it approriately. Just because something is more complicated it is not a dinosaur. Console is Volkswagen, PC is Formula 1, that’s all.
I address all of these in my second post and you final comment in the final post of the series.
That said, I still feel pure PC play is on it’s way towards extinction. Look around you. When it comes to entertainment, people do not want complexity.
This is why people will pay for cable. Buy Roku and Boxee devices. And yes play their games on a console.
Finally, you see this in your own analogy. It is also why only professionals drive formula ones but everyone can drive a volkswagon.
Really though. I encourage you to read the other parts, I think you will see that I am not as wrong as you may think.
PC is on its “extinction” as a gaming platform happily since it exists. Quite frankly I don’t care. Until the current paradigm changes there will be always market for PC gamers just like for console gamers, because everyone seeks something different. Just like there will be always vans, family cars and supersports. If someone is scared by complexity of a PC that’s fine, he can buy a console an be happy with it. I however fail to understand why he has the need to “convert others to his picture”, lets say those who are *not scared* and want to have a lot better graphics or possibilities instead (this goes both ways of course).
Oh and btw. I’d suggest you to dig a bit through history of gaming. Perhaps you’d be surprised, that the first home console (Atari) appeared around 1977 and the first home computer (Apple) at around *the same time*. Ever since then they coexisted together and ever since then they differed just like today. One appealing to technical people and enthusiasts and another to the mass market.
Regarding history – my point merely was what even you confirm, that consoles are not some recent “break-through” design invention of our era (like tablets or mobiles) but pretty much existed with home computers since the very beginning. It was a reaction to your “dinosaur” term.