Why do you guys bother with PC gaming?

[Red Hawk]

it's pretty insane what PC gamers spend just on video cards. a video card can cost the same or more than an entire PS3/360. all these $1,000+ rigs, all the questions and research on cooling, power consumption, SSD, and so on, when you can just buy a PS3 for $250 and turn it on and be done with it.

Some people want higher details and more smoothness than consoles can hope to provide, and they're willing to pay for it and put time into it. It can be expensive, but right now a decent graphics card only costs around $100. It's kind of like customizing one's car engine. Do you need all the extra horsepower to enjoy the games? Not really. As others have said, it's a hobby for some people.

not to mention the dearth of games for PCs in the last decade. when i did most of my gaming on a PC back in the 80s/90s, there were new titles left and right.

In the past decade most games have been made for all 3 HD platforms -- PS3, 360, and PC. Each platform has also had their exclusives, and the PC is no exception. Starcraft II, the Total War series, Civilization series, The Witcher series, Hard Reset, etc...

 

[E6700]

because i can play any games for FREE.

 

[nickb64]

because i can play any games for FREE.

Fuck piracy, tbh. It's not cool.

 

[Silverforce11]

You can play any game for free on console too.. whats the difference? Are you just too retarded to install a mod chip or mod the bios?

 

[toyota]

how about you guys stop talking about stealing games?

Fantastic idea!
-ViRGE

 

[Powermoloch]

Freedom to spend my cash and get great eye candy

 

[Gryz]

The answer to the question is subjective. Just like the answers to most questions "why do you do that" ?

Why do you buy a car ? You can go everywhere by bus ? Or drive your bicycle. So much money wasted on a car, insurance, gas, taxes.

The decision completely depends on what you want. How urgent do you need something ? How urgent do you want something ? How badly do you dislike the alternatives. What alternatives are there for you ? If you live in a city center, then bus and bicycle is very acceptable. If you live on a farm, no way you want to live without a car.

Same thing here. Do you not mind living with graphics that are 10 years old ? Buy a console. Do you not mind having no control over your games (patching, addons, graphics settings, chose your own input-devices, etc), then buy a console. You want better ? Then you pay for it. Your decision. Nobody elses.

And yes, I think the OP is just trolling.

 

[Mem]

A) I prefer KB+mouse to controllers (not for all games, i.e. driving / flight)
B) Games are way cheaper; most games are $5-15 instead of $50-60
C) PCs are used for things other than games.
... I could go on, but I'll stop here...

PC pays for itself in a way, as you said games are a lot cheaper on the PC ,also you can upgrade a PC when you want ie from a single part to a full upgrade...I could also say we can also update the software side as well from drivers(which sometimes add new features and improves performance) to full OS.

You can do so much more with a PC for gaming then a console which are so restricted compared to a PC.

 

[happy medium]

The truth is give me a xbox 720 with 2x the graphic power and 50% more cpu power (than a 360) with a mouse, keyboard , flight stick setup @1080p, internet access, and I would drop my computer for gaming needs in a second.

Give me a reason why this would not replace your computer for games.

 

[Zap]

I think he meant that a shitty game with the most beautiful eye candy will still be a shitty game, while an awesome game is always awesome no matter what the graphics.

2.If we could connect up and play against Console boys it would take about 2 mins for them to discover why we prefer the PC for gaming..it would be a massacre.

OMFG I would totally pwn some console noobs in shooters and even some other games. I do admit that the game controllers do help in certain genres such as fighting games or racing games, but I often see people at PC LAN parties with their PC version Xbox controllers playing Street Fighter IV or Blur. OTOH we have shooter games where using a mouse/keyboard you can do some crazy stuff like jumping, snapping 180º to headshot an enemy you saw on the mini map, then continuing to run in your original direction. How fast can you run-180º turn-aim-fire-180º turn-run using a game controller? For my mouse it is a 4" right, click, 4" left in a second or less. And are there RTS style games with consoles? How about a MOBA like League of Legends? Try kiting and juking while placing some skill shots all at the same time using a controller.

Of course this might change with:
1) Future gen console.
2) Mouse or mouse-like controller combined with keyboard or keyboard-like controller (Belkin Nostromo?) combination on a console.

Though I must add that I do find it funny when people want to compair console price to PC and forget to add in the case of the TV with the console when talking about "from buying to using" prices.

To be fair, same thing we were talking about earlier. Most people would already have a PC so just add gaming graphics card. Most people would already have a TV so just add console.

 

[PingviN]

Since RTS doesn't exist on consoles and FPS is retarded with a gamepad, PC is the only real option for serious gaming. Prefer the feel of playing on your flatscreen with a 360 controller? Get an HDMI cabel and hook the controller to the PC - problem solved. There is plenty of people that belive shooters play just as well on consoles, but they are plain wrong.

I'd rather pay a couple of hundred bucks extra for being able to use mouse and keyboard, getting a machine you can actually use for other things than entertainment is a big plus.

PC is the master race, consoles is for people without a job or living in their parents house

 

[pw38]

PC is the master race, consoles is for people without a job or living in their parents house

I know it's in jest but really, I think your statement it actually backwards. The 30 year old nerd with no job or a crappy job living rent free in his parents basement can "focus" his energies on his uber-rig while the working stiff who has a kid and a mortgage has to make due with a console because he neither has the time nor the finances to pursue this "hobby".

Of course both statements are neither truly correct but the truth does lie somewhere in the middle. I'm a perfect example. Working stiff, kid in toe, but with a job and on my own (divorced with no wife to nag me to death about a "stupid computer, just buy an ipad already") so finances allow me to pursue this hobby to an extent.

 

[SirPauly]

Flexibility, improved gaming experiences and quality.

 

[ChippyUK]

Agreed with the flexibility!

Loads come to my mind as you get the general benefits of the PC platform plus for games:
Higher resolutions and option of Anti-Aliasing
There are many games that just aren't available on a console (mostly MMORGS and RTS). (However, many games are also not available on the PC)
Older games can still be played making the catalog far wider
Easier to upgrade (e.g. hard drive upgrade) to support more games without uninstalling others
Are able to purchase from numerious online venders (e.g. Steam, Gog)
Thousands of free mods are available (e.g. Elder Scroll Series)
Faster load times of games as all modern titles can be installed to hard drive.
Ability to play multi-monitor
Wider controller support

So many pluses for the extra cost involved imo.

 

[PingviN]

I know it's in jest but really, I think your statement it actually backwards. The 30 year old nerd with no job or a crappy job living rent free in his parents basement can "focus" his energies on his uber-rig while the working stiff who has a kid and a mortgage has to make due with a console because he neither has the time nor the finances to pursue this "hobby".

Of course both statements are neither truly correct but the truth does lie somewhere in the middle. I'm a perfect example. Working stiff, kid in toe, but with a job and on my own (divorced with no wife to nag me to death about a "stupid computer, just buy an ipad already") so finances allow me to pursue this hobby to an extent.

For me it's all about getting the best experience at a reasonable price. The way I see it, I probably spend 10-15 hours a week gaming and I get a new computer every two years with some minor upgrades every 6 or so months. I don't think it's that much to pay ~$2000 over two years for that amount of entertainment. Consoles could be handed out for free, I still would not use it because it's a completely inferior platform for gaming. I know what it's like to game on a PC and I know what it's like to play with a console and I know which one I prefer.

 

[taltamir]

OMFG I would totally pwn some console noobs in shooters and even some other games. I do admit that the game controllers do help in certain genres such as fighting games or racing games, but I often see people at PC LAN parties with their PC version Xbox controllers playing Street Fighter IV or Blur. OTOH we have shooter games where using a mouse/keyboard you can do some crazy stuff like jumping, snapping 180º to headshot an enemy you saw on the mini map, then continuing to run in your original direction. How fast can you run-180º turn-aim-fire-180º turn-run using a game controller? For my mouse it is a 4" right, click, 4" left in a second or less. And are there RTS style games with consoles? How about a MOBA like League of Legends? Try kiting and juking while placing some skill shots all at the same time using a controller.

Interestingly MS tried to let xbox and PC version of the same game play online against each other via live... it was a massacre, console players just lost by a huge margin due to the inherent superiority of the mouse and keyboard combo...
And you CAN play with a controller on the PC but, why would you? Only time I do so is when there is a really really bad console port and its necessary to do so.
http://www.rahulsood.com/2010/07/console-gamers-get-killed-against-pc.html
I have experienced it first hand too, what with all the console ports and controller compatible PC games you get a lot of chances to directly company the control schemes.

Then there are "balancing issues" with games. For example Mass Effect and Dragon Age were so much easier on the PC that the developers cracked the difficulty way up on the PC version.

The important thing to remember here is that PC does not force you to use mouse and keyboard. PC lets you play with mouse/keyboard OR console controller, your choice... almost everyone chooses mouse/keyboard for a reason.

 

[Obsoleet]

*Mouse+KB
*Acts as a media server
*Cheaper games (Steam owns)
*Free games (not piracy, League of Legends kicks ass)
*Native Xbox 360 gamepad support (console ports are played on my 1080P plasma with AA/AF, console games aren't even 720P- they're upscaled to 720P from lower resolutions)

The kicker for consoles is my last point, Halo3 isn't even 720P, I play Rage on my TV using a 360 gamepad in true 1080P and AA/AF.
It's like having what the rest of the world will have with a Playstation 6.

 

[HeXen]

it's pretty insane what PC gamers spend just on video cards. a video card can cost the same or more than an entire PS3/360. all these $1,000+ rigs, all the questions and research on cooling, power consumption, SSD, and so on, when you can just buy a PS3 for $250 and turn it on and be done with it.

not to mention the dearth of games for PCs in the last decade. when i did most of my gaming on a PC back in the 80s/90s, there were new titles left and right.

pure trolling. Its an issue of preference, attacking someones preference leads nowhere.

you can buy a gaming ready PC for $500-$800. Ibuypower.com has some great gaming rigs ready to go.
You don't have to spend a lot to play modern PC games. Only if you want the graphics maxed out.
You can make the OS more virus free and consolized by using something like DeepFreeze. Drivers updating can be automated...just like it is on PS3.
Go steam and no disc swapping....but what is the point of this thread? its a preference, go play your PS3

 

[pw38]

For me it's all about getting the best experience at a reasonable price. The way I see it, I probably spend 10-15 hours a week gaming and I get a new computer every two years with some minor upgrades every 6 or so months. I don't think it's that much to pay ~$2000 over two years for that amount of entertainment. Consoles could be handed out for free, I still would not use it because it's a completely inferior platform for gaming. I know what it's like to game on a PC and I know what it's like to play with a console and I know which one I prefer.

Oh I agree with you 100%. I run into the situation I commented on all the time though. I see it as a worthy endeavor as I like technology and want the best computer I am willing to pay for. Some people build cars, some people build computers. I don't have an uber-rig by any stretch of the imagination but I like it and it does what I want. I'm about to upgrade though and am thinking of switching to Intel after the Bulldozer fiasco. I've been with AMD so long though I don't really know where to start.

 

[Obsoleet]

It is trolling but it's still fun to enumerate to an outsider why PC gaming is better. They might convert with logic presented to them.

I would use a console but never could do the 2 top-hat thing going from a mouse/kb combo. While I'm not the best PC shooter player in the land, I feel gimped by the gamepad to a degree that it's not even fun. Very frustrating experience not being able to properly aim, or aim quickly enough to play effectively.

I had hopes when the Wii came out that we'd have effective competition for mouse aiming, while finally getting away from reliance on the mouse.. but it didn't really materialize.. and now the industry is moving towards the Kinect style gaming, which remains to be seen how that will turn out for FPS aiming.

Wii could have been good for FPS aiming, as well as RTS on console if done right.

 

[HeXen]

They might convert with logic presented to them.

lol



...........lol

 

[-Slacker-]

I can build you a $450 pc that can max out any game currently released game at good framertes on 720p resolution - complete with a game controller, because console fans always bring in the "layed back controller gaming vs awkward kb&m at a desk gaming" argument.

For even less, I can build you a pc that can run even the most graphically intensive games at reduced visual settings that still look better that anything a console can muster.

In addition to gaming, PCs can run absolutely any type of software, and pretty much every known application ever made through normal means, or through emulation. Basically, if it's digital, a PC can run it.

So now I'm asking you: why do you even bother with console gaming, when you can get such a versatile machine for not much more? I mean, even if you have a console, you still have to use a pc for htpc; If you want to get both within a $450 budget, you'll only end up with a sub par dedicated gaming machine, and a sub par, entry level htpc PC (if you can even find those for $200).

Why not get something that can mop the floor with both for the same price?

 

[lehtv]

The truth is give me a xbox 720 with 2x the graphic power and 50% more cpu power (than a 360) with a mouse, keyboard , flight stick setup @1080p, internet access, and I would drop my computer for gaming needs in a second.

Give me a reason why this would not replace your computer for games.

1) I would want to have more than 2x the GPU power of an Xbox360 - since that's hardly enough for 1080p @ 60fps on a PC's high image quality settings
2) It can't do everything computers do if it's just a gaming console with internet access
3) If I already have a PC that does everything it does and more, why would I spend money on it?
4) Console games are still more expensive
5) Maybe I have more money to spend and would like a 2560x1440 or triple-monitor setup instead
6) Maybe I like customizing a PC to my own needs, instead of going with a prebuilt setup. It's a hobby.
7) If I went with a prebuilt setup, I might as well get a prebuilt gaming PC - assuming I didn't have a PC yet. If I did have a PC already, I could just upgrade that.
8) Maybe I want to use mods on some games.

 

[-Slacker-]

Still a post count of 2 ...guess he's not coming back...

 

[SparkyJJO]

Why are there really 3 pages to this thread? OP is clearly trolling and you're all falling for it.

because i can play any games for FREE.

I think you need to do some jail time.