Let me preface this by saying – I have nothing wrong with the video game consoles, and the below opinion is just that of GATT’s GamerX. That being said, I am personally a PC gamer, and damn proud of it. I have been a PC gamer since the age of seven, and I never looked back. I upgrade my hardware at least once a year to keep current with the computer market. However, lately, gaming on my computer just hasn’t been the same.
I own both console systems, and play them regularly as they are convenient, however when a AAA title comes out for every major platform including PC, I expect the PC version to be better than the console versions because of better hardware. This was the case all through-out the 1990s and 200X years, however recently the trend has begun to reverse. Now instead of PC’s getting better quality and better looking games the reverse is happening. Consoles are getting games that look amazing, and then the PC gets the console version of the game, in it’s full Direct X9 glory.
This has really started to annoy me, especially now that the PC is two whole generations ahead of the current console cycle. (Consoles basically have DirectX 9 enabled GPUs, PCs are up to DirectX 11.) DirectX adds functionality to a GPU giving you the ability to add in more shaders, use more textures, add new lighting effects, and the latest thing – hardware tessellation. What hardware tessellation means in basic terms is that one block of polygons is poly-morphed into a shape with thousands of more polygons being rendered. This is a new feature of DirectX 11 which is currently exclusive to the PC. Take the video below as an example, see what happens to tiles as you turn on DirectX 11 and hardware tessellation:
Now, with console games being ported to the PC, most (not all)developers are not taking the time needed to add in the coding for these new effects. Heck, there are still only a dozen or so DirectX 10 titles because of the straight porting that is being done now. Then what that basically means for us who have Dual GPU system setups, is the power of our system is completely wasted. Want to run the game? Sure its going 112 Frames Per Second because it wasn’t PC optimized. And that is really setting PC gaming back to the point where hardly any of my friends even know about PC gaming.
And that itself is an utter shame, because if it were not for advancements in PC technology, console gaming would not be at the level that it is now. It was initially Nvidia and ATi whom started the race to create the best 3D processor. Prior to this, andy 3D processing chip that had been created were completely and utterly useless (sans the Voodoo series), rendering blocks and squares at best. And now even in the video game consoles, rest an Nvidia or ATi Chip (Nintendo even openly has the ATi logo displayed on the Wii.). What happened to the race to be the best? Nvidia and ATi are still at it with their product lines, yet game developers stopped with this generation of gaming. The big question to ask is why?
Spending a few extra months in development anyway why can’t the developers add in features offered in the newer graphical api of DirectX 11? So far the only games that have done it this generation have been Metro 2033, AvP, and I believe the other was Dirt. Three games in a year of existence, 3 games have been released that are multi-platform and actually take advantage of PC hardware. Last PC generation (2 years), there were about 8-10 games released that took advantage of DirectX 10, every other game was DirectX 9.0 or DirectX 9.0c. With the roles reversed, PC gamers are literally getting the shafted end of the pole.
Realtime DirectX Footage:
Sure some of the graphics may look a bit better running on a PC than they did their console counterpart, that is a given. But the reason WHY they look better is the extra power behind that person’s computer. Not because the developers went back in and redesigned textures, re-polygoned models, or added special effects just for the PC version. But because an ATi or Nvidia powered graphics card simply boosted the way that the game looked; And that, in a nutshell is the predicament that PC gamers are currently in. Developers simply don’t care any more, and release the PC game as an afterthought, sometimes almost a full year after the console version was released. Gone are the days where you played Doom 3 at a friends house on their XBOX and thought to yourself how much better it looked on your PC.
Some people attribute this to pirating, well console games get pirated as well. Some attribute it to a decline in the PC market, there is still more computers in existence then any console ever made. What it all boils down to is that the developers have decided to get in a “best graphics” war on two consoles (PS3, and Xbox 360), and don’t care to spend the extra time making the port extra shiny. For example, Blur for the PC has no graphical settings beyond resolution and three tiny bubbles you click to set your graphics level. Yes, three bubbles and you are good to go, not knowing what the three bubbles stand for. There is no option to turn on Anti Aliasing effects, no options for HDR or Bloom, No options for hardware tessellation, no button to change the physics. And it is for that reason that PC gaming is on the decline.
Would you spend the money needed to stay on top of PC gaming when the games aren’t staying on top of the PC Hardware? I do personally because I love to play PC exclusive games, however as a general gamer I believe that most would not. Especially with exclusive games coming out that look amazing enough on home consoles like Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2. However if you could get a more amazing full PC capable version of Modern Warfare 2, with hardware tessellation and all the shebang of DirectX 11 vs getting it say on your PS3 wouldn’t you go for the better version? I know I would, and it’s still what I do to this day. I got Metro 2033 for the PC, and AVP and will continue to get any game that has PC Enhancements. (One of my friends actually told me that’s not how AVP looks, until I explained it was running off Steam) Take a look at AVP for the PC (in game footage).
In the end, it comes down to the game developers themselves. Without putting forth the extra effort to make the game special for the PC, the platform is slowly suffering more and more as tainted straight ports get brought over from consoles. Without seeing any extra benefits of owning a powerful computer, more people are turning to consoles because why bother paying for a powerhouse PC when the console version looks just as good? If more developers would start to take the initiative like Rebellion Software and 4AD have, then we would start to see PC gaming on the rise again. However until that happens, console gaming will continue to taint PC games with DirectX 9 straight ports. And with no major announcements at this time, it doesn’t look like that will be happening anytime soon.
~GamerX
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since your one of the key members of this site, your opinions are the opinions of the site. i have never seen so much console bashing on a web site since….well never. and that clip doesnt prove do anything to make your point. for all we know it could just be a pre rendered demo. in this time where people are trying to stretch their dollars, i dont think people can really shell out the cash for a gaming PC rig, even if you say well build one it will still cost more than just buying a console. maybe thats why there are more PC game reviews on here than consoles. PC Gaming, its only what we know should be the new slogan.
No one is making you read our site. If you don’t like it, leave. It’s that simple. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and these happen to be GamerX’s. Just because you think we are “console bashing” doesn’t mean that is the case. Apparently you don’t know how to read, otherwise you would have caught the “Let me preface this by saying – I have nothing wrong with the video game consoles” part at the VERY BEGINNING.
And just because he is a “key member of the site” DOES NOT make his opinions the opinions of the website. That’s the point of having multiple individuals on a website, various viewpoints and opinions. You should take your trolling somewhere else if you don’t want to lose your tunnel vision.
while piracy also does occur on consoles it doesnt occur to the extent it does on pc’s the only people i know who share the same level of enthusiasm about spending cash on a new graphics card every year or so only do it because they know they are just going to pirate all their games so in a way its cheaper for them… Also pc gaming is less accessible to the masses pc’s can be unreliable and inconsistent whereas with a console it takes the same amount of time for me to start playing every time. Why would a gaming publisher make a game specifically for such a small market when there are other markets that are much larger such as the 360 and ps3. Just because someone owns a pc doesnt mean they want to play videogames heck lots of coworkers dont play videogames simply because theyre not interested in them and we work on pc’s and im willing to bet that a large proportion of pcs out there arent even capable of running many of todays games.
You are mistaken; If a game is good it will be purchased. Game developers can release their games through mediums such as Steam and make piracy a little less of an issue. I purchase every single PC game that I play, and so do a lot of PC gamers. However, I know 2 different people who personally have modded 360 Hard Drives, and simply pirate every single game. Though on PC it may seem much easier to ‘Pirate’ either which way there will be pirating going on. Should that stop you from making your game the best it can be for that platform? No. It should give you incentive to see if that extra work pays off in the form of sales. Just my opinion anyway.
I enjoyed reading this article. I started playing games in regularly 2007 and my first platform was and still is a console. I would like to get into PC gaming because all games look the best on PC, no argument. Now that I am fully aware of Steam, there is simply no reason to play games on consoles unless the games are exclusive to consoles. I am not a fanboy just an opportunist and the PC gives me the most opportunities, especially because of Steam! The only obstacle stopping PC gamers are three things: 1. Lack of knowledge of the benefits of free online gaming, mods, cheaper prices, better hardware, and it is a freaking COMPUTER! 2. Psychology! Some people, as I was, have a difficult time working and playing on the same rig. The accessibility to simply escape work and go play may be far too close for many people (I got over it!). 3. The biggest of all, MONEY! The majority of the time the price of a gaming computer is triple to five times the price of consoles, however most people do not realize that a rig can be built for cheap and can last up to six years before need an update. So the benefits of cheaper prices and free mods balance (greatly) the cost of the PC greatly! In conclusion, when it is become clearly apparent to the public that these 3 issues surrounding PC are no longer apparent, PC gaming will surpass console gaming because everyone owns and loves COMPUTER!. Later
I personally switched over to a console after being a PC gamer for for about 10 years. The reason was simple, and your post says it in a nutshell. To play new games, you have to constantly upgrade to keep up with the game tech. When you factor in computer upgrade costs and costs of games if just didn’t make sense to me. It was just money down the drain. I wanted to play games, and I wanted to have fun, but I wanted more money in my pocket that I worked so hard to earn. Purchasing a gaming console provided a lower cost for hardware, and gave me stability for 5-10 years knowing any game I purchase for the system would work without costly upgrades. It also forced me to become adept at a controller, instead of a mouse and keyboard. This gave me an entirely new challenge, which I loved. Instead of being great and being bored with games, suddenly, I had a learning curve again. Now I’m competitive, have more money in the bank, so to speak, and I still get to play all of the games I want to play. The bits and bobs that come with new DirectX or Open GL releases never were important to me. I’m a gamer and playing games was the bottom line. So my PC doesn’t play any games anymore, instead I use it for work. My console does the gaming and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.
That is great, playing games in any medium is awesome. That’s why we here gameallthetime
However in the current state of the PC market, a computer from 2006 can run most games without a hitch as long as it has a dedicated graphics card. The norm minimum spec is still only a Geforce 6800 for most games, when the Geforce series is already 4 generations ahead of the 6800 series. PC gaming isn’t as expensive as most would think. I can build ANYONE a competent gaming machine for $400 sans monitor, and it would have HDMI out so it connects straight to your TV. Add in $70 and we have the 360 controller working wireless with your computer. My current computer cost me a total of $600 dual graphics card machine DirectX 11 capable. The PS3 cost $600 when it came out, and by now you could probably build my same exact computer for $450 or so.
Honestly, although some of your points are true, you really need to think about the amount of time it takes to develop a game tesellation is hard to implement, it cannot be done in just 1 or 2 months, take dirt 2 as an example, the game looks great yet there is no much difference between the directx 10 and the directx 11 settings. Also many of the recent games use a licensed engine, like unreal, and unless the engine itself suports the new features games will hardly have them.
I agree with the part about using licensed engine. Maybe if the next Unreal Engine has tessellation built in then we will begin to see better ports. I also agree DX10->DX11 Dirt isn’t much of a change, however DX9-10 is. But since we are at 11 already it would be a leap from 9-11.
Console markets are much smaller than pc’s. The only reason NPD sales show that pc’s are behind any of the consoles is they don’t account for digital downloads. So all the games people buy on steam or any other digital distribution program does not go into account. There are more pc gamers than console gamers, the pc market has changed the way how games are being distributed. That’s why consoles are now just getting digital distribution,hell analysts are even saying that there may not be a console cycle 8 and if there is it’ll probably be the last one. Gamer X’s opinion is right on the money, companies are pushing out crap to the pc market. They are forgetting that the PC market was their main target once upon a year. Now we just get terrible ports and waste money on hardware that is a joke. My pc from 06 can render gfx that are nearly the same as a 36o’s.
And because Valve isn’t a publicly traded company, they don’t have to report how much they sell! Damn!
Sorry to inform you but PS3 games do not get pirated. Only the 360 and wii games get pirated. You seem to have left that part out.
Don’t forget Wii Games.
Doom 3? Or Borderlands? Consoles game was not the same quality. Enemy Territory QUAKE Wars or Battlefield 2142? Take out consoles from its exclusive FPS and COD4: what you got? We all know it. Besides NO dawn dedicated server. I mean…have you seen what happened to Xbox version of multiplayer fps of previous gen?
RPG? Too much japan rpg, but worse version of occidental 1player games. No editor, no SDK, so…where is the point?
Simulation? less tittles and less variety. RTS and estrategy? Adventures? Even Devil May Cry 4 videoconsoles port was not the best version.
Taking out lazyness from Infinity Ward & Activision or EA Sports, and the others still work better on PC.
Why should I care about a PS3 with a lot of Japan RPG boring tittles (like always PS did), soccer games and the rest, exclusives and cutre ports?
I mean…seriously: have you seen FEAR 2, Wolfenstein or Batman AA? Dark Messiah of Might & Magic? AC 1 or 2? Avatar on consoles?
Videoconsoles are ok for its 4 first years, then…a not so great betting.
I’ll admit: I’ve always been a console gamer. PC gaming has never appealed to me, even recently, when a lot of AAA console games get a PC port. But to make a game “special” for the PC requires extra work, which requires extra money. The developers have to determine if the returns (sales) and losses (piracy) that would occur after releasing a PC port would justify spending that extra money. And in today’s cash-strapped economy, I can completely understand if they decide no.
Keep in mind that I don’t game on my PC at all, but I come across torrents for games all the time WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING FOR THEM. As was said before, this problem exists with consoles, but it requires more work to pirate those game and is thus less common.
And points made about PC gaming being expensive are valid. Outside the cost of the console itself, a few accessories here and there, you never have to “upgrade” it at all for at least five years. The savings in money aside, there’s no added “headache” of purchasing and installing additional hardware and searching for patches here and there. Sure, it’s not a headache for some, but for those who aren’t tech-savvy it’s a problem (people actually pay have PC’s and consoles installed nowadays, instead of doing it themselves). For those guys, learning that their 3-year old computer won’t run a game is a major turn-off. The PC market moves faster than the console market, and some don’t like playing catch-up.
Well for an 360 you CAN technically upgrade it. I’ve personally went from $299 20gb -> $120+ 160 GB -> $499.99 MW2 360 250gb. So all in all I’ve spent nearly a thousand on my 360. Plus the wireless adapter. So console gaming technically CAN get as expensive as PC gaming. Especially with Kinetic and Move coming out.
You’re the rare gamer that actually upgrades consoles, though. Most people won’t buy a new version of the same console, no matter how many bells and whistles they add to it. I still have my Day 1 XBox 360 (never red-ringed) and don’t plan on buying another one…ever. My hard drive is big enough, I have two controllers + one arcade stick, one faceplate, and everything else is games. Similarly I have one PS3 Slim and one Wii, and I won’t be getting any more. If any of these three die, I’ll pay to have it repaired (because I have to) but I won’t purchase another.
Console owners! Be sure if PC gaming dies (i hope it never will), precantage of pirateted games will incrise drasticli on consols! And will be as bad as on PC. Just because ps3 is not cracked right now, does not mean it wont happend when Skidrow ,razor1911 and other teams, dont have what to do if PC games stop existing. (Sorry for bad eng)
Games are getting much more expensive to make, and they are often made for 2-5 platforms, so they have to cut corners wherever possible to get the game shipped on time and on budget. Also, PC hardware isn’t accelerating like it did before with the clock speeds just going up and up, now the architecture is changing dramatically with multi-cores, so making a game simply run properly is hard enough, let alone making it optimized. At least on PC you can download a high-resolution texture pack when the game starts to look dated.
I’ve loved consoles ever since I was a kid because of the hype the surrounded them, but today I hope that PC can come out ahead, because having a do-it-all machine seems like a better investment. Gaming-ability will probably become more standard on PCs and Macs (now with Steam) as things get cheaper, and PCs are slowly making it into the living room with HTPCs. I think there may be an opportunity for PCs to overshadow consoles in the living room because Sony and MS are unlikely to release new consoles for a while. Plus, when was the last time you heard about either of them making a profit from their games division? Eventually they will end the Playsation and Xbox lines unless they get a break somehow,until then it could mean making less powerful consoles that cost less to make.
There’s also the rising mobile industry. I think this will take off faster than the console and PC industries did in their early stages. Some markets are leaving the PC and consoles far behind as they do more and more over mobile. This won’t be the case so much in the US, as network quality is poor and carriers are still pushing out-of-date phones, but eventually things will get up to speed. Cloud gaming could take off too, but that’s all just a distraction until we have Radeon HD 5970s in our pockets or built right into our bodies for that matter.
all in all gamin in itself suffers…i mean tend down to the costs of everything the price will eventually call it even with game play hours anyway,but the fact that a console is strictly for gamin makes everyone’s choice an easy one.now ive never been a pc gamer not to say i wouldnt enjoy but i grew up usin a console for major gamin..its alot simpler from the point of the majority of public..its an easy choice already made..ie “you wanna play a game well here a system completely dedicated to it”…anythin thats multi task-able is great on the go..but at home myself like many others prefer the ease of switchin on my console an playin a game..not to say it isnt that easy on the pc..but its simpler i use my computer for everythin i can think of..but for gamin a console comes easy..this is just my opinion,i wouldnt dis credit anyone from thinkin any differently..
You seemed to fail to nail down the biggest problem with the direct X versions. Or actually windows. Vista was a “dog” of an OS and no one upgraded, Win7 is brand new (DX11) and still no market share. With consoles running DX9 and the majority of computers on XP/DX9 there’s no incentive to even try with no market. The work is wasted, and just limits sales.
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all in all gamin in itself suffers…i mean tend down to the costs of everything the price will eventually call it even with game play hours anyway,but the fact that a console is strictly for gamin makes everyone’s choice an easy one.
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