PC PHOBIA – Is The PC Dead As A Gaming Platform?
It got me wondering. I mean, I’m not spending as much time with my PC as I used to. I admit that I find myself buying more games for my console than for PC. If a game releases on multiple platforms, I will most likely get the console version, preferable for Xbox 360. To put it in short, I mostly prefer consoles to PCs. But it got me thinking – what does the future hold for computers as a gaming platform? Are we going to accustom computers with offices and consoles with homes?
I don’t blame you if you are thinking the same. I mean, the PC graphics are oh-so last-generation, even if you do own a decent gaming rig. For the half that you spend on your PC, you will most likely find a top-of-the-line next generation console. And should I start about the next-gen graphics in consoles and HDTVs? Sure, that will soon change when Direct X 10 graphics cards hits Bangladesh, but come on, are you kidding me? Is anyone willing to cough up $500 just for a graphics card when you can get the wlite Xbox 360 just for $480?Then there isn’t the hassle of ensuring that your system meets the requirements to play the game, just pop the disk inside your console and start playing – even no installation required! Unlike PCs, you don’t have to constantly upgrade your consoles meaning that your “investment” won’t get obsolete by the next year or just six months from now.
Besides, the analog controller in consoles is more fun to play with than a standard “keyboard and mouse” setup. Couple that with rumble and motion sensing support and you know what I mean.
Then there is the achievements in X360 and PS3 – the main reason why I bother to stick with single player games on consoles – bragging to your friends of your gamerscore is a truly satisfying experience. Now why don’t we see that on PCs?
Xbox Live for 360 is, I believe, one of the greatest online multiplayer experiences avaialable at the moment. I know there is multiplayer support in Pcs, but it has to be more streamline. Games for Windows Live is nothing but a flop. Look at consoles, ther are no viruses, spywares, adwares or crashes to deal with. And now you can browse the internet with consoles!
Heck, you even get to watch DVDs/HD-DVDs/Blu-Ray discs on consoles any experience “next-generation entertainment”, which is expensive to do so on computers. And then you have to ensure that all your hardware is HDCP compliant or its standard definition or even no movies at all for you!
Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve been using PCs since way-back 1995. But something needs to be done to help promote PCs as a gaming platform. The “Games for Windows Live” and “one-click game installation” in Vista is one step forward in the right direction by Microsoft. Sure, the PC is not entirely doomed and excels in certain areas. You cannot get the fast and twitchy gunplay in consoles as in PCs. And a true RTS experience is only possible on computers. But the point is that something needs to be done for this waning platform – and SOON – because consoles are quickly catching up.
Oct 8th, 2007 at 11:38 am
[…] just read the article called “PC PHOBIA – Is the PC dead as a gaming platform” written by the Gaming Wiz a while back. Decided just to add my two cents in. I’ve been […]
Oct 14th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
[…] PC Phobia | Is the PC Dead as a Gaming Platform? PC Gaming is Doomed | Why That’s a bad idea Online Gaming For The Least Fortunate Get rid of Adwares, Spywares and Viruses Once and For All How To Get a Faster PC For Free and Do More in Less Time Xbox 360 and Why DVD Rentals are as Good as Dead […]
Oct 14th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
More and more games are showing up on the PC that are ports from consoles, that rend will only continue. You can play with the 360 controller on the PC and the number of games that support it is just going to increase.
I agree computer gaming is relatively more expensive.. and you don’t have to buy a $500 card to get 360 graphics. Maybe use more realistic numbers. Bloggers tend to focus on a general point and then make lazy mistakes when supporting their argument. I don’t think it discounts your point in total, but it takes away from it.
Oct 15th, 2007 at 6:02 am
First of All pc gaming is not dead.
You don’t have to pay $500 for a good dx10 card. $250-$350 is enough for buying 8800gts or new coming Ati Hd 2900pro in bangladesh.
pc gaming industry still makes $927million every year which is even better than ps3 now.
and by the way you don’t get a nextgen console just for $400
its cosole+HDTV=$400+$1200(minimum).
In our country for most students pc is a must, we have a huge markets for pcs where as there is no microsoft or sony for their consoles in our country.
Oct 15th, 2007 at 7:07 am
fucking retards
Oct 15th, 2007 at 8:00 am
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2188339,00.asp
Try and read this. Makes a lot mere sense than this article.
Oct 15th, 2007 at 8:07 am
PCgaminf isnt close to dying. Its the biggest plattform.
No other console can stand up against the PC in sales. The problem is that they always compare the PC to CONSOLES, which is like one plattform vs 10.
Here in Sweden pcgames stand for 51% of the overall gamesales, so here the PC is bigger than all consoles combined. Several other countries in europe got about the same statistics.
And COME ON! The PC graphics are always one step ahead. Hig res, better textures, AA+AF and SCALABLE. You can play the newest games on a 2-3 year old pc if you turn the graphics down. People whining that they cant play the newest games on their one year old computer is either incompetent, “omgineed100fps”-people or they bought a crappy gfxcard.
Yes playing on a computer requires a little more than playing on a console. But we get it back tenfold in patching without verification processes, mods and more.
Achivements? Take a look at the orange box. Its on its way to pcgaming even though it adds absolutely nothing. Xbox live? It isnt needed on PC. You can get way more content from any gamingsite. The PCs serverbrowsers are vastly superior to the “matchmaking” and other crap that live uses. Granted it takes 20 seconds longer to understand it but you got to be goddamn lazy not to prefer having a wide selection of servers with the ability to play on the same server as many times as you like.
Stat tracking has been on the PC for many years. Live doesnt have anything on PCs. Heck, Steam is infact vastly superior to live.
If anything i think we will se a rise in pcgaming in the years to come. You can get a good dx10 compatible card for ~300-350 €. Pc got some mayor titles coming and Once youve had the MP freedom of a PCgame Live seems so very clumsy.
As i said PC gaming requires a little more from you as a gamer, its not just inserting a disk and play, but if my sisters 5 year old daughter can learn how to install and start up a game, so can you. Lazyness and ignorance doesnt get you anywhere but into the line of gray people that are being forcefed whatever the large companies like MS spew out.
Oct 18th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Everybody moans over the high cost of pc’s, but to play consoles in their full glory you still need a HDTV which way more than a good gaming rig alone, and then you still need the console. Even after buying a HDTV the graphics are still better on pc.
If you dont like the mouse and KB, then buy a analog controller for it. I for one like my KB and mouse. The pc can use both, consoles cannot.
Every time somebody compares their sales they count all the consoles up against the pc so its 3 vs 1, divide the console sales by 3 and the pc wins by a fair margin.
I personally dont care about the achievements you get, but pc is still miles ahead in terms of multiplayer. I refuse to pay more for a game than I already payed to play it online. Ps3 has much better online than Xbox because its free. Thats also the reason I hate wow, and only like GW.
All you people to is bitch and moan all day about how much pc’s suck. Both consoles and pc’s are gaming machines, both are fun and neither are dead.
Nov 29th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Hi, my name is disman-kl, i like your site and i ll be back 😉
Dec 23rd, 2007 at 8:04 pm
buy xbox 360 in sweden…
Thanks for the article! it was a great read. FOr all of you looking for cheapest prices.. we all know EBAY is the best for that. http://www.ebaysweep.com…
Jan 12th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Gaming consoles have always been behind PC in overall quality for gaming. The advantages of the PC go far past the ones listed here. Upgradeability is the number one perk of the PC. You want more? Upgrade a few components and Voila. Now the main disadvantage of PC gaming is that the game can not use the hardware to its full potential, especially running OS’s like Vista, which are resource hogs. I could really get into this but I don’t want to make this comment an article in itself.
Jan 31st, 2008 at 10:48 am
pc gaming is really expensive for bangladesh i have to agree… just look at the expense of good pc in bangladesh.. if we overlook a core2duo processor or even a powerfull ram or even an excellent graphics card(which will eventually gets bad in 1.5 years or so) if we overlook the harddisk drive required for good gaming but we cannot overlook the power supply which is really a rare and pricy in bangladesh..i m now hovering about for a good psu which is hard to find in bangladesh. i found a 500 watt power supply for 10000 taka!!! do u think someone who has a brain gonna pay 10000 taka for a power supply? man thats really crazy.. i m not american.. i m bangladeshi.. i have to value money.. 10000 taka for a power supply is just crazy.. BUT I HAVE TO SAY PC HAS BEST QUALITY GRAPHICS THAN ANY OTHER CONSOLE..but u also have to pay 3 times more than a console to get those kinds of pc… i dont have a console.. and i know how painful gaming in pc is…specially when u have to upgrade every year
Feb 5th, 2008 at 2:03 am
The world of computer gaming, high-stakes and intense competition
Whew! According to Computer Gaming World, there are 80 gazillion free Flash games sites in the cyber world.
Feb 15th, 2008 at 9:58 am
PC gaming is very expensive but those who can afford(very few actually in BD) are the lucky ones. a friend of mine spent about $300 dollars on upgrading his pc but he can’t play the latest games on high settings. like gears of War. he has to play it in Medium.
on the other hand another friend of mine owns a xbox 360 and a HDTV(45in). i went to his house oneday and if i looked at the graphics…UNBELIEVABLE…even without an HD tv the graphics are awsome.
for an averagegamer in Bangladesh should stick to get a 360 immediately(if they can afford it). ther’s no point in wasting money upgrading a PC.
Mar 12th, 2008 at 4:55 am
well guys i think pc is far more usefull than any consoles.
and console games are rather costly.
and i can upgrade my pc or repair it easily which is not the case for any consoles(X360,ps3,ps2..).and even it is possible then the repair takes a lot of money compared to pc’s repair cost(100-500 taka depending on problem)
and in pc we can do a lot other than just gaming.(e-mail,blog….etc)
pc’s keyboard/mouse combination is unbeatable whether you compare it with x 360 or ps3 controllers.(sure those controllers are cool and wireless blah blah..)
and i think i can enjoy FPS or Strategy games best using keyboard/mouse combination other than any type of controller.
so definately PC is the winner for me.P
so i totally disagree with the original post’s topic “PC PHOBIA – Is the PC dead as a gaming platform?”
cya guys P
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 2:02 pm
hmmmmm…………in the context of bangladesh as of 2008,
how many ppl. can afford original Ps3 games worth TK (5-6)k?that too per disc? or an XBOX 360’s games around Tk(2-3)K? well guys. here in BD PC games cost max Tk.80 (coz of software piracy)! PS3’s gpu is comparable to the 7800GTX! read this
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2453&p=2
At the time of PS3’s release in late ’05 – early ’06 it had the best hardware !coz pcs that time were mostly single cores with higher clock speeds with gpus of nvidia 6-7series (me an nvidia fanboy, though love the radeon 4850, 4870!) What’s the case now? a c2d E8400 (gaming performance are similar to the latest quads and is faster than Q6600, Q6700)with a decent power supply along with an 8800GT 512MB will be kind of extreme for MID RANGE gamers of bangladesh!! a pc with these builds with 2GB ram, 250GB HDD , a decent mobo would cost MAX TK 66000! compared to PS3 80GB Tk 84000? even an 8600Gt with a C2d E2180 or E4500 will deliver performance close to PS3 (get a good monitor and compare)!! read the articles! cpu in ps3 is definitely better (7-8 cell threads, not cores at 3.2GHZ), but that doesnt help much! gpu is the main stuff, and pc’s excel here!
My conclusion is that PC gaming is cheaper and better than consoles in bangladesh!!! consoles are way too much overpriced here!!! and for ppls of other countries, where software piracy doesnt prevail at all, I AGREE THAT BUILDING AN ULTRA HIGH OR HIGH GAMING PC IS TOO COSTLY COZ OF ADDED COSTS OF THE GENUINE WINDOWS OS AND OTHER SOFTWARES AS WELL! In this case, for gaming only i would definitely go for consoles as they are less priced ONLY there!, and a cheaper C2D PC that handles all basic tasks i require to do! Guys, don’t fire up! thats my point of view.
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
7800GTX is faster than 8600GT, Saad! with a minor difference!
Jan 31st, 2010 at 9:25 pm
U sayin dat PC gamin is dead??? Dont make me laugh…..
this is a 2 year old article, and let me update it a bit…..
1. DX 11 has hit stores in Bangladesh.
2. PC sales have skyrocketed in 2009 and r continuing to rise in 2010 coz prices r dropping like flies.
3. The PS3 nd 360 r lagging behind the PC coz, just recently, a top software firm released top of the line controllers and soon is going to release MOTION GAMING for PCs, mayB evn B4 the PS3’s or 360’s motion controllers.
4. COMPARE THE RADEON HD 5900 SERIES WITH THE 360 OR PS3 ND UR GONNA LAUGH UR GUTS OUT AT THE CONSOLES WEN YOU SEE THAT THE GRAPHICS OF THE CONSOLES ARE LIKE CHEAP TRINKETS COMPARED 2 DA PC.
5. Buy the nVidia 9 series graphics card (most of them are below TK.15000) nd u can match the graphics with the PS3.
6. Emulators chiefs have recently released emulators for both PS2 and Wii on the PC……nd alot of ppl hav already started to crack the PS3.
7. And finally, according to a recent survey for an IT fair, gamers in bangladesh hav bought enuf hardware and software in a week long fair to amount to almost TK 90 lakh, a.k.a TK 9 million nd more….
So 2 years past wen this post was made…
AND DA PC IS STRONGER THAN EVER……WAHHAHAHAHHAA 👿 😈 👿 😈 👿 😈
Feb 1st, 2010 at 12:01 am
as a gaming machine pc or console .. nothing will be dead
there will be always xclusive and multiplatform games.
though console is dedicated gaming machine .. but still i will say pc is the best platform for strategy, rpg & in some cases for fps too.
@Moontasir
dont mind .. do u hav any console xperience .. i mean r u giving this analysis after playing console games ?
Feb 1st, 2010 at 1:20 am
@ pollob
Yes….i own a gameboy, gameboy advanced, nintendo ds, psp, game cube, wii, ps1, ps2, ps3, xbox, xbox 360, hdtv’s nd a totally ripped PC…..nd on top of all these things, my PC is at the top….nd for bangladesh, along with all updates, hardware(i.e. sound system, keybrd, mouse, monitor, printer, scanner) it just cost me Tk.96,000 for the PC, but i am goin 2 b able to use it with minimum updates for the next six years or so….unlike the consoles….
Feb 1st, 2010 at 2:00 am
@pollob
I couldn’t have said it better myself bro.
@Moontasir
Well, I considered myself to be a hardcore gamer, but after reading that impressive list, I must congratulate you bro. And those are some really nice points.
Even if we don’t like to admit, BD is a PC-gaming centric country. So, PC gaming will always be #1 here. However, in the US, it’s all consoles. If you say PC gaming is going strong back there, you’ll frankly be barking up the wrong tree.
As for me, I only have a PS2, PS3, 360, DS, Wii and a PC. If you think your .96 lac PC will last for 6 years, you’re sadly mistaken. I had to learn it the hard way. I spent over 2 lacs only on my PC alone thinking I’ll be good for 3-4 years. Among others, I got two Radeon HD 3870 X2’s in CrossFire (total of 4 gfx cards in my pc :razz:) and even then I have trouble with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering at 1920X1080p.
The main advantage with consoles is that their hardware doesn’t change, so the code gets better optimised and you have no worries whether it will run at the highest setting. But for the PC it’s an entirely different story ……… Still, I grew up with PC gaming and will be a PC gamer for life.
Feb 1st, 2010 at 9:46 am
Agree completely wid u bro….nd i aint runnin my mouth 4 other countries….BD is mainly PC GAMING nd it will stay that way among the majority for a couple more years……Nd bro, i knw that i will hav 2 upgrade my pc every year, but come on, can u really say that a controller is better than a keyboard-mouse duo in shooting, rpg or fps games?? Some might say it is easier with a controller, but if you try playin it in extreme dificulty levels, realization dawns on you dat nuthin could evr beat keyboard-mouse duo among the masses…..
The consoles R goin strong, but in BD, if u dont have the cash, u will stick wid da PC or laptop coz, come on, most BD families who search for entertainment systems considers the computer instead of consoles coz mainly of internet….nd let me stress the fact that i mean in BD, alot of ppl just dont bother 2
a) Find a good console.
b) Buy an HDTV or just a suitable TV.
c) Search for an applicable internet connection 2 run the console in,
d) Set it up in ur living room.
And after all of that is done, find good games 4 it….. 😡 😡 🙁 😡 🙁 😐 😡
So the masses by PC’s and get a simple internet connection…….
Now, if i say that you had abt 2 lakh in ur pocket 2 spend….a console wud b my top choice, along wid a sizeable HDTV etc and etcetera……..
But in BD, consoles r a long way behind the PC…..if i consider only dhaka though, then yes, consoles R catching up nd will be widespread soon enuf….but all over BD will take evn more time……
Anyways….i love playing on consoles, but u just cant say that a crossfire combination of 2 radeon hd 5870 is not more than a PS3 nd 360 combined…..
I compared them nd so im tellin these statements…….
beat that 😎 😎
Feb 1st, 2010 at 7:10 pm
@Moontasir
hey bro,sounds like u r a one hell of a hardcore gamer like me ! 😎
we all know that,most of the gamers in bd r pc gamers.but still consoles r asomewhat unbeatable ! as the Gaming Wiz has already stated,
“The main advantage with consoles is that their hardware doesn’t change, so the code gets better optimised and you have no worries whether it will run at the highest setting.”
believe me,i’ve just spent tk. 3-4 lacs on upgrading my pc in last 3-4 years but still my pc ended up very badly ! thats why i just switched to console gaming but i’ve been playing on the pc since 1998 & still pc is the best !
so comparing them might not be a good idea ! both platform r just best for gaming !
btw…gameboy,gameboy advanced,nintendo ds,psp r just handhelds.& u can’t compare a handheld to a pc ! am i right?
i do have both new gen handhelds – Nintendo Ds & Sony psp !
& i also have experience on playing in these platforms – gameboy,gameboy advanced,nintendo ds,sony psp,ps1,ps2,xbox,xbox 360 & PC.
@The Gaming Wiz/Mushfiqur Rahman
“I grew up with PC gaming and will be a PC gamer for life.”
Same here !
Feb 1st, 2010 at 8:52 pm
graphics is not the only concern for me. If it was so, I would keep my Crysis DVD/Game fIle in my lap, kissing its every part everyday, stuck playing with it and forgot about God of war series. There are, I believe, people who feel confy with gamepads in playing sports game as well as other shooting/action adventure type games like me.
Of course PC delivers out the best in graphics but it cant give me the Uncharted II or Bayonetta, or, Ninja Gaiden II or A C II ( at the right time), or Gears of War II, or most importantly GOD OF WAR III. 😕
Like above peep sed after I poured out cash on PC and saw it would not let me to play smoothly, I did not hesitate to get a console. PC updated rakhte hole je cost aar observation rakhte hoi I somehow do not like it.
I play the X3 only and cross platformers on X3, they’re cheap. Then I kept my PS 3 to play PS 3 only titles cuz I do not see any point spending 4000/5000 /= for a cross platformer game that I could get at lower price or even by download. 😛
Each consoles along with PC has specific advantages, actually not to be rude, the debate between PC versus Consoles is gettin pointless. People have their visions, their choice on titles, their comfortability, and most importantly, they’re bound by the mightier gaming industry who determines which release to what platform- not us. 😛
Feb 1st, 2010 at 10:25 pm
@Reza
“Of course PC delivers out the best in graphics but it cant give me the Uncharted II or Bayonetta, or, Ninja Gaiden II or A C II ( at the right time), or Gears of War II, or most importantly GOD OF WAR III.”
Nicely Said,bro ! this is what i was trying to tell the people who don’t understand this matters & try to compare a console with the pc !
Feb 1st, 2010 at 10:56 pm
graphics is not all there is about gaming…there is the matter of gameplay, storyline, and ingame content…and consoles offer a vast more array of these than pc does.
personally, i prefer keyboard and mouse over a bunch of buttons.
but i might change my mind with project natal 😛
but still, online gaming is best with pc so far regarding all aspects…
if only pc offered the same games as consoles, namely god of war, naruto\bleach\anime stuffs, the racing and fps of consoles, pc would triumph any given day…since they are not offered, consoles still and will hold the market.
good news is after a couple of years u get emulators for every consoles…I finally found a working good emulator for ps2..playing god of war 2 smoothly now on pc…finally!
so after a certain certain time, pc pwns other consoles…although they are almost obsolete by that time.
Feb 2nd, 2010 at 12:01 am
“good news is after a couple of years u get emulators for every consoles…I finally found a working good emulator for ps2..playing god of war 2 smoothly now on pc…finally!”
I’d rather enjoy an emulated UC II right now, in 2010. 😉 😛
Feb 2nd, 2010 at 1:29 am
“so after a certain certain time, pc pwns other consoles…although they are almost obsolete by that time.”
sorry I do not think so….after a certain time, new version of consoles will come with more powerful hardware..like WII will have intel cores, PS will gain multiple core, XBox 720 specced nicely on this blog…so the contest will be goin on…
And may be you gotten emulator to play PS 2 “NOW”, you still did not manage to emulate a single PS 3 or XBox 360 game, did ya?
From time to time , each of the gadgets will have more stronger hardware, while, consoles will be optimized to their Best, PC’ll continue to never-ending hardware upgrade demand…..
Feb 2nd, 2010 at 12:01 pm
@Moontasir
You’re 100% right. But why a HD 5870? Try running two HD 5970 in CrossFire X (paired with Core-i7 and 8GB DDR3 ram) and it will blow away any gaming console out there. 😛 But then again, people must have to be pretty thick to blow away so much money on a gaming PC. Still, I know some that would.
@Others
I’m really interested to see how this turns out, so, I’ll reserve my comments for later. 😉 You can also check out why PC gaming is NOT dead @ http://www.gamersworldbd.com/2007/08/pc-gaming-is-doomed-why-thats-bad-idea.html
Feb 2nd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
@Max_Vergil
“good news is after a couple of years u get emulators for every consoles…I finally found a working good emulator for ps2..playing god of war 2 smoothly now on pc…finally!”
I saw the same thing at a game shop in IDB, God of War 2 on PC. I was like WTF? Bought it, put in the DVD drive and found that it was an emulator. Haven’t played it yet.
Feb 2nd, 2010 at 5:56 pm
give it a try, runs at an average of 98% fraps, which i’d say is good enough 🙂
Feb 2nd, 2010 at 5:56 pm
also make sure you turn on the speed hack from the configuration
Feb 2nd, 2010 at 7:57 pm
@Max_Vergil
I’ll give it a try and let you know. Thanks.