Will console gaming slowly get replaced by PC gaming?

[AceOfAces_Mod]

I don't think that consoles will disappear. Consoles by structure are a lot easier. PCs have their own kinks (is that a word?), I had my first pc since 1997 (I was 3 years old then) and I am studying Computer Sciences at a Technical Educational Institute (something like a university) and I still encounter issues (BSOD due to bad IRQL setting for example). Even if they give the option to upgrade small parts of the console (like the RAM memory (N64 Expansion Pak anybody?)) they are still more prefered than PCs (although some upgrades will require a pretty complex motherboard design...)

I think Valve is wasting their money with SteamOS. If it is pre-installed on their Steam Machines, then ok, I see your point. But as an OS to install to your rig, forget it. While it's based on Devian, installation right now is a pain in the a** (less intuitive than installing drivers on Ubuntu), and it's a glorified Big Picture Mode. Pass.

 

[Shelby]

Consoles are for lazy people, everyone knows PC has the better performance, more games, better graphics! People just do not research enough to know better. My life changed when I went from console to PC, saved sooooo much more money and well the story just goes on.

Now this is not the best time to even talk about this since 2014 was one of the WORST years for videogames I have ever seen. when companies like Square Enix and Unisoft can actually make games that work then we can talk.

 

[Imploded Tomato]

Consoles are for lazy people, everyone knows PC has the better performance, more games, better graphics! People just do not research enough to know better. My life changed when I went from console to PC, saved sooooo much more money and well the story just goes on.

Now this is not the best time to even talk about this since 2014 was one of the WORST years for videogames I have ever seen. when companies like Square Enix and Unisoft can actually make games that work then we can talk.

I feel the same way, so many great Steam sales allow you to save ridiculous amounts of money compared to if you were to buy the game off of the Xbox or Playstation marketplace. Not only that, but modding games like Skyrim is another experience that only PC's can offer. The Xbox One was a disappointment because of it's lack of hardware power. The Playstation 4's network quality is terrible compared to Xbox Live, but the machine is more powerful that it's competitor. I've decided to not buy either of these consoles and just upgrade my tower instead. Not like I'm missing out on "Halo the Broken Chief Collection", I just continue to play Destiny on my Xbox 360 and save the $427.. Need to see another price drop or I'll never buy a next gen. console because they are a total rip off.

 

[Shelby]

"Halo the Broken Chief Collection"

AHAHAHAHHAHAH it's sooooo true! They don't care about you at all! This is why I love PC because it allows you to bypass these fools. I actually wanted to buy a PS4, but we kept waiting for good games to come out on it, then we waited some more for even 1 RPG game to come out on it.....and now we just gave up. No thank you our money is better spent making our own games, not waiting for these soulless scum to make even more broken games.

 

[hiromu656]

I don't think it has anything to do with being lazy. There are games that PC simply doesn't have, and its very convenient to get a console over a computer. I personally am a PC player for the most part and there are negatives for both preferences. Not to mention broken games are on both PC and consoles and those bad ubisoft games you mentioned are also on PC.

 

[Shelby]

I don't think it has anything to do with being lazy. There are games that PC simply doesn't have, and its very convenient to get a console over a computer. I personally am a PC player for the most part and there are negatives for both preferences. Not to mention broken games are on both PC and consoles and those bad ubisoft games you mentioned are also on PC.

No no those bad broken Ubisoft games are broken on consoles and then ported BADLY to PC huge difference, of course if your a informed gamer you know not to buy anything they make anyways..WATCHDOGS!, AC Unity! And yea. 

 

[hiromu656]

Well, I already left my No vote, so hopefully this thread doesn't turn into a huge argument.

 

[_Shadow_]

Consoles are for lazy people, everyone knows PC has the better performance, more games, better graphics! People just do not research enough to know better. My life changed when I went from console to PC, saved sooooo much more money and well the story just goes on.

I can not imagine your enthusiasm if you research for a correct Linux distribution.

Mint for instance.

Something consoles can not do anyway and are stuck with a simple OS.

Yeah we assume it was for free... but still, you don't have flexibility.

As for laziness. Well I try to say things more elegant. But in fact yes that is the case.

The less effort the average user needs the bigger the success of a product.

Average users are dummies in general and they are 75% of the people.

So companies will focus on that target group.

If you are in the rest 25% you get a little annoyed.

 

[Clord]

I don't have enough knowledge of the subject to say definite yes or no.


It's quite likely that if Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo for some strange reason would discontinue being console companies, someone else would arise to fill that market hole.


I like my high end PC gaming but sometimes it is just pure frustration when OS wants to poop or PC after years start crashing and you need personally investigate if it is a hardware failure or not and yet some console from eighties still functions as expected.


My graphic card did cost more than current-gen console would and that is just one component in my PC.

 

[Hollow 1977]

I don't think I would call console user's lazy. For one thing, I sit in front of a computer 8 hours a day five days a week. So I like to sit on my sofa and play a game away from my pc. Plus I have a hd tv which is way bigger than my monitor. Also there are the games that these systems produce. I don't think you will find Mario or Zelda titles for the pc. Kingdom hearts III is yet another one that is not on the pc. I have to agree that the consoles are over priced. Still I think some people just might want to get away from their pc for a while. Again I don't think laziness has anything to do with it. Some people prefer pc's and some prefer consoles. I like both but still want to do my gaming on a console or handheld. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

I play both.

Its not a dichotomy at all. You can like both. I played Skyrim on PC (yay mods), but preferred BL1&2 on consoles (I actually own 1 on both PC and PS3). A game like XCOM I can't even imagine on a console (even though it is there, still think that is weird).

But then you run into other issues. I mean, I have no good place in my house for a desktop computer. I use a laptop for my work, and its powerful enough to play most games (I do run into a few issues with some of the busier skyrim mods, but some of those lag even on high end desktops).

And yeah. PC graphics are technically "better" in that they have a higher framerate and a higher resolution, but honestly... 99% of the time I can't really tell. Good graphics aren't just about pushing out the highest number of polygons as fast and detailed as possible. A lot of console games still look really good, and definitely good enough for sitting on my couch across the room from my TV. And I've never had to hunt for a "why does my graphics card conflict with this game" thread somewhere to figure out what settings I need to get a game to run, or if I'm just SOL.

Consoles are convenient. I buy a box and it works. I also have a family. And Consoles are WAY more convenient on that front. I mean, I know that computers are way more prevalent than they used to be, but I'm pretty sure most households aren't like mine where I have more computers than people in the house. And even on that, I can't have a full gaming PC for each person, there just isn't room in the house. My daughter has a low end laptop, I have a strong laptop, my wife has an ultraportable, and my son sort of has a desktop which is actually cobbled together from a broke laptop (there is also another PC, but its sort of in pieces). But if my son wants to play a game, he doesn't have to ask me to use my laptop, which I use for work he can ask to use a console, which is conveniently attached to a TV that I don't need for productivity.

(To be fair, my house also has more consoles than most, I actually own two ps3s, one for the kids playroom and one for my living room, plus the wii and 360, 2 vitas, a 3ds, a PSP, and more DS's than I can remember at the moment).

 

[_Shadow_]

I play both.

Its not a dichotomy at all. You can like both. I played Skyrim on PC (yay mods), but preferred BL1&2 on consoles (I actually own 1 on both PC and PS3). A game like XCOM I can't even imagine on a console (even though it is there, still think that is weird).

You are absolutely correct.

Consoles are convenient. I buy a box and it works. I also have a family. And Consoles are WAY more convenient on that front. 

Exactly as I said. Different market groups have different needs.

That's why consoles are awesome, while PCs are awesome too.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

PC are good, if you have a good set-up... While consoles, since the set-up is as-is, you don't need to have a "good" set-up. It's simply easier to play on consoles than in PC. And yeah, consoles cost way much less than a gaming PC too. Personally, I prefer keeping my PC on the mid-range so that it could play some good games while not having to dish out a lot of money for a high-end set up. I think this is especially true in the not so rich countries like in mine, here a normal person could buy a console maybe after half a year of saving, but to buy a good gaming PC, it would probably take around 4 times longer, so that would be 2 years. By that time, there are already better set-ups and the newer games would already have been using those newer set-ups.

Seeing as how the architecture for the newer consoles is said to be PC-like, then maybe a steam like service would be possible, and hopefully with that, the old games could still be played on the future consoles. That's the reason why I am actually using Steam right now, to play some old games that I never got to play before coz I simply don't have the money to buy them before. 

So yeah, I don't think PC would really replace console gaming. Not unless the cost of high-end set-ups becomes much much lower than what it is right now.

Eh, mobile games (mainly iOS) is going down the dumpster nowadays, It's now majorly filled with crappy 5-minute-job titles that are bad and filled with micro-transactions

And also single-player games that require you to be connected to the internet to play. They are just so 0.0

 

[Galenmereth]

Consoles are for lazy people, everyone knows PC has the better performance, more games, better graphics! People just do not research enough to know better. My life changed when I went from console to PC, saved sooooo much more money and well the story just goes on.

Now this is not the best time to even talk about this since 2014 was one of the WORST years for videogames I have ever seen. when companies like Square Enix and Unisoft can actually make games that work then we can talk.

I build my own PC's, I can write my own programs for them, and I write scripts to automate stuff most people would just do manually, because I love being efficient. But I still prefer consoles for most games. Does that make me lazy? Well, I suppose in the eyes of people who love to feel good about themselves for doing something most people don't want to spend their time on, sure. But even if staying on top of drivers and compatibility problems and what have you isn't exactly hard on PC, it's still a chore over time. And I have a job that requires a lot of my attention and energy. When I want to play a game, I prefer consoles because I sit in front of my computer all day for work. And not only that, but I like my consoles to focus on one thing over everything else: Games. My Wii U does that, and so does my 3DS. They're vastly underpowered compared to my PC (and all the other next-gen consoles too), but surprisingly enough, Mario Kart 8 looks better than most games I've played on PC in years, and is also crazy fun. Because visual style is important, not just polygons and fancy shaders.

2014 was not the worst year for videogames for me. It was one of the better ones. I got Elite: Dangerous on PC, the new Smash Bros. on 3DS and Wii U, Mario Kart 8 on Wii U, Risk of Rain on PC, Shin Megami Tensei IV and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call on 3DS, Hyper Light Drifter on PC, also coming to consoles (well, it's not technically out yet I suppose, but the beta sure is awesome). And I can find more, I'm just getting bored of listing this stuff. I know people will go "but that's just, what, maybe 8 great games in a whole year?", to which my answer is: That's more than enough for me. I'm sure people who like other games can find a similarly long list. A great game released roughly every two months is, in my opinion, amazing. Because I haven't even had the time to play these games as much as I want.

 

[Shelby]

I build my own PC's, I can write my own programs for them, and I write scripts to automate stuff most people would just do manually, because I love being efficient. But I still prefer consoles for most games. Does that make me lazy? Well, I suppose in the eyes of people who love to feel good about themselves for doing something most people don't want to spend their time on, sure. But even if staying on top of drivers and compatibility problems and what have you isn't exactly hard on PC, it's still a chore over time. And I have a job that requires a lot of my attention and energy. When I want to play a game, I prefer consoles because I sit in front of my computer all day for work. And not only that, but I like my consoles to focus on one thing over everything else: Games. My Wii U does that, and so does my 3DS. They're vastly underpowered compared to my PC (and all the other next-gen consoles too), but surprisingly enough, Mario Kart 8 looks better than most games I've played on PC in years, and is also crazy fun. Because visual style is important, not just polygons and fancy shaders.

2014 was not the worst year for videogames for me. It was one of the better ones. I got Elite: Dangerous on PC, the new Smash Bros. on 3DS and Wii U, Mario Kart 8 on Wii U, Risk of Rain on PC, Shin Megami Tensei IV and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call on 3DS, Hyper Light Drifter on PC, also coming to consoles (well, it's not technically out yet I suppose, but the beta sure is awesome). And I can find more, I'm just getting bored of listing this stuff. I know people will go "but that's just, what, maybe 8 great games in a whole year?", to which my answer is: That's more than enough for me. I'm sure people who like other games can find a similarly long list. A great game released roughly every two months is, in my opinion, amazing. Because I haven't even had the time to play these games as much as I want.

Ah must be nice to have that kinda money...

 

[Ms Littlefish]

If this is about specs and power, then yeah. PC wins. Games on console are more expensive, definitely will give PC that point as well. And it does have an added advantage of being rather accessible to find games and develop games. Another point for sure.

But  I do both. I still love console gaming, too. In my opinion they are completely different experiences with different qualities. Power has never been a major concern of mine outside of the game working well within what it wants to accomplish. Sometimes I just want to play a game. I don't want to worry about updating my computer, updating my game, being connected to the internet, or even sitting all the way up and directly in front of a computer screen.

I can probably say it's mostly nostalgia, but there is something about sitting on my couch with a controller in my hand, especially with a friend. Mario Kart is infinitely more fun when you can laugh at people directly.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

If this is about specs and power, then yeah. PC wins.

Again, only if you have a PC with a good specs... which in terms of pricing, will normally cost much higher than a console which plays the same range of games.

Of course, if you're somebody rich enough to not care about the price, then lucky you.. But for the rest of us normal people, it's a huge factor as to why we favor gaming on consoles.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

Oh, yeah. That's definitely true. PCs have a lot of potential compared to consoles, but the fact that the games will not run the same on every system is the funny thing and a  huge disadvantage of it. A lot of times you won't even know how well a game will run on your PC until you start playing it. And if doesn't work, then what? At least with a console you know you're ready to start playing. 

 

[Galenmereth]

Ah must be nice to have that kinda money...

Those are also all the games I bought last year, incidentally. Bar a few sales on Steam which I wasn't strong enough to resist this year either... Anyway, the 3DS was bought back in 2012, the Wii U in 2013. My game expenses aren't actually that grand And the Wii U is the cheapest alternative among the new consoles, so there's also that.

But yes, if your wallet is stretched thin, PC gaming is absolutely the cheapest place to go (and that's ignoring piracy), up front. However considering how quickly a low-end PC gets outdated, I'm not actually sure it's cheaper than, say, waiting one or two years to buy the latest console and buy games half a year to a year after they come out. Considering new games on PC are equally expensive, and games on consoles are usually more optimized, the "bang for buck" ratio isn't as linear as one might think.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Well yeah, back on the steam sale I was able to get around 15 games with just I think less than $100...

The only problem with waiting before buying games is that the copies in your area might be sold out by the time you have the money. Not sure if that's a problem now for the majority of the 1st world as the newer consoles also seem to have online stores already... For me though, that's still a problem since it seems like I'm in a place where the online stores (for sony at least) doesn't really work great (I think I could still buy from PSN thru some methods but would cost me a lot more than if they allow better access).