Any pc gamers concerned with the way the PC games industry is going?

[bakemeacookie]

funny googling "pc game crash" brings up 13 million hits! lol

c

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I'm also playing Farcry 2 right now. I'm not sure what it was developed for specifically, but it runs fantastic on the PC. I didn't even know it was a cross platform game until I researched it.

I really hope games like Diablo 3, starcraft 2 and the red alert series type of games can really help the PC market with a boost. Those games I just listed just aren't the same on console systems. I remember trying to play Red Alert 1 on the playstation and it was horrendous. 640x480 resolution and lagged like hell.

Best port I've seen so far is probably Street Fighter 4. I have the game and it runs pretty flawlessly on the PC.

I believe one of the reasons most people don't and can't play PC games is because of hardware issues. Your average computer user who wants to enjoy some video games from time to time might not understand his hardware limits. If he were to purchase say Cryostasis and take it home and try to play it, it might not work on his Penitum 3, 256 meg ram machine. He can't return the game either because it's open.

What if the pc industry were to dumb things down a bit? By this I mean they start some sort of project that allows the average pc gamer to check to see if their system will run the game. I know they have the "System requirements" text on the game box, but that isn't enough. The average PC gamer can't read that shit. Maybe if they had a universal website that scanned the persons computer to check their spec and then tells them if they can run the game or not. Example: They go to the website, pick which game they're looking to buy, then allow the webserver to run a hardware scan of their system to determine how good they can run the game, or if they can even run it.

This sort of dumbing down might bring more casual gamers into the pc market. Because lets's face it, if a father buys a game for his child for Christmas, then the child isn't able to play it on the PC because their computer sucks, they're going to be pretty upset with pc games. They're going to be even more upset when they can't return an opened game. Console gaming doesn't have this issue since every game is the same. No room for customization and better graphics etc.

I can appreciate a well optimized game developed for a specific console. However I can appreciate a well optimized game developed for PC much more, because it's such a rarity these days lol.

About Far Cry 2, this was a video interview from before they found out the engine could run on consoles-


You're impressed with the game now (and I was too) but when you listen to him talk there and then see the final game, it's clear the game was gimped pretty badly to make it cross-platform. In that video he made it sound like it could outdo Crysis easily.

I agree that there needs to be a more simplified solution in place for making PC gaming more accessible, because it will only lead to more support for it by developers, media, etc. What's interesting though is how PC gaming is becoming almost cult-like because the hardcore pride themselves on knowing their way around the wares and solving every issue they run into, to the point where you wonder if some would almost want it to stay that way, thinking if anyone could do it what would be the point lol.

I think it is possible to have the best of both worlds with PC gaming though, and that is what's frustrating because not enough is being done to revitalize it. There are organizations like PC Gaming Alliance which is a good start but there still has to be more follow through.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

funny googling "pc game crash" brings up 13 million hits! lol

c

Wanna know how to break google? Type in "console game crash" lol.

Have you ever played an RTS on a console though? I mean what the hell. I'm dl'ing the C&C: Red Alert 3 demo on PSN to see what it's like but unless there's kb/mouse support I think it would be pretty toned down from a functionality standpoint.

 

[bakemeacookie]

Wanna know how to break google? Type in "console game crash" lol.

Have you ever played an RTS on a console though? I mean what the hell. I'm dl'ing the C&C: Red Alert 3 demo on PSN to see what it's like but unless there's kb/mouse support I think it would be pretty toned down from a functionality standpoint.

they make rts on consoles???

c

 

[bruce9241]

Wanna know how to break google? Type in "console game crash" lol.

Have you ever played an RTS on a console though? I mean what the hell. I'm dl'ing the C&C: Red Alert 3 demo on PSN to see what it's like but unless there's kb/mouse support I think it would be pretty toned down from a functionality standpoint.

Red alert 3 would suck on a game pad. RA3 is way more micro management based than previous red alerts so I wouldn't even want to try to play it on a game pad. I've watched a few tournament red alert 3 replays. Those people are freaken crazy with their micromanagemetn and strategies. I couldn't imagine being able to do that with a playstaiton controller.

 

[bakemeacookie]

The other problem is: the pc gamers don't buy as many titles as the console guys. Plus many just pirate the games to begin with. Sales of pc titles always suck compared to consoles. Only blizzard figured how to sell millions by creatging wow and making it easy to install and play by nerds, chicks, young, old, everyone.

c

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

they make rts on consoles???

c

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was also this-
Halo Wars - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

but its main criticism was that it was like I said, oversimplified.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

The other problem is: the pc gamers don't buy as many titles as the console guys. Plus many just pirate the games to begin with. Sales of pc titles always suck compared to consoles. Only blizzard figured how to sell millions by creatging wow and making it easy to install and play by nerds, chicks, young, old, everyone.

c

That's the catch 22. Make a shit port, who's gonna wanna drop $50 on it? Or when Crysis came out, people didn't want to drop $50 and find out they couldn't run it. Even with all the piracy though it still sold over a million copies.

 

[bakemeacookie]

Even i'm not stupid enough tot buy a rts on a console!! lol

c

 

[bruce9241]

You know it's funny. I've heard from friends who download games that some games aren't even worth downloading because it's such a horrible console>pc port. Imagine that, a $1.00 dual layer dvd disc not worth using to download a game because it's such a shitty port. Now that's outrageous.