Console vs PCs in retrospect

[Violent By Design]

The PC community is flooded with games now, don't get how someone can think it is worse now. In general the video game world has embraced the open source medium, which generates a lot more good games than people care to acknowledge.

[Menegrothx]

The PC community is flooded with games now, don't get how someone can think it is worse now. In general the video game world has embraced the open source medium, which generates a lot more good games than people care to acknowledge.

Sure if you like ports of console games/multiplatform games. But as far as actual PC games go, there aren't many.

And you're right, if you're willing to dig through all the crap, you'll find diamonds from the indy/kickstarter/weird Eastern European developer-bunch. If I wasn't so busy searching through the game libraries of retro consoles, that's what I'd do. But from the personal experience I have with these small budget modern PC games, I can say that they don't satisfy the need that I have. Many of my all time favorite games are medium/big budget PC games made in 1996-2004. The kind of indy games that are exclusively available on PC nowadays simply don't have the same kind of scope, budget nor developer teams behind them that the games I like did. They're not in the same league.

You're insane.

Looking Glass Studios: Defunct
Blizzard: Two words: Activision Blizzard
Id Software: Hasn't made a good game since 1999
Valve: Still alive
LucasArts: Defunct
Paradox Interactive: Still alive
Black Isle: Defunct
Interplay: Last good game was made in 2003?
Westwood Studios: Defunct
Bullfrog: Defunct
Origin Systems: Defunct
Epic Games: Focuses on Gears of War (and bought People Can Fly)
MicroProse: Defunct
Sierra: Defunct
Ion Storm: Defunct


Just to name most of the biggest PC developers&publishers of the past

[Violent By Design]

The PC community is flooded with games now, don't get how someone can think it is worse now. In general the video game world has embraced the open source medium, which generates a lot more good games than people care to acknowledge.

Sure if you like ports of console games/multiplatform games. But as far as actual PC games go, there aren't many.

And you're right, if you're willing to dig through all the crap, you'll find diamonds from the indy/kickstarter/weird Eastern European developer-bunch. If I wasn't so busy searching through the game libraries of retro consoles, that's what I'd do. But from the personal experience I have with these small budget modern PC games, I can say that they don't satisfy the need that I have. Many of my all time favorite games are medium/big budget PC games made in 1996-2004. The kind of indy games that are exclusively available on PC nowadays simply don't have the same kind of scope, budget nor developer teams behind them that the games I like did. They're not in the same league.

You're insane.

Looking Glass Studios: Defunct
Blizzard: Two words: Activision Blizzard
Id Software: Hasn't made a good game since 1999
Valve: Still alive
LucasArts: Defunct
Paradox Interactive: Still alive
Black Isle: Defunct
Interplay: Last good game was made in 2003?
Westwood Studios: Defunct
Bullfrog: Defunct
Origin Systems: Defunct
Epic Games: Focuses on Gears of War (and bought People Can Fly)
MicroProse: Defunct
Sierra: Defunct
Ion Storm: Defunct


Just to name most of the biggest PC developers&publishers of the past

Meh, I dunno. All the genres that PC was good in, they still deliver, and they've even expanded into things that console gaming used to specialize in.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

We have a new Rise of the Triad coming out. Tribes Ascend was released a year ago and is very well done. Company of Heroes 2 is coming soon and looks and plays awesome (woo Beta access!). We just had an XCOM reboot, which while different still maintained some of the quirky balls-hard strategy that made the original great. Id isn't doing as well as they were in the 90s but Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil and Rage were both pretty good, if not quite what people wanted. Raven Software is now defunct but they gave us the excellent Wolfenstein 2009 before they went away. Natural Selection 2 is a multiplayer game unlike any I've played and is PC exclusive and fantastic. Economy games are in a slump. Sim City wasn't good. We have Cities XL though which is supposedly quite good and Tropico 4 is excellent at what it does. We got a new and very good Deus Ex game recently. The new MOBA genre has kicked in full force on PC.

There's plenty of awesome things going on when it comes to PC. Are less of them exclusive? Maybe. There's still plenty of awesome exclusives to go around on the platform though.

One thing that hasn't changed. PITA RMA procedures for PC hardware.

[jfrost]

I don't get the love people have for exclusives. I dream of a time when there are no exclusives.

@Menegrothx

Most game studios (PC or otherwise) of ten/fifteen years ago have gone bankrupt, so that doesn't mean much. It's just the nature of the industry, developers come and go. Maybe it shouldn't be like that, but it is, and it's not exclusive to PC game development.

PC is fine where it's always been good, it has added most console games to its launch schedule and there's a ton of amazing (mostly exclusive, too) indie games. If you don't have time to sift through them, it's your loss, honestly.

[Violent By Design]

If Civ counts as an economy game, I really enjoyed Civ V: Gods and Kings. Can't wait to try the new expansion.

[Pulsar_t]

The only time console graphics trumped those of the PC were during the early days of the Dreamcast and maybe even the PS2. Even though the PC had a range of videocards relatively more powerful than the PowerVR found in the DC nobody had the money to throw away at developing fancy features such as facial animation found in Shenmue



What we got instead was a constipated Max



PC developers either plastered a lazily-scanned texture or went with angular features. Anyone remember that PC game where one of the developers scanned his face for the female protagonist? FAKK2 or something.

[Menegrothx]

Meh, I dunno. All the genres that PC was good in, they still deliver, and they've even expanded into things that console gaming used to specialize in.

When was the last good WRPG released? Back in 2004? Although Kickstarter projects aim to fix this problem.

When was the last non-indy point&click adventure game released? Back in 1998?

I don't get the love people have for exclusives. I dream of a time when there are no exclusives.

If there are no exclusives, there's no difference between owning systems and they all become the same.
Exclusivity is vital to certain PC games because PC exclusive games can be designed in ways that utilize the PC (more buttons, mods, mouse) to the point that the game couldn't be made on a console. For example if you're expecting for a gameplay experience like SS2, you're gonna be dissapointed when you play Bioshock.

Exclusivity is less important on consoles where all consoles have the same amount of buttons etc (though Wii and even Wii U are a bit different).
But if there's on exclusives, there's no reason to own both/all consoles.

The only time console graphics trumped those of the PC were during the early days of the Dreamcast and maybe even the PS2. Even though the PC had a range of videocards relatively more powerful than the PowerVR found in the DC nobody had the money to throw away at developing fancy features such as facial animation found in Shenmue

It's a shame that a considerable part of Dreamcast's game library consisted of PS1/N64 ports that weren't graphically improved (atleast noticeably).

[RCBH928]

I loved reading everyones opinion/memory on the topic.

-It seems true, I cant remember people fighting PC vs Consoles because people didn't have as much room to to express themselves as it is today, it was basically magazine fan letters. No Twitter, Forums(Still no too popular) , Facebook, blogs , or RSS news.

-Glad to see System Shock is free , Wonder if the sequel is free to play too. Also , System Shock still looks good! This and TheSonicRetard made my point clear about PC's usually being a lot more powerful than console games , and still makes me wonder why people never took PC as their main gaming platform.

-I didn't know arcades are still manufactured and played

- Pulsar-t makes a very good point I never realized that. Dreamcast was mouthwatering at release.

-Your posts made it more difficult for me to decide between a PC or a console for my next buy.

-TheSonicRetard made my point clear about PCs being a lot more powerful

I would like to hear if any one has anything to add about the gaming culture during that era and the fight between PCs and consoles.

[isiolia]

When was the last good WRPG released? Back in 2004? Although Kickstarter projects aim to fix this problem.

When was the last non-indy point&click adventure game released? Back in 1998?

The issue there is less a matter of games not coming out, and more a matter of expecting them to look, play, and be distributed exactly as they did from specific developers 10-20 years ago.

Gaming evolves, and PC gaming tends to be more on the cutting edge. Whether in terms of style, or business model.