The PS4 thread

[noiseredux]

If I had to bet, I'd guess that the cycle of PC shittiness has started once again.

probably. I tend to pick just the right time to get into something.

[isiolia]

There's also this part of recent history people are forgetting: PC game development takes a back seat to console development for basically every company now (including former PC giants like iD). Are people forgetting that there was a period of 4-5 years in the recent past where PC games were usually ports rather than the other way around? As the new consoles create a bigger market, then PC game development will once again lag. Most estimates are that PC gaming is maybe 10-20% of total industry revenue (and only a small percentage of that is high end stuff). While the capabilities of far better graphics are already and will always be there, most devs will be optimizing for the PS4/Xbox One first and foremost, and PC games will be largely consistent with the hardware found on those systems. You may find slight bumps in graphics from game to game, but I'd be shocked if PC game development speeds ahead of consoles the way that it did in the last couple of years when companies began shifting their resources to PC and/or this just launching generation. If I had to bet, I'd guess that the cycle of PC shittiness has started once again.

Things didn't exactly flip around in the past couple of years though. Companies put out better PC versions, but they weren't exactly PC-first, just remembering to do things like put in FOV adjustments or HD texture packs.

I see it more as an "everybody wins" scenario for a while. It's not just a graphics thing, it's AI, it's the level of interaction possible in the game world, that kind of stuff - and the new systems have a lot more CPU power and RAM to work with there.
PCs could still do more with that kind of stuff, but the point is more that even if development is console-first, the new consoles are a much better base to start from.

It could also depend on just how enamored we wind up being with the Oculus Rift and such, as the developers of that have already said the One/PS4 don't have enough power for it. While it's unlikely to be important, consoles have basically zero hope of 4k gaming until the next-next gen (considering they're still struggling with 1080p), where PCs are (at the high end) able to push it now.

There have always been PC games that looked far better than console games at any and every point of a console's life.

True, but it's also a matter of context. I think at this point, quite a lot of the comparisons to PC versions are being made in the same way we'd make them if someone owned a 360 and was considering a PS3. The "what does this offer me that I don't already have" kind of thing.

[dsheinem]

If I had to bet, I'd guess that the cycle of PC shittiness has started once again.

probably. I tend to pick just the right time to get into something.

you'll be ok, and "shittiness" is relative. I just think it will be a while until PC graphics outpace console graphics as strongly and consistently as they have the last couple of years in particular. Most of that is just economics, not capability.

This should help you build a baseline/forward-looking PC by the way: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/ ... pgrade-pc/

That hardware should last you through this new console gen...at least until perhaps its final couple of years. Stagnation starts now!

[noiseredux]

yeah the PC I have now, the goal was more "current gen" y'know? Which could still certainly be good for a while. The next PC would be more "next gen" - but I kind of am getting into PC gaming in baby steps haha.

[Jmustang1968]

I still disagree Dave. We had this discussion briefly in the latest podcast for those interested.

I think PC was in a state of change this most recent gen. Piracy was a hotbed so publishers were moving to console and PC was making the move to digital. It has now a very established digital distribution in Steam and has been attracting a ton of indie work as well. There has also been a recent trend of more people setting up PCs on their main TVs. I don't think PC will be slowing down in this regard.

[dsheinem]

I still disagree Dave. We had this discussion briefly in the latest podcast for those interested.

I think PC was in a state of change this most recent gen. Piracy was a hotbed so publishers were moving to console and PC was making the move to digital. It has now a very established digital distribution in Steam and has been attracting a ton of indie work as well. There has also been a recent trend of more people setting up PCs on their main TVs. I don't think PC will be slowing down in this regard.

It won't be slowing down in sales, just hardware pushing.

[Jmustang1968]

I still disagree Dave. We had this discussion briefly in the latest podcast for those interested.

I think PC was in a state of change this most recent gen. Piracy was a hotbed so publishers were moving to console and PC was making the move to digital. It has now a very established digital distribution in Steam and has been attracting a ton of indie work as well. There has also been a recent trend of more people setting up PCs on their main TVs. I don't think PC will be slowing down in this regard.

It won't be slowing down in sales, just hardware pushing.

That isn't so much because of consoles as it is with devs/pubs realizing too high of hardware requirements (see crysis) drastically reduces your customer base.

[isiolia]

That isn't so much because of consoles as it is with devs/pubs realizing too high of hardware requirements (see crysis) drastically reduces your customer base.

System requirements have definitely hurt PC gaming in the past decade or so. I think it's been less a matter of high bars being set by showcase games like Crysis, and more the shift to needing a decent GPU in general. It moved them out of the "bought this for work...but hey, that DOOM thing looks pretty neat" arena (which tablets are occupying now, more or less).

PC gaming became more something intentional, but then, consoles tend to be that too.

[dsheinem]

I still disagree Dave. We had this discussion briefly in the latest podcast for those interested.

I think PC was in a state of change this most recent gen. Piracy was a hotbed so publishers were moving to console and PC was making the move to digital. It has now a very established digital distribution in Steam and has been attracting a ton of indie work as well. There has also been a recent trend of more people setting up PCs on their main TVs. I don't think PC will be slowing down in this regard.

It won't be slowing down in sales, just hardware pushing.

That isn't so much because of consoles as it is with devs/pubs realizing too high of hardware requirements (see crysis) drastically reduces your customer base.

Sure, but that hasn't stopped a lot of devs from pushing effects work and design elements well past console rates for the past couple of years or from making stuff that shines with high powered rigs. PC gaming has been far and away the home for the nicest AAA releases since 2010 or so, but that wasn't standard when Crysis was released (2007) and couldn't be played on PS3/360. My guess is that those numbers will drop off again now and the scale for "scalability" will be much smaller than it has been. The lead platform for most titles will switch back to consoles, which means "what can the newest GPU do with this game?" is an afterthought, not an important upfront question.

[Retrogamer0001]

As has been mentioned before, cost is a huge factor when choosing between a PC gaming rig and a current-gen console. In 2010, I went out and bought a moderately-advanced PC so I could play Starcraft 2. The cost? Almost $1400. Earlier that year, I bought a new 250g Xbox 360. $350. Quite the difference. One of the reasons console gaming will likely never die is because of its relative affordability compared to a PC (not to mention popularity and ease of use). $399 for the newest Playstation really isn't that expensive, not compared to paying over a thousand for a PC that will be obsolete in two years.