Is the PC Gaming community dying?

[winds]

So i've never really been a huge PC gamer except for DOS back in the day. The only other PC game I was heavily into after that was Counter Strike. Just a few days ago I bought myself a new PC and was looking to get into some PC games. The one i've been checking out most is the upcoming Aliens vs Predator game by Rebellion and SEGA. It looks awesome. Now I have both a 360 and a PS3, so I have all the options on which platform I can buy this game for. I was thinking about buying it for PC only because it would have better controls + better graphics and also I want a game for my new machine. But after reading a lot of forums about the upcoming release, I hear a LOT of people complaining that most games now are targeted toward consoles while the PC versions get left in the dust. Is this true?
One piece of evidence i've already found of this is the Hunters Edition of the AvP game, this special edition is coming for both the 360 and PS3 while the PC is only getting the regular edition. While I don't really care about all those extra trinkets, it kinda shows theyre marketing more towards home consoles instead of PC. Are a lot of games being treated this way now? If so, even though i'm not a huge PC gamer, I find it a little sad.

[Flak Beard]

Consoles definitely cornered the market in the last couple of generations, so big budget studios are focusing mostly on them now.

The indie scene on the other hand, is booming on PC...

http://adrianwerner.wordpress.com/freeware/

[J T]

It is true that some games that are designed for console release only see a bad port to the PC that doesn't really utilize the specific advantages of having a keyboard and mouse. This probably happens more frequently nowadays, but there are still cases where the PC version is better, especially if you have the hardware to accelerate the graphics. Steam has kind of become the PC user's console and the Steam community is very much alive.

[fastbilly1]

Without Steam PC gaming would be dead. But modding and the lowering price of entry will keep pc gaming going.

[lost_within]

Bad console game ported to pc:

Gears Of War

On the 360 its GREAT...but oh my fucking lord is it horrible on the pc. the Controlles just are NOT there, my guess...they want you to go out and buy the 60$ xbox controller that is used for the pc.

Reguardless, I dont think pc gaming is anywhere close to dead...there are still a few HUGE rpgs that we wait on, and of course the pc is a cult classic for FPS games. If you search hard enough there are STILL quake 1 servers still up and running with people in them.

Go pull up team fortress and look at how many servers are FULL with 30+ players, 24/7 at that.

I feel like consoles only get the "goodie" packs for the fact some 10 year old kid that has a ps3 is going to go OHHHHHHHHH I want the one with the night vision goggles! or the one with the helmet, where as someone that has a really nice rig is going to go...wow I cant wait to get home and pop that head shot.

[DerekG52]

I'd continue what the others are saying and that is "no". Any properly developed pc game can have graphics years beyond what consoles can put out. Also, certain genres lend themselves better to PCs like RPG, RTS, and FPS. Let alone all the mods and other editing that can only be done on a pc. Oh and if you want to take it a further step, "demoing" full version games is basically pc only. I'd say Steam has also been a huge force in keeping the pc a close knit community. I will give consoles the win in sports titles no question.

[ZeroAX]

in one word?

http://www.moddb.com/events/2009-mod-of ... rds/top100


no.


as you can see from the link those are just the mods. When you buy a pc game you buy 2-20 games depending on it's community. hell half life 1 is still getting mods

[winds]

When a PC game has horrible controls compared to it's console counterpart, isn't that a little odd? How can the flexibility of the keyboard + mouse be outmatched by a controller for games like Gears of War? And isn't it possible in most if not all PC games to switch the controls? Including mouse sensitivity and keys?

[fastbilly1]

Where do yall keep up with Indie games? Do you only follow those that are in the mainstream news or is there a dedicated site/blogsphere?

[lost_within]

When a PC game has horrible controls compared to it's console counterpart, isn't that a little odd? How can the flexibility of the keyboard + mouse be outmatched by a controller for games like Gears of War? And isn't it possible in most if not all PC games to switch the controls? Including mouse sensitivity and keys?

You can always make your own setup...but that is the ONLY game *gears of war* I have EVER played that was a console port...that was just a turd. I can not think of any other game that was that bad, atleast halo was more fun that that pos.