Do you think gaming consoles will take over PC gaming?

Originally posted by PenguinJim
Meh. The Megadrive was gonna spell the end of PC gaming. So was the SNES. And the Amiga and Atari ST (and STE and Falcon). And the Amiga 600 and 1200 and, well, everything. Since about 1993 EVERYTHING has spelled competition for the PC. Nothing has won. To be honest, I don't see anything spelling the end for the PC ever, although recent developments (well, since 2001 ) have indicated the evolution of the PC into something quieter and more media-integrated. I spelled all that while drunk yay me .

I don't think the SNES was more powerful than the PC though. I still remember the SNES port of Doom. It was blockier, more pixelated, and ran slower than the PC version of Doom which had been released years earlier.

From what I know the PSX and N64 gave the PC a serious run for its money before 3d acceleration took off, after that the PC was easily ahead. But systems like Dreamcast, PS2, XBox, and GC can still give the PC a run for its money with certain games even today.

[Edge]

I still remember the SNES port of Doom. It was blockier, more pixelated, and ran slower than the PC version of Doom which had been released years earlier.

Actually, they only got that working because they put in another chip which had "3d" rendering capability into the cartrage. I think as far as 3d capabilities go, the SNES hardware probably peaked around Wolfenstien 3d (there's only so much a 2 mhz processor can do!). The Genesis faired a little better in that respect, though.

But now we're seeing consoles directly compete GRAPHICLY with PC games. Seeing a game like Tony Hawk 4 running at 1280x720 on a $200 console is fairly impressive, since high-resolution was once exclusive to PCs. The PS1 competed fairly well with PCs for the time, but once 3d accleration became availible it was quickly left in the dust. However the N64 with it's "quasi-3d acceleration" managed to keep up suprisingly well, games like Conker simply looked amazing given the platform it was developed for (not to mention anti-aliasing made the graphics much smoother, even if it did blur the screen quite a bit). Of course by the time Conker was out PC games looked far better, but given that it was running on a 5 year old platform it looked simply amazing.

[EciDemon]

Originally posted by vampireuk
The thing about consoles is that they cannot be upgraded though. Once a console is out that's it, the graphics won't get any better. Meanwhile more pc componants come out that smash what the console has into the ground.

Compare old Tekken and Tekken 3, same hardware even so Tekken 3 is far superiour graphics wize. But it's true, your very limited in terms of upgrades on consoles.
But that dosen't mean gfx will always stay the same.
You see the same on ps2 ... compare the first bunch of games with the latest you see now ...

Personaly I do not think console games will take over, They will probably hold there share of the market as always while computers hold there.

It's naive to think only hardware controls this, it's not ... it's the games.
Consoles offers a whole range of games PC's do not have, same for pc. PC has lots of games that you do not find on Consoles.

Look at all times most popular pc games, are those the state of the art games requiering the most recent hardware ? ... no ... sims and counterstrike. They are much aprechiated games alot due to there availability. Most people can play them.

I can understand why people here think PC is so superior cos they are so much faster ... this IS a hardware forum afterall. But it all comes down to the best games that are not hard to get.
Remember fastest and best hardware dosent automatically equal best platform for games.
We have seen this before ... it all comes down to games, where do you find the best games (not best looking games)

I feel sorry for those who refuse to even consider a console just cos they are a console, those of you are missiong out on a lot of cool great games.

PC will most likely be where you find the best looking games and sharpest gfx ... that dosen't mean you have the best games.

I play games on both PC and consoles, if theres a good game, then I want it. If I look back on what Ive played I think ive spent more time in front of my consoles then on my pc. In general ive found that pc exclusives to be more shallow (they look great though) while console exclusives tend to be more in depth. There will always be exceptions to this of cours.
Im not dizzing PC if thats what you think ... this is how I look at the issue and how I experience the situation.

I know lots of ppl here makes statements who never even touchd a console, thats just wrong.

But all this is rather pointless, there will always be these arguments ... PC vs Consoles ... Consoles VS Consoles .... Fanboys arguing and so forth.

[junkheap]

Originally posted by EciDemon
Compare old Tekken and Tekken 3, same hardware even so Tekken 3 is far superiour graphics wize. But it's true, your very limited in terms of upgrades on consoles.
But that dosen't mean gfx will always stay the same.
You see the same on ps2 ... compare the first bunch of games with the latest you see now ...

Personaly I do not think console games will take over, They will probably hold there share of the market as always while computers hold there.

It's naive to think only hardware controls this, it's not ... it's the games.
Consoles offers a whole range of games PC's do not have, same for pc. PC has lots of games that you do not find on Consoles.

Look at all times most popular pc games, are those the state of the art games requiering the most recent hardware ? ... no ... sims and counterstrike. They are much aprechiated games alot due to there availability. Most people can play them.

I can understand why people here think PC is so superior cos they are so much faster ... this IS a hardware forum afterall. But it all comes down to the best games that are not hard to get.
Remember fastest and best hardware dosent automatically equal best platform for games.
We have seen this before ... it all comes down to games, where do you find the best games (not best looking games)

I feel sorry for those who refuse to even consider a console just cos they are a console, those of you are missiong out on a lot of cool great games.

PC will most likely be where you find the best looking games and sharpest gfx ... that dosen't mean you have the best games.

I play games on both PC and consoles, if theres a good game, then I want it. If I look back on what Ive played I think ive spent more time in front of my consoles then on my pc. In general ive found that pc exclusives to be more shallow (they look great though) while console exclusives tend to be more in depth. There will always be exceptions to this of cours.
Im not dizzing PC if thats what you think ... this is how I look at the issue and how I experience the situation.

I know lots of ppl here makes statements who never even touchd a console, thats just wrong.

But all this is rather pointless, there will always be these arguments ... PC vs Consoles ... Consoles VS Consoles .... Fanboys arguing and so forth.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Ever since i got my xbox, i rarely touch my pc for anything other than the net. I can play divx, dvds, mp3's, awesome games on my much larger than monitor tv, and have my friends play along right besides me while playing(nhl 2k4) OTOH, i rather play rts and turn based games on the pc. But in general i find pc gaming extremely boring. Everything that is good is a damn fps. There are far fewer good games on pc that are not fps than on any console IMO.

Either way, pc gaming will never overtake console gaming. Console gaming will only take more of a slice into pc gaming the more they converge. Game companies make more on consoles than they do on pc easily. That is why they will make major game releases tailored more to consoles and ported over to pc. If they make it for pc, they might as well port it over to consoles to make even more money.

I swear i read something a couple of years back at least, that a bad console game will sell as much copies as a great selling computer game. Not many people can afford to spend a lot of money on thier comps, and the masses would rather chose a console.

Sorry about the long post, but gaming is gaming no matter what you play it on, and its the game that matters, not the machine.

[sytaylor]

Neither will win, they will converge tobecome one and the same thing, just like mobile phones and PDA's will.

[saturnotaku]

I enjoy gaming on both my Xbox and PC. I tend to be a cyclic player, focusing on one system then going back to the other. Right now I'm in a PC phase, but I'll be going back to my Xbox when Ninja Gaiden comes out.

Both platforms have their merits, but I don't think consoles will completely overtake PCs for gaming. The success of Counterstrike and the subsequent wave of WWII-based shooters will ensure the continued viability of the PC platform. If devs didn't believe in the PC, we wouldn't be seeing so many console games get ported. Yes, most of the ports suck but at least they are seeing the light of day on the PC. That has to count for something.

[vampireuk]

Originally posted by Edge
And meanwhile, those upgrades cost a pretty penny.

I guess it depends on how much you are willing to pay, I will pay the extra cash for the best performance.

[UDawg]

I don't see why not. If they can put the whole Atri 2600 into one joy stick

then why can't console games overtake PC in performance and programability? Shoo many of us remember when we didn't have OS's just command prompt. I also remember splicing paper tapes so the reader can complete the program.

[EciDemon]

... just me ranting on a bit more

We do see a change now. Only a few years back we had lots of PC/Console exclusives ... that's changing. Probably cos consoles now offers hardware more close to PC specs ... both speed, gfx and network. Lots of games are released on all platforms but its interesting though that most multiplatform games have a more "PC" feel to them if you know what I mean. I guess you need to be a true console gamer to see that *thinking about DeusEX2 just as an example*
Atleast you see more of those games then the true Console to PC port...
Konami has been rather buissy with such ports and they better try to understand the different needs and wants between console and pc ... there ports have been rather lousy to say the least (yet the games are great)

Thers one thing that will always be better on consoles ... no matter what: Beat 'em up games! *man do I love those*

[D.K.Tronics]

Well, I'm finding that this generation of consoles to be the worst.
Graphics aren't everything, gameplay is more important.
And this generation just aren't upto the standards of, say, the SNES+Megadrive, or the N64+PSX.

Lets take Mario Kart Double Dash, for instance. What a travesty, I mean, what were they thinking ?
No Jump ? What the heck is going on there ?
The karts themselves are dreadful, and look more like prams. The handling is a bit suspect.
I completed this game in a day, and have no intention of going back. Infact, I'm back off to Mario Kart on the SNES.
Thats just an example.
It almost seems every week, there are 45 Beat 'em ups released, all the damn same.
Then there's 300 platform games, all the same, with just different characters.
I'm often finding that the game lifespan of today's console games is not more than a few hours, 6 tops, at the most.
The worst of the games, have the depth of a test tube.
And I'm finding more crap games on console, than on PC. I mean, there really is some utter tripe out there.
If there isn't a new Tony Hawks game every month, there is a BMX game, a crap Quad game, a snow boarding game, a football game.
The lack of originality in today's console games, is appalling. Infact, the last great original modern console game, would be ICO on PS2. And that was fantastic, and maybe REZ.
Console games are getting more buggy, not all, but quite a few. It's the rush to get them out for the deadline. Starsky and Hutch, was the last PS2 game I saw which had unforgiveable bugs. At least you can patch the PC version.

I agree about the Beat 'Em ups. The good ones on the consoles are just where they should be, on a console. The PC just isn't the place. The decent platformers, Jack & Daxtor, for example, belong on console.
But games like Rainbow 6, ANY FPS, and RTS, and Stealthy games, just belong on PC. Superior control, far superior front-ends, better mod support and community.

I do like my consoles, but for quick fixes, never for long periods. Games like Starwars KOTOR, I'd rather wait for the PC version. The same for Halo, GTA Games, NFS Underground, and FF X.
Although I'm fully enjoying Xbox Project Gotham 2, and GC F-Zero GX.

I got nothing against consoles, but to think they will replace PC's, is a little naive

[NAZCA M12]

Originally posted by fasedww
Whats your buss at 1/1 ratio for memory too", How about your cpu cooling and what voltage you got going to your cpu. Just curios you know how it is'?

and

Originally posted by CaptNKILL
Yeah, but how much did your PC cost? im guessing well over $1000......

XBox costs what, $200? $300?

Curse it. Sorry guys, i didn't check that thread for a while, but although a bit late, i should still answer to

1)fasedww, you got mail

2)CaptNKILL, you have a very valid point here but then again, you don't You would have been 100% right if i (and i think you could broaden that to almost everyone) had setup that system in order to play games only and nothing else. That would be a waste of money. However, we all can do lots of other things with a PC apart from playing a game or watching a film. When i built it, i was thinking that it should definately be capable of playing the latest games amongst others, so it had to be a pretty good one. Of course then, i totally ****ed up and ended up with a top system

Originally posted by D.K.Tronics
And I'm finding more crap games on console, than on PC. I mean, there really is some utter tripe out there.

There are more games on console than on PC, so that shouldn't be surprising.

The lack of originality in today's console games, is appalling.

How has anything changed? You seem to imply that console games have gotten worse from the originality standpoint. I can only speak from experience.

NES: Count how many side scrolling shooters there were. Count how many vertical scrolling plane games there were. Look at some of the larger franchises where every game is essentially the same. Mega Man, for example.

SNES: More side scrollers. Fighting games like Street Fighter. Beat em up games like Final Fight.

N64: all 3rd person 3d games or 1st person shooters practically.

There are always lots and lots of clones. There are also some good new games or games that take old concepts and do something interesting with them.

Maybe you are just maturing and noticing that many games are the same
ol, same ol. Back with the NES I could play the same game over and over without getting tired of it. Now it takes something more interesting to keep me playing. Sometimes I have a hard time forcing myself to play through something(Zelda64 which I never finished. Conversely, I played through the SNES Zelda game over 10 times. Unreal which I eventually did finish)