Consoles: Killing PC Gaming Softly?

ConsolesOnce again, get your flame suits on, and make sure to seal them up extra tight. I’m predicting a lot of heat in these comments.

In the ongoing super-friendly and always well-mannered debate of PC enthusiasts versus console lovers, both sides constantly engage one another in only the finest of rebuttals and, yes, even buttals. However, Maximum PC has just launched a new salvo against the console in a new article titled 12 Ways Consoles Are Hurting PC Gaming. Not to editorialize too much, but I’m surprised the author didn’t pull a muscle from all the stretching he did in the piece.

While he raises quite a few issues that gaming in general is facing, I think it’s kind of hard to peg all of these on the rise of consoles. Dumbed down sequels? In some cases, perhaps, but that’s going to happen as developers try to make their games have a wider appeal, on PCs and consoles alike. See: Counter-Strike: Source. He also makes some noise about auto saving and bad control schemes, as well.

Anyway, check it out and see if you agree. My question is this: have consoles made gaming better on the whole, or deteriorated it? I don’t mean just from your perspective, but as a whole? I think there are interesting arguments to make on both sides. Go!

Source – Maximum PC

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

26 thoughts on “Consoles: Killing PC Gaming Softly?”

  1. If you ask me, consoles are almost better than PCs.

    PCs have a certain nostalgic quality to them and I couldn’t dream of playing certain games without WASD, but when you think about how much money is spent in creating, maintaining, and upgrading a computer, it boggles the mind.

    I must’ve spent about $200 in the last two months alone on my computer upgrades.

  2. This just seems like another case of “fanboyism”. If PC gaming is taking a turn for the worse (and I don’t know if it is or not), then it’s pretty lame to try and blame it on console gaming.

    I could be really new to this argument or something, but the “Great Divide” problem seems totally wrong-headed. In stating there’s some kind of war here (which I think is totally preposterous), the author assumes it’s PC vs. Console, when I’m pretty sure it’s more accurately PC vs. PS3 vs. Xbox vs. Wii. Am I wrong on this?

  3. I would say that consoles have made gaming better by widening the appeal and affordability of gaming. Lots more people play and that just makes gaming a more respectable hobby and medium of entertainment.

  4. Ok,

    1. Bad/glitchy ports: blame the developers, not the consoles.

    2. Dumbed Down Sequels: He gives one example and that seems to be the way Bioware is doing all of their games these days. Not enough for me to go on.

    3. Sure, console tech is older, but many of the best games come out late in a console’s cycle and just b/c the graphics are prettier doesn’t mean a thing. Tetris is better than Crysis 2.

    4. Control mapping: once again, this is a developer issue, not a console issue.

    5. True, there are no mods. But some games, like LittleBigPlanet,Halo and the upcoming Infamous 2, allow user created levels, which are a hotbed of creativity.

    6. Fanboy Wars: Ok, seriously, epic fail. Now I am getting personal. This dude writes a whole article shitting on consoles and then says one of the biggest issues is that there are fanboys? Wow. Talk about a total lack of self-awareness.

    7. Auto-saves: Don’t see the issue here. If you manually save regularly, like a real man, then no auto-save should screw you up.

    8. Games for Windows: It’s a PC only thing. It’s not for consoles. WTF.

    9. Hating your favorite developers? Maybe if you stop pirating PC games, they may treat you better than second rate.

    10. Kinect is better when hacked….yeah? So? Most people aren’t going to use it for anything other than dance games.

    11. If you want the premium DLC, get a console. it’s been obvious for a while that’s where the money is going. I know it sucks, but this isn’t a surprise. Buy the game on the 360 if it matters that much to you.

    12. Dedicated servers: Oooh, finally! One on the list that might be right. But wasn’t that done to prevent cheaters? Not sure.

    I just don’t see how any of this is consoles fault. I guess they shouldn’t be so damn successful that everyone wants to buy and develop for them.

    Wow, I turned into Cossack on this one,lol.

  5. As a console gamer turned PC gamer, I actually agreed with almost all of the points, but I dont “blame consoles” because I don’t think PC gaming is necessarily on the decline.

    Anthony, when you say “blame the developer, not the console”, that’s exactly what they’re talking about. Developers tailor the games for consoles because that’s where the money is. If the developers made games the “nerdy basement dwelling PC gamer” is going to like, they’re going to go broke, or be Blizzard, which totally cornered that market. It makes it easy for the Halo frat boys to find them and beat them up in high school, right?

    I was going to to talk about pop radio from a musicians stand point, but what’s the point? I’m a “gaming hipster” according to the podcast 😀

    example:

    I waited a long time for Homefront. It ended up being a fucking terrible port, telling me to “PRESS BTN_0 TO RELOAD” because it automatically detected my controller instead of my keyboard controls, and had auto-saves which pushed me back 15-20 minutes from the fire fights I had already won. I’m so glad I didn’t pay $60 for it only to be stuck with a shitty piece of $49 plastic I couldn’t trade in or get credit for.

    NOTE: had it been awesome in the first hour, or given me a demo, or I knew I could trade it in if it wasn’t the tits, I would gladly pay for it. Don’t you dare say “if every PC gamer paid for the game, they’d make games for you” because that’s not how it works. For every one of us, there are 10 of you, and that’s where the money is. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s business.

    ^ that’s the problem.

    1. Haha, to be fair Julez, I heard Homefront wasn’t all that fun on consoles either. But yes I do see your point on that one issue.

  6. I understand that, but some developers do make good PC ports. Some don’t. It’s on them.

    The same way some PS3 ports are crappier. It’s on the developers to handle their business.

  7. I think the author makes some valid points, but PC Gaming is NOT dying, and consoles are NOT killing the medium. Without venturing too far into my inner fanboy, PC gaming is becoming more of an indie platform than a commercial platform. So what if Bioshock isn’t great on the PC? So what if Crysis 2 is more console-oriented? PC Gamers have Amnesia, (a superior version of) Torchlight, Garry’s Mod, DoTA, Zeno Clash, etc. Not to mention the PC platform has the support of players like Valve, Bethesda, Maxis, Frictional, Croteam, Cyan Worlds, and Telltale, to name a few. PC gaming and console gaming both have their own flaws, but neither is killing the other. I don’t understand why people think the medium is dying. Maybe because it’s not as appealing to commercial developers?

  8. Yeah this whole article sounded like a whiny fanboy. The medium isn’t dying, and it’s pretty silly to blame consoles for recent lack of quality in PC games. There’s still great PC games coming out, and it seems like most of the games that are of lesser quality on the PC are just because they’re games that are supposed to be on the console. There’s console games and PC games, they’re different and it’s hard to transition them between eachother. I would have a hard time playing Serious Sam or Minecraft on my PS3, but I’d also have a hard time playing GTA4 or Little Big Planet on my PC. It’s like saying that McDonald’s is killing KFC; they’re two different products being marketed to people with different tastes, and the only time one of them gets damaged and it has anything to do with the other is when one half-assedly tries to sell the other’s product.

  9. [quote comment=”16070″] 7. Auto-saves: Don’t see the issue here. If you manually save regularly, like a real man, then no auto-save should screw you up.[/quote]

    I think he is talking about games that only use auto-saves rather than save whenever you want.

    on the whole he is just a fanboy who is bitching to gain attention.

    [quote comment=”16067″]If you ask me, consoles are almost better than PCs…when you think about how much money is spent in creating, maintaining, and upgrading a computer, it boggles the mind.[/quote]

    I would go on a rant about why this is not true and how I manage to not upgrade my PC for 3 or 4 years, how Xbot people have to buy a new console every year because the RRoD was a giant scheme by Micro$hit, as well as how the PS3 costs way too much $$$, has no good games like Halo or Gears, and how you usually already have a PC anyway and you….damn it I just turned into the PC fanboy you guys voted for(against?) on the poll last week. 🙁

  10. Gadfly Jim QFT on pricing.

    Trogador and John QFT for sharing new light and the truth of the matter. One isn’t killing the other, in fact, the whole gaming industry is growing more than anything.

  11. CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG????

    Seriously, ever notice that if you say you prefer something over another thing, you instantly have to defend your love for the lesser thing b/c you get attacked? Why can’t you love two things, but one slightly more than the other?

  12. PC gaming is not dying. The problem here is, that most AAA title producers don’t actually give a damn about making games anymore. They only care for money. And, since consoles are “cheap”, there are a lot more users on the consoles, so a lot more wallets to rape there.

    And consoles aren’t cheap. I don’t know the pricing on pc parts in the u.s.a. but the trend is that pc parts here, where I live, cost the same amount of LVL they cost in the states in dollars. And I can build a decent gaming rig for 300 LVL to game at 720p. But that doesn’t mean people will use that instead of consoles. Consoles not only have premium DLC and games, and support, those are only the after effects. The main reason consoles are more widespread, is that they are easy. Plug them in and they go. No need to install anything, it just goes. Also, you get a cool-ish looking box to put besides your reciever/cable box/dvd player in the living room and a controler. It doesn’t matter that for the same amount of money you could get a more capable piece of hadware, not only game-graphics-wise, but also the basic functionality is greater. And no, you don’t have to have the greatest hardware to run crysis, you can run it on medium on a lot of videocards these days. And it’s still more demandind than, say, crysis 2.

    And Crysis 2 is a real screw-up for the pc. It yells console port all over it, doesn’t it. It hasn’t got directx 11, the options are BS, not only the graphics ones. The game play feels dumbed down, /no recoil weapons/. But we can’t just blame the consoles for this. Of course, I guess they were a bit paid-off not to make the PC version to stand out AS MUCH, so the xbox and the ps3 get good publicity, and all, but most of the crysis 2 problems are there because of the “generalization”. The market is big and they want to target the more mainstream guys, since it can run on more mainstream hardware now, so they have made it easier. That’s where the problems arise.
    I guess it’s not pc gaming that is dying, it’s hardcore gaming. And even then, the indy devs (Amnesia, revenge of the titans) and Valve, Blizzard will save the day.

    But PC gaming in general will never die. Could you imagine playing WoW on a console ? Or even any mmorpg ? You just can’t, or it would have to be dumbed down as hell, and you couldn’t get the variety you would want. Alhtough, a softcore mmo would sell well, I guess.
    And, while you can develop for the xbox for free, afaik, when you hit success, MS sucks onto your revenue. I may be wrong on this one, but that won’t matter. It’s a lot easier to be an indy dev on the PC. Another reason why pc gaming will not die.
    And then there are the genres that can’t be run on consoles.
    Hardcore FPS’s, simulators, hardcore strategy games, and the already mentioned mmo-rpgs.
    And anyone telling me that Halo is a hardcore fps, just stop. Aim assists are for sissies 🙂

    As for the devs, truly great devs write their engine for each platform independently and make the content cross-compatible. They don’t just port it. Some of the ps3 ports fell like the dev just recompiled everything for the ps3 and then turned down the graphics to make it barely playable.
    The problem begins with the interface of each platform, crytek just couldn’t sell a game on the ps3 if it had the control scheme of crysis 1 on the pc. But you can presumably make a game sell well if you use the same control scheme, that works on the consoles, on the pc. Not that it works great, it’s just a thing you can do and then leave it at that, so you have more time creating great content.
    Just goes to show that most devs don’t really care much for greatness.

    1. Just going to play some devil’s advocate here… OK, so according to some of the PC defenders in here… every port on the PC sucks, developers don’t care about it… and yet, it’s the best gaming system to have? Don’t you guys see the contradictions there? All you are doing is convincing me NOT to spend money on PC, because every game ever is just a crappy console port. Explain again why it’s the best?

      Seriously, nevertell, you just spent 6 paragraphs lambasting the way PC games control because developers don’t care about quality… yet then unashamedly act like PC is superior (and consequently, your post makes it sound like you think YOU are superior for understanding that)… I’m seeing a disconnect there.

  13. Because Anthony, you may have a wife AND a girlfriend, but saying “you love both, just one more than the other” is blasphemy on so many levels, even secular ones!

    Did you play Half-Life on PlayStation 2? If you didn’t, go rent it, then find the nearest extension cord and hang yourself. Those aren’t instructions, they are just a set of events that WILL occur.

  14. LOL @ Anthony, very Cossack-like there.
    I do think the author’s being very whiny there. I can’t really add anything to this discussion as Anthony beat me to it (surs, all your points were pretty much like mine). Except the auto save thing, I was interpreting it as ‘now you can’t save anywhere you want’ but I highly doubt many PC games don’t have that feature. Correct me if I am wrong PC gamers. Although, he should grow a pair and man up. Checkpoints aren’t hard to overcome and it’s not like anyone saves after every single enemy they kill, grenade the throw or after they move from cover to cover.
    The article reeked of “pay-attention-to-me-syndrome” or “Acute Controversititis” for the scientifically correct name. : P

  15. Yes, I spent 6 paragraphs to fail at making a point.
    I am saying that AAA titles focus more on the consoles, because that’s where the money is.
    Those that favour quality don’t skimp on any platform, like Valve. And I am not saying that the pc is the best gaming platform. Not at all. And you can’t definitively say that this one platform is the be-all and end-all of gaming. You always have to choose. I am just saying that it’s stupid to asume that gaming on it is dying/dead/will be dying.

    Of course, we can whine about developers not pushing the limits on the pc, but it’s their money and time they spend.

    And my main point is that the consoles are not what’s making the triple a titles on the PC suck, it’s that devs want money. There’s more money in mainstream than there is in hardcore.

    And yes, even though I love GT5 and Uncharted 2, I still think that the PC is the greatest platform for me. Because of mods, indy games and porn.

  16. @ Eddy

    I think we’re mostly talking about the evolution of the PC, rather than consoles “killing” it. Like I said, I don’t think it’s on the decline, but it’s definitely changed because of console games. The ability to save anywhere is really a lost art in most games. It’s not that all ports suck, it’s just lately it’s become more obvious that developers are focusing on the console versions of their games, because yes, there is more money / less piracy there. I’m okay with that, I’m loving me some indie gaming on my PC that could power a small city. It’s just kind of a shame is all.

    My roomates spend about as much time playing Tiger Woods and NHL 10 on the PS3 as I do playing games in my room. But I wouldn’t consider them gamers. On the flip side, since I’m sitting in my room with the door shut and not in the “common area” they WOULD consider me a geek. At least they appreciate that I can fix their machines for them ;). Long live PC lolol.

    1. Thanks for the clarification, dudes. I like the follow-up posts.

      Also, discussion like this are why I love this site. Everyone’s keeping their cool and just stating opinions and not making anything personal. <3

  17. [quote comment=”16081″]Because Anthony, you may have a wife AND a girlfriend, but saying “you love both, just one more than the other” is blasphemy on so many levels, even secular ones!

    Did you play Half-Life on PlayStation 2? If you didn’t, go rent it, then find the nearest extension cord and hang yourself. Those aren’t instructions, they are just a set of events that WILL occur.[/quote]

    The PS2 version is the only version of Half Life I’ve played. I loved it. What was wrong with it?

    But Julez, if your roommates spend that much time playing, but only play a few games, they are still gamers. There some people who only play WoW. They are still gamers, right?

  18. They are mainstream gamers. Another thing I actually forgot is that pc gaming is actually on it’s rise in a way. Think about all the farmville moms. That’s where the money is going right now, that’s what’s hurting the hardcore gamer, I guess. Anyway, it was nice talking, now I’m exhausted. And feel like I need to read my English grammar book again.

  19. <3 i love it too Eddy.

    @ Anthony. Yeah, I guess my roomates would still be gamers, but they would never wear that title. I am proud to be a geek and a gamer; they still call counter-strike "gun friends" and like to tease me. It's all in good fun.

    I thought the PS2 version of Half-Life was terrible? Maybe it's just because I've played both. I mean, some games are just meant for certain systems, and Valve games have always belonged on the PC in my opinion. Just like Blizzard. Remember the N64 version of Star-Craft? Yeah, me neither. I only know it existed, and anyone who played it went into a gaming coma.

  20. [quote comment=”16099″]<3 i love it too Eddy.

    @ Anthony. Yeah, I guess my roomates would still be gamers, but they would never wear that title. I am proud to be a geek and a gamer; they still call counter-strike "gun friends" and like to tease me. It's all in good fun.

    I thought the PS2 version of Half-Life was terrible? Maybe it's just because I've played both. I mean, some games are just meant for certain systems, and Valve games have always belonged on the PC in my opinion. Just like Blizzard. Remember the N64 version of Star-Craft? Yeah, me neither. I only know it existed, and anyone who played it went into a gaming coma.[/quote]

    haha, they may reject the label themselves, but that doesn’t make it not true. Classic case: closet self-loathers.

    As for HL, it was a great game on the PS2. The controls were different, obviously, but it handled well. I loved it.

  21. Eddy, did I show you this article? I saw it a while back and thusly laughed at it and talked it over with my girlfriend. It was pretty much PC fans whining because they are not the superior GODS OF GAMING they think they are. And they are taking it out on the guys who are doing better.

    The only big points I think they stand to make are the crappy sequels and the crappy ports. Ok who is to blame. Simple. Developers. Developers decide this. Guess what PC gamers, they go where the cash in. Its consoles. On dont like that? Dont like how they care more about their big money maker rather than the “Better” system? TAKE IT UP WITH THEM. Quit blaming consoles and its gamers for this. We bought consoles cuz they are cheap and do the job, a lot more of them are out there, so guess what? DEVELOPERS WILL DEVELOP THERE FIRST. Quit whining at the gamers and talk to the developers if you are still angry.

    Ok lets tackle the next one I think is greatly BS. Making us hate our developers?? See above. Its only to you mr. PC. Get over it and talk to your developers, dont just throw hate at them.

    The next one is Dedicated Servers. To be honest. The majority doesnt care. Simple as that. If they did, it would be on consoles. Simple as that. Say Im wrong? No, Im not. If we cared that much, it could be done on consoles. Most gamers DONT CARE. Get over it.

    The others like autosaving and what not, thats more up to debate and not major flaws.
    I hate this argument. I think it is moronic that PC gamers think that they are being suffocated by this ‘crappy console’ stuff. Do something about it with your developers. Realize that the masses are what developers tend to care about, they want to succede and they will do it where they can the most. Realize your type of gaming is like owning fancy cars. Only a few guys can own a super tricked out Viper, most common people can only afford the normal mustang. We are not killing PC gaming.

    Now lets talk about the ones they are right on. NO MODDING. Yes, its ture. I agree. Oblivion for the Console is a sin. Shame on you. GAMES FOR WINDOWS. Oh yes, horrible. M$ should NOT have done that. Its just bad all together. They make two valid arguments IMO.

  22. Sean has obviously never played a console port on a pc. It is annoying, and the autosave stuff does suck.

    And how do you intend to run a dedicated server AND a client on a console, which only has half a gig of memory ? By producing a slide show and high ping for other users. PC gamers want dedicated servers because they actually can run them.
    And no, renting a server to which you have admin access IS NOT a dedicated server.

    But yes, the ranter is wrong. Consoles are not ruining pc gaming. Money is ruining hardcore gaming. And of course, people with HARDCORE gaming pc’s which cost a fortune expect to run HARDCORE games.
    It’s really sad when your human-part-extender doesn’t work that way.

  23. @Nevertell

    No, No I havent. I dont game that much. Autosaves, trust me, I know they suck. They suck on consoles too. Tell devs to take those off or mess with the options. Nuff said. I really stick to the guns of its the developers who need to listen to the PC gamers, the console isnt the problem.

    Dedicated servers could be run off of set servers provided by a service such as XBL. You all connect to said server. It IS possible. But since you decide that that is NOT a dedicated server, then perhaps no. Again I point to the fact that most on consoles dont care. It could be done with more hardware, but then you ruin the line, defeating the point, which wont happen.

    I think we all agree on that bit. Its just plain sad. I think the idea is still to go after developers in a mature manner and express concerns for a very formidable part of their audience; PC gamers.

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