"PC Gaming Puts Other Platforms to Shame in GAMES, RESPECT, and DEALS"

[Scoobes]

HappySqurriel said:

Scoobes said:

Thing is, the disadvantages you mention have all been addressed.

The video for one mentioned how you can make massive savings on games which can then go on hardware, and if you're willing to invest in a little time, you can often build/upgrade PCs for relatively cheap.

The time issue has already been addressed by digital downloading. For instance, Starcraft 2 has been available for download even though it's not out yet. You can't play it until it's released, but it's downloaded, installed and waiting for you to play on release. I did the same with Dragon Age: Origins on release with Steam and just loaded it up and played. The character creater was also released before the game so I even had my character ready to go.

Installs, patches and game maintenance are all now handled automatically via programmes such as Steam. As for PC maintenance, you should be doing regular defrags, anti-virus checks, driver updates etc. anyway, so it shouldn't really be an issue as you have to anyway. Plus the consoles now seem to have there own firmware and updates anyway.

 

Your view of PC gaming seems a little dated to be honest, the issues you've raised were a problem 10 yrs ago, but not so much anymore. I haven't even mentioned the advantages of PC gaming and/or Steam as a platform such as mods & open platform, dedicated servers, Ms&Kb for RTS and FPS, download full games and have them (and saves) tied to your account to download and play anywhere, cheap games, better graphics, larger indie scene etc.

I like how my views are "dated" even though they’re still valid. A cheap PC that can play new games will run you around $750 to $1,500 and the cheaper you buy the more often you will need to upgrade. You would need to buy between 50 and 100 games for your PC before the average cost savings per title ($10 to $20 depending on multiple factors) allowed you break even on the sale of the hardware; and about the only time people save money through PC gaming is if they pirate games, which is one of the reasons why so few PC exclusive experiences exist anymore.

If you want to own a physical copy of a game, which I really do if I'm paying full price for a game, you have the same purchasing process as a console game except you’re left with the time consuming process of installing the game.

 

Right now I’m looking into replacing my current PC with something that will play Starcraft 2 and Starwars: The Old Republic at decent levels without needing to upgrade in 12 months when another game comes out; and the price level I’m looking at is between $1,000 and $1,500. Unless there are some remarkable deals announced in the next several weeks, I will probably end up spending more on the graphics card and operating system than a home console; and I will still need a new motherboard, CPU, memory and hard-drive (and I should get a new power-supply and case, along with a new optical drive while I’m at it). I’m not even talking about anything remarkable or exotic, the cost of a Radeon HD5770 and the OEM version of Windows 7 will cost more than a Wii or XBox 360 arcade, and if you don’t get a good deal will cost you more than a PS3 or the good XBox 360.

Nope, your views are dated. It's nice your looking for a PC in the $1000-1500 range but you'll be getting a PC alot more powerful than either 360 or PS3 that will play games with much nicer graphics and physics acceleration, higher res and higher frame-rate. You don't need to spend this much to have a PC that is more powerful than either HD console though. I bought my PC at the start of the gen and upgraded after 18 months (GPU) and it runs games that look better than the HD consoles at decent frame-rate. You could get a far superior PC now that'll probably last into next gen.

As for the cost of software, did you look at the video and the savings that were possible? Steam has frequent sales. The Square-Enix/Eidos sale shown in the vid saved you over $400 for numerous games. That and all the other sales more than make up for the higher hardware costs.

Also, PC is becomming more and more about digital download (nearly half of PC sales are now digital download) and less about physical media. This in fact is far more convenient and makes more logical sense as all of your games are tied to your account rather than your hardware and you can't break/lose the disc. You essentially have a permanent backup. Physical media on PC is fast becomming "dated". Don't be suprised if consoles end up having more full games available for digital download in the future.

Anyway, hope you find a nice computer. At that price I'd expect it to run most games at > 100 fps (bar Crysis) at high settings and res so enjoy!