By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
naznatips on 13 February 2008
Edit Thread
twesterm said:
WiiStation360 said:
ferret1603 said:
All you PC fans keep talking about how you can play the latest and greatest titles, but you probably can't play a lot of the games you bought just a few years ago. Unless it breaks, my SNES will always be able to play all SNES games and if I want to get my Wii out in 20 years time I'll still be able to play a game I bought today. But I can no longer play most of the few PC games I own because they won't work on XP. For that simple reason PC gaming is useless to me.

What happened to the PC that you originally played these games on? Did you get rid of it? How is that any different that a PS3 not playing PS2 games?


When I build a new PC I generally gut my old, use the parts I can still use and sell the rest. That said, I can still play most old games on my PC without a problem (though old old DOS games get tricky). I'm not so worried about my old games though, I'm more worried about my new games.

Yeah, I can build a $400 PC that will run a lot of the new games out today, but they are going to look like crap compared to their console equivalent. If I actually want to run something with high settings (or something comparable to the console game) and have good frame rate than I'm going to need to spend more than $400 and I'm going to have to upgrade every year or so. With a console, I spend $400 once and that generally lasts a good five or so years.

I'm not trying to say PC gaming is inferior to console gaming or dissuade anyone from playing PC games, I'm just saying the price thing is completely bogus.

And as for that list of PC games for 08, those all aren't exclusive and I guarantee you the vast majority of them will just be bad.


Nice, except I built a $600 PC that plays all multiplatform games released to date signifficantly better than their console counterparts. Not to mention it uses the super special advanced technologies of Word Processors and Free Online Multiplayer and web browsers! *gasp* Yes, that's right, I'm arguing you get a lot more features and games for your money for a PC than you do for either a PS3 or 360.

And games that are on PC and 360 are absolutely not 360 exclusive. In fact, to even suggest such is ridiculous. Is Left 4 Dead a 360 exclusive now? All it is is a half-assed EA handled port of a game built for and around the PC. Bioshock was built on the PC first, and ported down to the 360. CoD4 was built on the PC first, and ported down to the 360 and PS3. The fact that these games exist on the PC in superior forms absolutely convinced me not to buy an Xbox 360. Instead, I'll be most likely be buying a PS3 as an HD console, because it offers more exclusives.

The sales argument is just a joke. PC game sales have been increasing signifficantly over the last 3 years. The difference is that they are expanding in markets that NPD can't track (making them all the more irrelevant). Steam, EANation, and other digital distribution services are expanding at an insanely rapid rate. Steam increased in subscribers at a rate of 158% quicker in 2007 than in 2006. The Orange Box sold more than 70% of it's total units on Steam, and yes, that includes the 360 version.

And that's just the American market... let's talk about the worldwide market. How about Europe? Germany, where PC games consistently outsell console games. Where Crysis outsold Super Mario Galaxy. Or how about Korea, the fastest growing gaming market in the world? Are they rushing out to buy 360s? No, they play PCs! Both Gabe Newell and Will Wright claim the PC market is growing.

PC gaming is hardly dying, and the 360's lack of exclusive games is visibly hurting its console sales in territories like Europe where PC gaming is particularly strong, and again was what made the decision for me about which HD console I intend to purchase.