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mystral: On the PC you still have the option to easily download a crack for most games, and then Steam and any unreasonable DRM they choose to use can go fuck themselves.
You can't do that on a console, or at least nowhere near as easily.
Oh I fully agree, that is why I tolerate PC DRM but would never tolerate console DRM.

With the new Xbox's 24 hour internet thing and God knows what else I would be surprised if cracking were easier than the 360, which requires a chip and other things mainstream gamers don't want to fuck with.
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mystral: Two, you can easily get an estimate of the number of PC versus console gamers by looking at sales estimates for popular multiplatform games. Considering the fact that sales figures are always much higher for consoles on those games, and the fact that many publishers have repeatedly said they didn't care about the PC market, it's reasonable to assume the console market is much bigger.
Well... That depends. As you said yourself, many gamers use both PCs and consoles. With the state of multiplatform games as it is, meaning games are usually developed for consoles, and then ported (usually badly) to PC, it's no wonder that many who have the choice choose to play them on consoles. That doesn't mean that people won't buy PC games, it just means they won't buy shitty PC ports of console games.
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Wishbone: Well... That depends. As you said yourself, many gamers use both PCs and consoles. With the state of multiplatform games as it is, meaning games are usually developed for consoles, and then ported (usually badly) to PC, it's no wonder that many who have the choice choose to play them on consoles. That doesn't mean that people won't buy PC games, it just means they won't buy shitty PC ports of console games.
I agree but even for those multiplatform games that were either developed primarily for the PC or are equally good on both PC and consoles (Skyrim, Deus Ex: HR or Dishonored, to give just a few examples), the sales are much higher on consoles.
That may just be habit or convenience, but it still gives a big hint that when it comes to gamers who are interested in AAA games (since that's the only market big publishers are interested in), the ones who only use consoles are in the majority.
Post edited June 07, 2013 by mystral
This seems a relavent topic for this, so I bring you Yahtzee ---- http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7417-Next-Gen-Buyers-Guide

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Luisfius: To be fair, Steam did revitalize pc gaming. Hard.
Lower shelf space in game retailers? Yeah that was happening.
"To be fair, Steam did revitalize pc gaming. Hard." Yes and a hole in the head could 'revitalize' your way of thinking too. This does in no way mean that you are going to enjoy it though.

Steam is a necessary evil for me right now because GOG are being lazy and just wont get me Hitman Absolution or The Walking Dead (shame on GOG).
But you can believe me. When those games come here I will happily re-buy them DRM FREE, then their Steam versions go bye-bye and I can be free of that atrocity once more.

On a side note, you know you could try getting paid for defending Steam. If you just e-mail them with your details and proof of devotion. They might give you a free game for every blabla supportive messages across the internet of their system, or at the very least a little pat on the back for all the people you are converting with your words.
I know you currently cannot be one of their employees as you are not bashing every other gaming site with every passing sentence.
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Wishbone: With the state of multiplatform games as it is, meaning games are usually developed for consoles, and then ported (usually badly) to PC, it's no wonder that many who have the choice choose to play them on consoles.
I've never understood this, really. Even the most basic of PC ports is still better on PC than console.

Darksiders 2 might have no PC options at all and play like crap with a mouse, but if I plug in a controller and play at native 1080p at 60fps it's still a lot better than the Xbox version. Why, if I were someone with both options, would I ever choose to play a multiplatform game on console?
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mystral: One, that's ignoring the fact that many gamers use both a PC and consoles
This works both ways, so it isn't ignoring anything. Everything else you said is heavily your own speculation. As I said before, I'd love to view some unbiased numbers. It doesn't matter to me which is bigger... but when the claims are that its significant fact... I tend to disagree. Not that one or the other is bigger, but that no one has provided evidence of the case... which makes it sound like an emotional argument to me.
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Garugo: http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/connected

Quotes from the page:

"Because every Xbox One owner has a broadband connection"

"For an optimal experience, we recommend a broadband connection of 1.5Mbps.[...] In areas where an Ethernet connection is not available, you can connect using mobile broadband."

"With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console, or one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library. Offline gaming is not possible after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and enjoy Blu-ray and DVD movies."

Ta-da!
Jesus Christ, they are cutting their own throats, lol

I sure as hell will never buy one, but if i get it as a gift, i will be sure to list it on eBay the next day with Brand New and Factory Sealed in the description, lol
Post edited June 07, 2013 by Heretic777
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Wishbone: With the state of multiplatform games as it is, meaning games are usually developed for consoles, and then ported (usually badly) to PC, it's no wonder that many who have the choice choose to play them on consoles.
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StingingVelvet: I've never understood this, really. Even the most basic of PC ports is still better on PC than console.

Darksiders 2 might have no PC options at all and play like crap with a mouse, but if I plug in a controller and play at native 1080p at 60fps it's still a lot better than the Xbox version. Why, if I were someone with both options, would I ever choose to play a multiplatform game on console?
Because if you need a controller anyway, you might as well be playing on a console.

And sometimes, it's about expectations. If I play a game on a PC, I expect there to be options to tweak. I expect to be able to change the controls, the resolution, stuff like that. If I can't, I'm disappointed. I have no such expectations of console games, because I know they're made for a single hardware platform and a single control scheme. It may not make a lot of sense, but I'll accept limitations in a console game that I won't accept in a PC game.
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Wishbone: Because if you need a controller anyway, you might as well be playing on a console.
This is what I don't get though... the PC version is still better in large ways. Why is it "might as well play on console" when the PC version has much better graphics and framerate, if nothing else? I don't get it, never have.

Not being combative, just genuinely it baffles me when people say that.
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Wishbone: Because if you need a controller anyway, you might as well be playing on a console.
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StingingVelvet: This is what I don't get though... the PC version is still better in large ways. Why is it "might as well play on console" when the PC version has much better graphics and framerate, if nothing else? I don't get it, never have.

Not being combative, just genuinely it baffles me when people say that.
Well, if I wanted to use a controller, I'd play on a console. If it's a crappy PC port, chances are the controls are shit, and I'll have to use a controller to get any enjoyment out of the game anyway. Why then would I go and buy a controller for my PC, when my PS3 already has two?

And "much better graphics and framerate" don't really mean a lot to me. I am continually baffled by the (admittedly few) "graphics whores" (I don't mean to be offensive, but that's the easiest way to describe the kind of people I'm talking about) I see on this forum. If ultra-quality graphics is all that matters to them, what on earth are they doing here of all places?
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Wishbone: Well, if I wanted to use a controller, I'd play on a console. If it's a crappy PC port, chances are the controls are shit, and I'll have to use a controller to get any enjoyment out of the game anyway. Why then would I go and buy a controller for my PC, when my PS3 already has two?
Well I would counter that with why wouldn't I have a controller for my PC already? A ton of PC exclusives play better with one.

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Wishbone: And "much better graphics and framerate" don't really mean a lot to me. I am continually baffled by the (admittedly few) "graphics whores" (I don't mean to be offensive, but that's the easiest way to describe the kind of people I'm talking about) I see on this forum. If ultra-quality graphics is all that matters to them, what on earth are they doing here of all places?
It's not being a "graphics whore" to prefer a game look as good as it can. If presented with the option of 640p with no AA or AF and 1080p with tons of AA and AF why would I choose, all other things being equal, to play the former?
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jamyskis: That being said, I do believe that online DRM on a console is going to be placed more closely under the watchful eye of legislators. There are signs that the German government at the very least may take action against it, and there may be EU activity as well.
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hucklebarry: Best of luck. I fear that in the U.S. the government will fund and support companies to keep them "safe" from all of us criminals that keep giving them money ... :/
To you both good luck.
The DRM will be under scrutiny in the EU, but that wont help US or UK citizens. The best you will get will be a dedicated EU set of servers so that the US government cannot just take your details away without telling your relevant in-pocket press okayed politician.

As for US and UK citizens we are really in trouble. The UK government gave, not sold, but gave away the data from our last census to America, and David Cameron is desperate to finally break himself into America like Blair did, at any cost to his people. He wants us away from Europe and closer to America, while the American government want it the other way.
Even Germany would rather keep the UK within Europe, just so they can keep themselves safe and clean when America gets all messy. Germany (and the rest of the EU) like the UK for standing with the US so that when the US want to kick in a friend so they remember who is boss, who better then the moron grovelling at you steel toed, army issued boots. Plus they have someone to blame when the US does something that affects them adversely without having to actually blame the US and tempt getting bombed to hell and back.
In the US they have their own government spying on them daily whilst telling them how free they are. Everything you do out there is potentially leading the police to your door. From the cup of coffee paid for with your credit card to the quick internet search through Google and the phone call with your mother who mentioned 'terrorists' so now you will be tracked for six months just to make sure you are clean.

I loved today that I read an article about data theft including data from large corporations such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and AOL. The best part was a statement from Google stating that they had no hidden backdoor that governments could use to access private data.
As if this was needed with the regular meetings they have with each other in the US and UK.
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mystral: One, that's ignoring the fact that many gamers use both a PC and consoles
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hucklebarry: This works both ways, so it isn't ignoring anything. Everything else you said is heavily your own speculation. As I said before, I'd love to view some unbiased numbers. It doesn't matter to me which is bigger... but when the claims are that its significant fact... I tend to disagree. Not that one or the other is bigger, but that no one has provided evidence of the case... which makes it sound like an emotional argument to me.
You're being either willfully obtuse or you're just trying to get others to do the simple work of looking up sales figures by platforms for you.

When every single AAA title that gives sales figure by platform has sold much higher numbers on consoles than on the PC, and when console games always top the sales charts byt far (with the exception of Blizzard games for some weird reason) it's ridiculous to claim that we don't have any evidence to say there are more console gamers than PC ones.

A few examples; , [url=http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250488/weekly-sales-analysis-13-october-dishonored-xcom/]Dishonored, or even a chart about the bestselling games each week.

Now I'll grant you this is only for physical sales, but it's highly doubtful that digital sales could make up for the huge gap between console and PC sales on the charts.
And if you cared so much about evidence, you really could have spent 5 minutes doing this search instead of making me waste my time on it just to prove something anyone with any sense knows already.
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hucklebarry: This works both ways, so it isn't ignoring anything. Everything else you said is heavily your own speculation. As I said before, I'd love to view some unbiased numbers. It doesn't matter to me which is bigger... but when the claims are that its significant fact... I tend to disagree. Not that one or the other is bigger, but that no one has provided evidence of the case... which makes it sound like an emotional argument to me.
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mystral: You're being either willfully obtuse or you're just trying to get others to do the simple work of looking up sales figures by platforms for you.

When every single AAA title that gives sales figure by platform has sold much higher numbers on consoles than on the PC, and when console games always top the sales charts byt far (with the exception of Blizzard games for some weird reason) it's ridiculous to claim that we don't have any evidence to say there are more console gamers than PC ones.

A few examples; , [url=http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250488/weekly-sales-analysis-13-october-dishonored-xcom/]Dishonored, or even a chart about the bestselling games each week.

Now I'll grant you this is only for physical sales, but it's highly doubtful that digital sales could make up for the huge gap between console and PC sales on the charts.
And if you cared so much about evidence, you really could have spent 5 minutes doing this search instead of making me waste my time on it just to prove something anyone with any sense knows already.
Ignore him, he's just being stubborn and can't admit he's wrong.
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Wishbone: Well, if I wanted to use a controller, I'd play on a console. If it's a crappy PC port, chances are the controls are shit, and I'll have to use a controller to get any enjoyment out of the game anyway. Why then would I go and buy a controller for my PC, when my PS3 already has two?
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StingingVelvet: Well I would counter that with why wouldn't I have a controller for my PC already? A ton of PC exclusives play better with one.

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Wishbone: And "much better graphics and framerate" don't really mean a lot to me. I am continually baffled by the (admittedly few) "graphics whores" (I don't mean to be offensive, but that's the easiest way to describe the kind of people I'm talking about) I see on this forum. If ultra-quality graphics is all that matters to them, what on earth are they doing here of all places?
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StingingVelvet: It's not being a "graphics whore" to prefer a game look as good as it can. If presented with the option of 640p with no AA or AF and 1080p with tons of AA and AF why would I choose, all other things being equal, to play the former?
Cause most people don't want to foot out the high amount of money for a PC, capable of getting state of the graphics. When simply knowing what everything in a game is without squinting, is good enough for them?
Post edited June 07, 2013 by McDon
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Wishbone: Why then would I go and buy a controller for my PC, when my PS3 already has two?
You can use your PS3 controllers on the PC by installing XInput Wrapper and then connecting it using a USB cable or Bluetooth (whichever you prefer). The experience isn't totally seamless as with a 360 (or compatible) controller but it's definitely a viable option.