Why PC Gaming is Surging

I'd rather spend £300 on a console that wont need to be changed for 6 years+

I'm the opposite, i'd rather spend £300 on a GPU that won't need to be changed for 3 years while being able to buy lots of games cheap rather the £40-50 they are on consoles. I wouldn't be able to afford console gaming, or at least i wouldn't be able to afford gaming the amount i'm accustomed to.
 
A PC will always be a better console than the consoles, you just need to know what you're doing. The only thing holding people back from PC gaming is misinformation on the overall cost, and the fact that most people think they have to sit slouched over a keyboard on a rigid desk to do anything. PCs are slowly invading the mass, which has never happened before as they have always been more for enthusiasts in nearly ever aspect, but now the platform is starting to become easier to use and manage thanks to hardware and software innovations and I think that in 20 years time, there will be no more pre built consoles. Consoles will have interchangeable hardware, graphical settings and even mods, just like a PC.

At the moment gaming really is PC/Mac/Linux vs Xbox/PS3/WiiUrine, the former being for people who know what they are doing and the latter being for those who are ignorant and misinformed on how much hassle a gaming PC actually is and the casual elements they can accomplish. When the PC begins to become more and more accessible and appealing to the mass as it is starting to, we'll see the console manufacturers start to engineer their systems to be more like PCs in every single way, it's already happened to some degree with the Xboned and PS4, and will continue to happen.

I don't think a year has gone by where consoles have outsold PC components, now what those components are used for is a different matter, but Nvidia, Intel & AMD have more money in their pockets than Nintendo, Sony & MicroKinnect do and the figures for the PC side are horribly skewed and unavailable. The only people who claim PC gaming is anything but rising are misinformed on the subject.
 
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Wow, what a sociable, non PC invasive lounge you must have ;)

Think you misread my post, I didnt mean I have both single/multimonitor set ups!! Take a look at some of the other posts on here. Bottom line for me personally PC gaming is better.
 
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Your response is missing one, vital, yet important aspect to console gaming that PC gaming can not provide, or at least, provide as well, and that is socialising (oh, and cheats). But, given I know you, it doesn't surprise me that you left it out :)

2 people are not going to be comfortable sat around a 22" monitor split screening a game, and, if your PC is connected to your TV, then it's primary use is as a gaming machine and you may aswell have bought a a console.

This is where consoles excel, especially ones like the Wii and the options of Kinnect. A PC can't offer that level of socialism outside of the multiplayer experience that consoles have offered for years.

And, as I said, hackers. The number of cheats available to PC gamers will always be exponentially higher than that of consoles...

Sorry but thats just not true, I used to sit with friends playing PC games years ago. These days I have two controllers with my HTPC in the Living room with a 48" LCD, Mortal combat and Street Fighter :)

Consoles evolved from PC's and the reality is that PC does it better and its more adaptable to peoples needs due to being component based.
Also socialising is a big term, PC has been letting gamers socialise over the world since the world wide web began. IMO your argument doesn't stand.
 
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A PC will always be a better console than the consoles, you just need to know what you're doing. The only thing holding people back from PC gaming is misinformation on the overall cost, and the fact that most people think they have to sit slouched over a keyboard on a rigid desk to do anything. PCs are slowly invading the mass, which has never happened before as they have always been more for enthusiasts in nearly ever aspect, but now the platform is starting to become easier to use and manage thanks to hardware and software innovations and I think that in 20 years time, there will be no more pre built consoles. Consoles will have interchangeable hardware, graphical settings and even mods, just like a PC.

At the moment gaming really is PC/Mac/Linux vs Xbox/PS3/WiiUrine, the former being for people who know what they are doing and the latter being for those who are ignorant and misinformed on how much hassle a gaming PC actually is and the casual elements they can accomplish. When the PC begins to become more and more accessible and appealing to the mass as it is starting to, we'll see the console manufacturers start to engineer their systems to be more like PCs in every single way, it's already happened to some degree with the Xboned and PS4, and will continue to happen.

I don't think a year has gone by where consoles have outsold PC components, now what those components are used for is a different matter, but Nvidia, Intel & AMD have more money in their pockets than Nintendo, Sony & MicroKinnect do and the figures for the PC side are horribly skewed and unavailable. The only people who claim PC gaming is anything but rising are misinformed on the subject.

You start out looking like you've decided to start being sensible and then start posting rubbish like WiiUrine.

You're the type of person that people talk about when they whinge about the PC master race idiocy.
 
This doesn't surprise me but the article missed out or only lightly touched on the following:

1) PCs for gaming are cheaper and more diverse than they have ever been. 10 years ago when the xbox and PS2 were king a gaming PC was £1200 -£2200. Even during the early PS3 and 360 years a good gaming PC was still close to £1k. Now £500 gets you a perfectly capable gaming PC with quality graphics. You don't need an i7 with £500 graphics card to get a good playable experience. Equally a £500 laptop will game quite happily at lower res and a £1k laptop will be really good. 10 years ago you just didn't game on normal laptops bar some easy RTS.

Whilst they are cheaper and more diverse, a gaming PC has always had a sensibly priced option.

In my PS2 days, I also had a PC I played games on, it did not cost me £1200, not even close and I had a decent graphics card at the time as well.

The same way you don't need an i7 and a £500 graphics card now, you didn't need the top end CPU and a £500 graphics card then. In fact top end consumer CPUs back then were quite a bit cheaper than they are now, AMD's Athlon 64s for example.
 
Sorry but thats just not true, I used to sit with friends playing PC games years ago. These days I have two controllers with my HTPC in the Living room with a 48" LCD, Mortal combat and Street Fighter :)

Consoles evolved from PC's and the reality is that PC does it better and its more adaptable to peoples needs due to being component based.
Also socialising is a big term, PC has been letting gamers socialise over the world since the world wide web began. IMO your argument doesn't stand.

Exactly. I think another thing for me personally is cause I do 3D/graphic work along with gaming I prefer to have all my stuff in one rather then jumping from a say xbox to PC. :cool:
 
I was wondering why there were replies such as this:

Thorper said:
Cool RSS Bro.

this:

ci_newman said:

and this:

magnolia said:
"Like waking up in a lukewarm pool of your own spittle" - Forum Review Monthly

Then I saw this:

StriderX said:
Is this...post everything in GD day?

However, the surge in small time indie games is likely to be a main cause, the acceptance of the culture (Esport bars?) and the rising sport scene in general (especially in Eastern Europe/Russia).

And it all made sense. Posted in General Discussion, where the first few posters are often enough self-imposed forum police who have nothing better to do than flame threads, which quite fairly just show a fact or opinion. At least StriderX did actually post an actual answer, unlike the three idiotic posts that went before. It's why I stay out of the GD section most of the time...

Next time, post it in the right section though OP. ;)

It's no surprise that PC Gaming is surging. The current generation of games consoles are old hat now and starting to get stale. I imagine a lot of the PC Game success is from Indie game sales, however I personally prefer using a keyboard and Mouse for almost every game I play, otherwise I plug in a PC game pad.
 
PC gaming is in a better state these days, due in no small part to a few key factors.

Steam doing a great deal to combat piracy
Consoles reaching the end of their serviceable life
The likes of Unity democratising the development process for small teams
The rise and rise of smart phones and tablets capturing the casual game market.

Basically the barriers have come down on making games for the PC and mobile devices, on the PC we are seeing lots of niche innovation and ports of AAA console games that need to make sales to justify ridiculous budgets. The big money is now all in mobile.

If anything, the consoles are in trouble and with them big budget games.
 
You start out looking like you've decided to start being sensible and then start posting rubbish like WiiUrine.

You're the type of person that people talk about when they whinge about the PC master race idiocy.

If you disregard a whole post based on a few digs towards terrible name design (Wii) and terrible hardware (Kinnect) and only choose to bring up those points, doesn't that make you just as bad? Yup. :eek:


And it all made sense. Posted in General Discussion, where the first few posters are often enough self-imposed forum police who have nothing better to do than flame threads, which quite fairly just show a fact or opinion. At least StriderX did actually post an actual answer, unlike the three idiotic posts that went before. It's why I stay out of the GD section most of the time...

GD is like OcUKs ghetto, if you decide to take a stroll through it you're gonna get mugged.
 
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still no gta v for pc, life is not complete

I'd prefer Red Dead Redemption frankly, but it ain't going to happen. If GTAV is as good as or better than Gay Tony then i'll be concerned, otherwise you can pry Saints Row 4 out of my cold dead hands.
 
Two of my mates kids now use pc only due to one game... minecraft. Both twelve but have sold console games to fund steam sales this year. Parents seriously happy as games cost a fraction although I have kept reminding them that hardware upgrades will likely cancel that out!
 
Your response is missing one, vital, yet important aspect to console gaming that PC gaming can not provide, or at least, provide as well, and that is socialising (oh, and cheats). But, given I know you, it doesn't surprise me that you left it out :)

2 people are not going to be comfortable sat around a 22" monitor split screening a game, and, if your PC is connected to your TV, then it's primary use is as a gaming machine and you may aswell have bought a a console.

This is where consoles excel, especially ones like the Wii and the options of Kinnect. A PC can't offer that level of socialism outside of the multiplayer experience that consoles have offered for years.

And, as I said, hackers. The number of cheats available to PC gamers will always be exponentially higher than that of consoles...
hardly any console games have local MP mode anymore and playing a PC in your HDTV will offer better graphics, smoother framerates and better customization ie mods in some games.
 
I love PC gaming but I do get sidetracked. Nice powerful setup to spend most of the time playing poxy candy crush.

What has grown on me recently with pc gaming is both the price and the ease of use.

I remember the olden days when I never felt comfortable playing a game in case it crashed and constantly trying new settings to see if it looked better.

I really like it nowadays. My system is stable and a 10 second burst of GeForce Experience gets me optimised straight away. I get good cheap games. I've had loads of £25 games for about £4 on Steam. Unbelievable value, and I am never waiting for a release. There's always something good to play. The plug and play of the xbox pad is a joy and the whole thing is superior in my opinion.

The surge in popularity is not surprising to me.

The multiplayer aspect does not bother me. My mates do not come round to play ganes. If they are round, 9/10 times, it's for a football or boxing match.
 
I was a massive 360 gamer until the start of this year when I built a gaming PC (current sig) but I have not played it since about March or April and the only thing taking me back to it is GTA 5 as it won't be out on PC for a while...
 
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