What kind of games do you play?

[johns0]

I play video games and mmo games.

[deadrats]

on the pc i play a lot of chess, i loved max payne 2 and postal 2 and civ 3, to me first person shooters on the pc seem to exist solely to drive graphics cards sales, going back to the days of quake 3 arena.

i know you are a devout pc gamer and i hope you don't take this personally, but it seems to me that there exists a logical disconnect in pc gamers that love first person shooters.

these types of gamers consider a 21"-24" inch monitor to be "big", they spend $300, $400, $500 and up on a graphics solutions (in some cases dual gpu or sli setups) to play a game at really high resolutions with AA and AF enabled at really high frame rates but they never ask themselves why they are doing this.

international film rate is 24 fps, ntsc broadcast rate is 29.97, most peoples' eyes can only discern a max of 60 unique frames per second (though elite military pilots, under some controlled conditions, can actually make out 120 fps), the displayed frame rate is limited by the refresh rate of the monitor, yet people strive to build systems that can achieve 200+ fps while playing what is effectively a clone of another first person shooter (there's only about half a dozen unique game engines currently in use).

i just don't get it.

me, i prefer an xbox 360, all games are coded so that they run at a minimum of 720p, with 2 sample AA, 30 fps minimum and for $200 i can buy a 32" LCD TV; i'm a big fan of console football games, fighting games (like mortal combat and street fighter), 3rd person shooters (my 2 favorites are the resident evil series and batman series); quite frankly i really think that pc gaming in general will soon be coming to an end, if the xbox 720 that's due to be released next year (have you seen the videos M$ released?) doesn't make a compelling case for concentrating on consoles for gaming then all the game companies that either refuse to release pc versions of their games or laden them with intrusive drm strategies (such as requiring constant internet connections) or kill the secondary used pc game market will eventually push pc gamers away.

i would like to hear what you think, you play a lot of pc games, how much are you willing to put up with in terms of drm or not being able to sell/buy used pc games before you abandon the pc gaming scene and switch to a console? what would it take for you to switch to a console and never look back?

[Baldrick]

None.


I might try BF3 if they release a demo.

[MOVIEGEEK]

My video and game console* playing days are long gone, I prefer playing sports outdoors.

* I had an Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision

[yoda313]

Did I just see that you can vote for more than one choice? I selected two and it let me click vote. Don't know if they both count or not.

I am mostly a console gamer these days. Back in the early 90s I was mostly a pc gamer for the star wars games like xwing and jedi knight (later in the decade). Though I certainly had each iteration of a Nintendo console.

Now i am mostly on the 360 and ps3 as I can't and don't want to keep up on the pc horsepower race to keep up with the latest graphics demands. The console graphics are more than adequate for me.

I'm mostly action with some rpg in it. I love the Assassins Creed series. I just finished Red Dead Redemption earlier this year. I liked and finished Arkham Asylum. I don't know if I'll be able to or have time to get Arkham City when it comes out a little later this year but will eventually play it.

The two big games I am looking forward to are Assassins Creed Revelations and Uncharted 3. Both series are top notch with excellent stories and cutscenes. The gameplay in both series are phenomenal. THough I do have to admit the bad guys in uncharted can take an insane number of bullet hits before going down - but at least its consistent. ANd know there seems to be more stealth takedowns in 3 and I like the notion of grabing a bad guys grenade and sticking it to him and blowing him up.

Oh I'm also a Halo nut. I've finished each game except 1 and 2 and Halo wars. I do have Halo Wars but haven't dived into it enough to finish it. I'll get Halo CE anniversary sometime but probably not at first launch. I have too many other things to deal with but I want all the top titles but I might not get to all of em until some time next year.....

[dragonkeeper]

I play PC games, and as cool as some of the console games look I'm not wasting money on them. Hell to play all the console games i want to try I would need to buy an Xbox 360 $400 with connect, a playstation 2 $300 and a Wii $150 thats $850 on the consoles alone. If their is not a PC version of the game I'll never play it.

but it seems to me that there exists a logical disconnect in pc gamers that love first person shooters.

You're kidding right
I have multiple friends who have all three consoles and some where in the neighborhood of 20-30 games for each. With a most of these games costing upwards of $40, that's a minimum of $800 on the games with an average of probably $1000 for games. And another $500 in accessories for their consoles. Giving a total of $2350 for their gaming addiction and i'm sure that i'm still coming up short on the total. I find this a bit insane.

[deadrats]

I have multiple friends who have all three consoles and some where in the neighborhood of 20-30 games for each. With a most of these games costing upwards of $40, that's a minimum of $800 on the games with an average of probably $1000 for games. And another $500 in accessories for their consoles. Giving a total of $2350 for their gaming addiction and i'm sure that i'm still coming up short on the total. I find this a bit insane.

this is the logical disconnect i was talking about: the exact same argument applies to pc gaming, unless you pirate the game in question.

pc games also cost upwards of $40 each, the used market for them is significantly less robust than the console versions, with a console you typically get a good 3 or 4 years of quality game play, with pc games you're constantly playing a game of upgrade the expensive video card.

if i bought a PS3 brand new i knew i didn't have to upgrade my hardware again until the PS4 (due out in 2013) was released; if i build a comparably priced pc gaming system today i'm almost assured that in order to play the top games of 2013 more than likely i will have to upgrade my video card at the least.

pc gaming is significantly more expensive in the long term than console gaming, on the desktop for the most part there are 2 main driving forces for pc upgrades: video encoding/editing and gaming. SB, thanks to QS, has effectively eliminated the need for constant upgrading in order to achieve sufficient video performance so the only thing left is gaming.

seriously, add up how much your gaming rig has cost you, in terms of processor, motherboard, cooling, power supply, ram, video card, sound card, games and upgrades and tell me that you haven't easily gone past the 2 grand mark; not to mention that you are looking at a guy that bought all 3 consoles + about 90 games, not really a fair comparison, the average console gamer buys 1 console and maybe a dozen games.

[Bjs]

It would be other ... mind games ... mess with peoples heads

[mrswla]

Cornhole, Softball, Bowling, Billards...In that order

[edDV]

Some of each but I maintain a side machine for Flight Simulation.

[PuzZLeR]

Video is my "video game" of today.

The hardcore gamer enthusiast in me has suffered an impotence for years now and I don't see it coming back any time soon.

I had an Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision

Tron Deadly Discs is still one of the most amazing games - even today.

[thezanny]

I love the Call of Duty series.

[edDV]

I love the Call of Duty series.

When I retire, I will deal with "Call of Duty" series. Too time consuming.

[dragonkeeper]

this is the logical disconnect i was talking about: the exact same argument applies to pc gaming, unless you pirate the game in question.

In your first post you seem to specifically point out PC gamers as being the insane ones of the bunch. I concur it goes both ways.

you're constantly playing a game of upgrade the expensive video card.

I would disagree at most i upgrade every two years but lately its been like 3 years or so. I only upgrade when their is a major advancement in the tech.

i'm almost assured that in order to play the top games of 2013 more than likely i will have to upgrade my video card at the least.

Agreed but the price of the video card is significantly less than buying three consoles. I will admit i do upgrade my PSU when I upgrade video cards. So the total is closer to $500 for a video upgrade.

seriously, add up how much your gaming rig has cost you, in terms of processor, motherboard, cooling, power supply, ram, video card, sound card, games and upgrades and tell me that you haven't easily gone past the 2 grand mark; not to mention that you are looking at a guy that bought all 3 consoles + about 90 games, not really a fair comparison, the average console gamer buys 1 console and maybe a dozen games.

My gaming rig cost me a little over $1500, $1900 if you throw in the price of the monitor, but I get the added benefit of having a desktop workstation. For those who have gone all out on their consoles they still need to spend additional funds to get a PC of some sorts, an average of $600. This is a two year old unit which uses a quad core CPU running at 3.4 GHZ. And based on current game specs, pretty much every PC game out there i can run at highest resolution and get at a good frame rate. It will probably be late 2012 or mid 2013 before i upgrade again and in all likely hood it will only by my video card $300-$500 a lot less than buying every next gen gaming console.
And if we're speaking about the average user, i would say the average PC games spends about $500 on their gaming rig, which is the average price for a computer at Wal-mart. And they buy one game, WOW.Which is about $115 if you buy all the various expansion packs.

[deadmeow]

I prefer to play old 8 bit games, more often through emulation, as I do not have a CRT television anymore, and a digital picture is better on an LCD.

I also like to play football games on my Dreamcast hooked up to my LCD tv via VGA, which looks really good, and the PS2, which looks good on component cables.

As for internet gaming, I like to play Sega Genesis Madden/Bill Walsh and NHL, and Star Wars Battlefront II. I have found that internet gaming seems to work better on PC's than consoles. However, I do agree with many that it makes more sense to buy a console for serious gaming, rather than spend serious money on a gaming PC that needs to be upgraded often, if one wants to max out the graphics on the newest games.

The serious FPS players like to use the mouse and keyboard (over a gamepad), so this is why many lean towards high end computers over consoles.

[usually_quiet]

I play simple video games, and once in a while word games and puzzles. When the family gets together, we often play cards, or board games, or a form of dominoes.

[lordsmurf]

I don't.
Want to, but don't have the time.

Mario Wii would be it, if I did.
Mario Kart Wii, if not playing alone.

[yoda313]

Hell to play all the console games i want to try I would need to buy an Xbox 360 $400 with connect,

Seriously? You don't have to get kinect to play the best games on the 360.

Now if you're the more casual gamer than yes I see your point. But if you just want call of duty or halo or whatever you don't need kinect.

I have a ps3 and a 360 and I don't have MOVE or KINECT. Not enough reason to do so. I got rid of my WII because there wasn't anything worth playing (to me that is).

I do have the eye camera for the ps3 but that is so I can do video chat with family in another state.

@dragonkeeper - yes you have to have a computer these days but that is independent of gaming. Chances are you already had a computer before you got a gaming console. And unless you are doing cutting edge video or graphics work virtually any computer of any type from the last five years is more than adequate for surfing the net and typing papers. If you're not gaming on the computer and your not a video/graphics person you can get by with a very very basic low end pc with no problems.

Deadrats has two good points - resale of computer games is really tough since gamestop isn't taking in used pc games anymore that I am aware of. So that leaves ebay or mom+pop type competitors to gamestop that would still take used pc games.

And the cost to upgrade pcs is still there. Even if you're not the pickiest you still have to get a new graphics card eventually. Whereas you can still play any 360 or ps3 game on any ps3 or 360 console. No changes needed. Now MOVE and KINECT are different but you only have the hardware as a one time investment (unless they come around and do the apple thing of having "KINECT 2.0" or MOVE 2.0 and require new hardware purchases which would be insane) and you DON'T have to have those to play the top games. Those are just fads now and not in the serious gamer world yet.

[the_man_one]

i play nothing at the moment... years ago i had an addiction to everquest mmorpg & dabbled in evony for a bit

[fritzi93]

I voted "physical sports games", since I shoot *trap* competitively. (No, not "skeet"). Although trap is not a physically demanding sport that only the young can play. Experience and mental control are weighty advantages, so old guys can be competitive in trap.

I'm with Moviegeek, my console game days ended with the Atari 2600.

[lacywest]

it seems to me that there exists a logical disconnect in pc gamers that love first person shooters.

these types of gamers consider a 21"-24" inch monitor to be "big", they spend $300, $400, $500 and up on a graphics solutions (in some cases dual gpu or sli setups) to play a game at really high resolutions with AA and AF enabled at really high frame rates but they never ask themselves why they are doing this.
i just don't get it.

?

I use a Nvidia 9500GT ... video component out ... to a Sony 31.5 Inch LCD HDTV and sit in front of it ... just out of arm's reach.

Half Life 2 Death Match is my online game ... my most newest game to play is Crysis 2. My sound system is from a Pioneer VSX - 815 Receiver ... with AR speakers hooked up. My setup can be very loud out here in the garage.

My step grandson [18 in DEC 2011] plays XBOX games in the living room ... dont seem like much fun sitting 15 feet away from a 50 inch Sony HDTV. His video and audio connection is ... yellow - Composite - Video .... and a White and Red ... simple stereo connection. I like playing games on my PC monitor about 2.5 feet away.

[dragonkeeper]

Now if you're the more casual gamer than yes I see your point. But if you just want call of duty or halo or whatever you don't need kinect.

Was going from the hard core games aspect of having to have everything. I know my friends have virtually every conceivable add on for their consoles.

Chances are you already had a computer before you got a gaming console. And unless you are doing cutting edge video or graphics work virtually any computer of any type from the last five years is more than adequate for surfing the net and typing papers. If you're not gaming on the computer and your not a video/graphics person you can get by with a very very basic low end pc with no problems.

I agree with you here, problem is i don't know anyone who buys a PC that doesn't eventually want to do more with it than its capable of, hence the reason I'm able to buy all the toys i have. All my console gamer friends do indeed have middle of the road laptops but when they want to convert a Blu-ray or edit some video to make a dvd they usually borrow one of my laptops or use on of my computers.

Deadrats has two good points - resale of computer games is really tough since gamestop isn't taking in used pc games anymore that I am aware of. So that leaves ebay or mom+pop type competitors to gamestop that would still take used pc games.

I don't sell any of my media keep everything.

And the cost to upgrade pcs is still there. Even if you're not the pickiest you still have to get a new graphics card eventually. Whereas you can still play any 360 or ps3 game on any ps3 or 360 console. No changes needed.

I'm in agreement here as well.
The only time I usually upgrade video card is when new gaming engine comes out and a new card is required to be able to play new games in high quality settings. Which doesn't happen as much as it used to I've heard their may be a couple of new gaming engines slated for release in 2013, and i can expect to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $500. On the other hand new gaming engine for consoles mean new console will be released and for the hardcore console gamer who buys all three so he can play the latest games which are only available on a given console they have to spend something in the neighborhood of $1500.

[dragonkeeper]

I play MMOs mainly played WOW for years, then got bored with it. Starting Rift now, but it is so similar to WOW that i don't think it will keep my interest long. Played a lot of Far Cry and Max Payne, dabbled in StarCraft 2.

[yoda313]

All my console gamer friends do indeed have middle of the road laptops but when they want to convert a Blu-ray or edit some video to make a dvd they usually borrow one of my laptops or use on of my computers.

Thats more of a middle ground there. They aren't full on techies that want to do total graphics but want ripping and encoding abilities. They'd probably be better off going with a desktop so they could do piecemeal upgrades more easily than with a laptop.

But I'm sure there are plenty of console gamers who only surf the net with there computers and could care less what it truly is capable of doing.