Do you think there will be an influx of pc gamers next gen?

Damian

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I think graphics fans are really going to go for the pc gaming, what do you guys think?
 
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I don't think so. I think that consoles offer the best graphics for the price, ease of use, and convenience. That is what drives people to consoles, not graphics alone.

This is the first time the consoles are considerably weaker than the pc's at launch, 3 or 4 years down the line the difference is going to be really noticeable this time around i think. And considering that devs lately are making more multiplatform games that would normally not even consider the pc is encouraging for me so. Graphics while not be all and end all plays a major part in some gamers minds. Why buy a game on console when the *much* superior version would come to pc's? I think it would make better games on a technical level be possible for pc's where it wasnt before.
 
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Graphics while not be all and end all plays a major part in some gamers minds. Why buy a game on console when the *much* superior version would come to pc's?

Because the graphics on a PC look great to the average gamer until they realize they need to spend $1,000+ for a good gaming PC compared to $400 for the latest console.
 
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I'm preparing a trap for a console player to show him what PC can do as he "heard" that PC's graphics beats consoles. Will I persuade him to switch to PC? Dunno, we'll see, I'll give my best.
It's not easy as proving that phonegames suck compared to PC. Then again, phonegames suck compared to consoles too.

But I don't think consoles are about to start falling. The problem is not prices. The problem is lack of quality consoles emulators on PC. Ppl heard dunno about God of War or something (IIRC) that's a console exclusive and they want to play that one.

Now where's that kickstarter project for 99.99% compatible PS3 emulator on PC?
See? Programmers are just lazy. Although they know I'd buy that emulator instead of hoping for whatever game ports. As I'll never buy a console.
 
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I think it's going to stay exactly the same.

Console fanatics and the PC Master Race will both claim supremacy, bound by lineage and cloistered fraternization
 
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I doubt it.

Consoles have a flat one time fee that's cheaper than a computer. Granted, we all know it's cheaper to build your own, but a lot of console owners can't/won't build their own making the price a lot higher than it needs to be. A lot of them also seem to think you constantly have to upgrade the PC for it to be viable. "My console will always run on the highest settings, you have to upgrade the PC all the time to stay at max!" Obviously flawed logic since "highest" console settings still lag behind but I see a lot of console owners argue this.

And consoles don't have to worry about system specs. All PS4s will be able to run every game made. Convenient as they don't need to troubleshoot if their OS needs UAC disabled, or run as admin, or drivers need to be updated. Just plug and play. Also seems to be a lot of complaining about mouse + keyboard (even though more and more games support controllers), and "All PC exclusives are RTS, MOBAs, or MMOs."
 
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Personally, I'd rather believe that the answer to this question rather depends on the played game genres than on the hardware.

Just take a look at the variaty of console games / genres which partially just don't exist on the PC platform or have died out there.

So, in my opinion, a chart displaying the number of played and different game genres on the consoles would be much more interesting - and in how far they could be ported towards the PC platform.

It's because the PC platform is - at least that's how I see it nowadays - quite degenerated : A few game genres dominate a whole platform.

The consoles - as far as I perceive them - have still far more diversity.

And the additional question is just this : Would users of the PC platform really accept and welcome this diversity (if it would shift towards to the PC) ?

And, remember, Hardware just cannot replace Fun or Gameplay.
 
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And, remember, Hardware just cannot replace Fun or Gameplay.

Very true. Unfortunately, the mainstream industry doesn't understand that and only cares about making as much money as possible from these "video games" they hear the kids are into.

With the over-reliance on "cinematic experiences" and stupid gimmicks, as well as the open contempt console makers have for the intelligence of their consumers, there should be a big move to PC, but I doubt we'll see it. They've been fed too much anti-PC propaganda over the years, and most of them can't even explain why they hate PCs without spouting the same old stupid arguments about cost and difficulty. The fact that people use the term "PC master race" says it all, really.
 
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Because the graphics on a PC look great to the average gamer until they realize they need to spend $1,000+ for a good gaming PC compared to $400 for the latest console.

I don't think it is as black and white as you suggest. The difference is with a PC you can actually upgrade so anyone with some existing parts can get it significantly cheaper. I upgraded my 10 year old computer for US$560 and it likely would have been cheaper if I lived in the US or another country with cheaper computer parts. That is for a i5-4670 with 16gig of ram - superior to both the new consoles and in the next 3-4 years the difference is only going to become more pronounced. In terms of the GPU yes that makes it quite a bit more expensive but nowhere near 1000. And at least the PC has backwards compatibility (and can even run ps1/2 games just fine) ;)

In terms of raw price though you are certainly correct.
 
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I don't think it is as black and white as you suggest. The difference is with a PC you can actually upgrade so anyone with some existing parts can get it significantly cheaper. I upgraded my 10 year old computer for US$560 and it likely would have been cheaper if I lived in the US or another country with cheaper computer parts. That is for a i5-4670 with 16gig of ram - superior to both the new consoles and in the next 3-4 years the difference is only going to become more pronounced. In terms of the GPU yes that makes it quite a bit more expensive but nowhere near 1000. And at least the PC has backwards compatibility (and can even run ps1/2 games just fine) ;)

I don't think that represents a typical scenario though. If someone happens to already have an upgradable computer and the knowledge to do it themselves, that's great, but I don't think the majority do.
 
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If I were to build a gaming PC I wouldn't really know where to spend 1000€. I'm talking about a machine for 1080p gaming, with HDMI to connect to my TV, cordless input devices, more than enough video & audio functionality to replace my Blu-Ray player and my media player as playback devices, and normal office funtionality.



on topic:

The number of console players will probably increase because the new consoles will reach a graphics quality which is more than "good enough". Even the current fugly graphics are good enough for people who don't know better.
 
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Unfortunately, seeing how PC sales are plummeting, PC gaming will also decrease.

This has nothing to do with consoles in itself, but rather the fact that smart phones and tablets are killing PC sales, which will also have a consequence on PC game sales.
 
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GFLOPS don't mean much when you compare it to the advantages of having a single platform where you can utilise everything to its fullest extent, without worrying about whether it can run on low-end hardware.

This is a very old and simple fact that, apparently, needs to be mentioned every single generation when this same argument comes up.
 
I don't think so. I think that consoles offer the best graphics for the price, ease of use, and convenience. That is what drives people to consoles, not graphics alone.

Exactly. It is also a lifestyle choice. For many people it is unthinkable to sit down at a desk like they're at work and to play with m+k. They want their couch, they want their big screen TV, they want their 5.1 home cinema living room surround sound system and when a friend comes over they want to watch football/soccer on said TV and then afterwards plug in the pads to play some FIFA or Madden while slouching about half-wasted all over their couch ;) .

Also, if you look at Steam surveys the amount of gamers who give a damn about graphics is highly overestimated (most of the time by gamers who actually do give a damn or two).
Only a very low percentage of PC gamers has a PC that is capable of producing significantly better graphics than a current gen console. Most people are stuck with low/mid range systems and just don't really care about image quality as long as the game just works.

So, nope, no influx of PC gamers to be seen anywhere. Quite the contrary, I'm afraid. With the retarded hype around the Xbox One and the PS4 there is a pretty fat chance that no one will even be talking about PC gaming for the next couple of years. The cycle from last gen will start all over again.... exclusives, timed exclusives, PC gaming is dead... blahblahblah... until in four or five years PC gaming is all of a sudden rediscovered as not being so bad after all when the consoles start looking old again.
 
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It has certainly happened enough times that you have to wonder what exactly long-term memory means to most people :)

It doesn't bode well for the future of our economy and that wonderful recession - if this is how easy we forget!
 
Unfortunately, seeing how PC sales are plummeting, PC gaming will also decrease.

This has nothing to do with consoles in itself, but rather the fact that smart phones and tablets are killing PC sales, which will also have a consequence on PC game sales.
This is true. Audience was stupid enough to buy horse armor then, and today is even more stupid for buying abnormally expensive crap stuff in "free" phonegames.
When will ppl learn there are games you pay for only once and have everything in them? Seems never. We needed laws to deal with drugs, when will we get laws that deal with frauds?
 
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The only pitfall out there for consoles that I see is the threat of not being able to share games. Seems to me that it's fairly convenient for one kid to bring his game disk over to a friend's house and immediately start playing- no install, no configuring, no registration. It's instant and it's guaranteed since every console (within a given brand) is identical from house to house. If some of the hype turns out to be true and the console guys DRM themselves to death, there might be a swing toward PCs since a major convenience of consoles will be instantly eliminated.
 
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I think that the surge of AAA games on the Humble Bundle at a rediculous low cost is a strong driver and has had a strong influence on people changing their preference to PC.

These Humble Bundle sales are/were an eye opener for many console gamers to the wealth of features and low cost of PC gaming.

The same applies to older generation who are used to consoles, they are now returning to PC after seeing their favourite past times on GoG and how cheap and accessible they are.
 
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