[Rant] PC gaming is too expensive. 'Sup consoles.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

I like games where you unlock stuff. I'm not doing all the skill points in Ratchet and Clank just for the unlockables, but it is kinda nice to get something as a reward for doing all of it (though I am opposed to games like Haven where you have to do freaking ridiculous things in order to get a decent ending).

Bad example on my part, which I now realize looking back on my post.

Unlockables like costumes or joke weapons are fine. However, take games like F-Zero or Wip3out. Setting tracks and vehicles, i.e. stuff that fundamentally affects how the game is played or at least make up a significant element of the game, as unlockables, is heinous beyond the descriptive capacity of the English language.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

ps3 just got PS1, PS2 and DVD upscaling last night..pretty neat stuff...and this is comming from someone whos more a PC gamer then a console gamer..but during this dry spell that seems to be changing..

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by flakpyro

ps3 just got PS1, PS2 and DVD upscaling last night..pretty neat stuff...and this is comming from someone whos more a PC gamer then a console gamer..but during this dry spell that seems to be changing..

Funny that the industry considers itself on the upswing. Although I guess if you're not a fan of MMOs, then you might be right about the dry spell thing.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by CelticWhisper

Bad example on my part, which I now realize looking back on my post.

Unlockables like costumes or joke weapons are fine. However, take games like F-Zero or Wip3out. Setting tracks and vehicles, i.e. stuff that fundamentally affects how the game is played or at least make up a significant element of the game, as unlockables, is heinous beyond the descriptive capacity of the English language.

How so? For me, a lot of the fun was unlocking the tracks in F-Zero, and I felt a terrific sense of accomplishment when I unlocked the latest cup in F-Zero GX. The AX tracks were bullcrap, yeah, but that was less a symptom of them being unlockable and more a symptom of there being about 2 or 3 friggin' AX cabinets in the entire US.

Besides, a LOT of the stuff that's unlockable are things that would completely destroy the balance and difficulty of the game if they were made available from the start, such as the bonus weapons in RE4. You can't deny that the game would be a LOT less challenging, scary, and... well, fun if you started the game with the Infinite Rocket Launcher.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Guru

Funny that the industry considers itself on the upswing. Although I guess if you're not a fan of MMOs, then you might be right about the dry spell thing.

yeah not a huge fan of MMOs, mostly FPS titles on PC with the odd RTS/sim so its been a little dry this year but it should pick up later on with Quake wars, Cyrsis, Bio shock, Unreal 3, HL2 EP2, Team fortress 2, portal, etc.

I find it kinda funny the indrusty considers itself on the upswing when everytime i go to EB games the pc game shelf space is smaller and smaller, a very sad thing to see...of course thats EB games

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by flakpyro

ps3 just got PS1, PS2 and DVD upscaling last night..pretty neat stuff...and this is comming from someone whos more a PC gamer then a console gamer..but during this dry spell that seems to be changing..

Oh great, now 2D games will look even shittier since they're trying to force them into higher quality which they aren't made for.

After purchasing my HDTV I can't play shmups very well. It depends on the shooter actually, some of them look great, others not so much. Since the quality is upscaled it's difficult to see the hitbox, but it does look nicer (albeit, blurry).

Actually there is a device that does this. It's called Xploder HDTV Selector, and it can run PS2 games after selecting 480p/720p/1080i, 60/50Hz, PAL or NTSC. Of course it isn't proper and it still looks bad.


PC gaming is okay. Just okay because I have a pretty bad graphics card (Geforce 5100FX) and only 256MB RAM, so I can't run games like Oblivion. I wouldn't rush out and buy more RAM and a new graphics card to purchase and play Oblivion with - since I own a 360.

Sure the 360 version doesn't have those cool looking japanese Oblivion mods or mods in general, or fixes or anything like that, and slowdown. But it costs far less then upgrading does. The game still looks great and you're playing it on your own TV. If you're playing it on a monitor, it's a different experience.

Regardless of this the faces in Oblivion don't change facial expressions

Despite the PC bashing in this thread, mouse and keyboard support for the PS3 and 360 need to be made apparent by Microsoft and Sony. This is a requirement. I CANNOT enjoy games like Broken Sword, Discworld (any point-and-click games) or FPS games with a controller.

With a Wii remote? Sure why not. Makes sense.

Oh "but you get used to the second analog stick" I hear someone say. Suck my ass, the right analog stick is lame and I hate it and I've been playing with a keyboard and mouse for years so why should I have to re-learn my aiming all over again?

Microsoft make keyboards and mice, why can't they make a keyboard and mouse for the 360 controller (and have it plugged into the bottom of the controller)?

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Elixir

Oh great, now 2D games will look even shittier since they're trying to force them into higher quality which they aren't made for.

I'm pretty sure that they aren't forcing anything and it's an optional feature, buddy.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Who says it's optional?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Common sense does (and the Sony press release, if you want to look for it).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I can barely browse the internet outside of gff as it is without being told to fetch. Link?

My tv automatically upscales the quality of anything using component to 480p but doesn't tell you, I doubt there's a Low Quality / High Quality option in PS3's option for PS1 and PS2 games.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Quote:

SCEA is enhancing the PS3 user experience by enabling PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games to be upscaled to HD resolution, up to 1080p. Classic games as well as recently released titles can now be enjoyed like never before. And PS3 system now has the capability to upscale DVD videos to HD quality (up to 1080p), a feature typically limited to top-of-the-line DVD players. Upscaling games requires an HDMI or component AV cable, while upscaling DVD-ROM (including DVD Video content) requires an HDMI cable and HDMI compatible TV set.

From a thread on PS3 official forums:

Quote:

Under PS/PS2 Upscaling the options are Off, Normal, Full Screen.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Oh hey, that's really neat. But it's not truly high definition for old generations of gaming, it would just make it playable while in that HD mode. I can't imagine what some of the older PS1 games would look like upscaled to such high HD modes. Would 2D games be upscaled to a maximum of 480p and 3D games upscaled to..? I don't know how that would work.

I was speaking idiomatically.

This site shows a screenshot with upscaling on and off with GoW2

http://super.gameshot.net/ps3/zboard...s3_snap&no=867


Avsforum members seem to think the ps3 DVD upscaling is very nice and better then some higher end stand alone players it looks like...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by BlueMikey

I don't understand why anyone needs to have the newest PC games right now.

Gamers just tend to be like this. See also: people camping out for new consoles. It's as though a new release just wouldn't be as fun if they couldn't be among the first people to update their blogs with a launch day reaction.

Most amazing jew boots

Yeah but you can't then complain about the price of gaming, is my point.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I agree, well, sort of if that was your point, that it's a zero-sum argument to point out how expensive PC games are, when console gaming can be just as expensive. I think we all buy, purchase, and follow games in different habits. I tend to wait on releases these days, rather than purchase off the bat for console games. Mostly because 50-60 dollars on a game tends to add up. Also (Provided this even applies to you) if you're import savvy, think of how many versions of Guilty Gear XX you've bought, or the Kingdom Hearts and International versions of Final Fantasy you might have dropped dollars on, or that obscure sh'ump from Japan you just purchased. It adds up, and nearly matches up when you think about the "hassle" or "cost" of PC gaming. Hell, then there's the Special Edition of Persona 3 that may or may not be coming to the US. There's a point where depending on how you purchase and play, you may or may not be on the winning end of things as far as money goes.

Originally Posted by Skexis

The reason I love PC gaming is that you can always go back and play your older games at the same time. So I see it as an investment not just in future games, but in past ones as well. While you don't need the latest stuff to be able to play older games, it does help if you want to run them concurrently (like having a larger hard drive.)

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

All the PC games I do play are the older games several odd years ago...

Gonna resonate with the sentiment of these two posts. Sort of. Like so many others, the one defining features of PC gaming which brings me back is the way fan communities can contribute to older titles.

Aside from doing things like making certain things in Elder Scrolls games more acceptable/better/complete/whatever.

It's typical, but I enjoy seeing projects that add new modes to games or put a fresh coat of paint on an older title. Because of this consistency, something I've come to expect. I still play Freespace 2, and the recently released Source Code put several new projects in development. Of course they are all fan projects, but if you happen to dig Battlestar Galactica or even Star Fox, there's something there for you. At the very least, the game has high resolution texture mods now, so it looks better than ever and I can continue to play it knowing full well that there will probably never be a sequel.

In contrast, Marvel Ultimate Alliance for the X-Box 360 has a patch that implements new characters, yet there's an Ultimate Alliance - Gold Edition release so they can add dialog and scenarios for these new characters. Somehow, I don't see myself dropping money on the game again. It wasn't that great in the first place. However, I can imagine there's someone out there who will. And the import question comes to mind again.

I think it'd have been more poignant to title the thread "PC gaming has changed. 'Sup consoles." While I believe that at the current standard, software and hardware are things that both PCs and Consoles seem to even out on in terms of overall money spent (especially over time), the new Vista operating system and the way games are currently for the PC are entirely different beasts. I agree with the sentiment that PC games just aren't as inventive or fun these days compared to Console games. I can harp on about classic titles, but the only current generation title I'm looking forward to is Bioshock.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by flakpyro

I find it kinda funny the indrusty considers itself on the upswing when everytime i go to EB games the pc game shelf space is smaller and smaller, a very sad thing to see...of course thats EB games

I would say the PC section in the local Gamestops has shrunk to about 10% of the shelf space, whereas 5 years ago it was 30% of the shelf space and 10 years ago it would have been 50% of the shelf space.

Also, this needs to be said about PC gaming: installation. If I wanted to install all my PC games to be able to play them at will as easily as my console games, I would need probably 1 terabyte of storage (if you count mods, which as they're seen as a "plus" on the PC side, we'll have to count here). On the other hand, if I have 200 console games, it's simply a matter of physical storage space. Still, it's easier/faster to dig a game out of a shelf in the closet than to install a PC game and apply all the patches etc.

For example, I haven't even re-installed UT2k4 after my last OS reinstall because with my maps/mods it takes up about 50GB of space. I'm thinking of buying a 500GB HD when they come down in price. I guess you could say this is similar to having to buy memory cards to store game saves, but that fad has come/gone. In the cartridge days they used battery backups or passwords, and now with the 360, Wii, and PS3 all having internal storage, memory cards are a thing of the past...

There's nowhere I can't reach.