PC Purists

I feel like with the new generation of consoles coming out in a few months, which we really needed, there is still a group that straight up kills my mood. I understand that a people play games on super rigged PC's, but come on. Why ruin our excitement? Of course games will look better on PC, but why have so much hatred toward consoles? Anytime I see a forum or for some reason read the comment section of an article, all I see is people ignoring how much we need these new consoles and just laugh at us "poorer" people who enjoy the console game life.

Basically what I'm getting at, is I feel like one of the only ones excited for the next generation of consoles since I have a pretty bad PC. I preordered a PS4 because I'm insane, but come on. Been a long time since we could be excited for new consoles.

What really kills my mood is to see so many console gaming peasants settle for mediocrity!

Know what would be cool? If everyone stopped being a fanboy douche about their platform of choice.

For the record, I'm a "PC purist" but I'm still looking forward to the new console cycle because it will shake up the industry at large and benefit everyone, regardless of preferred platform.

Why do you care what they think? Be excited for whatever you want to be excited for.

1: "Of course games will look better on PC, but why have so much hatred toward consoles?" Facts = hatred? That sounds about in line with today's totally insane world.

2: Consoles are for poor people? If you shop smart for your hardware and wait for Steam sales I'd wager that PC gaming is far, far more affordable than a $500 box and $60 titles +subscriptions +internet to use those subscriptions.

3: Stop whining.

What does it matter that people you don't know have opinions you don't care about? Stop worrying about what the other guy is doing and focus on having fun with what you are doing.

It's not about settling. It's about going where the games are. As long as consoles get exclusives, the PC douche bags can scream all they want about being the master race. Games are what matter, not how many frames you can manage.

Even I prefer to play games on my PC, but what the hell is someone supposed to do for the countless games that aren't on PC? Keep screaming like an asshole? That's all that seems to be happening. If I wanted to play The Last of Us, how exactly should I do that? That's only one recent example. What about Forza 5, or killzone, or gears or halo or MGS? What then?

PC games will always look better, but consoles will always offer more value (for new games) and ease of use for the average consumer. People can play games like Bioshock Infinite on a machine that is 7 years old. Or they can go out and buy a machine for $200 that will play it. Yes, it doesn't look as good or run as well, but that's not the point. No one can build a PC that plays games for $200 and even for $400 or $500, you don't get the ease of putting in a disc and starting the game.

Why ruin you're excitement?

Why bring this whole "generation" thing into games?

Hardware generations are FAST on PC's - and SHOULD BE, with big leaps coming every 2-3 years.

Not this 7-8 year bullshit...

@syed117: sooooooooooo... my post was sarcasm. So there's that.

Now, now...let him rant. It is cute. :)

I mean, it's just as bad as the Xbone or Ps4 fanboy that only comes into a thread about the other console to rag on it.

Fact of the matter is, without consoles gaming wouldn't have been able to grow and survive for so long (just more people console game so they make more money). Also new gen consoles mean that the lowest common denominator has grown, so high end pc games will also enter the "next gen" without having to worry about running on a 360 or ps3. Next gen will get about medium settings for current gen games (obviously raised a bit by optimization) so that leaves room for the higher end to grow.

Now that is something I do find annoying: Revisionist history. Claiming that video games wouldn't survive or wouldn't be where it is today without consoles is highly suspect because looking around it seems like consoles are the fringe not the norm. The biggest games are not on consoles. They are on PC or portables/phones/tablets but yet fanboys are convinced the whole thing crumbles unless without the consoles.

I think games are better off with dedicated gaming console devices because there are more platforms offering different experiences but no one should be under the illusion it is the only source, the most popular, or even the biggest.

Consoles -- throttling AAA PC games since 2005.

/end trolling

I can only imagine what Doom III or HL2 would have been like had they been developed for consoles at the same. Luckily they were ported to the consoles later on.

PC Purists Master Race

There was a time when PC games were more separate from console games and were kind of there own thing, only bound by the limits of what consumer PC hardware was prevalent at the time. (And that upgraded constantly, as it still does) It was during that time that shitty ports of excellent PC games were the norm, NOT the other way around, and PC lead the charge in all technical innovations. (except for wonky and terrible shit like the Virtual Boy) For many that was considered a "special" time, where if you were in for the (admittedly) rough upgrade cycle of 2 years (as opposed to 5 or 6) then you got some tailor made games with the latest graphics and and media technology. (PCs had CDROM a couple of years before the Playstation or SegaCD came out)

Me, I'm just a little disappointed that we haven't been able to move realtime graphics technology forward for 8 YEARS because we've all had to cater to the "current" console hardware. Maybe it was the games I got into? I remember getting to play Command & Conquer for the first time and falling in love with RTS games, or that first time I booted up Doom on my 486 and was amazed at how well it ran. ("My Super Nintendo ain't got shit on this!") Even the beloved Goldeneye lost its charm to me after I had seen Half-Life the very next year.

I do think that age of technological leaps is almost behind us now, so the only the that matters any more is what kind of games you like to play. Some games are always going to be better on a particular platform. (mostly because their genres were created with that platform in mind) Play what you like, own the console (or PC) you want, and have fun gaming, that's what I say.

Sure there are the people who take the whole master race thing seriously but as a "PC purist" I'm crazy excited to see consoles be refreshed because holy shit they've been holding back PC's for a while. Now everyone can enjoy the perks of better hardware with consoles and even more so on PC because it's no longer held back for another while.

I'm sick of every time someone just points out that PCs are capable of doing something better than a console it's instantly construed as an insult to console folks and that they are gloating. I honestly don't remember the last time I ever seen someone act the stereotypical "master race" persona of mocking people. The reason you see so much discussion about PC this gen is because the PC market is an amazing place right now and there's less reasons than ever to downgrade in so many ways to use a console.

Just to name a few: PC's are able to do better graphics, pretty much everything is multiplatform these days so there's rarely an exclusive to get excited for, now they both require you to pay a monthly fee to play online and for services that are free on PC, pretty much every PC game has built in controller support so if you are one of the crazies that prefer a controller over a MKB you can have at it, PC hardware has slowed down and gotten cheaper than it ever has so you don't need to upgrade as often, and to top it all off thanks to all the digital stores like Steam PC games are crazy cheap. Often times $20-$30 cheaper than the same game on consoles.

That's why PC's always get brought up. Historically the console makers like to pretend PC doesn't exist but it's getting harder and harder to do so given the above mentioned.

The purpose consoles exist (besides money) is that they make affordable a current gen platform. That's fine by me. In fact I am grateful, or would be if my economic situation went south. The only thing that bothers me is that the first poster's argument seems rather generated. Guess I will have to walk down the street to see the crowds of pc purists mooning and thumbing their noses at consoles. Personally, I am thinking of buying one of the upcoming machines.

Otherwise I like Pc.

PCs will always look better because consoles are PCs with set specs and actual PCs are PCs that can be upgraded. That will never not be true. But consoles are the only reason devs put any effort into optimisation, so that ceiling does serve a real function. If people stopped talking about this it wouldnt magically be untrue and nobody is forcing you to read about it.

People say they dont care about graphics because they cant afford a good PC, but they still shit on Nintendo systems for not being pretty enough and watch comparison videos for 360/PS3 to nitpick textures. And I see that specific grade of stupid logic constantly, and I find it way more annoying than PC snobbery. But I know it will always be around and I just ignore it. That's about all you can do until someone is ready to educate themselves.

And really whatever Naughty Dog make for PS4 will probably look better than most things for PC. PC has the potential for a lot of things but few devs ever go that extra mile to tap into it other than maybe CDproject and Crytech.

I'm excited for ps4. So you are not alone. But I also would love to have a powerful PC as well. That's just a fantasy though.

ALL HAIL GABEN

@extomar: lol "Revisionist History"? Are you 12? Video games were shown to be profitable by the NES. Consoles are important. I don't care if you're a pc gamer or not. Consoles aren't fringe either. SMH

I have a decent PC but I'm still very excited for the new consoles. Just ignore it. There are many great things to love about the new machines.

The new consoles are a reason for every gamer to be excited. Even if you play exclusively on the pc, there are still benefits for you. Any PC gamer whose being dismissive about them probably doesn't know what he's talking about very well.

PC vs console has about as much weight as Team Jacob vs Team Edward. Don't get upset over something that is so trivial. Even the hardest of the hardcore PC Master Race knows that the new consoles are the biggest thing to happen in gaming in in the last ten years.

@syed117:

Ey sir he was just joking about it you didn't have to take it that seriously. :)

Also to add to this, I was once a console gamer too since I couldn't afford to build my own PC at the time but I did have a laptop and over time built up a library of games that I acquired during Steam sales; some of them I couldn't play properly (e.g. The WItcher 2). Once I was able to build my own PC, which took a lot of preparation on my part and a Tested.com article and video that featured the BitFenix Prodigy case that pushed over the edge on deciding to build my own PC, I was REALLY happy and incredibly gratified that I was to assemble this thing on my own and the end result was just glorious.

I haven't turned on my X360 as often as I did before to play games but I still do appreciate the fact that it was my trusty gaming ally for a long time and I do not abhor others who still play and are just planning to play on consoles. In fact, I could say that my experience with my console only bolstered my appreciation for not only PC games but all games in general. So while my PC is my preferred platform now, I am still excited for the next generation of gaming consoles and it could only mean just more great games for the coming years.

Every one just HUG IT OUT and BE GLAD that we're all benefiting from this.

fanboys of any type, console or PC or whatever, all kind of suck.

@bigjeffrey said:

Fact: This is an actual real-time screenshot. Just look how detailed his facial hair is. Amazing.

Yeah, its a bit tiresome.

I can ignore random forum douches easily enough, its when the GB crew shit on a current gen console game cus its not running at 60fps 1080p...ESPECIALLY Brad.

Anytime Brads in a console quicklook just time it till he whines about the frame rate. And its always an exaggeration. (for example Far Cry 3 on 360 is perfectly playable and enjoyable, i played and beat it on my 360 TWICE.) Don't let brad near any console games anymore, he just shits on them for no reason. Kinda gross.

It's not for no reason. He shits on them because they are so watered down compared to the PC version and he's right. The generation has gone on for too long. He wouldn't have said that 2 years ago, but now with games getting high resolution texture packs and running silky smooth, the difference is night and day between current consoles and the PC. They were all shitting on Saint's Row IV during that quick look.

After games like Skyrim and Sleeping Dogs came out having high resolution textures and running at 30+ FPS, it is easy to start seeing that graphically and performance wise the current consoles are shit. Brad won't say anything once the new consoles come out. It'll be another 5 years before they start complaining again.

@beachthunder said:

@bigjeffrey said:

Fact: This is an actual real-time screenshot. Just look how detailed his facial hair is. Amazing.

You should see it with PhysX enabled.

I am playing the "unplayable" 360 version of Saints Row 4 and somehow managing to enjoy myself.

Games is games, y'all. Let's just live and let play.

Well your version of FC3 must be different from the one I saw, because I experienced dips to below 10fps which is absolutely unacceptable. Even for console games, dips below 25 fps are not a good thing and are worthy of comment.

Besides, it's completely understandable why PC users have become increasingly pissed off at consoles. Thanks to the old hardware in the PS3 and 360, games haven't developed technically in several years. Hell, you can still max out the latest games on PC with cards from several gens ago.

PC's a better platform right now, but when the new consoles come out, who knows!

And I got into PC gaming because it was CHEAPER! I don't understand why people think its more expensive.

My road to PC Gaming...have a computer (which I'm sure 99 precent of people who use Giant Bomb have)...then I bought a $120 graphics card a couple years ago. I run nearly every game at full or near full settings. I only spent $120, and used my existing, fairly new computer...nothing special.

I never got into console gaming cuz it would cost me $300 to buy one, plus steam sales make the games far cheaper..plus day one many games on PC are either 40 or 50 dollars when the console version consistenly retail for only 60.

I just don't get why people make the claim that you need to have a crazy computer to play these games. The current consoles are 7+ years old...any PC around plus an OK graphics card can play most games near full settings fine. When the new consoles come out we'll see though.

@ravenlight said:

@beachthunder said:

@bigjeffrey said:

Fact: This is an actual real-time screenshot. Just look how detailed his facial hair is. Amazing.

You should see it with PhysX enabled.

And BeardFX...

The version you "saw" and then you "experienced" did you actually play FC3 on the 360? Or are you just making shit up. Your wording is very suspicious. I'll admit, i had a few dips during super crazy moments, most notably at the very end where theres like 12 helicopters and explosions EVERYWHERE. But the game was completely playable and enjoyable the entire time. Either you got a bad copy, or you didnt install it, or your 360 is dying if you say otherwise. Well you could also be lying, thats possible.

And games have developed technically in the past few years, yes they are limited by the hardware. That is a fact, but look at games that came out in the past two years, then look at games that came out 4-5 years ago. There's a HUGE difference. It's all optimization and getting every little bit you can out of it, and thats great.

Really? I believe you're exaggerating just a smidge here. And yeah, if some Grinch actually were out to ruin your fun, why would you care? Go buy your consoles and buy every game twice, the whole game industry needs your business.

So many people here saying so many stupid things like there's a wrong choice between console and PC. I have an Xbox 360, a PS3, and a damn good PC, and I'm glad I have all three.

I just got Dragon's Crown and loving it, so I'm glad I have a PS3. I also really like the Resistance and Killzone series.

I like Gears of War, so I'm glad I have an Xbox 360. Also, I just started playing through the Halo series for the first time. Yeah, I know I'm late to the party on this one, but they never really caught my eye. I bought Halo: CE Anniversary, and it was pretty fun. So, now I've been playing through the series on and off. I finished Halo 2 a couple weeks ago, and I'm going to get Halo 3 soon.

A few weeks ago I finished playing through Torchlight 2 with the fourth and final character, and I loved every minute with all characters. That is a damn good game, and I'm glad I upgraded my PC (not that it's super graphics intensive, but before my current PC, my other was over 5 years old, and it was time for an upgrade). Not so much just for this game, but for others that may be coming out and any other games I want to try out for it.

I know not everyone can afford to buy all the consoles and a PC, not to mention a library of games to support them, at the same time. So, look at the exclusives and control scheme you like best, along with any other features you want, and make a decision based on that. I, for one, am looking forward to playing some Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack on launch day, not to mention Destiny and Final Fantasy XV when they come out, along with a slew of others.

Just remember, there is no wrong answer. It's all about what you like. So, buy what you like and enjoy it, and to hell with everyone else.

Remember when there were no Xbox gamers/fanboys. Remember when there were no PS gamers/fanboys. Remember when there were no PC gamers/fanboys(/elitists). Remember when everyone was just a gamer. Me neither. *sigh* Not even Pepperidge Farm remembers those times.

Except you can get a PC for $500 that plays games better than its console counterparts. Plus, Steam is arguably a lot easier to manage than putting in a disk and starting a game. You click your mouse four times (if you own a Credit Card, if you need Paypal then you have another couple of mouse clicks and a password input), then you own a game, Steam automatically downloads the game onto your HD where it only takes a double-click to start playing. With consoles, you have to go to a store to buy a disk (or buy it online and wait a few days for it to arrive), then get up, put it in a drive, install the game to a HD (provided you are not stuck with a 20gig 360 HD that costs $100 to replace), then you have to patch your game (steam downloads are always up-to-date), then you have to deal with awful login problems (both my PS3 and 360 are shared between 3 other roommates), and then you get to play the game.

As for exclusives. Yeah, the lack of games like, "Last of Us," on PC is a bummer. I have been playing games that never dip below 30fps for so long now that it is incredibly jarring to me when I tried to play that game on my PS3 (I own every system except for an Ouya or Vita, and really, if you care enough about gaming as a hobby to the point where exclusives matter, why would you settle for one system). Not that the frame-rate was awful or anything, but it felt like it was a constant 25-30fps. The motion blur used in the game made the low frame-rate seem smoother and more acceptable than it would have been otherwise, but it still hurt my enjoyment of the game because there was always something taking me out of the experience. It was something that was always there, like a headphone that distorts in the left ear, or a crack in the screen of your phone.

Then there is Far Cry 3, it is the same thing. Once you notice problems like screen-tearing or low-fps, all that goes through my mind is, "why can I not just turn on V-sync?" or, "why can I not lower the world detail in order to get better performance?" You see, personal problems can be fixed when you are playing a PC game. Some people are not bothered by screen tearing, some people are willing to lose a couple of frames per second in order to rid themselves of the problem. It is the lack of control that bothers PC gamers when playing console games. We are being told, "No. Your preferences do not matter. You will play this game how we want you to play this game," and those kind of restrictions feel confining, limiting, and frustrating, not comforting.

As someone who's tried playing the 360 version of FC3, after plaything through the game twice on PC, I noticed the frame-rate-problem. It has the same problem that "Last of Us," has. The game felt like it was constantly running at 25fps or so. They just use a motion-blur technique that is similar to the motion-blur you are used to in film. This makes a game running at 25fps feel more smooth and less noticeable than it would be normally. Yet, if you are sensitive to that sort of frame-rate problem then you will notice it every time. I am not saying that the PC version is perfect either, every version of that game is fucked technically. Almost every PC gamer had problems with maintaining a consistent frame-rate, and that jumping from 60 to 45fps is jarring.

I feel that it fits in line with Crysis 2 on consoles. The 360 version was fine, but the PS3 version was running at a weird resolution, so if you looked at a circle it appeared more oval shaped than normal. It's something that the average person might not notice, but when you do, you will always see it.

Oh sure, i know that some people are more sensitive to frame rate than others. But thats more of a personal issue rather than a technical one. I'm not really that sensitive to frame rate issues. The only time i notice the difference between 60 and 30 fps is when the framerate changes. If theres a dip i'll notice it, but each one running perfectly at their respective rates, i'll barely notice unless i'm specifically trying to figure out which is which.

But again, thats more of a personal issue and doesn't really give you a reason to shit on an entire platform objectively when its a very subjective issue.

That being said, I'll always take a solid consistent 30 with rare dips, than 60 with frequent dips. To me, its the dips that are noticeable. Not the framerate itself.

@kaos_cracker: Don't take people on the internet to heart. A lot of people think that since they have the fortunate lifestyle that they do, everyone is fortunate enough to own a killer PC or all console platforms + a PC. There are so many possible disconnects with reality that a person can have, and often times you'll find those who spend most of their time on the internet are prone to having the most. It's really not worth it to get upset about or feel bad about your excitement or whatever. Be excited for the shit that excites you.

dude ... he was trolling and you totally fell for it. Chill out, it's just games. Play what you like on the system you like (unless that system is a console, because consoles suck).

On the flip side, I think PC gaming has actually been helped by this. The fact games had to be made to work on the console level for so long, meant that a lot more people than usual had PC's that could run games on mid-high settings and that's likely why we've seen Steam and other PC services doing so well for the past few years and developers paying so much more attention to PC ports.

When the next-gen kicks in and PC owners are forced to upgrade to keep up.. I don't think it's a trend that will continue, unfortunately. More people will be tempted to buy the new shiny consoles, rather than spend the money on upgrading.

They're not purists they're elitists.
If they were just purists they would shut the fuck up about their complexes and just let everyone enjoy what they want instead of screaming like a baby.

Exactly! Poor people disgust me greatly. I don't even know how to motivate myself to get out of bed withoput burning a hundred dollar bill, doing some coke of a lady's ass (I call them my console hoes) and pissing on a filthy console user.

Yeah, that's the way I look at it too. I really enjoy cranking up those visuals if I happen to be able to afford current hardware but it's not primarily what I'm on PC for. I just like the input, hardware and software options. I like the competition and more open market not entirely dependant on a closed system. I like the (practically) exclusive genres like RTS. I mean, you can bankrupt yourself with a ridiculous PC but there's barely any need to do that.

Now this here truly is a member of the glorious master race. Why limit your spending at all? Just buy all the things, peasants. You've got a point of course in that most of the systems usable for games have their strengths. The passive agressive fighting just comes from either side feeling slighted and marginalized at one time or another. For example PC users being bitter for a long time due to 360 and PS3 getting unduly hyped during their prime. But owning all or even most platforms is probably financially unrealistic for a broad segment of gamers. I'd personally have to think very hard about even buying two with all the accessories, subsciptions and - most importantly - as many games as possible.

Price isn't really what keeps people away from PC gaming. That's just a widely-purported myth. I think what keeps people away from PCs is them not understanding how to assemble them and them having a general disinterest in learning how. I think a significant number of people just find that level of commitment a bit much for a hobby. Speaking personally, whenever something goes wrong with my fucking laptop I freak out. I don't even want to imagine having to worry about something going wrong with something I have to build myself.

There's an undeniable appeal to being able to buy a box, and know that every game you buy on it will be optimized to it's exact specifications. On the other hand though, now that we are at the end of the console cycle, games are running poorer and poorer; and there's nothing you can upgrade on your console to make them run better. Also PCs have MMOs and RTS games, which I love, even if the gaming community has a whole has decided that they are all derivative garbage. Those are the types of games you can always lose yourself into it.

He was talking about how people present those facts, and how they act towards players of other platforms. Obviously. Stop acting intentionally dimwitted.

@ravenlight said:

@beachthunder said:

@bigjeffrey said:

Fact: This is an actual real-time screenshot. Just look how detailed his facial hair is. Amazing.

You should see it with PhysX enabled.

I've seen it. Now reality looks like shit to me.