Judging by how almost every major video game title is being released for the PC. I say the PC is the best platform this gaming cycle over both the Xbox360 and the PS3.

Sure, you have to wait longer for the PC release, but the price is still 40-50 dollars. Some game have issues, but a patch usually fixes it. PC's have their own live network, it's called Steam. Microsoft Live is also available and you get all the benefits of Xbox Live without paying for it. You can even play games against Xbox Live members.

Between the red ring of death, and the lack luster PS3 version of games, it's pretty obvious why the PC  might be the silent king. Especially, when you consider that both the Xbox360 and the PS3 are PC's with inferior GPU's.


Thoughts?

That would be true if people bought those games on the PC and didn't pirate them like they do.

I'm part of the problem because I haven't bought a game in a LOOOONG time.
I rent console games off GameFly, 'acquire' PC games.  I know it's wrong...

I don't think so. I have issues with multiplatform PC releases.

"I know I'm part of the problem, but I haven't bought a game in a LOOOONG time.I rent console games off GameFly, 'acquire' PC games.  I know it's wrong..."

People ever doubted the PC was the superior platform? :P

All platforms have strengths and weaknesses, ultimately its what suits the player the best. Personally I'm more into PC gaming than console gaming, but thats partly because I find the current gen consoles to be a waste of time / money.

I could go on, but I'm heading to bed, 3:20am here. I expect by the time I wake up this topic will be a few pages long and hopefully not locked. So fanboys, behave!

I always liked console gaming, but back when PC had tons of great unique titles in the 90's and early 00's, I was more PC gamer than console gamer.  Meanwhile consoles have adopted much of what I liked about PC gaming, while still maintaining a portion of unique experiences.  I gave up on cutting edge PC gaming a few years ago (at least until things change).   DRM, aimbots, the cost, bugs, and waiting for games all made a considerable change in my opinion of PC gaming.  It came down to a lot of specific incidents, between a few games I bought not working right, to odd performance problems in other games, and unenjoyable online experiences.  Updating to drivers that helped the newest games work but partially broke older games, I just had enough.

Much of what I've really enjoyed this generation has been console exclusive as well.  Pixeljunk Monsters, Crackdown, Castle Crashers, Culdcept Saga...  I'm one of those guys that doesn't ever like to wait for games either.  I imported Virtua Fighter 5 and Minna no Golf 5 just to have them earlier.

I think there's still a lot of value in PC gaming, but it isn't the clear winner it used to be IMO.

I think you have a good point, I haven't been much of a PC gamer myself, although I did recently get a decent gaming class PC, so I'm coming around. I think the big argument against it, at least from my point of view, is that I'd honestly rather spend 400 dollars or so on a Ps3 where the hardware is up to date for 7 years and technical issues are much more few and far between than have to upgrade a lot more to keep my PC running at the highest quality. In my honest opinion, that's worth the extra 10 dollars.
 
I'm definitely not saying that PC gaming is not as important, though, there are just some games (well all games if you wanna be nitpicky about it) out there that couldn't exist without it, and I love the system for that.

All games are being pirated over the internet, not just PC games. PC as well as other platforms still make a profit. Movies and Music are also being pirated, that's not stopping movies from going over 100 Million dollars in theaters, and it's not stopping pop crap like Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake from making millions and being nominated for awards.

I love my PC, and I've never pirated one game if that means anything. I've played more great games on my PC than my consoles this generation by a long shot, but I'm just grateful that I had a PC that could run those games. Some games were multiplatform, some exclusive and in some ways it has made me a little biased. There is nothing like a keyboard and mouse for certain games and it's hard to go back to dual analog. I do get the itch to play games on my TV though, so there's enough love to go around. My PC has won this race so far, but I've enjoyed the pleasure of my Wii and Xbox 360 quite a bit. This generation isn't over and the games are growing and my PC is getting old. I see a shift in my gaming life unless I can afford another PC, but I don't see that happening until 2011.

PC gaming rocks... If you have the stomach for it. Constantly having to upgrade gets very, very old. Yet, I still do it for the scant titles I end up playiing on it. I pretty much dig all platforms. But, as time goes by and i'm digging deeper and deeper to buy my upteenth graphics card, I am leaning more and more on my consoles. The fact that I can rent those games instead of buying or pirating also doesn't help the PC cause. Now, with the faint promise of OnLive, I fear that PC gaming may finally succum to that age old saying.. PC Gaming is dead.

I've always enjoyed PC Gaming, but when I had a PS2, the PS2 used to get all my love.

If your main gaming interests are FPS, RTS, MMO, RPG (western and action), and SIM (racing and flight), PC is the place to be. 

You can build a good PC for the range of 600-1000$. That's not much more than the price of your average console, and with that, you get access to a large selection of the current gen, near full backward compatibility, a few great exclusives, and the ability to emulate older consoles, right upto the sixth gen.

Still, it's also worth owning at least one console because they have their own good exclusives.

Maybe not in the US but the rest of World PC is still king of gaming platform.

 I like the PC platform as well as the console platform.  Both have their advantages.

Don't be silly. The PC has always been the superior platform. :P

It's really got nothing to do with "current gen titles", whatever that means in a PC context. Personally I think "AAA" games are less compelling now than they were just a few years ago. Gamers these days have unrealistic expectations when it comes to graphics and polish, but don't really seem to care if they're doing anything new or interesting or if they are experiencing a quality story. I've said it before, I don't mind the bigger companies moving onto consoles. You can already see smaller, more adaptive companies take their place on the PC market, and I think the new blood, if you will, is good for the industry.

I have a gaming PC but I still like to game on my Xbox primarily. It's nice to just put your game in the system, sit back on the couch, pick the controller up, and play it. Don't underestimate the power of convenience. Steam is amazing though.

Yeah personally I like PC best, partly because of the freedom in controls, settings, mods etc. but mostly it's the games. I get the small niche games like GalCiv2 other systems lack, and I get the big multiplat games like Fallout 3. Now they're even doing proper ports of games like DMC4 and Last Remnant for those interested. It's all good.

my reaction is, it may not be king in SALES, but when talking about a mature platform with the LARGEST MATURE community, nothing comes close

The PC will always be the king, but sometimes my 360 is just more convenient. 

"That would be true if people bought those games on the PC and didn't pirate them like they do."

"Judging by how almost every major video game title is being released for the PC. I say the PC is the best platform this gaming cycle over both the Xbox360 and the PS3. Sure, you have to wait longer for the PC release, but the price is still 40-50 dollars. Some game have issues, but a patch usually fixes it. PC's have their own live network, it's called Steam. Microsoft Live is also available and you get all the benefits of Xbox Live without paying for it. You can even play games against Xbox Live members. Between the red ring of death, and the lack luster PS3 version of games, it's pretty obvious why the PC  might be the silent king. Especially, when you consider that both the Xbox360 and the PS3 are PC's with inferior GPU's.Thoughts?"

"AV_Gamer said:

"Judging by how almost every major video game title is being released for the PC. I say the PC is the best platform this gaming cycle over both the Xbox360 and the PS3. Sure, you have to wait longer for the PC release, but the price is still 40-50 dollars. Some game have issues, but a patch usually fixes it. PC's have their own live network, it's called Steam. Microsoft Live is also available and you get all the benefits of Xbox Live without paying for it. You can even play games against Xbox Live members. Between the red ring of death, and the lack luster PS3 version of games, it's pretty obvious why the PC  might be the silent king. Especially, when you consider that both the Xbox360 and the PS3 are PC's with inferior GPU's.Thoughts?"

That doesn't say much.  If games are developed for consoles, they can optimize all they want to make it look amazing and run flawlessly on that console, and then when they make the PC version there's always a ton of problems.  Make a nice looking PC game, and it's bound to be a system hog and because everyone's PC is different there are always bugs and problems.  Game companies make the game for a console, and then put it on the PC just to try and grab some more sales.  PC is kind of in the shadow of console gaming, for example, PC games sometimes come out far later than the console versions, because it's not a priority.  Basically the only thing you have is a potentially more powerful system, if you're willing to pay for it, and you're going to need it because if you get some console game it's not going to be optimized for your PC at all."

This completely false  for several reasons. For one, both the PS3 and the Xbox360 are PC's. So in a since you're not even buying consoles anymore, you buying less priced PC's. Secondly, PC games come last, not because the developers are looking to make extra money, but because they know that the main sales of their games are in so called consoles. They know that everyone doesn't have a gaming PC, so they maximize console profit first. They always intend to release a PC version of a game, they just wait and do it later. Thirdly, PC games going back decades have bugs in them. That's nothing new to a PC gamer. However,  updates and patches fixed those problems and all is well. Lastly, PC games have always tested the power of a system. It's nothing new to a person who plays games on the PC. However, today, a person can easily spend 300-600 dollars on a modern PC. Update the ram and the graphics card. And SURPRISE!. You now have a PC that can play current PC games. You don't have to spend 2000-3000 dollars to get your game on anymore.


Oh, and the optimization of console games over PC games is just silly. The PS3 has proven over and over that their system has problems optimizing multi-platform games, especially the big blockbusters.  Whats the most resent example? Oh yeah, Resident Evil 5. Also console games that are ported to the PC usually have better graphics, if it's running an a decent graphics card, and they are pretty affordable.

Understand, I'm not solely a PC gaming advocate. I just believe that in this gaming cycle, the PC is the Silent King, because most people are not  thinking about it.

I wouldn't go as far as saying PC is a king of anything other than, well, computing, but to pretend it's somehow an obsolette platform due to the rise of consoles is incredibly ignorant. I started gaming with arcade machines and consoles, and have recently gone back to them after a generation's break, but there's a vast amount of games you can either only get on PC, or they're more enjoyable on them. Sure, the high profile Hollywood-esque blockbusters are generally multi platform (we call these mainstream, casual, etc), but then you're forgetting all the great niches that primarily show up on PC. Turn based strategy games like Galactic Civilizations II and the upcoming Elemental, real time strategy games of any sort, FPS games (duh), the rise of the MMO (not neccesarily RPG), and of course it's the primary platform for creative independent developers, regardless of the amount of them that have found their way on the consoles. Nobody's thinking about the PC? Maybe it's just you.

"This completely false  for several reasons. For one, both the PS3 and the Xbox360 are PC's. So in a since you're not even buying consoles anymore, you buying less priced PC's. Secondly, PC games come last, not because the developers are looking to make extra money, but because they know that the main sales of their games are in so called consoles. They know that everyone doesn't have a gaming PC, so they maximize console profit first. They always intend to release a PC version of a game, they just wait and do it later. Thirdly, PC games going back decades have bugs in them. That's nothing new to a PC gamer. However,  updates and patches fixed those problems and all is well. Lastly, PC games have always tested the power of a system. It's nothing new to a person who plays games on the PC. However, today, a person can easily spend 300-600 dollars on a modern PC. Update the ram and the graphics card. And SURPRISE!. You now have a PC that can play current PC games. You don't have to spend 2000-3000 dollars to get your game on anymore. Oh, and the optimization of console games over PC games is just silly. The PS3 has proven over and over that their system has problems optimizing multi-platform games, especially the big blockbusters.  Whats the most resent example? Oh yeah, Resident Evil 5. Also console games that are ported to the PC usually have better graphics, if it's running an a decent graphics card, and they are pretty affordable. Understand, I'm not solely a PC gaming advocate. I just believe that in this gaming cycle, the PC is the Silent King, because most people are not  thinking about it. "

My 360 spends more time streaming Netflicks than it does gaming.

I still prefer my PC.  I upgrade every 3 years and play all the latest games just fine.  Steam is a godsend.  Steam and to a lesser degree Direct2Drive are one of the things that makes PC gaming so much better than consoles right now.  Why I can't buy full retail games over Xbox Live is still a mystery to me.  Having to buy discs is a real pain.  I want to be able to download it and play it.  Sony can take its Blu-Ray and shove it.  Just give us the DL and be done with it.

Final note, FPS belong on the PC.  Every FPS I have played on the console involves some form of auto aim to compensate for the shit controls.  That is not the way FPS were meant to be played.  It reminds me of sloppy, drunk sex with a condom.  :(  Not good times.

If the PC is a KIng then it controls a kingdom whose borders are endless but a kingdom plagued with free loaders.

I love my PC I can do everything on it Gaming, watching movies, chatting, getting my emails, looking for a job, try to find a date, create maps for my favorite games, make and edit video of my favorites games, play old 10 yo games, emulate old console games at high resolution, use any controller I want to use, get mods for my favorite game, don't have to use DvD for all my games I could think of more but I have to go play :P

PC is much better due to the variety of games you can play on them.  PC can do FPS, 3PS, RPG, MMO, RTS, TBS, Adventure, and almost any combination of those genres easily.  The only genres it doesn't really have are fighting and rhythm, and that's only because nobody's seriously tried to put them on PC.

The PC has always been king...

The PC has always been more expensive in the long run... don't deny it, you know it's true...

Refer to my post.  You're paying more for more content.  The ability to surf the web and have it not suck.  The ability to (almost always) reliably get free patches, bug fixes and content updates.  The ability to use your PC for stuff, that, y'know, isn't gaming.  Like work, or school, or just killing time.

You require a PC in your life.  If you spend the couple hundred bucks extra to make your PC gaming-worthy, and you factor in the 10-40$ less you spend on every PC game you buy, plus the 20-plus year back catalogue, you save a lot of money in the long run.

For multiplatform games, the pc is the clear winner since it has perfect graphics without the compromise of console's version of the game.

However right now it doesn't have as many exclusive AAA games like before, everything is now xboxed.