Has PC gaming become pointless?

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Yup , these ppl have forgot the Gaming aspect of gaming and are arguing on everything else .

There's more to gaming than just graphics , games like Mario , Sonic attract players even today .

 

[Ethan_Hunt]

^I wouldn't deny the fact that games are games & you should just have fun playing them.But there is a huge difference between playing mario & playing Gears of War.Mario was made to be played on it's 8-bit glory with any regular TV as it wasn't anything special in terms of graphics.But high definitions consoles main purpose is to output High def resolutions which can only be achieved on an HDTV.Sure it can play on a CRT but I won't restrict it's powers to what the machine is actually capable of doing.

FYI those who think xbox360\ps3 su*ks with CRT tv--i have a Sony 21' non flat tv.probably kv2197.i dont have any complaints regarding how games run on it.i also have a Samsung 720p and graphics dont make that much difference like you ppl hype it

ROTFL! It makes the difference of earth & the moon when you are comparing both of them.I wouldn't say CRT display sucks but once you switch to HD resolutions you would never feel like going back to SDTV.And don't even tell me you didn't notice any difference with the graphic quality in HDTV & between your 21 inch CRT.

To put it in a better way I have a HD-DVD(720p) rip of Spiderman 3 & an original DVD for Spiderman 3.When I saw both of them,I didn't feel like even watching anything below 1280x720 resolution.All those HQ dvd rips in my collection felt pale in front of this HD-DVD rip.Thats how beautiful it is.

So it's not like we won't enjoy gaming on a regular TV but it's what you have paid for & you ought to get the full potential of out it.

 

[ring_wraith]

Agreed that the X360 and PS3 are supposed to look great and do look great on a HDTV, but he does have a point. There really is nothing wrong with using them on a CRT.... they still look great...

And I totally agree that people focus too much on the graphics of the game. Half of my friends played prey only because the graphics were nice even though the gameplay was broken. The gameplay is what matters people!
And hey, consoles rock on gameplay and immersivity. atleast in everything except FPS and RTS which were made to be played with controllers. And with the PS3 supporting KB+Mouse and the X360 probably gonna do it soon, this is set to change.

Accordin to me , the Wii represents gaming in it's true form. Average graphics but gameplay and immersivity that refuse to be beaten.

 

[nish_higher]

^ in other words---A pc game can't be enjoyed fully unless u have a 8800GTX or 2,a quad,4gb ram and a more than 21'' widescreen monitor..sice ''u wont restrict its powers''????

BTW i said there was a difference in CRT and HD but it cant be a major point in choosing between PC or a console.since not everyone can buy that rig and the same is with a good hdtv.at least first try using a good crt tv like that one.what i want to say is if u have a good crt tv u need not spend money on a hdtv right now.instead play on a crt and save money and get a better hdtv next yr when newer models come and prices fall.

hey i know we can pair a USB keyboard with xbox 360 but i have not tried it since i have PS/2.

 

[Ethan_Hunt]

^ in other words---A pc game can't be enjoyed fully unless u have a 8800GTX or 2,a quad,4gb ram and a more than 21'' widescreen monitor..sice ''u wont restrict its powers''????

You need to think before you actually say something.When I said restrict it's powers I was refering to the whole console's potential being capped with that CRT TV.Thats not something which I have paid for the console as I need it to display those 1080i output or at the very least the 720p one.With my current rig I have paid I don't tap it's potential due to any silly monitor resolution restriction but get a full 1280x1024 resolution with most games(except Crysis) & still get good playable frame rates.So if you are talking in terms of just playing the game then heck even a 14 inch CRT could run a Xbox 360 game but would you seriosuly be able to enjoy on it? If you do be my guest but if I ever get one then it's going to be paired only with an HDTV.Call me too nit-picky but that's how I prefer it.

 

[nish_higher]

yeah u r right but for those who cant afford that and still want to play games?now for 24000bucks u wont get a high end pc right?so whats the option left?ps2\ps3\360\wii.or get a pc that plays games at 800*600.and wont next year's games demand more than what u have in pc?that never happens with any console be it PS1 or nintendo ds.
even i dont play games on crt.i did that just to see how games look and trust me they look good enough to be played though FOR THOSE WHO CAN BUY HDTV THEY SHOULD BUY.

 

[Ethan_Hunt]

^That's ok I understand your point of view too.Actually the thing is everyone has different way of seeing things.In my case,I have seen the 360 run on a 29inch TV which looks good no doubt but after watching it on a 32inch & 40 inch HDTV nothing comes close to it.Believe me thats what I made up my mind for once I saw the quality on HDTV & believe me I would vouch for the smooth gameplay on console any day compared to a PC.I would be planning to buy a PS3 later on in 2008 perhaps why the prices fall for both the console & the HDTV & would check for the titles to expand as well.

 

[gxsaurav]

1.Consoles are too expensive? The HDTV is something you are going to buy sooner or later anyway. It is an investment. The PS3 and X360 can be had for the price of a high end GPU.

R U going to use the HDTV for games only? None of the TV Feeds in india whether cable TV or DishTV are HD compliant.

 

[Ethan_Hunt]

^I think he forgot to mention 'furture investment'.But anyways you can use it to play Blu Ray movie titles if you have a PS3.Albeit much costlier right now it would become a standard later on.

 

[gxsaurav]

^I think he forgot to mention 'furture investment'.But anyways you can use it to play Blu Ray movie titles if you have a PS3.Albeit much costlier right now it would become a standard later on.

Or HD DVD, both are almost same....

 

[Ethan_Hunt]

Exactly.Provided MS starts bundling HD DVD drives with the console & not sell it as a separate add-on accessory.This would be much more beneficial as PS3 is now matching the retail price point of the Xbox 360.

 

[nish_higher]

yeah that should be done and the accesories should be a lot cheaper than their current price.

 

[krates]

pc gaming is just worthless and if u buy a ps2 or xbox you will be in much more advantage then you can even think of

 

[ring_wraith]

^I think he forgot to mention 'furture investment'.But anyways you can use it to play Blu Ray movie titles if you have a PS3.Albeit much costlier right now it would become a standard later on.

yup. future inverstment is what i meant.

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

nyways even if you buy a 32" HDTV it's agood investment coz u can use ur PS3/360 to watch HD Content . i Personally watch movies(HD-DVD Rips , 8GB) using my 360 only coz watching it on a big screen is much enjoyable than a monitor .

Plus , i have all my dad's Classic Songs ripped onto my 360 HDD and he uses it to play his songs(using the bundled remote) . If space falls short , then i'll attach a 120 gig External HDD via USB n that'll work fine so no probs of space with 360 too , you can use internal hdd to save games and use external hdd to store everything else .

 

[Ethan_Hunt]

^which model do you have Zeeshan? Cause most of the HDTV's I know in the budget range say they can take 1080p signal inputs but actual resolution stands at 1366x768 which means it's downscalaing all the HD signals.Neverthless it still look so bloody beautiful.

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Mine's a 720p HDTV , will see n tell ya model .

Tt does not claim to support 1080p . It only supports 720p n if I set my 360 to 1080p it does not work . But yes , 720p is still much better than DVD res and i'm satisfied with it.

 

[nish_higher]

it might be Samsung HPT4254.its 42'' 720p.i have it.probably its the only 720p by samsung

 

[sabret00the]

1st of all very good thread...it is indeed a debatable question....but the tread name is misleading though

Has it?

Every two months there is a brand new piece of hardware that is released without which it is not possible to play games with all their glory.

For Example, i spent around 27,000 on a system with a core 2 duo E6550 and nVidia 8600 GT. And now, less than a month later i find it impossible to play the latest games at even mildly high settings with my PC. I will eventually be forced to upgrade to a penryn and series 9 GPU, costing me another bomb.

Well my dear friend that is PC gaming....as per Dr. Moore's law technology doubles itself in approximately 18 months...well in my case I spent close to 70K in March to build my new system...but going by the latest products in the market my system is obsolete but is it?

I feel like an idiot now, when i realize that i got have go an Xbox 360 premium for as low as Rs. 20,000. This would surely play every game for the next two years atleast at blistering frame rates, even if they don't look as good as their PC counterparts. But atleast i am assured that whatevet game i pick up for my console will work. Period.

No you dont...dont have to feel like an idiot...companies have to keep churning out new products to cut a niche in the competitive hardware industry...well looking from a macro perspective you might not get the clear picture but at a more micro level I say look around....how many of your neighbours do think really have a system like yours...believe me...not many...that's called socio economic trend...for eg. there are different kind of cars on the highway but few of them are sportcars...in otherwise most of the cars on the highway are just commuters...hence you would find slow moving traffic...Coming back to the point Companies know this...they will offer you all hardware that you want offcourse backed by your affordability...but as you said most people wont spend a lot of money upgrading systems continuously they minimum requirement to play most of the PC games will always remain surprisingly low...but then you dont expect to drive a 1942 model car on the freeway do you...I mean you have to have a decent config...get it...

[Qoute]Mordern consoles are really pushing hardware to the limit. And the Xbox 360 and particularly the PS3 are far more powerful than most systems out there that cost 4-5 times as much, and the resolution of games they output is no longer a crappy 640x480, its full glorious HD. And lets admit it , it is definetly more fun playing action, racing and adventure games with a remote control as compared to the keyboard. Sure RTSs and FPSs need a mouse and kb, but the PS3 does support them, and I am willing to bet that the Xbox 360 soon will.And they no longer keep you away from your music. The Xbox 360 and the PS3 have fantastic Media Center Capabilities. And both allow you to replace in game music with your music. And considering that both have good capacity hard disks even those with very large music collections will not be disappointed. [/Quote]

Dedicated and standalone are the words that describe consoles...no doubt they are nice sounding words but I somehow hate these words...nothing beats the pleasure of using a powerful desktop....I'am a little old school type..

Also, there is the obvious advantage of not having to stick to your crappy 19" monitor and cheap 2.0 speakers and being able to enjoy a game on a massive TV with your 5.1 surround sound home theater. Of course, you might be among those exceptional few who have a 5.1 speaker set and a 23" monitor on your desks. But almost everyone has a 31" CTV at the very least.

Well you got a point there...but hey blame the Indian Government's pricing and duty policies for that...moreover any product tends to become cheaper backed by it's demand...if its highselling then its oughta be cheaper and vice versa...

The most shocking part is that game developers are gradually moving to consoles. More and more console games are being released that are not available for PC. And the number of games that are PC-exclusive are decreasing as games developers are embracing consoles. A shining example would be UT3, which is the first UT ever slated to be released on a console and PC simultaneously.

I hate UT so I'am spared for now atleast

Also, i'm sure most gamers will agree that they spend almost equal amounts of time optimising their PCs and playing games. When you buy a console, you know that it's already optimised and whatever games you buy will be optimised for that console. So you can actually get down to playing some games without having to bother about how many FPS you are getting, because with a console you know that number will always be 60 FPS.

No not really...dont spend a lot of time on optimising my pc...one thing that I do is actually downloading all kinds of automatic updates...the PC does it for me....

I am by no means a PC-hater or console Fanboy. I enjoy gaming on PCs , but am forced to say that it has indeed become a meaningless way to game.

Never really felt interested in the concept of console gaming...lucky me...

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Then you really should try console gaming for once , be it on a PS2/Xbox 360/PS3 but experience console gaming for some time and you'll never feel like coming back .

The best part , you don't have to sit there for half-an-hour just to install a game . just put in the disc n start playin that's what pleases me the most .