UnsilentMajorty

This question was brought up on a PC Game Forum I frequent and we -- PC Gamers -- Agree it is at least in terms of what is happening to the PC Games market itself.

We base this on the simple fact that a lot of major game companies like UBISoft and others are (from a fundamental coding level) developing games as cross-platform releases -- for both the PC and console systems -- That's not only causing the actual gameplay elements to be "dumbed down" to a ceratin extent to accomadate the console crowd, but also, the games just aren't being optimized to work with the high end hardware that PC Gamers like myself pride themselves on having to be able to run the latest and greatest.

Before even starts flaming me for saying that games have to be "dumbed down" for the console players, let me give you a concrete example of what I mean when I ask, "Is the Games Industry (as a whole) Heading in the Wrong Direction?"

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 is a first person shooter that was developed for both the XBox and PC platforms. It is based on the TC novels of the same name AND the previous R6 Games that were first released to the PC from 1999 to Present before they were also released to the PS2, GC and Xbox.

The R6 Games emphasize tactical planning more than arcade style "run and gun" since one of the major gameplay elements is that it takes only a few shots from the enemy to kill you (and vice versa), unlike other games where you can take inhuman amounts of damage and keep on going.

Raven Shield -- The PC equivalent of the XBox's R6:3 -- Was released last Feburary in what is basically an unplayable alpha/beta state -- A state of software that has so many bugs that it shouldn't have been released to the public as a full retail release -- And much to many R6 fans chagrin, hasn't gotten any better with the measley four patches they've put out since then to try and "fix" the game and bring it up to the level it SHOULD have been before it was released.

Contrast this to the XBox release of R6:3 to where the game functions flawlessly both in SP (Single Player) and MP (Multiplayer) on XBox live.

Granted, the game is nowhere near as in-depth or technically detailed as it's PC counter-part... But that is partly the whole argument about why I and others think the Games Industry as a whole is headed in the wrong direction because...

An XBox is basically a paired down PC. It has a Pentium III, 700 MHz chip and an Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti equivalent graphics card...

Yet the game runs better than on an mid-to-high level PC gamers setup such as a Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz chip with an Nvidia GeForce 4 or FX card.

What's wrong with this picture?

The PC gamers setup is almost three times the power in terms of hardware -- possibly more -- Yet the game runs like a wounded dog with a broken leg (very slow in terms of FPS (frames per second) and general stability (it often crashes out for no reason and even gives General Protection Faults -- Something that went out in the late 90s if software is coded well).

Granted, the XBox is universal for each and every XBox player that has one which makes coding the games for it simpler since there are "no surprises" for the developers to miss... Unlike a PC setup where there are an infinite number of possible hardware and sofware combinations that could cause a game not to work right...

But it also doesn't stop there when games are developed for both consoles and PC as well.

Not only is the XBox version of R6:3 an arcade-like run and gun shooter, it also only lets you play as one character whereas the PC version allowed you to pick and choose your team(s) and switch to (play) any of the characters during the missions to name a few major changes that were "dumbed down" for the console players.

So, my point to all this?

It looks as if the games industry is indeed headed in the "wrong" direction if you are a PC gamer because companies are developing games to be played on all platforms INSTEAD OF OPTIMIZING THEM FOR EACH ONE and in the right direction if you're a console gamer and have "lower standards" because if hardware that is three to four times more powerful can't run a game that an Xbox or Game Cube can... What's the point in investing in high end PC hardware if the games don't work anyway?

Again, my intent isn't to start a flame war with console gamers... But because this board is primarily console gamers, I'd thought I'd get "the other side" of the debate and see what you guys have to say about all this.

Consequently, for Christmas, I am buying myself an XBox because I too have grown sick of games not working right on my expensive PC hardware and would rather settle for less features as long as the game itself works. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? You tell me [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Everyone's thoughts?

yossarin

I don't play PC games precisely for the reason that I don't want to continue to upgrade my PC just so I could play the newest and greatest game. My PC crashes when it's doing low-impact usage. Granted the graphics are much better on the PC, but it's a lot less painful insert a new disc into a console, then in/unstalling a game if you don't have enough memory for all of your collection.

I don't have too much experience w/ PC games, but it's not that appealing for me b/c I'd rather have a console controller that works w/ all my games, then playing around w/ controller settings on the PC. I just had too many problems w/ PC controllers, and i'm not used to using the keyboard or mouse to play a game.

In short, having a console is easy and painless to play. Too many things can go haywire using a PC..espec your PC not upgraded enough to play it.

UnsilentMajorty

Yossarin

Thank you for replying [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

You're actually giving the number one reason why consoles ARE better than PC Games right now and (unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) in the future.

It's like you said: It's the ease of use for not just the controls, but just popping in a disc and boom! You're off and running (playing) instead of trying to configure your PC to run the game(s).

Anyone else? [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

onionroach

I just don't see it. Sorry. There are bad games out there. And there aren't bad games. The reasons are endless, but the fact remains that there are good games and there are bad games for pc and console alike. I'm glad you're getting an XBox. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

JediBlastoise

yea, if you want a bulletproof console, the xbox is your choice. http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6084935.html

and there are advantages and disadvantages to both computers and consoles. it just seems to be a matter of taste. usually its the hardcore gamers that will continually upgrade their system to play the newest games, and only a few of those games, like R6:RS and CnC:G, upon release are buggy and rushed. sometimes patches help with these problems, but it's usually the company's faults for lack of game support rather than the computers for not running properly. however, i still play many pc games because i get higher resolution and speed when playing and the use of keyboard and mouse for me is far superior than any console controller, and there are many great pc games out there that arent buggy upon release. For example, i played jedi knight 2: jedi outcast on my computer and it ran flawlessly without any problems, and i played it's console and couldnt enjoy it as much, mainly because of the controllers and because of the poor multiplayer the console version had; one reason why i couldnt get into halo on the xbox that much was because i couldnt get used to using the controller over the keyboard and mouse. knights of the old republic for xbox is a good game, but i prefer the pc version because the quality is much better for me. i also played ut2k3 on my pc and it ran flawlessly, then played the xbox equivalent and wasnt as impressed. the only reason i have a console is so i can play the good console games that would not be released on pc.

so yea, there are some advantages with both. i just prefer pc on most games.

[ 12-04-2003: Message edited JediBlastoise ]