Do your friends play on PC or Console? (and how to convert them)

[nemesismk2]

I have loads of friends who play games and they all use a xbox 360 just like myself. I don't use a PC for playing games because it's not worth all of the upgrading etc

[DeadFred]

Just get new friends that have the ability to game on a PC.

I may be wrong but I think the majority of the PC gaming crowd are older like myself, while console players tend to be younger.

BTW, on your poll it says PC/Steam, shouldn't it just be PC? I know its nit picking but while I do have Steam I haven't logged into it in ages. Since BF3's release I do the most of my gaming on Origin now.

[Red Storm]

Find friends who play PC then?

Half my Steam friends are people I befriended in various games over the years.

[HardcoreRobot]

2 close friends that are console guys.

one is just because he games on anything, and a lot of the styles of games he likes are fine on console.

the other is bc he is super cheap, still plays legacy consoles and wont invest in a computer to play current games.

the rest are all primarily PC.

its a nonissue to me, people can do whatever they want.

[ibex333]

Originally Posted by Nvidiaguy07

Do your friends play on PC or Console? (and how to convert them)

From my experience, you cant. The controls on PC are vastly superior to anything on the console, and the graphics are simply two different worlds. Going from a PC to a console is a masochistic activity. Pure and simple.

Some people claim that the graphical difference between the two is negligible. This is not true at all. The difference is like day and night. Literally. Want proof? Look at the Alan Wake intro on both platforms. It literally hurts my eyes to see it on a console.

As for controls, any shooter can be used as an example. Experience on a console? Cant move well, cant shoot straight, takes forever to line anything in sights. PC? Always intuitive, natural, easy, and smooth. Why would anyone want to torture themselves by going from PC to a console? I am told if I just "stick with the controller long enough"... it will get much better. But why would I want to keep doing something completely unnecessary, annoying, and redundant, when I can just use a mouse and a keyboard?

Oh, and people who say that a gaming PC is much more expensive than a console really don't know what they are talking about. These are PC "users". They really don't know anything about PCs. (part of the reason why they game on consoles in the first place)

[Red Storm]

Originally Posted by ibex333

Oh, and people who say that a gaming PC is much more expensive than a console really don't know what they are talking about.

This. The price of PC gaming is in the video card, not the entire system. Should we start including the cost of ~50" HDTV's with console gaming?

[blackened23]

Originally Posted by Red Storm

This. The price of PC gaming is in the video card, not the entire system. Should we start including the cost of ~50" HDTV's with console gaming?

Oh good grief. I'm a PC gamer myself, but let's not kid ourselves - PCs are far more expensive. First off, nearly every household has a big screen TV already whether they are a gamer or not. For gaming, one can add a 360 for what? 200$?

A good gaming build will cost probably 1k without a monitor, so cost is a factor. Don't even try to kid yourself. I'm not saying I prefer consoles, I'm saying that for a lot of people -- cost plays a role in their decision.

[cmdrdredd]

Yeah PC gaming is more expensive for sure. There are games that work well on PC nd some that i rather have on console. It isn't all the controls either because you can use ps3 or 360 controllers on your PC just fine. I think it depends on the games quality and whether I would prefer my high end surround sound and big screen TV over a 27" screen and klipsch pro media setup.

[Red Storm]

Originally Posted by blackened23

Oh good grief. I'm a PC gamer myself, but let's not kid ourselves - PCs are far more expensive. First off, nearly every household has a big screen TV already whether they are a gamer or not. For gaming, one can add a 360 for what? 200$?

A good gaming build will cost probably 1k without a monitor, so cost is a factor. Don't even try to kid yourself. I'm not saying I prefer consoles, I'm saying that for a lot of people -- cost plays a role in their decision.

A lot of households have computers in the house too. Contrary to what you might believe, a gaming computer does not cost $1000. You could build a system from scratch for $600, but for the many, many, many homes that already have computers, you just need the video card. Heck I was gaming on an AMD 5670 for quite a while, and it ran everything (but Crysis) at an acceptable level.

[KaOTiK]

I think we should be a bit more clear about price. Yes, PC gaming is more expensive to get into to start. Considering PC games get discounted and go on sale very quickly we begin to make up ground on the price front very very quickly. Console games normally take a long time to go on sale and normally are not even discounted all that well (buy 2 get 1 free is considered a great deal which worksout too 33% off). Probably within a year with buying games with the PC (could be longer or quicker depending on how much you buy) you will hit the break even point to where buying a console and those games would put you, from there on you are saving money.

Now if you go the PC gaming route and hit up a big Steam sale (Summer or Holiday), after one sale you will probably be saving money already on the PC.

[obidamnkenobi]

I'm 30 and work in an office with a bunch of old engineers; I don't really have any friends to play with anyway so this doesn't really bother me. If I join a random TF2 server with 30 other people I don't really care whether I know them or not, it's still the same game..

Maybe some people in my office play, console or PC, but I feel it's about as socially acceptable as admitting to watching kinky german porn on your spare time so I haven't asked..

[cmdrdredd]

Originally Posted by Red Storm

A lot of households have computers in the house too. Contrary to what you might believe, a gaming computer does not cost $1000. You could build a system from scratch for $600, but for the many, many, many homes that already have computers, you just need the video card. Heck I was gaming on an AMD 5670 for quite a while, and it ran everything (but Crysis) at an acceptable level.

If you want to have a good online experience and have graphics above console level you need to spend more than the price of a console and a game on your GPU. That's just how it is.

Play BF3 online with visuals set to ultra even with AA off at 1080p without a decent card and you're going to hate it. Consoles don't render full time 1080p right now so they have a lower visual quality but are cheaper.

So why turn your graphics down to console level and play on a 24" screen at your desk when you can have a 60" screen from your couch with a console? That's how many people look at it.

[gladiatorua]

Well... Math is quite simple.
$1k for new PC with GPU upgrade in two years +$200($300 for new GPU -$100 by selling old one).
Current PC should last 4 years like this.
4 years in Xbox Live subscription should cost $720.
Add more flexible game pricing, support for most controllers, superior quality, rise(in quality) of F2P, PC only genres...
Consider fast dying of used game sales...
Simple choice.

[cmdrdredd]

Originally Posted by gladiatorua

Well... Math is quite simple.
$1k for new PC with GPU upgrade in two years +$200($300 for new GPU -$100 by selling old one).
Current PC should last 4 years like this.
4 years in Xbox Live subscription should cost $720.
Add more flexible game pricing, support for most controllers, superior quality, rise(in quality) of F2P, PC only genres...
Consider fast dying of used game sales...
Simple choice.

You didn't read my above statement.

You have to spend more than the price of a console on a GPU to play some games at ultra settings at 1080p. That's at 24" sitting at the desk. Sometimes playing on a 60" screen from the couch is pretty badass.

If you want to keep up you cannot ignore new GPUs for 4 years. Fact.

[KaOTiK]

You also don't need to play on Ultra settings. High is fine for most, hell with lots of games you can play them max'd out expect for 1-3 settings that tank performance so you adjust those and you are good to go. You are ignoring one of the PC's pluses, adapting to a situation. Pretty new game comes out and stresses your system too much, lowering just a few settings that wont visually make a big difference overall can make that new pretty game run good with little compromise.

[cmdrdredd]

Originally Posted by KaOTiK

You also don't need to play on Ultra settings. High is fine for most, hell with lots of games you can play them max'd out expect for 1-3 settings that tank performance so you adjust those and you are good to go. You are ignoring one of the PC's pluses, adapting to a situation. Pretty new game comes out and stresses your system too much, lowering just a few settings that wont visually make a big difference overall can make that new pretty game run good with little compromise.

If I am not playing on max settings why have a $1k+ PC? This is the reason I did SLI and all...I don't want to compromise and so far I have not had to, even played Metro 2033 all the way through maxed out. I don't stare at the fps number with fraps running though lol.

Online games are different...you need fps but I still refuse to compromise visual quality. Like I said before too...sitting at a desk with 24" monitor vs couch and 60"...ask anyone who isn't sold on PC gaming already which they would like better and I bet most of the time they will pick the couch.

Not saying it's right but it's reality.

[obidamnkenobi]

Originally Posted by cmdrdredd

If I am not playing on max settings why have a $1k+ PC? This is the reason I did SLI and all...I don't want to compromise and so far I have not had to, even played Metro 2033 all the way through maxed out. I don't stare at the fps number with fraps running though lol.

Online games are different...you need fps but I still refuse to compromise visual quality. Like I said before too...sitting at a desk with 24" monitor vs couch and 60"...ask anyone who isn't sold on PC gaming already which they would like better and I bet most of the time they will pick the couch.

Not saying it's right but it's reality.

So you're saying the only two choices is PC with 1080p, 60fps, max AA, or consoles with <720p, 30 fps no AA? Well duh, of course PC will cost you more then. If you play for example TF2, CS, strategy games etc, you don't need a $400 GPU every 2 years.

Also; I usually play games while my wife watch TV, and we only have one TV so that's really the only reason I need to play on PC over consoles. In addition to all the other things of course

[KaOTiK]

Yup, I can see trying to reason here is out the window.....

[RockinZ28]

Heh, what about PC gaming on a big screen HDTV from home theater seats? Pretty badass to me. Even have little tables meant for snacks, but they work great for my mouse and keyboard. Rarely even game on the 30" 25x16 monitor, but that's mainly cause LCDs suck compared to plasma for gaming.

[shortylickens]

If I had friends I wouldnt even be in front of my computer, much less playing online games.
I'd be out doing stuff, probably bean-bag at a bar.


Also, I play L4D2 on Windows.