Microsoft snub PC Gaming

[mindcycle]

I found out with DIRT 2, that Microsoft's "Games for Windows LIVE" is not online friendly. If you live in one the 166 unsupported countries around the world, you can not race DIRT 2 online.

Instead of the GFWL logo, publishers should just put a picture of a big steaming pile of shit on the box. Then at least you'd know what you were getting.

 

[ayabe]

How about 3D gaming?

Do not care, do not want, GTFO 3D.

Am I the only one that feels this way? I will NEVER buy 3D hardware and do not want to watch movies, TV, or play games in shitty 3D.

I really don't understand the appeal, hooray for washed out colors and a nauseating experience.

 

[mindcycle]

Do not care, do not want, GTFO 3D.

Am I the only one that feels this way? I will NEVER buy 3D hardware and do not want to watch movies, TV, or play games in shitty 3D.

I really don't understand the appeal, hooray for washed out colors and a nauseating experience.

I feel the same way as you.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Such as?

*awaits a list of console ports*

Games I'm currently playing:
The Witcher (PC Exclusive)
Operation Flashpoint 2 (not a console port)
Fallout 3 (not a console port)
Company of Heroes (not a console port)
Mass Effect (not a console port)
FEAR 2 (not a console port)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (not a console port)
Far Cry 2 (not a console port)
Civilization IV (PC exclusive)
Team Fortress 2 (not a console port)
and others I can't think of right now.

Games others are playing, but I haven't started yet:
Dragon Age (not a console port)
Left 4 Dead (PC Exclusive)
Left 4 Dead 2 (not a console port)
DiRT 2 (not a console port)
The Sims 3 (PC Exclusive)

Notice how most of that list are FPS games? So multiply that by the number of genres I typically don't play much. BTW, before you call me on the "console port" issue: a cross platform title is not the same as a console port. Example of console port: Halo. Example of cross platform: Far Cry 2.

If you can't find any good games you want to play in the current market, I submit that you're really not much of a gamer at all. You're just a whining little child.

 

[ViviTheMage]

A circuit breaker popped. Not their fault.

It is, they should have tested first, DOI.

 

[Maximilian]

Games I'm currently playing:
The Witcher (PC Exclusive)
Operation Flashpoint 2 (not a console port)
Fallout 3 (not a console port)
Company of Heroes (not a console port)
Mass Effect (not a console port)
FEAR 2 (not a console port)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (not a console port)
Far Cry 2 (not a console port)
Civilization IV (PC exclusive)
Team Fortress 2 (not a console port)
and others I can't think of right now.

Games others are playing, but I haven't started yet:
Dragon Age (not a console port)
Left 4 Dead (PC Exclusive)
Left 4 Dead 2 (not a console port)
DiRT 2 (not a console port)
The Sims 3 (PC Exclusive)

Notice how most of that list are FPS games? So multiply that by the number of genres I typically don't play much. BTW, before you call me on the "console port" issue: a cross platform title is not the same as a console port. Example of console port: Halo. Example of cross platform: Far Cry 2.

If you can't find any good games you want to play in the current market, I submit that you're really not much of a gamer at all. You're just a whining little child.

Better on console/designed for console:

Pfft... really reaching with that list, most of those games are better on a console, plus youve got older games listed, civilization IV?? Welcome to 2005...

 

[crownjules]

Better on console/designed for console:

Pfft... really reaching with that list, most of those games are better on a console, plus youve got older games listed, civilization IV?? Welcome to 2005...

"Better on console" is purely subjective.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Better on console/designed for console:

Pfft... really reaching with that list, most of those games are better on a console, plus youve got older games listed, civilization IV?? Welcome to 2005...

Sorry I forgot old games are shit and can be instantly dismissed.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Games I'm currently playing:
The Witcher (PC Exclusive)
Operation Flashpoint 2 (not a console port)
Fallout 3 (not a console port)
Company of Heroes (not a console port)
Mass Effect (not a console port)
FEAR 2 (not a console port)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (not a console port)
Far Cry 2 (not a console port)
Civilization IV (PC exclusive)
Team Fortress 2 (not a console port)
and others I can't think of right now.

Games others are playing, but I haven't started yet:
Dragon Age (not a console port)
Left 4 Dead (PC Exclusive)
Left 4 Dead 2 (not a console port)
DiRT 2 (not a console port)
The Sims 3 (PC Exclusive)

Notice how most of that list are FPS games? So multiply that by the number of genres I typically don't play much. BTW, before you call me on the "console port" issue: a cross platform title is not the same as a console port. Example of console port: Halo. Example of cross platform: Far Cry 2.

If you can't find any good games you want to play in the current market, I submit that you're really not much of a gamer at all. You're just a whining little child.

I suppose technically you are correct that those games are not console ports. However, to me a "cross platform" game that is optimized only for the console and is nerfed for the PC (as Modern Warfare 2 was) is very much the same as a console port.

How may games these days have mulitiple user profiles and save anywhere like "real" PC games of old. Strategy games are probably the last stronghold of PC gaming, and even they are now being released on XBox 360.

 

[mindcycle]

BTW, before you call me on the "console port" issue: a cross platform title is not the same as a console port. Example of console port: Halo. Example of cross platform: Far Cry 2.

I suppose technically you are correct that those games are not console ports. However, to me a "cross platform" game that is optimized only for the console and is nerfed for the PC (as Modern Warfare 2 was) is very much the same as a console port.

I agree with what frozentundra is saying here. IMO, the only cross platform game that you mention that is actually superior on the PC side is Fallout 3. And that's pretty much only because of the ability to easily mod the game. All of the other "console ports" mentioned on your list were most definitely designed with consoles in mind first and foremost. And to IMO that means they are ports.

 

[gorcorps]

Games others are playing, but I haven't started yet:
Dragon Age (not a console port)
Left 4 Dead (PC Exclusive)
Left 4 Dead 2 (not a console port)
DiRT 2 (not a console port)
The Sims 3 (PC Exclusive)

Left 4 Dead was a PC exclusive? Guess we better tell all those stores that are selling the 360 versions that they'd better stop... otherwise they'd make Queerner look like a moron.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Left+4+D...dead&lp=2&cp=1

 

[Mike Gayner]

I agree with what frozentundra is saying here. IMO, the only cross platform game that you mention that is actually superior on the PC side is Fallout 3. And that's pretty much only because of the ability to easily mod the game. All of the other "console ports" mentioned on your list were most definitely designed with consoles in mind first and foremost. And to IMO that means they are ports.

Opflash 2 - tons of user made mods and maps.
Mass Effect - superior graphics and frame rate.
Fear and Fear 2 - user made mods, superior graphics.
TF2 - obviously superior in every way on PC.
Dragon Age - as with TF2.

I dont understand why people get so pissed that great games are made for multiple platforms. Like I say, if you can't find something good to play in today's line up, you're not a gamer. I've been playing PC games for about 15 years, and the line up we have available now is as good or better than ever. Quit bitching and play all the great games that are available to you.

 

[Anubis]

So you're not the least bit concerned that the company who makes the platform you use to play games doesn't really care about PC gaming? I don't think the sky is falling either but i'm also not going to just stick my head in the sand.

i 100% don't care

 

[mindcycle]

I don't understand why people get so pissed that great games are made for multiple platforms. Like I say, if you can't find something good to play in today's line up, you're not a gamer. I've been playing PC games for about 15 years, and the line up we have available now is as good or better than ever. Quit bitching and play all the great games that are available to you.

I'm not pissed about multi-platform games whatsoever. If they're done well they can be lots of fun. I've played a lot of the games on your list and thoroughly enjoyed them. I'm simply pointing out the fact that they can still be considered "console ports" even if they land on the PC and have mod ability or have updated graphics. If the developer/publisher has the console in mind first and foremost during the development phase then IMO the PC version is a port.

You seem to enjoy calling people out every step of the way, but you need to recognize that what you're posting here is simply an opinion like anyone else.

 

[mindcycle]

i 100% don't care

Yet you took the time to post here..

 

[Anubis]

Yet you took the time to post here..

i post everywhere

 

[Gothgar]

LOL. and no, I"m not surprised

"..presentation plagued with difficulties..."

they musta used a Mac OS

 

[Chriscross3234]

After M$ dumped Ensemble Studios, I'm not surprised. Why should we care too? Microsoft has provided us nothing in the last couple of years except GFW...

 

[Maximilian]

I suppose technically you are correct that those games are not console ports. However, to me a "cross platform" game that is optimized only for the console and is nerfed for the PC (as Modern Warfare 2 was) is very much the same as a console port.

How may games these days have mulitiple user profiles and save anywhere like "real" PC games of old. Strategy games are probably the last stronghold of PC gaming, and even they are now being released on XBox 360.

This! True PC gamers realise this, shame its lost on gayner.

On another note theres been RTS on consoles for a decade, red alert 1 was on the playstation as red alert:retaliation. I dont think RTS will ever really take off on consoles like other genres have, theres just too much to be lost by losing the mouse + keyboard.

 

[EvilComputer92]

Games I'm currently playing:
The Witcher (PC Exclusive)
Operation Flashpoint 2 (not a console port)
Fallout 3 (not a console port)
Company of Heroes (not a console port)
Mass Effect (not a console port)
FEAR 2 (not a console port)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (not a console port)
Far Cry 2 (not a console port)
Civilization IV (PC exclusive)
Team Fortress 2 (not a console port)
and others I can't think of right now.

Games others are playing, but I haven't started yet:
Dragon Age (not a console port)
Left 4 Dead (PC Exclusive)
Left 4 Dead 2 (not a console port)
DiRT 2 (not a console port)
The Sims 3 (PC Exclusive)

Notice how most of that list are FPS games? So multiply that by the number of genres I typically don't play much. BTW, before you call me on the "console port" issue: a cross platform title is not the same as a console port. Example of console port: Halo. Example of cross platform: Far Cry 2.

If you can't find any good games you want to play in the current market, I submit that you're really not much of a gamer at all. You're just a whining little child.

You have to be a bit dense if you think Modern Warfare 2 is not a console port. Just because you can set the resolution and controls doesn't suddenly make it a cross-platform title. Lack of Dedicated Servers? No Mods? 18 Player Limit? Give me a break.

Also, Mass Effect absolutely is a console port. The console game was released months before the PC version. It was a well done port, but still a port.

Console port and cross platform is NOT mutually exclusive.

A cross platform title would be optimized for each platform it's released on. Far Cry 2 was optimized for the PC? What BS. It was supposed to look like Crysis from the prerelease shots and we got a game that looks marginally better than an Oblivion set in Africa.

Look at the graphical difference between PC exclusives and cross platform titles. Shattered Horizon and Crysis come to mind. Notice that nothing has surpasses Crysis even though its 3 YEARS OLD at this point. Thats when you know that developers look at the PC as an afterthought.

 

[bullbert]

With Steam offering massive reductions in their prices on many games from the first decade of 2000 and many members of Anandtech snapping up a lot of games, I cannot really see this mythical decline in good games.

Yes, the recent sale prices on the games from the first decade of 2000 were good (most reaching down to the clearance prices only previously available by closely watching the Hot Deal forums),
[smartass]
but I am currently playing their non-clearance priced games from the second and third decade of 2000.
[/smartass]

 

[Elcs]

Yes, the recent sale prices on the games from the first decade of 2000 were good (most reaching down to the clearance prices only previously available by closely watching the Hot Deal forums),
[smartass]
but I am currently playing their non-clearance priced games from the second and third decade of 2000.
[/smartass]

They also had several titles from 2008 and 2009 at bargain basement prices.

King's Bounty (2008) + standalone expansion stand out at me.. Crysis Warhead (as part of the Crysis pack), Stalker: Clear Sky... hell Dawn of War 2, the best RTS of 2009 was at a bargain basement price in the Steam sales.

I do believe all of those I have mentioned were 2009 and at silly prices during the Christmas sale. In addition to that, they should have all been darn good games.

 

[crownjules]

Opflash 2 - tons of user made mods and maps.
Mass Effect - superior graphics and frame rate.
Fear and Fear 2 - user made mods, superior graphics.
TF2 - obviously superior in every way on PC.
Dragon Age - as with TF2.

I dont understand why people get so pissed that great games are made for multiple platforms. Like I say, if you can't find something good to play in today's line up, you're not a gamer. I've been playing PC games for about 15 years, and the line up we have available now is as good or better than ever. Quit bitching and play all the great games that are available to you.

I'll add a couple, all of these have been released in the last year or so:

Tropico 3 (coming to consoles in Feb)
Trine (now on PSN)
The Void
King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame
Hearts of Iron 3
Majesty 2
Torchlight
Dawn of War 2
Dawn of Discovery
Blood Bowl (soon to be released on consoles)
League of Legends
Hereos of Newerth
Total War: Empire
Braid (now on XBL/PSN)
Osmos
X3: Terran Conflict

These aren't being put out by the companies that have traditionally done it in the past. EA, Activision, 2K Games, etc all are fighting for the console money first and foremost. But like I've said in so many of these threads, their lack of dedication to PC gamers means the smaller upstarts trying to gain a foothold are given the wiggle room to steal their market share. PC gaming doesn't have the large console royalty fee barrier to entry. So while you might have to search a little, because these smaller companies obviously don't have huge marketing budgets either, the games are being released.

So quit with this stupid crap people. PC games are still being released because there will always be a market for them. You just might need to look in a different place to find them now and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[flashbacck]

I looked up some of their financial releases. For a few quarters it did generate a small profit (by Microsoft standards), but it will take a long time (if profitable quarters of that size return) to make up for the losses from Xbox 1 and the many bad quarters of the 360. Currently, afaik, they are still losing money on it....

I think it's viewed as an investment in branding. I asked a friend at MS the same thing about why they're throwing so much money at search when, unless you're top dog like Google, you're just not going to make any money in it. He thinks there's an attitude in management that they want the Microsoft name out there in as much things as possible. The Xbox is their ticket into your living room. Considering there's ~40 million Xbox360s out there when they started late in the game compared to Nintendo and Sony, that's not too shabby...

 

[Mike Gayner]

I'll add a couple, all of these have been released in the last year or so:

Tropico 3 (coming to consoles in Feb)
Trine (now on PSN)
The Void
King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame
Hearts of Iron 3
Majesty 2
Torchlight
Dawn of War 2
Dawn of Discovery
Blood Bowl (soon to be released on consoles)
League of Legends
Hereos of Newerth
Total War: Empire
Braid (now on XBL/PSN)
Osmos
X3: Terran Conflict

These aren't being put out by the companies that have traditionally done it in the past. EA, Activision, 2K Games, etc all are fighting for the console money first and foremost. But like I've said in so many of these threads, their lack of dedication to PC gamers means the smaller upstarts trying to gain a foothold are given the wiggle room to steal their market share. PC gaming doesn't have the large console royalty fee barrier to entry. So while you might have to search a little, because these smaller companies obviously don't have huge marketing budgets either, the games are being released.

So quit with this stupid crap people. PC games are still being released because there will always be a market for them. You just might need to look in a different place to find them now and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Nice list - it demonstrates the diversity of gaming. Most of those are very highly rated, and yet I haven't played most of them. PC gaming is very healthy IMO.