Comments on: PC Gaming Hardware Boom

By: Anthony Damiani

Anthony Damiani — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:43:36 +0000

Half a million to a million games shipped is nothing to sneer at, especially if that’s only one of several platforms you’re shipping on.

Historically, developers used to profit more per sale of a PC game than they would for a console one, because the console manufacturers business models involved making up losses on hardware with a cut of the software action. I wonder if that’s still the case with a growing discrepancy between the PC/Console game retail price-points.

By: Kanakotka

Kanakotka — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:26:03 +0000

@Taxman, ignoring everything always helps. :)

By: mashakos

mashakos — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:11:33 +0000

I’m helping my cousin build a gaming PC. If I got him a Dell gaming PC, it would have cost him at least $1900. There is absolutely no reason to go branded with today’s hardware prices.

There’s also used hardware. For $570 I can completely upgrade an ancient an existing machine to the point where it can run Devil May Cry 4 at a resolution of 1920×1200 with a silky smooth 70fps framerate.

Compare that to the crap 1280×720 resolution and fluctuating 20-30fps framerate of a PS3.
…

Consoles will always be cheap and cheerful, but if you can afford to spend $500 – $600 on a complete overhaul or $67 on a used 8800GT gfx card you would be mad not to go the PC route.

Here’s what I’m getting for my cousin for $570:
E8400 cpu
8800GTX
2GB 1.1Ghz OCZ ram (PC2-9200)
P45 mother board (Gigabyte)
Enermax 600w PSU

By: Yak Jazz

Yak Jazz — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:48:15 +0000

State of PC games…..blah blah blah.

Anyone seen how cheap hardware is at the moment? Upgrade time.

By: Craymen Edge

Craymen Edge — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:32:04 +0000

Re: all this PC vs Consoles suff?

Shit, I’ve been enjoying both for decades, was I meant to pick sides?

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:19:17 +0000

Ah, but only the consoles were the first to make it easy.

By: Max

Max — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:27:39 +0000

That’s something that has always bothered me about console gamers. They all wax poetic about high definition graphics and online play… while PC gamers have been enjoying these features for years! Before you know it, console gamers are going to start using mouses and talking about how easy it is to aim with them…

By: notlimahc

notlimahc — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:06:51 +0000

@357SIG: Actually, it’s entirely up to the developer which resolution is used. There’s dozens of PS3 games that support rendering at 1080p.

By: 357SIG

357SIG — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:07:22 +0000

i’d like to point out that the current consoles only render at 720p and upscale to 1080i/p.

also you can pry my mouse and keyboard off of my cold dead..desk? nevermind i think everyone gets the idea.

By: Bidermaier

Bidermaier — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:58:56 +0000

I switched from 360 to PC gaming a year ago. Reasonable PC gaming is cheap. Intel Core 2, nvidia 8800GT and ati 4xxx series have made posible all this. Affordable machines with a performance way beyond the current consoles.

By: The Shed

The Shed — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:53:28 +0000

Have to say I agree with Okami wholeheartedly on this one. Great games will always be great games, console or PC, and prejudice shouldn’t prevent people from seeing that. (I just Ebay’d me MGS + Special Missions and Tenchu 1 & 2- these console games are more than 10 years old and could easily stand up against some of today’s releases)

Something that undoubtedly contributes to console gaming over PC gaming is convenience (as well as cost) to the non-tech savvy. Buy console. Buy game. Play game. Still have fun. On PC a whole range of (often irritating) stages is added, including finding a high end and costworthy computer, or customizing your own, dealing with installation of lots of software- OS’s, drivers, the like, then of course the installation of the game and the possibility that it won’t work anywhere near as well as you’d like. Console is just easier.

[Then of course there's the classic argument that certain games (or types of game, or features of games) work better on console than on PC, but I'll leave that for now]

On topic: I never doubted PC sales for a second…

By: unclelou

unclelou — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:42:45 +0000

The PC can no longer leverage a technical edge either like he tries to proclaim as the platform has dug itself into a hole with costs into the stratosphere so the base platform any developer with a brain is going to aim for are the 360/PS3. Also and this is a big one NOT EVERYONE CARES ABOUT THE LATEST EYE CANDY THEY JUST WANT TO ENJOY GAMES.

I am a PC gamer since the early 1990s, and buying a gaming-capable PC has never been as cheap as it is today. Not to mention much the much cheaper games. Console gaming being cheaper is a fallacy, especially if you buy games regularly.