Drawbacks to PC Gaming

[Madame Adequate]

My computer's pretty old (eight or so years) and something of a Frankenstein's monster of various parts ripped out and stuffed back in due to parts dying etc., but even it can run most modern games pretty well. I'm not going to play Skryim on the highest settings or anything and I'd like it to run certain games like Victoria 2 faster, so I am looking around at getting a whole new rig soon, but this idea that you have to spend insane money upgrading every year or you can't play anything is complete poppycock.

[Slothy]

I guess if you buy a lot of games it makes up for it in the long run.

What do you mean if?

[Del Murder]

I only buy the games I have time to play.

[Slothy]

Then get more time in the day. No excuses!

[escobert]

I hardly ever sped all that much upgrading my PC. I see no issues with PC gaming!

[Laddy]

I would say the biggest drawback is it's a little lacking in some genres, particularly Sports and JRPG's. So if you want a lot of a particular game genre, best to check if the PC carries a lot of it.

Even then, I'd say this is a relatively minor drawback, as services like GoG and Steam allows for a good thirty or so years worth of games that's at your fingertips if you know what you're doing. Also, PC is the undisputed king console for WRPG's, Strategy, Simulation, and MMO's as well. Not to mention the ability to mod certain games, which consoles are unfriendly for.

So, if you can deal with the cost, have a bit of time, and aren't viewing the PC as just another console, a PC could potentially be the most satisfying gaming investment of your life.

[escobert]

But you can always emulate old consoles for JRPGs I do agree about the sports however.

[Laddy]

Yeah, emulation is another huge advantage to PC, amazed I didn't mention it.

[krissy]

hard to watch porn when you're playing something that only runs full screen

[Laddy]

If you have Baldur's Gate II you don't need porn.

[Pete for President]

I've never been a PC gamer, but I'm becoming tempted. Cheating holds me back though. PC gamers, what's your experience in online cheaters?

I know from YouTube the Dark Souls PC version has a lot of hackers/cheaters compared to the consoles. How is that with other games?

[Mirage]

Cost is not a drawback, because you don't have to go overboards just to play a game. It annoys me to no end when some people insist on buying components for over 1500 dollars to play games and then complain about the price, when the games they play would have run at a computer that cost half of that, and still perform and look better than they do on consoles.

If you don't complain about the graphics on your console games, why do you need a computer that plays them in twice the resolution, twice the framerate and a ton of extra graphical detail?

In either case, the drawbacks of PC gaming, for me, is that some genres aren't well represented, and that compatibility isn't always 100% perfect. A console game is almost guaranteed to work the same on all (non-defective) consoles, PC games are still quite a bit away from this level of compatibility.

Also, like Pike already said, I already have a desktop PC (because laptops just don't have enough space and power!) to use for non-gaming purposes. The parts in my computer that make it able to play all the newest games costs less than a PS3 does. Even upgrading my PC to play the newest games in even better graphics won't cost me more than a PS3, and it is about two years since i bought my current graphics card. Of course, I don't actually *need* to get a new graphics card, because I play all the new games in a lot better quality than on consoles already. I just want to play them even better cause I am a graphics whore and the PC gives me the flexibility to feed that addiction.

[Shoeberto]

Some people also feel that console games are "comfier" because you're more likely to play them on a couch; me, I use the same chair for both console and PC gaming so it makes no difference to me.

Really that's even easily avoided these days. My current PC setup is in my living room on my TV (I think it's like 42"?). I have a wireless kb+m from Logitech that works great and are super comfy, plus a wireless 360 controller. I started back around September with this setup and have played Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Black Mesa, Fallout: New Vegas, Bioshock 2, Rayman: Origins, Bastion, Braid, and currently Kingdom Hearts and Skyrim on it. My fiancee, who really isn't at all a hardcore gamer, has loved playing the old games with the controller. Plus it makes it way easy to catch up on TV since we can do Netflix, basic Hulu (no Plus required on the PC), and channels like Fox/CBS/NBC's streaming. And if we can't find what we want on those, well...

Also it should be noted that I built my PC first back in 2008 and spent ~$900. I've upgraded components but, really, I didn't need to. For example, I swapped out my dual-SLI GeForce 9800s (from the original build) for a 560 (or something) about a year ago. My 9800s worked fine, I just had also bought a new 3D monitor and needed more power to play Skyrim on high with 3D. I had also just started a new job and had more money than sense.

The biggest problem with PC gaming, as I see it, is that your computer isn't a toaster. A console works like a toaster. When you turn it on, you know what to expect. You don't have to tweak settings, you don't have to know how the parts work, you don't have to buy any special dongles, it just works. A PC is not a toaster. If you build one, you need to know at least at a rudimentary level what you're doing. And it requires some maintenance. But if you get past the initial hurdles, it's really quite worth it for the sheer versatility, despite the occasional headaches.

[escobert]

hard to watch porn when you're playing something that only runs full screen

duel screens!

[Mirage]

Let's D-D-D-D-Duel!