Is it really worth getting a gaming machine?

I'm just wondering about this. When I got my first laptop, Oblivion was out and Bioshock was coming out, and needing to move it about was essential for a number of reasons, getting a gaming 'book was a bit of a non-decision.

Now I'm not so sure. I need a new laptop, and getting one with a worse graphics card would make it feel like I'm not getting my money's worth, and I wouldn't be able to play the games I did play on this one, and the few new ones I might get, so I guess I'd at least need a slightly better GPU.

But honestly, what is there coming out? Oblivion and Bioshock were amazing. I didn't get too far in Bioshock so it might be nice to play it at a stable framerate.

I just wish there were a bunch of decent Elder Scrolls clones. I'm surprised and immensely frustrated that there aren't.

It might be worth spending my money on a 360, getting GTA IV(which I'd rather get on PC to be honest) and MGS4 when it comes out.

I really miss "good" PC gaming and even though it's been "dead" for years it's still something I like the feel of.

 

If you are a gamer,it's worth it.

 

I hear ya there. LOVED Elder Scrolls III Morrowind. I still play it on my computer sometimes when I'm bored. HATED Oblivion. Just makes me feel less in control than Morrowind, not as open.

DO NOT get a 360 just for GTAIV. That game does NOT deserve a perfect 10 on Gamespot. Better graphics, a few more cool add-ons, but basically the same thing as San Andreas. I honestly got bored after a week, the missions are all redundant. Is MGS4 coming to the 360? I don't think so. Don't remember, anyhow, makes me want to get a PS3 for sure.

If you like the Elder Scrolls, I guess Two Worlds wasn't THAT bad, although I didn't like the demo much.

 

pc has never been dead for years many people still play pc games online then on consoles

whats killing the pc world is the amount of ways someone can get frree games.

thats why developers are making console games first.

but i would get a gaming pc if i were you this thread will make you live once more for gaming on the pc

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=224748

post if you like

 

Yeah, but what is here to attract me to a PC over a 360? Before PCs had their own unique games, generally any "clicky" games like RTSes etc. but they've been done to death at this stage.

For me at this stage a game has to be:

1) Original.

2) Epic.

I got a Wii for 1) and a gaming laptop for 2) but neither have delivered all that much.

 

I didn't play San Andreas as I knew it would make GTAIV more interesting. Basically what I like about GTA is pretty much the same as what I like about Elder Scrolls; freeroaming, but at the same time, some people just like to wander about everywhere and I get bored of that, I'm hoping by IV they've made it interesting enough to do so(Vice City was a step back for me).

And MGS4 is coming out for he 360 next year.

That's nothing but an excuse, I'm sorry. From a "Business" sense yes I can see how that is, but it's not the business side that's being deterred, all the sequels, ports etc. are being released, it's the creative side, the developers who would rather people get their game than not at all(At least I would, of course I'd rather people pay for it) who just aren't there. It's ridiculously easy to pirate Wii games but it doesn't deter Nintendo.

 

There are a lot of titles coming out :
http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/international/games/features/151148.shtml

 

Yeah, think you've convinced me to buy a 360.

I'll try and look for a laptop that can play SC2 and C&C3 and Spore but there's nothing else really.

 

I don't like Xbox that much either, but you harping on GTA 4 is bull****.

 

I'm not a fan of gaming laptops, for me the smaller the better, in fact I dont even use my laptop much at all anymore since I got my mits on a pocket sized nokia N800 internet tablet (fantastic little device). I do however game quite a bit on my desktop, which is its sole purpose aside from mass storage.

 

Very true that's why developers have made their switch to console based games. They feel they are not getting back their investment when they see their games get posted on torrent sites sometimes before the game releases.

It's not an excuse when you as a developer spend millions of dollars on your game as you watch tens of thousands of downloads of your work on torrent sites while you get nothing for your effort.

Your example of Nintendo is a bad one I must say. They do care and have cared in the past which is why the Gamecube disc was a Mini DVD disc and impractical to crack. Prior to that they used cartridges.

The only reason Nintendo Wii games are now on torrent sites is because they've gone to game disc that are industry standard and readily available. All console makers do care about their work getting pirated but they realize the average Joe is not going to hack or mod his or her console to play illegal games. It's 1000 times easier to steal a game on a PC without one hardware modification. It's another reason why game publishers are pushing digital distribution as the future means of buying most of your games.

 

I love my 9262 but never would've bought it if I didn't travel for my job. You could build a monster desktop for the price of a gaming laptop, and still have money left over to get an ok laptop or console system. It all comes down to your lifestyle and how rich you are to determine whether or not it's worth it.

 

A PC Gaming rig is certainly worth it if you have some money. They're not expensive. You can get a very good desktop gaming rig for about $800, which can play Crysis just fine (I know, I just built a quad core machine with 4gb of ram and an 8800gt for well under 800).

A 360 is also worth it. It has some great games... such as GTA 4 and Rock Band. In general, if a title is out on both PC and 360, the PC version is the way to go. Better graphics and sometimes better gameplay.

GTA4 is way overrated... It's no where near perfect, but it is WAY above the level of previous GTA games. It's surprisingly non repetitive (so far). Still, it does not draw me in like some other games.

I don't agree with saying PC games are dead. That's just silly talk. Journalists have been saying that PC gaming is dead everytime a new console comes out. I remember when the NES came out, everyone thought PC gaming would die out.

But nope.. sorry... PC gaming is still going strong. Especially for the FPS, RTS, and MMO community.

 

Ya, last I checked there were only one or two successful MMOs on consoles. And RTS=fail on consoles.

 

Do you have anything to back this up, or is it just presumption because it "feels right"? Console games get posted on torrent sites sometimes before the game releases too.

And what about the millions you DO make? This just comes off as being greedy. Piracy is going to happen. You have to aim to minimise it, give people a reason to care enough to buy your game. People pirate now more than ever because there's just so little originality, very often you're just paying for a new version of what you already had.

Most people pirate because they can't afford it, or can't justify the cost, therefore were never going to buy it in the first people. People have a finite amount of money, they don't just draw it out of the air to make a specific purchase.

I find it pretty amazing that most people are more than willing to pay for software.

Not to mention that copy protection most effects those who bought it legally. Starforce is really quite absurd, the last game I had with it, I had to uninstall Starforce because it was physically beginning to damage my CD drive. If there's a game like that, as far as I'm concerned, I have no choice but to crack it.

Yet they're the good guys, the pirates are the bad guys? Or maybe you're just a little gullible?

In the past, yes. Yet they've yet to crack down on Wii piracy. Before Nintendo were a smaller company and relied more on sales. With the Wii, they've already had a hit, and thus far haven't gotten greedy.

"Steal" a game, this is where I know you're talking out of your ass. The average joe doesn't pirate anyway, and "Hardware modification" these days means plugging a dongle into your Wii or PS2's USB port.

MMOs are kinda fail anyway TBH. I'd rather play a game like Oblivion where the people in it are more believable.

 

there are a lot more people pirating pc games than there are physically modding 360s and ps3s to play pirated copies

 

i got bored too....i dont know why though....it really is quite redundant and was an extremely overhyped game

 

pc gaming was never dead and this year, there will be an excess of awesome games. farcry2 ... u can free roam in farcry2 for 50 sqkm. 360 is good but best games and graphics as well as cpu's are on the pc. the has only a few games that are actually worthy of pirating , nintendo needs to put quality control on the games it published. the of good to sucky games is like 5 : 50.

 

I haven't played any games on my 9262 since midnight 4/28... I can't figure out how people can get bored so easily with a game that has as much freedom and content as gta IV, but to each his own. I myself have an insatiable appetite for murdering people online in a variety of ways, and I think that the storyline and voice acting are as good as video games get. Everyone goes on and on about games like cod4 and halo 3 ( I own both and they are good games ) like they are the greatest thing ever, but they bring nothing new to the table. Crysis is so boring I couldn't even stomach playing through the demo.

 

gaming laptops are quite handy, but not necessary. (still love my x205)

Gaming PCs are necessary... console games are mostly for people with low attention spans... while PC games are made for adults.

I have a collection of great PC games that I frequently reload just to go through again, while I can only think of one or two console games I could be bothered to play again even if they would work on my current hardware.

Cracking consoles is not difficult... is it slightly harder than a PC? yeah... but PC gamers are more likely to pay for it as well. (we paid $2K for a machine, we'll pay $40-50 for a game too) Cracking at that level is done by people who will NEVER pay for a game ever... be it console, PC, or anything else.

The reason they are moving to console is because the games take less time to develop and the gamers on them are less picky.

Halo and its sequel are prime examples of mediocre PC games that are by comparison godly console games.

more "blockbuster" mediocre games for less-picky users is more money.


The problem is that we are polluting the gene pool with people who should have darwinned themselves long ago... and they have managed to make it to management positions in game companies.

Yup... the idiots who think the cracking crowd will be even slowed by DRM or putting it in a console game...

 

I wonder if the games released for both pc and consoles are just meant for the moderately intelligent. I should just check with KernalPanic from now on to make sure my intelligence level is high enough to play games on my pc. Afterall, I did grow up on console games and may be a mental deficient who's just not aware of it.

 

Hmm, so I`m not the only one that feels like a hammer and everyone around is a nail

 

Dont know what kind of games you like but i find COD4 and CS:S some very good FPS shooters then you have BF2 which i dont play very often anymore but oke this are old games and i can prob fill a whole page with good old games.

Upcoming games i personally like are:

Age of Cronan (mmorpg) but i dont know if i wanne try this after my wow adiction
Battlefield Heroes (which will be free )

And im sure GTA4 comes to the PC in like 6-9 months which will give hours and hours of fun modding and such

 

its defintaly worth it. go for the ps3. since the wii has low end graphics and the 360 is basically a gaming computer (i own all three btw)

 

My wii is probably the most advanced game machine ever made

 

why are most console games ported to the PC then? are the PC developers too stupid to make up their own games?

 

Most games are made for console first because console games make way more money, and PCs are more flexible and forgiving as far as specs and functionality. It is easier and cheaper to target a console then port to PC than vice versa. The notable exceptions of course are strategy games, which practically never come out on console at all.

 

yes if you really want to lose a rts use a gamepad

 

Orly, you are obviously one naive SOB aren't you as you apparently haven't been to many torrent sites

I have no idea what your rambling about a dongle because you've obviously have never heard of a no cd crack or exe.loader.

Most console mods still require a firmware mod to either the drive or BIOS. Go play with someone else as you obviously have no idea what your talking about.

 

PC as a gaming platform just beats the hell out of everything else. I've owned a plethora of consoles over the years, but as each year goes by I am more and more drawn to my PC for games. Sure, XBOX360 and PS3 and Wii are very fun, but games just seem built for computers. The newest consoles are just computers with fancy cases and handheld keyboards. Steam is what really blew open the floodgates for the PC as a gaming platform. I buy SO many more PC games than console games.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Gears and Mass Effect and Halo (123) and Metal Gear and Final Fantasy and Zelda and Mario...but it seems that as time passes, games become less console-centric, even considering the fact that many companies say they are focusing more on consoles. The games will eventually reach the PC anyway! Maybe it'll take a few extra years for Wii-style games, because of the (fabulous) Wii-mote.

 

Internet Piracy.

Serious business.

 

Console gaming is a cheaper alternative to building a gaming rig. Both have their pro's and con's. Neither is superior than the other IMO.

 

PC gaming is more superior IF you have the money!! I mean, you could always just plug a joystick or controller into a computer, but you cant plug a keyboard and mouse into a console and use that. Computers are always going to be ahead of console graphics because a console is stuck with the parts inside of it! however its much cheaper to play on console and games are form-fitted to that platform, meaining no lag issues from outdated parts, IN THEORY (in GTAIV, many 360 players are complaining of system lag). Computers are just crystal clear and customizable options, resolutions, etc.... But i noticed one thing your USUALLY one or the other. Ive been a counterstrike 1.6 guy, so i always play other computer stuff now. But xbox and PS ppl will argue to the grave for consoles. If you are a COMPUTER gamer, and you know you are solely that, a gaming machine is definitely worth it, IMHO... one suggestion... the clevo D901c (desktop processor and SLI capability, you'll think your desktop just shrunk)........ just a thought...

 

Back to the topic lads ..... for me it's all about gaming and mobility ... I am away from home 6 months a year. I move from Europe to Africa, from Africa to America ... and anywhere I am I can play my favorite games on my machine. You can't do that with a console.