With the decline in PC gaming players and the rise in console only titles the questions comes up, will PC gaming suffer due to the release of the console only (for now) multiplayer GTA4?
Long has it been said that the old PC cannot compete against the pick up and play console versions of games but when the PC is not even getting a version it looks as though the console may win through exclusive titles alone. Except for the World of Warcraft crowd but as soon as a console version of that comes around on the Wii its not hard to imagine all the players jumping across the divide.What makes this even more possible is the Battlefield franchise. Long has Battlefield 2 been one of the main games to play online for the PC but it was released years ago. Eventually games do show their age like Counter Strike and with the release of the next Battlefield title only on consoles leaving its PC home in the dust just like Grand Theft Auto the number of people spending more and more time on consoles becomes more obvious. The only thing that PC Battlefield players have to look forward to is the release of the Team Fortress 2 - but not, Battlefield: Heroes.
Even PC only titles such as BioShock and Crysis are being ported in some way or sequel to the consoles. What makes things worse is strategy gaming the one place a PC gamer felt safe in knowing was not going to be moving has done so. Take the C&C series with the release of Tiberium on 360 and the release at some time of the console exclusive Halo Wars things do look bad.
When PC games get old and no replacements come along could we all be sent to buy a console without knowing it?
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Tags: 360, Battlefield, Console, grand theft auto, GTA4, multiplayer, PC
PC gaming will always be alive and well. It’s a different type of audience than console gamers. Eventually when there’s a super computer in the home then and only then will these two mediums merge, if you even want to call it that. The only difference between PCs and consoles today is their interface. After that it’s all the same.
The only reason games like GTA 4, Halo 3, and other such games are hitting consoles only or first, is because companies like Microsoft and Sony can make more money via XBox Live and PSNation than they can with any PC release. Today’s gaming world has been taken over by the accountants, with everything aimed in a manner to keep the cash flowing. By releasing games on console only, those companies force you not only to buy the game, but the console and controller, a subscription, accessories for that console, and then in some cases you buy things for the game. It’s simple economics, and has nothing to do with difficulty coding a game for the PC.
An example on how money is driving developers to choose consoles over PC would be the map pack release for CoD4. They released the pack for XBox and PS3 before PC, which has a HUGE player base simply because it is nigh impossible to get people to pay for the map pack on PC. They eventually decided to bite the bullet and release the maps anyways, but it still isn’t out yet. The point being, however, that the higher control they have over how and what is available to the consumer makes it impossible for gamers to get anything for free.
As for the survival of PC gaming — PC gaming will never be phased out until someone develops a keyboard and mouse interface for the console. Even then, the open source code platform provided by the PC has given birth to one of the single most popular online games in history (see Counter-Strike). Also consider that an MMO on the console is still clunky and difficult to manage things like inventories. Has it been done? Yes, with games like Oblivion, but those games will always be for the PC until someone develops that console friendly keyboard and mouse.
GTA4 will not be the end of pc gaming.. for one, there’s a ton of people who couldn’t care less about that tired franchise. WoW will never be on Wii, and WoW is by far not the only pc only game that has a good fanbase, its just the largest. Also, Bioshock was ported to pc, not the other way around.
Consoles make me mad, PCs are by far superior.
screw paying big $ for a game machine thats unmoddable, unupgradable, cant update games via patching, etc.
mouse aiming is > controller aiming.
PC is all good all around.
GTA4 will be out for PC guaranteed. Why?
1) They want the money
2) They release the consoles first because they’re much harder to copy
3) You can’t really mod console versions like the PC one, so if you use logic - they’re going to test it on all the console customers first, not that they haven’t tested it already, but issues do come up.
4) PC gameplay is much better than console and always has been. A solid mid-range PC will run this better than a console with more detail, resolution, and more control over input devices.
I’m with Brian. PC’s blow consoles away, well at least mine does. Aiming with a mouse is way easier. That’s why none of the game companies will mix the X-Boxers and PS3ers together with PC Gamers. They’d get their asses handed to them. Console controls turn the whole map when you need to turn. PC’s turn the player. Auto aim sucks because you leave it to the console to choose what you are aiming at. PC is pure freedom. GTA4 will come to PC otherwise it would be a finacial mistake on Rock Stars part. Rock Star, if your listening, We the PC’s have spoken. BRING IT. Don’t hate us cause we’re beatiful.
I love GTA series, but will NEVER buy a console just to play this 4th game. As was posted already, PCs are far superior for games, PC gamers are a lot more serious about gaming, and if R* won’t release GTA 4 for PC they are running the risk of alienating a lot of hardcore gamers and gaming (modding) community.
I hate consoles!!! I have all the GTA games for PC and would like to see GTA4 on PC.
You have so much more freedom, use your own music in the game, and add different mods, maps and missions.
I was recently on the GTAForums site and there was one guy that made a stupid remark that GTA4 will eventually on pc for people who can’t afford a console.
My PC is at least 4 times more expensive than any console
Few months ago I bought a Wii console, just because the way you control the game was something new. Well, it was fun for a few weeks, now it’s collecting dust under my TV.
Yes, absolutely PC games are much better in many ways, especially “customizable”….BUT, as Dell did in the ’90’s, Microsoft and Sony both feel they can continue to forcibly upgrade their customer base for the next few years…hence resulting in much more $$$$. Now that PC’s have kind of peaked in recent years…where’s the hardware $$$$? Clue: Consoles!
That’s all it is…it’s about the $$$$ and it’s entirely logical that MS and Sony and whomever is now into consoles have a handful of years remaining where they can really….REALLY….milk the console user base: Just keep upping the “next generation” of console! Period! Every year or whenever as soon as possible!
Just my $.02 worth
Stevo from Chicago. PC Gamer (bumming on GTA4)
wow the guy who posted origional coment should maybe read first. battlefield 3 IS coming out for the pc.
Gta 4 will be coming to the pc, ext
I love my computer but when it comes to sports, cars amd fighting games like mortal combat ext then i prefere a ps3. Now that hd is here i will be happy if the ps4 has a keyboard and mouse suport, Sorry, i live and breath my pc but am fed up at the cost of graphics upgrading to play games on their full setings. In 1997 a new card top of the range was 150 ponds and it played everything for 2 years. Now that 150 is 3-400 for a card but hey games arnt that smooth.
I cant wait for the pc market to falter as this may force hardware manufaturers to be fairer towards us consumers.
Anyway after all said and done theres a place for both the console and the pc and people who dont think there is are usually new owners of a console
All the previous console Grand Theft Autos were ported so why are we worrying?
Besides that, China is falling in love with pc gaming. Can you already picture the millions of Chinese people going to cybercafe to play Counterstrike?
Wow! this article is full of pessimism, i mean you’re saying that the whole RPG, RTS, FPS and MMO fans have to some how dissapear from the face of earth, we all know that these genres are the most prominent in pc gaming in fact this genres are the most popular among gamers even some of the the best games in this genres are PC only (RTS=starcraft, MMO=WoW, FPS=Counter-strike. and many more) just because a few developers and publishers have gone multiplatform or consoles only doesn’t mean pc gaming is dead, go tell that to blizzard with their new starcraft II and diablo III
The second you make “exclusive” titles ala console only, thats when your destroying the gaming industry. I refuse to go out and buy 3 different consoles just to play 3 different games i might enjoy. Especially when my PC can do much more than a console which may as well be a mid-range PC.
I will never buy a console again, once I became a PC gamer, ive realized how much great it is in the long run. Playing on medium settings looks better on my PC than anything on a console, not to mention the freedom of the keyboard/mouse combo. But also, instead of spending that $600+++ for the console games and all those extras you need to play that certain game, i spend $600 on a pc and upgrade the videocard every few years to keep up with the graphic uprise. All in all, I come out ahead because im not purchasing a stripped PC err console, that has so many issues with overheating or limitations as far as modding goes. The PC way of gaming will never die. Those console games you love so much were created on a PC…to deny games their birthright…well…its like putting meat in front of a starving dog and expecting him not to eat it…
Yes consoles have become more popular…for a reason I still dont understand…the pc is capable of much much more than any console will ever be able to accomplish. All i say however is if games are released, make them multiplatform instead of exclusive…so we can all enjoy the horrid games with bad stories that we have all come to accept.
consoles have become popular because they’re a dumbed down interface for the masses, unless people vote with their feet, manufacturers will continued to milk the populace for cash. Flogging tired and dumbed down versions of games, when people really want customisable community driven games, cash counts, our needs go wanting…. every version we expect greater freedoms in games, yet we get delivered a walled garden with higher walls. GTA4… pish, no planes, no parachutes, smaller land mass than any other version of the game, stupider cops, no customisable cars, limited wardrobe, no character customisation or development, it’s linear, people! Yet we suck it down cos the graphics are better……
My PC is my console! The only purpose my Windoze box has is to play games (all my surfing, email, developing, etc is done on Mac and Linux). Maybe.. and I mean a BIG maybe if I was able to just plug a mouse/keyboard into a 360 I might be persuaded to buy one. I know there are hardware hacks for mouse on the 360, but why should I have to develop my own circuit board adapter just to play a game. I just cant see playing any kind of modern game without something as simple as a mouse. These controllers become more and more “advanced”, but could be replaced with a simple ball and 3 buttons.
Å buddy of mine left his stuff here while overseas including his 360 with GTA, COD4 and a host of other titles and I won’t touch that PoS. I’ll have more fun driving his 10 year old Honda around then using that worthless console/controller…
The sad part here is that Sony and M$ muscled Rockstar into exclusive deals against the PC community so they can boost sales of their B$ console hardware, and we, the PC’ers gave the 1st GTAs games their 1st platform. I’ll never buy another Sony product (haven’t since the PS1) and the 1st thing I’ll do when GTA4 comes out for the PC is get it running under Wine (Go to hell, M$).
And to agree with a previous poster on this thread about being able to “afford” a console… The RAID controller in my Linux server costs about as much as a console, let alone the SCSI drives attached to it. Cost has nothing to do with it, it’s all about performance and principle at this point.
Hell, I’ll go back to playing the original Test Drive on my C64 before I touch that 360 in my spare room.