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Is a new PC a better choice than a next gen console?

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
Like a lot of you (I guess) I'm currently weighing up my next-gen options, in a couple of years chances are I'll have convinced myself to buy all the consoles, but for the first 12-24 months all my eggs will be in one basket.

I feel that both launch line ups are pretty lackluster, and of all the stuff slated for 2013 release everything I really want to play will also be out on PC. My PC isn't anywhere near capable of running the likes of Watchdogs at current gen levels let alone next-gen, so the option of investing my money in a new PC instead has become a real possibility.

That got me thinking, what would I miss out on if I put all my console eggs in the PC basket for the next 2 years? Would it be so much stuff that I regretted spending the money? Things seem great now on PC, but how much do console launches affect what gets released on PC?

So I did a little research:

I went back to 1998 (so as to catch multiple system launches), listed the highest reviewed games from metacritic for each year, and picked 10 of what I consider (personal taste warning) to be the ten biggest/most talked about games from each year, the kind of games that you wouldn't want to have missed out on.

I then charted if a PC version was available at around the same time

Here's what I found:

1Eopvak.jpg


Here's the games I used:

Code:
1998			PC	
Zelda: Ocarina of Time	0	
Half Life		1	
Grim Fandango		1	
Thief			1	
Fallout 2		1	
Metal Gear Solid	0	
Baldurs Gate		1	
Starcraft		1	
Banjo Kazooie		0	
Gran Tourismo		0	
Total PC Games		6	
		
1999			PC	
SoulCalibur		0	
Homeworld		1	
Gran Tourismo 2		0	
Age of Empires II	1	
Alpha Centauri		1	
Sytem Shock 2		1	
Unreal Tournament	1	
Tony Hawk		0	
Planescape: Torment	1	
Freespace 2		1	
Total PC Games		7	
		
2000			PC	(PS2 Release)
Tony Hawk 2		1	
Perfect Dark		0	
Baldurs Gate 2		1	
Zelda: Majoras Mask	0	
Final Fantasy IX	0	
Jet Grind Radio		0	
SSX			0	
The Sims		1	
Virtua Tennis		0	
The Longest Journey	1	
Total PC Games		4	
		
2001			PC
GTA 3			0	(Late release)
Tony Hawk 3		0	
Halo			0	
MGS 2			0	
Gran Tourismo 3: A-Spec	0	
Devil May Cry		0	
Paper Mario		0	
Final Fantasy X		0	
Conkers Bad Fur Day	0	
ICO			0	
Total PC Games		0	
		
2002			PC
Metroid Prime		0	
GTA: Vice City		0	
Splinter Cell		0	
Warcraft 3		1	
Eternal Darkness	0	
Super Mario Sunshine	0	
Medal of Honor		1	
Resident Evil		0	
Battlefield 1942	1	
Morrowind		1	
Total PC Games		4	
		
2003			PC
Star Wars: KOTOR	0	(Late release)
Virtual Fighter 4	0	
Viewtiful Joe		0	
PoP: Sands of Time	1	
Call of Duty		1	
Ratchet & Clank 2	0	
Panzer Dragoon Orta	0	
PGR 2			0	
Burnout 2		0	
Beyond Good & Evil	1	
Total PC Games		3	
		
2004			PC	
Half Life 2		1	
GTA: San Andreas	0	
Halo 2			0	
Burnout 3		0	
World of Warcraft	1	
UT 2004			1	
Rome: Total War		1	
Metroid Prime 2		0	
MGS 3			0	
Ninja Gaiden		0	
Total PC Releases	4	
		
2005			PC	 Xbox 360 Launch
Resident Evil 4		0	
Civilisation IV		1	
God of War		0	
SC: Chaos Theory	1	
Forza			0	
Battlefield 2		1	
Shadow of the Colossus	0	
Guitar Hero		0	
Burnout Revenge		0	
Call of Duty 2		1	
Total PC Releases	4	
		
2006			PC	
Zelda: TP		0	
Oblivion		1	
Gears of War		0	
Okami			0	
Company of Heroes	1	
Final Fantasy XII	0	
Tom Clancy: GRAW	0	
MGS3: Subsistence	0	
HL2: Episode One	1	
Bully			0	
Total PC Releases	3	
		
2007			PC       Launch of Steam Community
Super Mario Galaxy	0	
Bioshock		1
The Orange Box		1	
Halo 3			0	
Modern Warfare		1	(Less than a month late)
God of War 2		0	
Rock Band		0	
Mass Effect		0	
Crysis			1	
Uncharted		0	
Total PC Releases	4	
		
2008			PC	
GTA IV			0	
Little Big Planet	0	
MGS 4			0	
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	0	
Gears of War 2		0	
Fallout 3		1	
Braid			0	
Fable 2			0	
Burnout Paradise	1	
Left 4 Dead		1	
Total PC Releases	3	
		
2009			PC	
Uncharted 2		0	
Street Fighter IV	0	(Late Release)	
Modern Warfare 2	1	
Forza 3			0	
Batman: Arkham Asylum	1	
Dragon Age: Origins	1	
Killzone 2		0	
Assassins Creed 2	0	
Borderlands		1	
DiRT 2			1	
Total PC Releases	5	
		
2010			PC	
Super Mario Galaxy 2	0	
Mass Effect 2		1	
Red Dead Redemption	0	
Starcraft 2		1	
God of War III		0	
Halo: Reach		0	
Civilization V		1	
Super Meat Boy		1	(Just over a month late)	
Bioshock 2		1	
Fallout New Vegas	1	
Total PC Releases	6	
		
2011			PC	
Batman Arkham City	1	
Skyrim			1	
Portal 2		1	
Minecraft		1	
Uncharted 3		0	
Battlefield 3		1	
Gears of War 3		0	
Deus Ex			1	
Dead Space 2		1	
L.A. Noire		0	(Late Release)	
Total PC Releases	7	
		
2012			PC	
Mass Effect 3		1	
The Walking Dead	1	
Journey			0	
Far Cry 3		1	
Borderlands 2		1	
XCOM			1	
Fez			0	
Diablo III		1	
The Witcher 2		1	
Sleeping Dogs		1	
Total PC Releases	8	
		
2013 (to date)		PC	
The Last of Us		0	
Bioshock Infinite	1	
DOTA 2			1	
Tomb Raider		1	
Pikmin 3		0	
Saints Row IV		1	
DmC: Devil May Cry	1	
Splinter Cell:Blacklist	1	
Papers, Please		1	
Rogue Legacy		1	
Total PC Releases	8

The data seems to show that consoles have the power to bring the PC market to it's knees. The PS2 era changed what the market thought a good game was, and changed what people wanted from the experience, and no one working on the PC kept up. Over the last 10 years the PC market has adapted and crept back into mainstream relevance, and the PS3 era has failed to be as disruptive to the PC, if anything it fed off of what was happening there.

Do you think the next gen consoles have the technical capabilities or the ecosystem to disrupt the market like the PS2 did? Will PC ports drop off the cliff once console devs get used to playing with 8gig of RAM?

Or is the PC running the show in terms of innovation and technical capabilities now?
 

Skelter

Banned
Yup. I think with next gen costs I think we'll see even more games going multi-plat actually. PC is just too big of a market to not spend a couple of dollars to port. It also helps that I can play every game I own on my computer regardless of how old as long as I am willing to take the time to get it running or just buy from GOG.

In the short term sure it's expensive to build a brand new PC but in the long you'll end up saving hundreds thanks to Steam, Amazon, GOG, Greenman Gaming and any other store. The price of admission doesn't seem so steep because of the open nature of the PC market. Competition keeps game prices in constant flux unlike console games which can remain $60 for months at a time with out a single drop.
 

Stallion Free

Cock Encumbered
This is going to lead to deep and meaningful discussion. Especially with bits like:

"Will PC ports drop off the cliff once console devs get used to playing with 8gig of RAM?"
 

Kade

Member
Maybe, maybe not.

This is going to lead to deep and meaningful discussion. Especially with bits like:

"Will PC ports drop off the cliff once console devs get used to playing with 8gig of RAM?"

Also, "BUT PC DOESN'T HAVE THE LAST OF US AND HALO 4!"
 

NinjaBoiX

Member
If you want to spend three times the money, sure.

PC's will always be ahead of the game, but you need to spend the time and money for it to be worth your while. I can't be arsed with the messing around, tweaking and updating, fuck that!

Plug and play all the way.
 

AngryMoth

Member
New console delivers good bang for your buck and the graphics are going to be pretty fucking good for the next 2-3 years. Best time to get a new pc is mid cycle once the consoles start showing their age and pc versions start massively out performing them. But it depends on your genre preferences and how much you care about first party exclusives. If your an RTS fan go for a PC, but if you couldn't live without playing the new Halo next year or naughty dogs new project get a console.
 

FACE

Banned
1999 was a good year for PC gaming.
"Will PC ports drop off the cliff once console devs get used to playing with 8gig of RAM"

Because 8 gbs of RAM is soooooooo rare amongst PC gamers.
 

Doctor Ninja

Sphincter Speaker
I am planing on getting a PC instead of a next gen console myself. My PC is 7 years old with no upgrades what so ever. It served me well since then but I'll replace it soon enough. I'll get a PS4 in 2014 and and Xbox One later down the line.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Obviously it depends on the person.

Pay $4xx (or less) once, enjoy simple access to the industry's biggest games for years to come is a hard proposition to argue with if you're talking about the general masses.
 

bomblord

Banned
The consoles will probably last you another 7 years. Your PC will be outdated in 7 years.

If you have the disposable income to keep upgrading go for it. I have a midrange PC and I'm sure itll still run basic games down the line but in 3 years I've gone from running games on high - ultra in 1080p to being on the mid-low end of the recommended specs.

If I had the disposable income to keep on the high range of PC gaming I would personally use it to get all 3 consoles as I'de rather have the exclusives.
 

Blearth

Banned
The consoles will probably last you another 7 years. Your PC will be outdated in 7 years.

If you have the disposable income to keep upgrading go for it. I have a midrange PC and I'm sure itll still run basic games down the line but in 3 years I've gone from running games on high - ultra in 1080p to being on the mid-low end of the recommended specs.

A PC that's more powerful than a console will always be more powerful than a console.
 
It depends on your budget and what types of games you enjoy. If you're expecting 3D platforming games on the PC, as an example, you'll have trouble finding many to play besides the occasional indie title (like a Hat in Time).

If you jRPGs you might find the occasional niche one or classic hitting the PC, but for the most part you'll have to resort to emulators for your jRPG needs.

If you like rhythm games, you'll have slim pickings on the PC.

If you like fighting games your mileage will vary rather randomly, but you will miss out on some excellent titles by not having a console.

If you like arcade racers, other than Need for Speed or some classic games you won't find many there.

If you're looking for something like Journey, Ico or Shadow of the Colossus, you won't find many of those on the PC. Those types of games only exist and with the quality they have because a publisher invested in them.

If you like weird quirky japanese games you'll have a hard time finding any for the PC.

However if you like F2P games, MOBAs (like League of Legends or Dota 2), MMORPGs, and most of your game library consists of third-party publisher titles (like Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, etc.) you will have a great time with a PC. But I think the ideal choice is to pick a console which has the most exclusives you like and pair it with a PC to get the best of both worlds.

I think a PS4/Xbox1 and a PC or a Wii U and a PC (depending on what types of games you appreciate the most) are solid choices.
 

Syf

Banned
I think so, but it depends a lot on your game preferences and how much money you've got to spend on a new PC.
 

Courage

Member
Not now. A PC will be worth buying in a year or two when new GPUs come out that blow next gen consoles out of the water.
 

Sentenza

Member
I went back to 1998 (so as to catch multiple system launches), listed the highest reviewed games from metacritic for each year, and picked 10 of what I consider (personal taste warning) to be the ten biggest/most talked about games
Eh. That's not the most objective parameter, is it?
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
If you want to spend three times the money, sure.

PC's will always be ahead of the game, but you need to spend the time and money for it to be worth your while. I can't be arsed with the messing around, tweaking and updating, fuck that!

Plug and play all the way.

I will argue with you that it is cheaper. I got a computer good enough to handle any current game for $800 a year ago. It will need to be updated eventually sure and is hardly cutting edge, but it's been doing a superb job. Also, how cheap games on PC can be with platforms like Steam, GOG, GreenManGaming, GamersGate, etc., is frankly ridiculous. By default PC ports are usually cheaper, run a lot better, and the amount of games that go on sale ON TOP of price cuts is over the top.

This is also ignoring the fact the PC does other functions that consoles are beginning to focus on (music, TV shows, movies, messaging systems) better.
 

bomblord

Banned
A PC that's more powerful than a console will always be more powerful than a console.

But they won't keep modifying the games to meet the low end PC specs while they will with consoles.

try running skyrim on 512mb of Ram on a PC with no dedicated ram for the graphics card.
 

Skelter

Banned
The consoles will probably last you another 7 years. Your PC will be outdated in 7 years.

If you have the disposable income to keep upgrading go for it. I have a midrange PC and I'm sure itll still run basic games down the line but in 3 years I've gone from running games on high - ultra in 1080p to being on the mid-low end of the recommended specs.

If I had the disposable income to keep on the high range of PC gaming I would personally use it to get all 3 consoles as I'de rather have the exclusives.

My PC is a HD 5770 and Q6600. It's been outdated for a long time now. I can still play Witcher 2, Battlefield 3 or Skyrim at 1920x1200 with pretty much everything on at a better framerate than any console. Hell if I play at 1280x720 and connect my PC to my tv I get a constant 60 frames all the time.
 

Blearth

Banned
But they won't keep modifying the games to meet the low end PC specs while they will with consoles.

try running skyrim on 512mb of Ram on a PC with no dedicated ram for the graphics card.

That PC wouldn't run a launch 360 game.

But a mid-range PC built in 2007/2008 will still run Skyrim better than a 360/PS3, even though that PC is outdated.

This time, a mid-range PC built in 2012/2013 will run games better than an X1/PS4, even in 2018 or whatever.
 

gngf123

Member
I'd try to make any current PC you have last as long as possible. Console hardware will be weaker than any high end gaming PC you decide to pick up, but games will be optimised better for it in the long run.

A year or two into the generation, pick up your PC.
 

nkarafo

Member
The consoles will probably last you another 7 years. Your PC will be outdated in 7 years.

If you have the disposable income to keep upgrading go for it. I have a midrange PC and I'm sure itll still run basic games down the line but in 3 years I've gone from running games on high - ultra in 1080p to being on the mid-low end of the recommended specs.

If I had the disposable income to keep on the high range of PC gaming I would personally use it to get all 3 consoles as I'de rather have the exclusives.
If you buy a console you also need disposable income in order to buy the same console (possibly different revision) again during the generation. That's because it's bound to die in 2 or 3 years. And if you buy the XBone you might need to buy it 3 times or more. I had to buy it 2 times. Who knows how many hardware problems these new machines will have.

At least a Desktop PC is easier to maintain, easier to keep cool and if you buy good quality parts its not going to die except maybe a hard drive at some point (moving parts always suck).
 

Rootbeer

Banned
Yes. A decent-to-great gaming PC should be everyone's main priority as a gamer, IMO. Consoles and handhelds are secondary :)

It's well-documented how the Xbone and PS4's architecture's are far more similar to a PC than their previous incarnations. We should see a surge in PC ports. Steam and Origin are gaining momentum as well. Oh, and there's that new Sims 4 game which could drive more people to upgrade their PCs, which is always good for our industry. Enthusiasts have been floating things for a while (especially since the introduction of the iPad) but we can't support EVERYTHING, we need more gamers of all sorts to join the PC.

Get a gaming PC!
 

Haunted

Member
PC + Nintendo has served me well. I usually end up picking up Sony's offerings as well when they're cheaper down the road.
 

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
This is going to lead to deep and meaningful discussion. Especially with bits like:

"Will PC ports drop off the cliff once console devs get used to playing with 8gig of RAM?"


Maybe the wording is bad but I stand by the point, everyone is loving the PC port of Saints Row 4, but Saints Row 2 came out 4 months later on PC and was still god awful. New consoles demand more developer resources and invariably things slip.

Talking of that Saints Row 4 port, the minimum spec for RAM is 4 gig, this is porting a game that runs (albeit badly) on less that 512meg on 360. What are the requirements going to be for PC ports of console games that were designed to run on 5gig?
 

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
The consoles will probably last you another 7 years. Your PC will be outdated in 7 years.

If you have the disposable income to keep upgrading go for it. I have a midrange PC and I'm sure itll still run basic games down the line but in 3 years I've gone from running games on high - ultra in 1080p to being on the mid-low end of the recommended specs.

If I had the disposable income to keep on the high range of PC gaming I would personally use it to get all 3 consoles as I'de rather have the exclusives.

To counter this argument you could now say and early adopter pays (Not sure on USD) $500AUD for a PS4 and then each year pay $70AUD for PS+ (say for six years given this gens legs) that equals $920AUD for the console and online subscription. Now lets say you buy one retail game per month on average (some months you might buy two, other months none). Given that console games are easily $20AUD more at least that is an additional $240AUD per year, multiplied by 6 that's $1440AUD.That's a grand total of $2360AUD.

You could easily purchase a decent gaming rig here for $1200AUD. If you really wanted to shop around for PC games from places like Green Man Gaming you could easily get the games for closer to half that of console game prices and then you add in Steam sales where you can get year old retail games for $7AUD.

It's a no brainer. As consoles now are adding pay walls to online the subscription is really adding to the overall cost of the machine. People seem to forget this.
 

deadlast

Member
Launch console vs PC has always seemed like a silly argument to me. You have exclusives on both systems, there will always be a large amount of shared releases down the road, and the cost to power ratios are always lopsided toward the console in the beginning.

The PC has more potential, if you want to invest in it and continue to invest in it. However, it just doesn't seem to make sense to build a gaming rig at the beginning of new generation of consoles because of the cost to power ratio. The money I dropped in 2005 on my gaming PC was a huge waste. I should have just bought an xbox at that time or waited 2 to 3 years to build a PC that could out class the PS360.
 

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
Eh. That's not the most objective parameter, is it?

No admittedly, but If I hadn't done that every year would have had 5 sports games in it, and I didn't think that would be a very good indicator.

Ideally I'd count up lots more games (50-100) but I can't find a good way to get at that data.
 

velociraptor

Junior Member
It depends.

If you like to play games with your friends and like to do so with a controller, get a console.

If you like to play games with the best possible graphics (provided you have a PC that is more powerful than the PS4), then get a PC.

Personally I will purchase multiplatform games on PC provided they are single player only. Any game which has a multiplayer emphasis I will play on the PS4, simply because that's where all my friends are as well as 'online buddies'.
 

ToyBroker

Banned
Let me guess, people in this thread are discussing the games you picked to make your fancy graph instead of whether to go PC or next-gen system.

It seems pretty simple to me.

You got the cash? Build a fancy PC.
Can't justify that much cash? Buy a PS4.

The end.
 

ghst

thanks for the laugh
rather than walking over old ground, i'm just going to dump what i've squeezed out previously:

consoles are a curated experience. you pay a modest price, get your modest hardware and get a guided tour of the lot. they are great entry level or supplementary devices, but offer the user no agency beyond what the manufacturer has planned for them.

there is a lot of fervour right now as some of those who are deeply connected to their hobby are having trouble coming to terms with the fact that their preferred console model is one which doesn't necessarily reward a large degree of investment. they offer a prescribed package tailored to the mass market.

if you are someone who wants to invest in this hobby beyond treating it as a distraction, you must have a PC. it's not even a question. in both next gen console's entire lifetimes, they won't build anything close to library of defining titles already available to the PC today. though i'm not sure how much of that you can already explore on your laptop.

there are big things coming to the PC market. DD has given way to an entire frontier of maverick game design, price and distribution which the consoles are scrambling to emulate, multiplatform support will be of unprecedented quality, the oculus rift is on the cusp of starting a revolution, esports is firmly rooted on the platform and 20nm GPU tech should see a performance leap like we haven't seen in years.

so i guess it all comes down to how active you want to be in your hobby. do you want to kick back at the end of the day and enjoy titles for what they are, enjoying tightly honed AAA blockbusters and signed-off indie titles without too much scrutiny or agency beyond playing the game itself? or do you want to actively invest in crafting the best experience you can for yourself, personalised for your idiosyncrasies?

all this is before getting into a power debate, the results of which are already firmly established. i will say that come october, the radeon 9000 series is dropping and the 20nm fabricated nvidia maxwell is pencilled in for q1. just things to consider

i keep seeing the same few titles trotted out by console gamers and i'm not sure if it's a victory of marketing or a failure of the human condition.

you'll occasionally see a PC person mention some big PC titles in rebuttal, but rarely do you see whole threads where every third post is name dropping dota, total war, arma or any other myriad titles which are limited to PC only. given the complete eclectic depth of the PC library, it seems trivial to ram a single title down someone's throat; PC caters for every taste and it's more important to open up a person to its possibilities than impose your own idea of the platform on then.

it'd like going to a film festival with a loud haler and screaming "oh yeah, but have you got olympus has fallen!?".

there is this weird thing going on where PC guys (including myself) get dragged in to this turgid battle of attrition on console terms. but what AAA exclusives does PC have, can you max out games for $400. it's like all the arguments are built on the myopic idea of gaming which comes from only feeding on what console manufacturers have deigned suitable to serve you up.

with the x86 format, indie devs are doing easy-peasy recompiles for the PS4 and with the anaemic launch catalogue, suddenly now indie titles - previously the realm of "who gives a fuck about that, have you seen uncharted" are now legitimated by the good grace of console manufacturers.

i'm sure if the PS4 started offering foobar support for music playback, that would be a selling point too. or let you use any USB mic, that would be worth mentioning. what about if it had a pretty good video editing package available for it? pretty neat. that's gotta bump up the value a few dollars. how about a rudimentary modding studio? imagine the possibilities - you don't see that on xbone!

only by imposing your own console orientated perspective on the capabilities of a gaming PC is the value debate even a debate. it's as ludicrous as rolling out the same fistful of conservative big budget exclusives in every argument, proudly flaunting the lack of idiosyncrasy or nuance in your tastes.
 

Liseda

Member
Yes, you'll still miss some interesting games if you don't have a console.
I don't really think PC will be "damaged" from the next-gen releases though, I think we actually will benefit from it quite a lot.
I've been mainly a PC gamer for years now but I have a PS3 and a Wii too for exclusive and local multiplayer games.

I'd go for the PC now and buy a PS4 later on when the games are a bit cheaper or better bundles.
 

Asd202

Member
I'll just go and say that almost every third party game will appear on PC when you have someone like SE openly saying that there thinking about putting FF XV out on PC you know the future is bright for PC. So if you're not into first party games get a PC.
 
Yea, for sure.

PC's tend to pay for themselves multiple times over if they are used for more than games, but even as just a gaming machine they essentially turn all current gen games into 1.5 versions of themselves at a minimum. Skyrim is a completely different game that I couldn't finish on consoles but can't keep my nose out of on PC for example, with profound changes both visually and mechanically.

The upgrade costs can be minimized by keeping up with market trends and selling used, pocketing that money and then upgrading.
 
You will be forever messing with settings, begging for ports and building stuff and spending money for the entire generation.
 
Launch console vs PC has always seemed like a silly argument to me. You have exclusives on both systems, there will always be a large amount of shared releases down the road, and the cost to power ratios are always lopsided toward the console in the beginning.

The PC has more potential, if you want to invest in it and continue to invest in it. However, it just doesn't seem to make sense to build a gaming rig at the beginning of new generation of consoles because of the cost to power ratio. The money I dropped in 2005 on my gaming PC was a huge waste. I should have just bought an xbox at that time or waited 2 to 3 years to build a PC that could out class the PS360.
In that case both PS360 were ahead of PC hardware. Xbone and PS4 are both using middling CPUs and already available or comparable GPUs, as far as I can tell. The situation has changed drastically from 8 years ago.
 
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