Is PC Gaming Worth It?

motherboard1 said:

I've just recently started playing Borderlands 2 Co-op with a friend. One PC, 2 screens, 2 Controllers (Xbox One, and logitech PS3 style controller). Running 2 whole displays with maxed graphics perfectly smooth on one system has been a great argument for PC gaming. At least for me.

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I didn't know you could do this on 1 pc

Until recently neither did I, but I'm glad I found out. There are a couple other titles as well, Left 4 dead 2, Resident evil 5 (I think). I wish other game developers would catch onto this, Local Co-op is such a great feature and PCs have the power to push it, AND on multiple displays at that. By the way you need to make batch files to launch the different instances of the game so the saves and controllers are handled properly, or there is a free program that arranges everything for you (which I use). But why developers aren't currently including this feature in PC games I don't know. Seams like a no brainer when you think of how many console titles have Local Co-op going all the way back.

If it's FPS, I'm at a loss as to why anyone would stick with a controller after trying an FPS with a mouse and keyboard.
Not to mention better graphics, more customization to the games and the ability to pretty much play any game via emulators anyway.

To me, consoles are crap. Mind you the only consoles I own are PS2 and my N64 but those are for nostalgic purposes only.

I love PC gaming period. Coming mainly from a Linux gamer myself lol that tends to run "old hardware" and never have the super pretty graphics. I just love the way PC gaming is as a whole. The control I have over my games and my gaming system. The community of the pc gaming world. All the parts I can pick from to keep my system going. Overclocking to game free performance and the fact that I can fix my own rig and generally for DIRT CHEAP compared to a console. I could go on forever lol

Also I'm a valve fanboi and let's face it if you are not playing a valve game on pc well.....

Silver_Pharaoh said:

If it's FPS, I'm at a loss as to why anyone would stick with a controller after trying an FPS with a mouse and keyboard.
Not to mention better graphics, more customization to the games and the ability to pretty much play any game via emulators anyway.

To me, consoles are crap. Mind you the only consoles I own are PS2 and my N64 but those are for nostalgic purposes only.

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After watching my brother play fps with a controller, I can see why some people would prefer it. The speed and accuracy he has with the thing is ridiculous!

dyckah said:

After watching my brother play fps with a controller, I can see why some people would prefer it. The speed and accuracy he has with the thing is ridiculous!

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With a controller?

dyckah said:

After watching my brother play fps with a controller, I can see why some people would prefer it. The speed and accuracy he has with the thing is ridiculous!

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I'll just leave this here since it's already known that keyboard + mouse is far more accurate and faster than a controller,

http://www.gamesradar.com/pc-gamers-destroyed-console-gamers-in-tests-says-voodoo-pc-founder/

Unfortunately it's not anymore, not at least in the traditional sense just follow the money. Right now the money is in mobile and the cloud and since that is where the focus is the traditional PC gaming we've known and loved will be around but not like what it used to. The company to watch is going to be Ericsson, it may seem odd but the ball is firmly in their court whether PC gaming lives or dies and right now so far it's going to die.

Ericsson bought the rights to Microsoft's "media room" platform that more than half of all ISPs are using to provide television service / internet; we use it, a lot of people use it. Microsoft really screwed the pooch by letting this go because the steamroller that is the PS4 is fixing to plow them down using it. Essentially media room is a framework that IPTV is based on and with it any sort of multicast or unicast video streams can be sent to any device. This is essence what Sony's Gaikai tried to do but could not perfect because it didn't own all the patent rights to the video compression they needed.... well now they do vica-ve their joint venture with Ericsson.

Now that they own the whole she-bang there is nothing, *absolutely* nothing stopping them from launching Playstation Now as a netflix like subscription that could be bundled with us (Uverse) or Verizon (FIOS) or anyone else who uses the Mediaroom platform and pushing full 1080P gaming streams to any set-top box or phone they like and I'm talking with as little as 3-6mb/s which is very doable on most LTE smartphones and internet connections. The day they roll that out is the day PC gaming dies because why bother? Why buy a $2000 overclocked rig if I can just hook up my 4K UHDTV to my free set-top-box that the ISP gave me and play any game I want, PC, Xbox, PS4 whatever.

The moment that choice is given you can kiss PC gaming goodbye and its coming, very very very soon. PC gaming 2.0 will all be about "what kind of monitor should I buy if my internet speeds are X" more than what graphics card gets ___ FPS. You watch... hell just go look at their website.

https://www.gaikai.com/

That won't be anytime soon, and on top of that, no relation to controller vs kb/mouse, lol.

Sure, it's known money right now is heavily in the mobile platform, but the PC as we know it will be here for some time. Things will change, but the pc isn't going anywhere. Streaming gaming is nothing new and people said the same thing you are saying back in '08, etc. It came and went as it is. While I do believe you have a point, I don't think we'll see it nearly as soon as you may think.

We aren't at a matured stage yet for virtual reality replacement of screen manipulation, so we are faaaaaaaar off, at least with current tech.

@ Sentential // Ominous.

@ mouse VS Controller // I'm a PC gamer almost exclusively since 2001, and fully appreciate the mouse/keyboard for a whole lot of reasons (CS1.6 , DoD , Americas army, BF3), precision, quick text communications, and highly customized controls essential for some games.

Controllers do however lend themselves well to gaming with friends that aren't PC gamers, and for non desktop gaming, like when I lug my PC to a friends house and hook it to the TV. It essentially becomes console gaming+ (graphics). Besides that, most newer titles would be too easy with a mouse.

Sentential said:

Unfortunately it's not anymore, not at least in the traditional sense just follow the money. Right now the money is in mobile and the cloud and since that is where the focus is the traditional PC gaming we've known and loved will be around but not like what it used to. The company to watch is going to be Ericsson, it may seem odd but the ball is firmly in their court whether PC gaming lives or dies and right now so far it's going to die.

Ericsson bought the rights to Microsoft's "media room" platform that more than half of all ISPs are using to provide television service / internet; we use it, a lot of people use it. Microsoft really screwed the pooch by letting this go because the steamroller that is the PS4 is fixing to plow them down using it. Essentially media room is a framework that IPTV is based on and with it any sort of multicast or unicast video streams can be sent to any device. This is essence what Sony's Gaikai tried to do but could not perfect because it didn't own all the patent rights to the video compression they needed.... well now they do vica-ve their joint venture with Ericsson.

Now that they own the whole she-bang there is nothing, *absolutely* nothing stopping them from launching Playstation Now as a netflix like subscription that could be bundled with us (Uverse) or Verizon (FIOS) or anyone else who uses the Mediaroom platform and pushing full 1080P gaming streams to any set-top box or phone they like and I'm talking with as little as 3-6mb/s which is very doable on most LTE smartphones and internet connections. The day they roll that out is the day PC gaming dies because why bother? Why buy a $2000 overclocked rig if I can just hook up my 4K UHDTV to my free set-top-box that the ISP gave me and play any game I want, PC, Xbox, PS4 whatever.

The moment that choice is given you can kiss PC gaming goodbye and its coming, very very very soon. PC gaming 2.0 will all be about "what kind of monitor should I buy if my internet speeds are X" more than what graphics card gets ___ FPS. You watch... hell just go look at their website.

https://www.gaikai.com/

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I don't understand.

How is "streaming" a game to replace PC gaming?
How the heck do we "stream" a game to the tv anyway?

I'm so lost right....................

Silver_Pharaoh said:

I don't understand.

How is "streaming" a game to replace PC gaming?
How the heck do we "stream" a game to the tv anyway?

I'm so lost right....................

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He went overboard with it, but think about streaming a game like this, instead of downloading and installing a game on your pc, you simply install a client that continuously downloads data from the game server to serve content to you via the client, similar to a web page. So once the client is installed, essentially most (if not all) of the game is "streamed" to your pc. Easiest way to think about it is remotely connecting to another person's pc (Teamviewer, etc.), similar concept.


Keep in mind though, if you have a crappy connection or intermittent connection issues, like most people have in the United States, it's asking a bit much until ISPs get with the times to even start a process like that.

sobe said:

He went overboard with it, but think about streaming a game like this, instead of downloading and installing a game on your pc, you simply install a client that continuously downloads data from the game server to serve content to you via the client, similar to a web page. So once the client is installed, essentially most (if not all) of the game is "streamed" to your pc. Easiest way to think about it is remotely connecting to another person's pc (Teamviewer, etc.), similar concept.


Keep in mind though, if you have a crappy connection or intermittent connection issues, like most people have in the United States, it's asking a bit much until ISPs get with the times to even start a process like that.

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Much better thanks!

Basically, plug a controller into your tv and you have a console/PC that plays any game.
That I can see killing PC gaming yes.

Well. at least I'll still have my $1000+ music player

sobe said:

That won't be anytime soon, and on top of that, no relation to controller vs kb/mouse, lol.

Sure, it's known money right now is heavily in the mobile platform, but the PC as we know it will be here for some time. Things will change, but the pc isn't going anywhere. Streaming gaming is nothing new and people said the same thing you are saying back in '08, etc. It came and went as it is. While I do believe you have a point, I don't think we'll see it nearly as soon as you may think.

We aren't at a matured stage yet for virtual reality replacement of screen manipulation, so we are faaaaaaaar off, at least with current tech.

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That's completely incorrect we're told Mediaroom 2.0 (under Sony-Ericsson) is going to be deployed in 2016, dont have all the details because im not an MEI or an design Engineer but I'm telling you it's coming much sooner than you think. We're actually gearing up for its deployment right now. Granted for now its about sending live TV anywhere and to any device but the proof-of-concept is absolutely there and there is very little technical limitations to Sony launching this globally using ISPs like us to do it.

Silver_Pharaoh said:

I don't understand.

How is "streaming" a game to replace PC gaming?
How the heck do we "stream" a game to the tv anyway?

I'm so lost right....................

Click to expand...

It's just like what sobe said mediaroom is a software platform that converts video to an ip address that can be beamed to any network compatible device like a TV or a set top box. It is principally been used for TV broadcasts but given Sony-Ericsson purchased it right before the PS4's launch makes me highly suspicious as the technology is similar to their Gaikai platform. What limits Playstation Now currently is the amount of data required to produce these interactive video streams, what they need is a better way of compressing the stream to a manageable level. Which they now have access to with the purchase of mediaroom. They now own a working platform, patents and the industry's best compression methods as well as the engineers who designed it.

Anything compatible with media room whether it be a TV, a set top box, a cell phone or any device, hell even in a car would be able to launch and play any type of streaming gaming service without the need for a PC or physical console and its coming very very soon. The first folks that will be able to support this will be anyone who has an IPTV platform. I suspect that Ericsson bought Mediaroom for this very purpose the first ones to get it are going to be people like us and Verizon. Also as soon as it was announced, we ended Xbox 360 support as a set top box FYI

I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't think people realize how easy this would be to do. Once the new Mediaroom platform goes live with the new compression algorithms all it would take would be the desire to "do" it. All Sony would need to do is call us and have us wire up a new pair of fiber jumpers to our FOT panel and then to the CRS routers plus a software update. Boom, playstation now immediately becomes available to all our customers. Essentially 10 minutes of work for us and a software update to our systems.

This is no where as difficult or sci-fi as you think it is, if they want to make it happen, it will.

Website for more details:
http://www.ericsson.com/ourportfolio/mediaroom-landingpage

Ericsson said:

The future is exciting, and Ericsson’s TV portfolio including Mediaroom is uniquely enabling content owners, TV service providers and operators to innovate and drive success in their businesses, technologies, and consumers towards a truly compelling TV Anywhere, multi-screen experience. Delivered to every device, over any network with the greatest video efficiency and quality.

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Silver_Pharaoh said:

With a controller?

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Yes. The speed and accuracy he has with a controller would blow your mind. Straight up unreal. He plays good when I put him on my pc with keyboard and mouse, normally better k/d than I do myself. But plug in the Xbox controller to the pc, and his scores will be at least top 5, probably top 3 in any fps I own, bf4, call of duty, whatever.

Silver_Pharaoh said:

If it's FPS, I'm at a loss as to why anyone would stick with a controller after trying an FPS with a mouse and keyboard.

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When I'm sitting on the couch gaming on my HTPC, the last thing I want to do is screw around with a keyboard and mouse. Almost all* modern PC games have great 360 controller support, and it's just a more comfortable gaming experience for me to use the controller.

Yeah, sure, some guy stuck in the past playing competitive Quake or Counterstrike or whatever will probably do better with a mouse and keyboard than a controller, but I ain't that guy. I'm here to kick back and have fun, and the controller option is much better suited to my needs. I can live with playing 5% (or whatever) worse than I would with a keyboard and mouse.

*DIAF, Bioware. Mass Effect and Dragon Age are console ports, let me use my damn controller with them

dyckah said:

Yes. The speed and accuracy he has with a controller would blow your mind. Straight up unreal. He plays good when I put him on my pc with keyboard and mouse, normally better k/d than I do myself. But plug in the Xbox controller to the pc, and his scores will be at least top 5, probably top 3 in any fps I own, bf4, call of duty, whatever.

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ratbuddy said:

When I'm sitting on the couch gaming on my HTPC, the last thing I want to do is screw around with a keyboard and mouse. Almost all* modern PC games have great 360 controller support, and it's just a more comfortable gaming experience for me to use the controller.

Yeah, sure, some guy stuck in the past playing competitive Quake or Counterstrike or whatever will probably do better with a mouse and keyboard than a controller, but I ain't that guy. I'm here to kick back and have fun, and the controller option is much better suited to my needs. I can live with playing 5% (or whatever) worse than I would with a keyboard and mouse.

*DIAF, Bioware. Mass Effect and Dragon Age are console ports, let me use my damn controller with them

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Huh? Is that what people do? Game with PC's on couches?
I've never heard of that TBH. Then again, I've never seen the need to build another rig to game one. (Besides my retro one anyways) nor do I have a TV to game on like that..


Controllers are easy to use and comfortable I 100% agree, I would not want to use a keyboard and mouse while I'm on the couch, but when I'm gaming at my desk? KB/Mouse all the way.

I totally agree. Keyboard and mouse owns.
My bro is the kinda kid who probably should have tried to go pro, lol. He was big time into halo 2, in ranked matchmaking, it was pretty normal for him to go like 40-2 in a 4vs4 to 50 kills, on whatever retarded high level he was at in that game. Still does similar when he plays newer titles, but he has a job and a gf now, so he doesn't log nearly as many hours as he used to.

My hands are too big for a controller. I tried several times on my friend's 360 & PS3 and after about 10min of trying to get the feel of the controller, all I get is hand cramps just trying to hold the dam thing.

I spent about 6+ hours yesterday at a friends place trying to play BF4 on PS4. I've never hated controllers so much. I'm a PC BF3 vet And it's not that I'm rusty at controllers because I've been playing Borderlands 2 with a controller up till this point. I think you really must have to change your play style to account for differences between mouse and Controller. Then again not knowing the maps likely doesn't help, but it was only TDM and I could hardly get a kill in edge wise for hours.