When did gaming become so expensive?

[RazedInBlack]

Don't argue get both

Most console owners already have both

Thats why we are the new master race!

 

[Drifter]

Only way to kill PC gaming is for consoles to get keyboard and mouse integration. As soon as this is possible I will stop gaming on PC.

This ^^^

 

[bullzeye.za]

Use paypal's dispute mechanism - Two weeks is the upper limit for it.

 

[Edwe]

Power Management I mean specific to laptop. Windows is terrible at it. Not to mention that standby is USELESS as it still burns the battery away. A Macbook can stay in standby for a month..even a two year old one. A Windows laptop can't get through a day in standby.

SSD's have worked a miracle I agree. It has however only camouflaged the inherent issues with the OS itself. It still takes an age for Windows to be genuinely ready to use...extremely painful with a non-SSD where you can wait up to two minutes even before you can bother clicking anything.

My problem with updates is exactly that part where it takes care of it at Power On or Shutdown...when you really don't have the time and it takes 20 minutes then on a "don't turn me off" screen to do it's thing.

But I'm going to bet Windows is all you've ever known...therefore your only reference point. This is a common problem, people are happy with Windows because they are accustomed to the mediocrity.



System crash events I must agree have been largely resolved since Windows 7. However it's those show stopping stalls that happen every so often when a random app crashes and eventually resolves itself that is a pain for me.

Like I said Power Management for laptops...it's terrible on Windows (in comparison to OSX/Apple). Linux is just as bad I have to agree.

If your battery is dying that quickly on standby, something is terribly wrong. And I'm not saying this because I have Microsoft Stockholm Syndrome® 7 or something. My laptop with hybrid drives lasts about 5 days hibernating under the latest LTS version of Ubuntu and 2-3 weeks under Windows 7. I remember having terrible problems with standby on XP, but this has long been resolved.

I have used OSX at work (not as a primary desktop OS ever, so my experience is limited); my impression is that it's a lot more polished, secure and stable than Windows, but a lot more limited in terms of hardware and software compatibility. For one, it's VERY limited in terms of gaming, so despite your brilliant standby times (which I concede are probably typical of OSX), it's not relevant to a gaming forum. We may as well start talking Chrome OS, which is "as good" for gaming as OSX and probably even lighter on battery.

On that "right tool for the job" tangent:

Linux: Dev work, IT & servers or general home/office use for non-gamers
Windows: Gaming and general entertainment
OSX: Graphic design, animation, home/office for non-gamers
Chrome OS: Email for old people and general-looking-at-cat-pictures stuff
BSD: Same as Linux, but under duress for legacy reasons, for hipsters, and people who hate themselves
Solaris: For very highly advanced users with highly advanced needs not met by Linux, and also for highly stupid people for highly stupid reasons

Don't argue get both

I'm not going to lie; if I had an unlimited budget I would definitely have both. In fact, I would probably have a gaming PC and every console (except that ghastly thing that Nintendo makes these days; WTF is that even).

But, overall, even as someone with severely limited time to waste with setup, I think I get the best experience/time wasted/price ratio with a PC (if I have to choose one... which I do).

 

[SauRoNZA]

If your battery is dying that quickly on standby, something is terribly wrong. And I'm not saying this because I have Microsoft Stockholm Syndrome® 7 or something. My laptop with hybrid drives lasts about 5 days hibernating under the latest LTS version of Ubuntu and 2-3 weeks under Windows 7. I remember having terrible problems with standby on XP, but this has long been resolved.

See that's half the problem...Windows seems standby and hibernation as two different things. Hybernation meaning a "cold boot" from an image. OSX doesn't have any of that...I can be back in my system within a few seconds any time after I shut the lid. Windows goes into Hybernation and then want to run through all the BIOS *** and everything all over again.

I have used OSX at work (not as a primary desktop OS ever, so my experience is limited); my impression is that it's a lot more polished, secure and stable than Windows, but a lot more limited in terms of hardware and software compatibility. For one, it's VERY limited in terms of gaming, so despite your brilliant standby times (which I concede are probably typical of OSX), it's not relevant to a gaming forum. We may as well start talking Chrome OS, which is "as good" for gaming as OSX and probably even lighter on battery.

Kudos to you for saying someone positive.

But yes I agree with you it's not a great gaming platform and is easily beaten by any of the consoles as well. Then again you could run Windows on it if you wanted to...but that goes back to my real problem of why I don't game on PC.

Not here to change anyone else's mind, simply stating why I am perfectly happy with playing on my PS4 even though there is a (subjectively) better experience on PC.

It's not all about graphics for me.

On that "right tool for the job" tangent:

Linux: Dev work, IT & servers or general home/office use for non-gamers
Windows: Gaming and general entertainment
OSX: Graphic design, animation, home/office for non-gamers
Chrome OS: Email for old people and general-looking-at-cat-pictures stuff
BSD: Same as Linux, but under duress for legacy reasons, for hipsters, and people who hate themselves
Solaris: For very highly advanced users with highly advanced needs not met by Linux, and also for highly stupid people for highly stupid reasons

Actually there is nothing (any more) that really makes Mac special for graphic design or animation. It's all about general purpose use and if that means that because of the underlying OS someone can work better/faster then that's the fundamental difference. OSX workflow is so much more to my liking, whereas Windows actually limits me. If my company wasn't so intent on HP and Windows I would have paid for my own Macbook just to work better/faster.

I'm not going to lie; if I had an unlimited budget I would definitely have both. In fact, I would probably have a gaming PC and every console (except that ghastly thing that Nintendo makes these days; WTF is that even).

But, overall, even as someone with severely limited time to waste with setup, I think I get the best experience/time wasted/price ratio with a PC (if I have to choose one).

And that is actually one of the big reasons I threw all my PC's out. I work all day at the office and I don't want to succumb to "working" more at home by messing around with PC's and crap.

The only PC in my house now is my Microserver which is running Windows 10 (until a few weeks ago it was Headless Ubuntu) for my Plex Media Server and Home Theater needs.

Because PC's are so unfocused I specifically chucked them out because I just burn hours of my time on them. Everyone on PC always going on about modding and tweaking...that is EXACTLY why I don't want them any more. Let me play the games without any frills and fanfare and focus on one thing long enough to get somewhere with the limited time I have.

Like I said SteamOS might change that for me because it will be a console for all intents and purposes.

 

[Edwe]

And that is actually one of the big reasons I threw all my PC's out. I work all day at the office and I don't want to succumb to "working" more at home by messing around with PC's and crap.

The only PC in my house now is my Microserver which is running Windows 10 (until a few weeks ago it was Headless Ubuntu) for my Plex Media Server and Home Theater needs.

Because PC's are so unfocused I specifically chucked them out because I just burn hours of my time on them. Everyone on PC always going on about modding and tweaking...that is EXACTLY why I don't want them any more. Let me play the games without any frills and fanfare and focus on one thing long enough to get somewhere with the limited time I have.

Like I said SteamOS might change that for me because it will be a console for all intents and purposes.

That's exactly why I purged all my home devices, except for one Raspberry Pi running OpenELEC, of Linux: the classic case of "it's only free if your time has no value". So I see your point; I apparently just have a slightly higher threshold for "work", or maybe I value my time less. Maybe (very tiny maybe) if I earned about three times my salary I would feel the same. Although I doubt it, in that I actually enjoy a lot of the time spent tweaking things on a low level.

 

[Bryn]

Yeah that's why I'm hoping the Steam boxes and SteamOS will change my view. But you missed my point completely. Even though games support controllers and you have Big Picture Mode in Steam AT SOME POINT you need to whip out the mouse and keyboard to navigate the reset of your system. Console wins.

They are still there and they do need manually installing and updating. Sure you can get these apps that do the work for you...but why are they necessary in the first place?

And why do you think nobody uses voice chat? Because it's a broken system that's why and not a standard. On console it's integrated and everyone uses it. Part of the reason I generally consider consoles to be much more "social".

You also aren't acknowledging the fact that multiple friends list is a problem and a pain...you simply do away with it by saying it's not that big a deal. Again...console wins.

I've run many many instances of Windows over the years. My comments are not specific to my system alone but the Windows environment in general.

Power Management I mean specific to laptop. Windows is terrible at it. Not to mention that standby is USELESS as it still burns the battery away. A Macbook can stay in standby for a month..even a two year old one. A Windows laptop can't get through a day in standby.

SSD's have worked a miracle I agree. It has however only camouflaged the inherent issues with the OS itself. It still takes an age for Windows to be genuinely ready to use...extremely painful with a non-SSD where you can wait up to two minutes even before you can bother clicking anything.

My problem with updates is exactly that part where it takes care of it at Power On or Shutdown...when you really don't have the time and it takes 20 minutes then on a "don't turn me off" screen to do it's thing.

But I'm going to bet Windows is all you've ever known...therefore your only reference point. This is a common problem, people are happy with Windows because they are accustomed to the mediocrity.

I use OS X all the time thanks to needing Xcode, and I hate it. So many nav bars. So much wasted space, unless you just hide them away which just replaces one inconvenience with another. It reminds me of my Linux days - not bad, but not 'home'. Returning to Windows after a few hours always feels amazing.

I don't use notebooks because I hate them, so I wouldn't know about power management or update issues on either platform.

My system boots up in 10 seconds and is ready to use as soon as the desktop appears. Not sure what problems are supposedly being disguised.

Your Windows experiences over the years don't have any bearing on Windows 8 or 10. Much like Android KitKat and earlier don't affect Lollipop.

It's funny you should say Windows users are accustomed to mediocrity, when it's fast, has games, has much cheaper and faster hardware, more software, superior first party productivity and online storage apps etc.

Windows suffers from the same problem that Android does - people who can't take the initiative to set it up nicely will probably end up with a crap system. But it has the same strength - do it right and you have the best system.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I use OS X all the time thanks to needing Xcode, and I hate it. So many nav bars. So much wasted space, unless you just hide them away which just replaces one inconvenience with another. It reminds me of my Linux days - not bad, but not 'home'. Returning to Windows after a few hours always feels amazing.

I don't use notebooks because I hate them, so I wouldn't know about power management or update issues on either platform.

My system boots up in 10 seconds and is ready to use as soon as the desktop appears. Not sure what problems are supposedly being disguised.

Your Windows experiences over the years don't have any bearing on Windows 8 or 10. Much like Android KitKat and earlier don't affect Lollipop.

It's funny you should say Windows users are accustomed to mediocrity, when it's fast, has games, has much cheaper and faster hardware, more software, superior first party productivity and online storage apps etc.

Windows suffers from the same problem that Android does - people who can't take the initiative to set it up nicely will probably end up with a crap system. But it has the same strength - do it right and you have the best system.

It's a matter of preference.

I'm an IT professional and know every tweak in the book for Windows not some noob.

Windows 7 through 10 I gave spent days, weeks or years on them all and the fundamental issues are the same throughout.

Like I said I never tried to convert anyone, I simply explained why I hate Windows when asked.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

It's a matter of preference.

I'm an IT professional and know every tweak in the book for Windows not some noob.

Windows 7 through 10 I gave spent days, weeks or years on them all and the fundamental issues are the same throughout.

Like I said I never tried to convert anyone, I simply explained why I hate Windows when asked.

Dunno, dude. A lot of the criticism of Windows/PC gaming in general is one has to do so much fiddling, and one doesn't want to be bogged down by IT admin before you can get to what you want to do. But in my experience this has been my exact experience for I don't even know how many years now. I push a button, sit down and do what I want. I don't have to fiddle with anything, or sit with PC/Windows headaches.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Needing to wait for a PC to boot up and then going to look for icons and run it then switch to my controller etc is all "fiddling" to me.

Yes it's no longer quite like the old days, but it's still a lot more fiddling than on console.

I really enjoy buying a game knowing exactly what to expect and that it will work exactly as indicated without doing anything on my part.

 

[Zewp]

And what are you going to do if a gamer chick comes over?
Consoles = foreplay to sexy times.

http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture/

The couch comfort of consoles with the technical superiority of a PC.

I really enjoy buying a game knowing exactly what to expect and that it will work exactly as indicated without doing anything on my part.

Like when you pop your AC Unity disk into the console and have to wait a few weeks for Ubisoft to patch out graphical features just to get the game to run at playable frames? Or when you're balls deep in Skyrim on your PS3 and the game suddenly starts running at 0FPS?

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Needing to wait for a PC to boot up and then going to look for icons and run it then switch to my controller etc is all "fiddling" to me.

Yes it's no longer quite like the old days, but it's still a lot more fiddling than on console.

What? Consoles and Macs don't have to boot up, you don't have to click on icons or buttons at all? Switch to controller, what? Keyboard and mouse are right there.

That's seriously pedantic territory. God forbid, you have to switch it on, too!

I really enjoy buying a game knowing exactly what to expect and that it will work exactly as indicated without doing anything on my part.

Which is exactly how my PC gaming has been for a very long time now. The games are able to adjust settings automatically to the appropriate settings and I just play.

 

[Zewp]

PC games are almost half that

Not anymore they're not. With the rising exchange rate our games are soon going to hit the R600 mark.

Some are already over that.

 

[SauRoNZA]

http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture/

The couch comfort of consoles with the technical superiority of a PC.



Like when you pop your AC Unity disk into the console and have to wait a few weeks for Ubisoft to patch out graphical features just to get the game to run at playable frames? Or when you're balls deep in Skyrim on your PS3 and the game suddenly starts running at 0FPS?

Like I said if you read...Big Picture only works until you need to pull out the keyboard and mouse to navigate to a non steam game.

And I don't play Asscreeed anymore knowing it would be **** beforehand.

Also the game was broken for everyone,not just consoles. It's a ****ty company that provides a ****ty game can't blame the console for that.

 

[SauRoNZA]

What? Consoles and Macs don't have to boot up, you don't have to click on icons or buttons at all? Switch to controller, what? Keyboard and mouse are right there.

That's seriously pedantic territory. God forbid, you have to switch it on, too!



Which is exactly how my PC gaming has been for a very long time now. The games are able to adjust settings automatically to the appropriate settings and I just play.

It was commentary in the context of a PC being just like a console. So with a controller only.

If I want to play PS4 I press the button on the controller and the PS4 switches on in seconds as well as the TV and the amp switches themselves on.

Select game and press X. Done. I'm in.

If I want to chat in game...i put on my headset and switch it on. Done.

 

[HerZeLeiD]

What? Consoles and Macs don't have to boot up, you don't have to click on icons or buttons at all? Switch to controller, what? Keyboard and mouse are right there.

That's seriously pedantic territory. God forbid, you have to switch it on, too!



Which is exactly how my PC gaming has been for a very long time now. The games are able to adjust settings automatically to the appropriate settings and I just play.

It honestly sounds like he hasn't gamed on a PC since the 90's.

I use an SSD (that's only on SATA2) and my PC is usable within 1 minute of pressing the power button. I also can't remember when last I had to fiddle with anything.

And I would never swap Teamspeak for any lame low quality chat provided by games.

 

[Bryn]

Not anymore they're not. With the rising exchange rate our games are soon going to hit the R600 mark.

Some are already over that.

You just need to know where and when to buy. The MK X preorder has been around $20 on G2A several times now, and other preorders have seen hefty discounts too.

Not to mention Kalahari usually knocks almost R100 off the RRP and then you can still add a R100 voucher.

 

[Bryn]

Like I said if you read...Big Picture only works until you need to pull out the keyboard and mouse to navigate to a non steam game.

And I don't play Asscreeed anymore knowing it would be **** beforehand.

Also the game was broken for everyone,not just consoles. It's a ****ty company that provides a ****ty game can't blame the console for that.

If you had a PC hooked up to a TV you'd probably be using a wireless keyboard with built-in trackpad.

And Steam Link will change that anyway when it drops later this year.

 

[SauRoNZA]

If you had a PC hooked up to a TV you'd probably be using a wireless keyboard with built-in trackpad.

And Steam Link will change that anyway when it drops later this year.

You are still missing the point.



I don't want a keyboard close to my couch or my gaming, wireless or otherwise.



I especially don't want a trackpad.

*****

I have a PC hooked up to my TV. It's as headless as Windows allows and runs Plex.

Which I control with my phone. No mouse no keyboard.

 

[SauRoNZA]

It honestly sounds like he hasn't gamed on a PC since the 90's.



I use an SSD (that's only on SATA2) and my PC is usable within 1 minute of pressing the power button. I also can't remember when last I had to fiddle with anything.



And I would never swap Teamspeak for any lame low quality chat provided by games.

ONE MINUTE!!!! OMG.

Low quality chat provided by games. Again you aren't helping the PC case and proving my point.

Console the chat is high quality centralized and part of the OS.

I've tried PC gaming again and again many times the last few years hoping each time I would "get it" again. That's never happened.