Weekend tech reading: 12 ways consoles hurt PC gaming

[Matthew DeCarlo]

12 ways consoles are hurting PC gaming It's happened to everyone at one point or another. You're playing your favorite FPS and minding your own business when your character finally succumbs to that pesky stream of bullets that's been bouncing off his face for the past two minutes. “Aw man,” you say aloud while a big, ominous Game Over screen stares you down. "Well, at least I can jump right back in and..." But you can't. Maximum PC

Kroger notifies customers of data breach stemming from third-party email vendor Grocery giant, The Kroger Co., notified customers today that the database storing its customers' names and email addresses had been breached. The company said incident occurred at Epsilon, the third-party vendor Kroger uses to manage its customer email database and communications. Kroger stressed to its customers that the only information obtained was names and email addresses of customers. SecurityWeek

The weak password problem: chaos, criticality, and encrypted p-CAPTCHAs Vulnerabilities related to weak passwords are a pressing global economic and security issue. We report a novel, simple, and effective approach to address the weak password problem. Building upon chaotic dynamics, criticality at phase transitions, CAPTCHA recognition, and computational round-off errors we design an algorithm that strengthens security of passwords. arXiv

Osborne! The machine, the man, and the dawn of the portable computing revolution Notebooks. Netbooks. Smartphones. Tablets. In 2011, the default state of personal computing is mobile -- traditional desktop PCs are still with us, but they've become the outliers. It wasn't always so. In their earliest days, in fact, PCs weren't primarily deskbound; they were entirely deskbound. Technologizer

FCC official says AT&T-T-Mobile deal faces steep climb From the moment AT&T announced a $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile almost two weeks ago, many industry watchers agreed that the deal would face close scrutiny from federal regulators. The deal would, after all, lump an estimated 130 million subscribers under one carrier and make AT&T the only major GSM provider in the country. CNET

Microsoft stands by decision to ban IE9 from XP Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) again lost ground to Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome last month, even as the company launched its newest browser, Web metrics data showed today. But Microsoft stands behind its decision to limit IE9 to users running Windows Vista and Windows 7. PCWorld

Six new Skyrim screens show role, playing, game Bethesda’s sent out six new shots of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim today. They were originally posted in an IGN interview with game director Todd Howard last night, but here they are. Take a look at them below. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim releases on November 11 worldwide for PS3, 360 and PC. VG247

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https://www.techspot.com/news/43108-weekend-tech-reading-12-ways-consoles-hurt-pc-gaming.html

 

[Guest]

Sadly this is a terrible post at first. 12 ways? I really don't see how they are hurting the PC with this post. Maybe the one that talks about all the new tablets and smart phones. But the thing is people with always use the PC. I think this is a terrible post.

 

[pcnthuziast]

The consoles themselves aren't the problem. It's the way devs are handleing the PC versions of cross platform games. Crysis 2 pops into mind since the 1st game looks better... they took a step backward, but made the console kiddies happy and undoubtedly their own wallets.

 

[gwailo247]

pcnthuziast said:
The consoles themselves aren't the problem. It's the way devs are handleing the PC versions of cross platform games. Crysis 2 pops into mind since the 1st game looks better... they took a step backward, but made the console kiddies happy and undoubtedly their own wallets.

+1

I would probably add that some executive that has no clue about gaming at all, reads FUD headlines, and makes the decision that his multicorp is not going to develop PC gaming, because according to his figures, 90% of the PC games his company games are pirated. As an afterthought they port the garbage onto the PC, then point out triumphantly that sales are lackluster, and the actual people that make the games are forced to make console versions only or find another job.

This isn't new, this all started when companies like Vivendi started putting out games, and they became just another corporate widget, the executive in charge of the gaming division looks at his product no differently than if he was selling baked beans. Such and such investment must yield such and such profits. Anything else doesn't matter.

You can be there was a meeting before DA2 or any other other sequels that people complain about, that someone straight up said "our research indicates that no matter how shitty of a game we release, we still stand to make X amount of money on release, and the bad publicity and lackluster future sales will not be offset by the money we'll rake in through pre-release. And we'll make a cool TF2 hat to get people to pre-order more."

I don't blame consoles or the people who code the games, I blame the executives who don't give a **** about what they make, they're just looking for a promotion that will get them a serious position where they can steal more money.

 

[yRaz]

I think consoles in general are a big problem, not for just gaming, but for society. Years ago, when FPS's were only able to be run on PC, you had to have knowledge on how to build and install one. Now dumb people can go out, buy a console and start playing games.

Dumb people don't know good games so they see the name of a title they like and buy it regardless. EX: black ops. really bad game but people love it anyway. I don't want anyone to defend the intelligence of a console user. Most people play on consoles because they are too dumb to build a computer or don't know the difference.

There is more money in consoles because they can shove anything down some retards throat and they think they like it. "Oh, a new cod game, bet it's going to be awesome." Seriously, if that is our standard of good games then I don't know why I'm wasting my time or money anymore. It isn't about fun, as the author mentioned, it's about how much the publishers can get out of the game while giving the developers and gamers as little as possible. No wonder we have horrible console ports, EA makes their money and moves on.

This is a trend I see with just about everything, Consoles, phones, TV's, movies. The sheep keep being herded in one direction and there isn't a single thing we can do about it. Half of America is below average intelligence. I always thought that was funny until I found out how low "average intelligence" is.

 

[pcnthuziast]

I RARELY play console games and am an avid PC gamer and even I found that offensive and utterly ignorant.

 

[DokkRokken]

Most people play consoles because they aren't PC enthusiasts and aren't involved in the hobby. "PC gamers" should perhaps consider that people who play consoles want to just sit back and play a game. Maybe PC gamers should perhaps use their powerful PC's to play a game or two, instead of spending tons of time deriding people who just want to have a little bit of fun after work.

As someone who uses both a PC and console for gaming, your comment typifies why people who use console's do not sympathize, or even care about PC gamers getting bad ports, AND why console users do not intend on getting involved in the hobby. Why bother pursuing a hobby that is composed of elitist nerds? Because that is what your post reeks of.

If you don't like it, then don't buy or pirate the bad games. That way, developers will have no excuse whatsoever to blame the sales on 'piracy,' which we all know is a cop-out. Meanwhile, I'll purchase the games that I want to play, regardless of platform. That does not make me a dumb consumer, nor does it make me a sheep.

 

[treetops]

If there was a decent game for pc out there I wouldn't be reading news articles 2 hours a day.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

Since the release of 360 the quality standard shrunk and is now moving backwards because the technology has surpassed 360 capabilities. For some reason Devs/CEOs of these companies feel releasing a PC version that far surpasses its console counterparts somehow hurts sales? So instead everyone gets the lowest common denominator..the 360 version. Why because its technology is the oldest/weakest of all 3. I don't own a 360, but I want them to release the 360 2 just on the basis that then.. perhaps....pc games won't be dumbed down so much like they are. Crysis 2 is a prime example of how gaming is. The graphics are obviously not anywhere near as good as Crysis 1 however, read any review like ign, or gamespy and they all say it's the best graphical game out there...wrong it's prequel is..sad.

 

[Guest]

This post of consoles hurting PC is a waste of time. Killzone was mentioned and the game wasn't even for PC. Nathan Grayson, it seems like its more than 12 years since your last hair cut! Get a grip!!!

 

[ramonsterns]

I think he was spot on with the issues.

Consoles are a plague on everything, proving that stupid people are happy with substandard products and services. Then again, the American car industry was doing this until not too long ago (still does it, but nowhere near as much).

What is needed is a total crash of the video gaming industry. Teach developers and publishers to appreciate their customers as opposed to treat them like mindless sheep that need to be sucked dry of money.

 

[Lurker101]

And now to completely ignore the Console v. PC fanboyism and identify a much bigger problem.

The bigger problem is having a hard drive and internet connection for a console. Before that. Before your PS3s and your Xboxs, games developers had one chance to release a game. It was all on the DVD, cartridge, whatever, so it had to be done right. Whatever bugs, glitches and balance problems were there on day one were there forever, so the game had to be as polished as possible upon release. If a game was glitchy and buggy, people noticed and stopped buying from that company.

Now though, consoles have hard drives. Consoles have internet connections. Now, developers can get away with releasing a badly built product with the 'we'll patch it later' mentality. They can get away with cutting a game into bits, selling the shell at full game price, then sell the bits of game at whatever price they like. You spend just as much time installing some games, and waiting for them to update as you do playing them.

I don't know how to finish this rant, so I'm going to stop now.

 

[Guest]

PC only "elitists" flapping their gums as usual - get over it !

Most PC owners steal their games so PC owners themselves created the "console cookie monster".

Secondly - it's not all bad. Devs have gotten quite lazy, consoles forced them to code better and to code more efficiently.

I would not want to play a dynamic shooter like Homefront with a "dumb" keyboard and mouse anyway.

Good gameplay lasts, eye candy does not.

 

[Jurassic4096]

Developers Kill Games! as for piracy.. prove those ppl that downloaded it illegally would have bought it if it wasnt available for free. wanna make a game ppl will buy? awesome multiplayer, dont release crap like that bug riddin game, Crysis 2, test your games first, dont let publishers rush you, and release an (online) demo. oh and stop charging $60 for games that dont deserve it.

 

[Jurassic4096]

...and the most important thing to remember... LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS! not releasing DLC for PC comes to mind.

 

[pcnthuziast]

Guest said:
I would not want to play a dynamic shooter like Homefront with a "dumb" keyboard and mouse anyway. Good gameplay lasts, eye candy does not.

Homefront is a joke, you lose all cred for mentioning that rubbish.

 

[ET3D]

ramonsterns said:
Consoles are a plague on everything, proving that stupid people are happy with substandard products and services.

I kind of agree, but will rephrase this to make it clearer. Consoles prove that there's a group of people, PC players, who want to get more but pay less. Since this goes against any financial sense, this has marginalised PC gaming.

 

[yRaz]

we want to pay less for games because we don't need to pay the console tax. We spend ludicrous amounts of money up front for our PC's and I find it insulting they want to charge us $10 that is meant for sony or MS. People say the price of everything is going up, so why aren't console games $70 now if PC games are $60? Games have become less about a medium of telling a story and are now just about making money.

 

[Burty117]

pcnthuziast said:

Guest said:
I would not want to play a dynamic shooter like Homefront with a "dumb" keyboard and mouse anyway. Good gameplay lasts, eye candy does not.

Homefront is a joke, you lose all cred for mentioning that rubbish.

I was thinking the same thing, I believe this is a prime example of console owners. even absolute crap like Homefront is seen as "dynamic shooter"??

Seriously?! this is the down fall, console owners seem to like rubbish games?

 

[gwailo247]

Lurker101 said:
And now to completely ignore the Console v. PC fanboyism and identify a much bigger problem.

The bigger problem is having a hard drive and internet connection for a console. Before that. Before your PS3s and your Xboxs, games developers had one chance to release a game. It was all on the DVD, cartridge, whatever, so it had to be done right. Whatever bugs, glitches and balance problems were there on day one were there forever, so the game had to be as polished as possible upon release. If a game was glitchy and buggy, people noticed and stopped buying from that company.

Now though, consoles have hard drives. Consoles have internet connections. Now, developers can get away with releasing a badly built product with the 'we'll patch it later' mentality. They can get away with cutting a game into bits, selling the shell at full game price, then sell the bits of game at whatever price they like. You spend just as much time installing some games, and waiting for them to update as you do playing them.

I don't know how to finish this rant, so I'm going to stop now.

You're completely right. This goes across all platforms now. Somehow I remember back in the day games "just worked", lol, where you could play a game from start to finish without it ever crashing.

I'm not sure if any of you ever bought Ultima IX, but Origin actually mailed out a CD patch to customers to fix the buggy POS. That was the start, and its only gotten worse. Now those people who have bandwidth caps actually have to pay extra in order to fix the broken game.

 

[pcnthuziast]

I am actually looking forward to JUST ONE console game this year. Uncharted 3 for PS3. The franchise is top of the food chain for consoles in every aspect IMO. When compared to a top PC game it may not shine as bright, but it trumps most other console games I've played.

 

[Zilpha]

You're completely right. This goes across all platforms now. Somehow I remember back in the day games "just worked", lol, where you could play a game from start to finish without it ever crashing.

I'm not sure if any of you ever bought Ultima IX, but Origin actually mailed out a CD patch to customers to fix the buggy POS. That was the start, and its only gotten worse. Now those people who have bandwidth caps actually have to pay extra in order to fix the broken game.

The problem is us, though. The problem is the millions upon millions who see a title and buy it the day of release regardless of the fact that the game immediately preceding it was a steaming pile of ****.

We can't really blame developers for selling us garbage. After all, we seem to be willing to continue buying it.

 

[Mizzou]

The bigger problem is having a hard drive and internet connection for a console. Before that. Before your PS3s and your Xboxs, games developers had one chance to release a game. It was all on the DVD, cartridge, whatever, so it had to be done right. Whatever bugs, glitches and balance problems were there on day one were there forever, so the game had to be as polished as possible upon release. If a game was glitchy and buggy, people noticed and stopped buying from that company.

That's spot on and now the problem is being extended into an even broader range of products. Consumer electronics is now operating in the same mode, about 80% of my Home Theater components have had one of more firmware updates installed since purchase. On the Blu-Ray front the number is substantially higher and now even my TV goes through firmware updates. We are now buying the product that will come to be instead of what it is when it hits the retail shelves.

 

[gwailo247]

The problem is us, though. The problem is the millions upon millions who see a title and buy it the day of release regardless of the fact that the game immediately preceding it was a steaming pile of ****.

We can't really blame developers for selling us garbage. After all, we seem to be willing to continue buying it.

It used to be one thing to pay a markup to get a game at release, but invariably these days by buying a game at release, or worse, pre-ordering, you're basically paying a premium in order to beta test a game.

My target price for games now is $9.99. By the time it drops to that price point the bugs are worked out, usually nice mods have been released, and enough board posts have accumulated how to work around bugs.

During the winter I had a fun time completing Oblivion, with about 5 GIGs of extra stuff loaded up, and right now am having a blast with Fallout with a ton of mods. In about a year I'll buy New Vegas GOTY for ten bucks, and have fun with that.

 

[Richy2k9]

hello ...

I guess techspot should have put the console vs pc port into a dedicated article for the other posts didn't get any credit .. well too bad.

my two cent for our number 1 post : it doesn't matter which platform you are playing onto, it's all about the fun you are having.

there are wonderful games on each & every platform & most are exclusive to their systems, only multiplats suffers the various effects enumerated so as long as we don't put all eggs into same basket & we try to see why & where we want to play something, it's all fine.

no one ever also said that a gamer should have only 1 platform, well i don't. to reply to some (a few in fact) early comments, is being a pc / network / telecom techy working for a big isp & having a PC for gaming makes me a highly intelligent gamer to your eyes or is the fact that i also game on my ps3 makes me dumb !!? ... now i'm lost ... maybe you are right !!!

cheers!