Dear PC graphics snobs: you're holding gaming back

I really want to link this article to a friend of mine, but he'd probably destroy me if I did

I really don't get why people have to count pixels and framerates, it's not like it's gonna make you a better gamer is it, and in my experience with laptops and PC's, a lot more can go wrong with them, than with the home consoles (P$3, 360, Wii).

I really don't get why people have to count pixels and framerates, it's not like it's gonna make you a better gamer is it, and in my experience with laptops and PC's, a lot more can go wrong with them, than with the home consoles (P$3, 360, Wii).

True that my gaming laptop and home pc have both gone terribly wrong to the point that each now needs a new cpu to run games without lag, plus they are dam expensive to repair if you dont have the know how like me. My 360 has only broke once, and that was a 5 year old second hand one.

I've changed the last paragraph because it was, let's be honest here, shit. The new version is marginally better.

But surely this is all irrelevant when you see developers like DICE cutting features from their console games (64 player online) and taking short-cuts simply to make the game run on consoles?

I mean, from what I understood from this article, you're saying developers are wasting too much time and effort on fancy graphics and less on core gameplay because the PC community demands it. Well, if Battlefield 3 was a console exclusive, you still wouldn't have 64 player online matches because of hardware limitations. Okay, you could seriously lower the graphics settings (its entirely possible it would even have to run at a lower resolution) to make this possilbe on consoles, because graphics aren't that important for games (the original top-down GTA games are still my favourite of all time) but with a fully 3D first person shooter like BF3 where maps are so large, you need some semi-decent graphics to tell the difference between an enemy and a bush from at least 50 metres away.

This is where my point leads me. I quote directly from DICE - "we would love to do 64 players on console but then we would have to cut away so much". As a developer, when you get to the point where you have to cut a ton of features in order to even make your game playable on a piece of hardware, that hardware is holding you back, NOT the time you spend improving the experience for other hardware capable of playing it (whether it be in terms of graphics or gameplay elements).

NOTE: While writing this, I swear the article has changed at least a hundred times and i've written it now so I might as well post it . Because of this, I apologise if none of this is relevant and I just mis-understood the original article, but my point still stands

I've changed the last paragraph because it was, let's be honest here, shit. The new version is marginally better.

Why so hard on yourself?

To castigate oneself is not good!

When PC gamers like me boast about visuals, we often neglect to mention how often the games simply don't work on a technical level. I would gladly take the PS3/360 version of BF3 if it meant avoiding Origin and the godawful install and patching process. But hey, such is life as a PC gamer.

I've changed the last paragraph because it was, let's be honest here, shit. The new version is marginally better.

Why so hard on yourself?

To castigate oneself is not good!

You could have told me that earlier, I just polished off a box of kleenex!!

Good article Ed, and for what it's worth i didn't think the first ending was bad!

To be honest, the theme of this is what worries me if MS did announce the next gen machine. Depending on which developer you believe, we're pushing the limits of the 360 tech right now, with graphics giving way to gameplay/design, or more often than not the other way around. If the new machine adds another 60-80% horsepower i'd love to think it'd be measured out equally between all the different game aspects, with a large part going on improving AI, but as with all new console releases it'll probably turn into a graphical pissing contest at first with good looking mediocre games.

The 'good' (see below as to why not so good) thing for PC gamers right now is they get good games that look even better, but if they get poor games that look the same (well, similar, wherever MS put their peg in the ground there will be better PC's available by the time of release) then no-ones a winner.

The only other thing i'll add (most of my gaming friends are PC gamers) is the thing that seems to frustrate them most nowadays is that the majority of games that used to be pc built and ported across to consoles are now done the other way around and it's them getting shabby ports. Mods can quite often negate this, but as they argue (obviously im speaking for a small number of PC'ers here, maybe wider opinion is different), why should they have to wait for a mod for a badly executed interface (skyrim the latest to incur the wrath i believe?). I counter their argument with dev costs vs pc sales/revenue and if i really want to wind them up i'll mention piracy

I've had this arguement with several friends in the pub before, and the thing that really grinds my gears is that they don't seem to care what the actual game is like so long as it looks gorgeous. It's like trying to argue cars with Jeremy Clarkson, more power equals better as far as they are concerned, regardless of plot, story or characterisation. I'm always left with the feeling that left to a lot of PC gamers we would have space ships that look more real than anything made by Nasa, but be using them to play Space Invaders.

I played games on a PC before I got my first 360. Yes the games looked awesome - but everytime a new one came out, it invariably required a new graphics card, more memory, etc etc to get the full potential. Whilst it was fun upgrading the PC - it got quite costly trying to keep up. I can remember shelling out for a new graphics card - which cost the eqivalent of a new 360! At the time the 'other manufacturer' had its 2nd console out, and I picked one up second-hand for £100. This converted me to consoles. I was convinced I needed the 3rd console by said 'other' manufacturer - but thankfully was persuaded towards Xbox by a mate. I never looked back, and am now waiting to see what the next Xbox will be, before convincing the Wife that I NEED one

a lot of PC gamers we would have space ships that look more real than anything made by Nasa, but be using them to play Space Invaders.

This little piece made me laugh to no end .

This article conveniently seems to forget that a large percentage of PC gamers have crappier computer specs than those of consoles and have to play games with the graphical settings worse than those of consoles but still play on PC because they simply prefer playing with a mouse and keyboard over a gamepad.

We also don't like spending money on a beefy computer and then have most of the games we pay full price for be half-hearted ports of console that barely utilize the full potential of our hardware.

For the most part PC gamers don't have a problem with consoles or console players, they have a problem with game developers who won't give half a look at what the PC gamers want and just dump stinky ports on us and move away like it's not any of their business.

Save for a rare few exceptions (Battlefield 3, Crysis 2 (after patches), The Witcher 2, ARMA 2) PC games nowadays are mostly half-assed console ports or exclusive indie games with very simple engines.

This article conveniently seems to forget that a large percentage of PC gamers have crappier computer specs than those of consoles and have to play games with the graphical settings worse than those of consoles but still play on PC because they simply prefer playing with a mouse and keyboard over a gamepad. Blah blah blah!

This article is attracting a lot of people misreading PC SNOBS as PC Gamers.

Compared to launch (when Xbox power was sort of equal to PC) we have the best selection of games being released at the moment, with a lot of great ones coming in. The snobs are saying all these games are rubbish because they don't anti-aliase monkey scrotums to their preferred spec, whereas the real PC gamers and console gamers are just happy enjoying them.

The End.

I'd also like to hypocritically say I'd love new consoles if only for better AI. 1080p games with 60fps sound great but not when the story reads like a childs scribblings and the enemies/AI companions are more retarded than CoD and BF3s grenade happy, ultra-accurate, fearless dial a terrorist are now.

(Take with a lot of humour).

Whatever, my point still stands. :p

Whatever, my point still stands. :p

NEVER!

A while ago I was trawling youtube looking for amusing Skyrim videos , when I came across a video entitled "Best graphics ever PC" having never gamed on a PC I was eager to see what the fuss was about. The video turned out to be a 5 min clip of a guy wandering about by a lake , a very beautiful and realistic lake granted , but none the less it was a 5 min clip of a floating gun wandering about....

I was naive enough to comment upon this , my comment was this :

"Shame the game looks boring , I'll stick to my 360 thanks"

O.K , O.K , I realise that was probably not the smartest move , but it was the night before Christmas Eve , and I'd had a wee tipple or thirty , nor had I realised that this was a mod designed to show off the pretty scenery , however , as a result , the feedback I received was , well , here are some of the greatest hits :

"Xbox sucks. while you play at 30 fps on 720 we are playing at 120 fps on highest possible graphics and best gameplay. if ur gonna be a lowlife then atleast get a ps3 and play on atleast 60 fps in 1080 with decent graphics. xbox is just pure bullsh*t."

"You are tired of life and you want to kill yourself as this game looks like real life, you think this game sucks, only cause your life sucks"

"I'm going to sit on your face." followed by "Yeah go back to your COD."

"You're just jealous your crappy console has shitty graphics, while PC gamers can have graphics like these."

"without consoles being developed graphics today would be incredible, but they're held back by your shitty consoles and shitty PC ports"

And my personal fave if only because it makes no sense :

"i spotted numerous grammar and spelling errors in that paragraph" (WTF)

Those are pretty much the least abusive I could find. Now I realise that you aren't going to find the best examples of human life on youtube , just as I'm aware that I probably fanned the flames a little , but I was always under the assumption that PC gamers fell towards the more mature end of the spectrum whereas these and the other 20+ comments I received ( some a lot more vicious ) kind of fly in the face of that assumption. I'm just glad that after going over the comments on here it doesn't paint as clear a picture of PC gamers as I had been led to believe.

Those are pretty much the least abusive I could find. Now I realise that you aren't going to find the best examples of human life on youtube , just as I'm aware that I probably fanned the flames a little , but I was always under the assumption that PC gamers fell towards the more mature end of the spectrum whereas these and the other 20+ comments I received ( some a lot more vicious ) kind of fly in the face of that assumption. I'm just glad that after going over the comments on here it doesn't paint as clear a picture of PC gamers as I had been led to believe.

I'm a PC gamer but I'll also be the first to say that the "PC gamers are generally more mature" claim is a myth. PC gamers can be as immature or even worse than console players, they're just not as noticeable in-game because every PC doesn't come with a microphone like the 360 does.

Besides, I have to laugh at the commenter that believes the PS3 is the only console that can do 1080p60fps, because I also have a PS3 and that couldn't be more farther from the truth. Only about 5% of all PS3 games are rendered at true 1080p, probably the same figure for the 360.

Just a passing observation: It would be nice if the author's byline appeared on the top of the feature.

When I read "I used to write exclusively about them, don't you know, back when I reviewed for Green Man Gaming.", I have to stop reading, scroll down and click to page 2 to find out just who the heck you are, before clicking back and trying to find where I got up to.

Plus if I know the writer at the start, it helps me read the story in the voice I have made up for each of you.

Come on boffins, sort it out.

I disagree with the article. The PC crowd have been talking about the power of their machines over consoles since this generation appeared. It's time for the next generation because it's long overdue. To dismiss framerate and graphic fidelity is an incredibly strange stance to take. Have you read the comments from console gamers about how lovely Skyrim or Battlefield look? Graphics sell. The industry is built on them. Gaming is more popular today because games don't look like old Atari, Commodore and Spectrum games!

I know it's very 'console-gaming-centric' to claim games are about characters and story, but few games have anything nearing fleshed out characters, and the stories in games, generally, are pretty poor. I'm not suggesting either are better on PC-specific games, but I don't agree with the biased nature of the article.

As an ex-Mac gamer I'm fully aware of the comments and thoughts of the PC crowd. The defense of their chosen format often makes you wonder why they're so scared of competing systems. I had years of "your mouse only has one button" (to which I would often reply – via typed messages, it was that long ago – "well that's all I needed to take you out" – obviously during shooter matches, not the wining and dining variety, that would be wierd!). I suppose when you have such a wide variety of young(ish) people together you will always come across immature types. And let's face it, the console crowd have their fair share of immature gamers.

I haven't really experienced the PC gaming scene, but based on some of the comments I've read I think it's understandable when they complain that an originally designed PC game is altered, for what they see as for the worst, to cater to the version that runs on consoles. Equally if an Xbox game were altered, for what gamers would consider being in a bad way, to cater to the Playstation version, or visa versa there'd be an equal amount of complaints.

We all know gaming is evolving. Systems come and go and it's understandable that the PC crowd are more than upset that their system, which once ruled the hobby is little more than a Mac used to be to gaming 15 years ago. As I've mentioned above, if the Xbox or consoles in general were in the same position as PCs are today some console gamers would equally immature/boastful/biased, whatever about their system over the new emerging one.

Personally I agree and disagree with all sides of the argument, as it happens. The PC does have the best graphics, the console does have the biggest market share, I understand why the industry caters to the console, and can understand why this now upsets PC gamers. But I absolutely don't buy the argument that console gamers don't believe graphics are as important as their PC gaming counterparts. It's not the be all and end of a game, but as the industry seems incapable of improving AI, the writing of stories and characters is still decades behind any other format, graphics are still one of the key selling points to a game. If the graphics were worse in the next FIFA, Dirt, Skyrim, Battlefield, there'd be outcry and fewer sales.

On a final point the PC crowd's issue with joypads is understandable. As likely as you'll find a racing fan who swears by using a steering wheel, you'll find gamers who say the Xbox pad is better than the Playstation one, or a PC gamer who swears blind having twenty buttons is better than having one!

The PC is the ultimate machine for gaming. I don't see anything wrong in admitting that. But for cheapness, ease (of set up and playability), fewer cheats and all the other advantages that come with consoles, they have become the most popular format for gaming for many reasons.

I have an i5 running at 4.5 Ghz, a 570 as my main graphics card, and a 460 purely to handle physics calculations. But one of my favourite games is Brogue, and it looks like this.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8454861/brogue1.jpg

You mentioned it in your article, but it bears repeating: PC is the go-to platform for innovative and complex games. The proliferation of great indie games (which sell very well), the huge popularity of GOG.com (which sells old PC classics), and the continuing survival of niche genres like roguelikes show that while there is a small and stupid body of PC gamers who have chosen this platform for the graphics, the rest of us just want good games, in whatever form or platform they might come in.

It's risk-averse publishers who are holding innovation back, not gamers.

Here, I have the ultimate solution: Unplug your HDMI cable and use good'n'old RCA.

Tottaly sensationalist title for an arcticle, -1/10 for stating the obvious in the worst way possible: It's not only graphics that make a game good.

If you say that CoD is the best shooter in the world, after calling you a dumbass I'll disagree and let you ramble about how you didn't waste almost 60 bucks in a stand-alone DLC and that it won VGA.
If I say that BF3 is the best shooter in the world, after you call me a dumbass and disagree, you'll let me ramble about how I didn't waste 60 bucks in a game that "has only graphics hurr durr".

If you say that PC Gamers are asking for better graphics in arguably AAA titles to match our potent processors and graphics-cards. and such actions are ruining the gaming industry, making developers seek better graphics and leaving good gameplay aside, i'll call you blind and rub Terraria, Amnesia the Dark Descent, Bastion, Magicka, Minecraft (...) representing successful games that doesnt focus on graphics (as you said it yourself) and then The Witcher 2, Battlefield 3, Crysis, Skyrim, rFactor 2 and C.A.R.S from Slightly Mad Studios (under development) that had a colossal support by the community, solid sales AND have incredible graphics.

You're 100% right regarding the fact that we do not play Skyrim, BF3 or any other game ONLY for graphics, we're PC Gamers, not CoD-whores. We know what we play for. But in those titles, did the search for realistic/beautiful graphics screw up the game? Nope, it didn't. So why you claim that the search for graphics slows down innovation, or fun gameplay? If those companies could do it, why your average Infinity Ward company can't do it too? And don't come and say its the search for better graphics, most companies out there are making a name on using over and over again the same engines with only few tweaks. Think about it, then plan on make yourself look a consolefag.

Maybe that's why Minecraft, Terraria, Magicka, The Witcher and other low budget games are million sellers.

Meanwhile the battle between x360 and PS3 for graphical superiority goes on and on:http://www.lensoftruth.com

Hypocritical articles are hypocritical.

Well done Ed, this article seems to have got more new forum users than the revamp did

Well done Ed, this article seems to have got more new forum users than the revamp did

lol Yeah I don't think they're reading either, I even spelt out in caps and bold that PC snobs does not mean PC gamers. Everyone seems to be completely missing the point.

lol Yeah I don't think they're reading either, I even spelt out in caps and bold that PC snobs does not mean PC gamers. Everyone seems to be completely missing the point.

That's the point/title of next weeks article, why angry defensive gamers forget how to read...!

I was hoping it was going to be about how you can't change the controls in games these days. I want Sam Fisher to crouch when I press B not LB. lol Make it happen Ed.

I was hoping it was going to be about how you can't change the controls in games these days. I want Sam Fisher to crouch when I press B not LB. lol Make it happen Ed.

I want Sam Fisher to remember his training and that he's not Rambo, he's meant to be a covert operative! But yes, lets start small with the crouching... (seriously, good point - seems games have gone backwards in this area?!)

It was either you or Golli or myself I was having this conversation with regarding button mapping. I wont start a thread within a thread though as I'd go on and on.

Regarding Sam - I picked up splinter cell trilogy hd for ps3 it's a nothing short of awesome, however no co-op mode in chaos theory? Boo! Easily the best three games. And that knife... genius.

PC snobs does not mean PC gamers. Everyone seems to be completely missing the point.

That's PC Snobs for ya .