Why do people say PC is "held back" by consoles?

Isn't PC held back by PC? I mean, most people don't buy or upgrade to the highest hardware every year. I would imagine developers want to make games for the majority of people, so they have to have a pretty wide scale, which includes many people who have low end PCs and last gen consoles. Also, aren't hardcore PC gamers in the minority?

lolvita

...er, wait a sec...

I have a last gen PC.

Come at me, PC bros

no idea. but in 2014 i'd be interested to know why someone would say that.

i feel like the situation has changed.

what's a last gen PC?

I have a PC with a mediocre graphics card, but I still enjoy playing on it despite having to have low quality settings on certain games.

Doesn't have 8gb of GDDR5 or black bars

probably has an optical drive too. amirite?

Yep, and it's not even bluray.

Actually, it's just a mock-drive. It's not even plugged in, but I needed something to fill the hole in the front of my case.

Also, all of my accessories are wired connections, and there's no wifi. There's also a discrete GPU in it rather than a super advanced APU.

And what truly makes it last gen is that it actually has games to play

Because this is a forum designed for fanboys to attack other platforms that do essentially, what they profess to love. Play games. So all sorts of rationalizations and nonsense are posted here. Its really subjective, yet fun to read at times.

A current gen console?

Because PC developers often make their games on consoles, where limited hardware requires them to scale back their entire project in order to run on all platforms equally (parity isn't necessary but it's way more cost effective).

@treedoor: using an optical drive to plug a hole, that old chestnut!

and wired is definitely the way to go, network and controllers. ornstein and smough convinced me of that.

GS is glitching. :x

I have a last-last gen PC, since my GPU just died.

Also the TC should come back like in two years, by then PC's will surely be held back by consoles.

PC is held back by PC. most devs won't take the resources they have to optimize for the small percent of PC gamers with crazy rigs. Also the sales on PC as well. If PC has franchises that sell 5 million on it, then devs will probably do it. but when they are only selling 900k on their PC version compared to 2-3 million on their console version, why would they dumb extra resources into it?

For awhile that was true. Most multiplats were outdated while pc exclusives like UT2k3, Far Cry, NOLF 2, Crysis etc pushed the graphical envelope.

Now it's mainly console games pushing the envelope while most pc exclusives can run on a toaster.

Sims 4 min req gpu is a mid range card that released a year before the 360 launched. The original Sims reqs for instance were much more demanding for it's era.

There is more money spent on PC gaming hardware, annually than on any individual console. Don't rely on the much vaunted and extremely inaccurate Steam hardware survey. Additionally over the next couple of years the new consoles will be surpassed in power from low cost laptops, while gaming PC's continually grow in raw power.

PC hardware only statistics

http://www.statista.com/statistics/268367/forecast-of-the-global-pc-gaming-hardware-market/

PC gaming revenue (software only) is expected to reach $25 Billion this year

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-01-28-pc-gaming-market-to-exceed-USD25-billion-this-year-dfc

Add the two together and we have a grand total of $46.5 Billion predicted for 2014

Console hardware and software statistics

http://www.statista.com/statistics/300469/video-game-console-revenue-worldwide/

The lowest common denominator, which dictates the AAA gaming market, is not coming from PC's but still coming from last generation consoles, which still dominate the console market.

People have this false idea that if consoles did not exist then all the developers would be making games for PC that utilise he latest hardware fully. But they are assuming the console gamers would have been PC gamers, I think the reality is if the consoles didn't exist then there would not be the number of developers that there are now.

Just think of the consoles ports as... console ports and move along.

Because of your anus?

3 things:

Controls - You can imagine the disappointment when launching a game to find out that the interface is clunky because it has been designed with a controller in mind (Skyrim, for example).

Lack of options - PC gaming is about scalability and options; being able to push the latest hardware as well as scale it back to accommodate lower-end PCs. I shouldn't have to use a wrapper library to enable graphical features and remove frame rate caps. (Dark Souls, for example)

Dumbed-down Gameplay - We're back to controls again. Console-designed games often end up with stripped-down gameplay since there is arguably less control with a gamepad. You lose hot-keys, grouping and a lot of other strategy elements resulting in a much less satisfying experience. (Dragon Age 2, for example)

Basically a lot of games get designed to the specs of a console, and then ported to the PC with very little change. Thus games often get held back by consoles. It's pretty sad when it happens. Even if we drop the graphics/hardware argument, it's still very sad.

Because a game designed specifically for pc would not work on consoles..

Pc holds back pc if the market demanded high end games for pc then they would be made. If pc gaming made as much money as hermits say then it should be no problem.

Regardless of users/revenue/pirates/markets/whatever the games are still gimped. Lazy devs milking console owners is bad for everyone.

@SolidGame_basic: Fanboys and elitists complain on this, because the graphics are just slightly lower than what they wanted.

This doesn't explain why most pc exclusives have outdated graphics.

pshaw! Graphics are the weakest argument. More worrisome is the fact that games are falling short of their potential due to control restrictions and the dumbing-down of mechanics. Big publishers think any game that requires more than a few minutes to learn or more than a few buttons will scare away consumers.

Considering there are shit tons of them and a good bunch of indies...

PC is held back by developers and the publishers that make those decisions. It's safe to do lazy ports now as confirmed by any Japanese PC port ever. People really don't care, only the enthusiasts. The rest will endulge in their console-esque games and occasionally enjoy some PC exclusives.

It really doesn't matter. Again, only real enthusiasts actually care about getting another Crysis equivalent in graphical evolution.

Last gen the paltry amount of memory PS360 had definitely limited console to PC ports, but the recent Sims 4 is great evidence towards PC holding PC back. EAxis made it specifically for lower end hardware than it's predecessor, and as a result The Sims 4 is much smaller in world size, complexity, and ambition than The Sims 3.

Even low end PCs are held back by consoles . Specially after 2,3 years of new generation when hardware are dirt cheap . With PCs you can achieve much more . Look at Crysis , Witcher 2 , Shogun 2 , Half Life 2 , Company of Heroes etc .

And it is not always about hardware but controls as well . Look at difference between Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 . First one was a PC game designed for Mouse and Keyboard , later dumbed down and made action oriented for consoles . Second game was build for controllers (primarily) .

Why do people say next-gen consoles are held back by mult-gen titles?

just a heads up, this is a cranler alt.

?

I don't think you understand the point of my rhetorical question as it relates to the TC's thread title.

Did you get a gaming pc yet or are you still fakeboying?

Sounds painful, ...you're definitely missing out bro. Next-gen is so much better with no games to play. Greatness Awaits.

Not to mention all these HD Remakes.

@Krelian-co: who is a Cranler alt?

To me the only part where consoles hold pc back that really counts is gameplay, not graphics

It feels like I'm pirating when I take old games on my PC, and run them at higher resolutions.

It's like I'm stealing $60 from the developers. Luckily, devs have these next-gen consoles where they can charge for a resolution increase.

I really feel for you man. I'm in the same boat as you.

PC meh chana not got stench vely bad graphic to but not wot ok bossman.

Whoever said that is pathetic. There's no PC game that actually requires a titan or 780GTX to play, developers simply don't make games for that 1% of PC gamers.

TC's right..... Consoles aren't holding back PCs... After all not enough people have high end gaming PC's

Well the thing is, they aren't exactly making the game for those people, but they're putting in advanced graphical features that would only run on those cards (and above) because it makes their game look better in trailers and gameplay demos. It's more than just a 1% increase in sales, it improves presentation. Imagine where Star Citizen would be if it only had decent graphics.

Oh god that avatar. I am laughing uncontrollably, I had a feeling someone was gonna Photoshop it but not with this good of a quality. /derail

Back to the topic: Consoles and PC are Ying and Yang. Take that as you will.

Consoles do hold back PC, but not at launch, or in the first few years of the generation, like some PC fanboys like to claim. Once the standard PC is more powerful than the consoles (again, 3 or 4 years into the gen), some games are indeed only possible on PC.

Battlefield 3/4 is a good example for this