Indeed. I'm a grown ass man with a good job. I own a gaming PC and ALL the consoles because the hardware for a console isn't particularly expensive and there are such things as exclusives.
Loyalty to a platform is mostly about younger guys who can either only afford one or whose parents will only buy them one and so they have to mentally reinforce their self image by claiming that the reason they only have one is because the others are inferior and not worth owning.
controller familiarity is one factor, the first time I went from PC/Keyboard/Mouse to using a modern controller, it felt super weird, I wanted to throw the controller across the room.
If I can get the game to run on my Xubuntu installation then it's really not important if it was compiled for Linux or not! Steam Proton has apparently come a long way and MANY games work with extraordinarily little effort, if anyway. It's a great time to be a Linux gamer!
Technically and categorically, yeah. But most folks who use mac or gnu/linux understand that Microsoft has pretty much appropriated the term "pc" to mean "windows pc". They aren't the only ones to blame... Remember Apple's " 'Hi, I'm a Mac', 'and I'm a PC' " commercials?
Not *everyone* who uses apple products is in-your-face about it, but I see what you're getting at. It was good business for Apple to push their branding the way they did, and it worked incredibly well, unfortunately.
Indeed they are, hence me noting "technically and categorically". However, these are products used by humans, and humans sometimes use terms that are technically inaccurate but still convey what they are trying to communicate. You ask a hardware engineer or systems engineer that question, they will likely respond as you did. You ask the masses "mac or pc" and they will overwhelmingly have a mental distinction between the two, despite Macs being a subset of PCs under a technical definition. If the point
The Mac users deemed themselves "not a PC" - not the other way around.
Once upon a time you'd see games marketed as having their platform on the outside of the box - sometimes they'd even include multiple disks or you'd have 5.25" floppies where you could flip them and one platform might be on one side and another on the other.
It was common to see games as being for "Commodore 64, Atari XL, Apple II, Amiga, and/or IBM PC or 100% compatibles" (often some subset of that, and there were sometimes others). That
I'm with you. Max user since '06, Linux before, OS/2 before that, and I'm considering switching back to Linux now that macOS is starting to look like an iPhone.
Gaming on linux is basically gaming on windows with some extra steps and some games not working, but in a few cases with some advantages, like having a non-pathetic OpenGL performance when using AMD video chips, or when there's some directX snag that gets solved by virtualizing the game on vulkan (GTA IV being the best example of it, with the frame rate basically doubling when under DXVK)
Don't have much time for gaming any more, but still play Elite: Dangerous, Oolite, and XPlane 11. Personally, I think there should be an Elite-to-XPlane plugin that lets you fly around 21st century Earth and interact with the aircraft there. Just to satisfy the UFO hunters.
* Mods * Upgradeability (Throw in a new GPU every 3 generations.) * 60+ FPS when consoles could barely do 30 FPS
Games such as Minecraft, Conan Exiles, Terraria, Beam.ng, Skyrim, Elden Ring, etc., become almost entirely new games with mods (especially Seamless Co-op Mod in Elden Ring.)
Mouse+Keyboard is far superior for aiming but sadly some games don't respect your time or wrists such as Path of Exile. Thankfully seamless input device switching from Mouse/Keyboard to/from gamepad is becoming standardized.
I already use a gamepad for some PC games. i.e. Elden Ring. I thought that was implied when I mentioned seamless input switching to/from gamepad but I guess it wasn't clear.
Not to mention that a lot of games are broken without mods, not just better with them, like literally any PC game from Bethesda... Console players commonly have to restart those games because of game breaking bugs that prevent progressing the story line.
I do recall the in-game clock of fallout 1 would run substantially faster on a more powerful CPU. Not the *framerate* or anything, this was an important in-game countdown for significant story events, and ultimately a game-over if you took too long to complete certain events. When it was released on Steam, pretty much everybody would have a game-over as soon as they took their first step onto the world map. Patches came later, but holy shit, an ounce of QA would've caught that.
I voted PC, almost entirely due to the modability aspect. I've spent more time building modded setups for games like Skyim, The Sims 4, World of Warcraft, and others than I have playing the actual game in some cases. There's a lot to be said for being able to essentially build your preferred experience.
There once was a corpse named LeChuck He wanted the hot lassie to fuck A poet must.relax Guybrush Threepwood he tasks To save the young lady from schmuck
I started playing games somewhere around 1993 on a 386, and continued playing on PCs that I owned, up until I got my first child. After that, I just don't have time...and I choose to do other activities instead when I do have free time. I'm talking about rich story games that take days and even months to fully finish. RPGs, FPS, Strategies, Simulations, Management games. All of it. I found that lately if I start playing such games, I just can't concentrate and immerse myself into it the way I could when I was younger.
Now, I recently bought a second hand PS4. I'm "casually" enjoying it often. Games like Crash Bandicoot or Crash Bandicoot team racing... are brilliant. Just turn the PS4 on, game starts in about 1 minute... no problems with drivers, performance issues, OS issues, compatibilities with gamepads...nothing. Just press X on the game I want, and off it goes.
If I was asked this question 10 years ago, would've voted PC. Now, it's PS4.
PC gaming is far superior in every regard except convenience, and with all the life's worries, I find more convenience to be more important to me than better graphics.
For me it's always been PC + a nice handheld. The PC for obvious reasons, but handhelds are nice for the times I'm not at a PC. Unfortunately, there are no good handhelds right now because every console manufacturer got the dumb idea that since smartphone gaming was rising, there was no place in the market for handhelds (except Nintendo, who had the equally dumb idea to make an oversized handheld instead).
At this point, if I'm on the go, my hacked 3DS and hacked Vita are still my systems of choice. Between the two of those, I get the obvious easy-to-emulate libraries (NES, Genesis, GB/GBC, etc.), adequate SNES emulation, a good PS1/PSP experience via Adrenaline on the Vita, a good NDS experience via TwilightMenu++ on the 3DS, good GBA performance (but a clunky setup experience) via open_agb_firm or GBA injection on the 3DS, and of course the Vita and 3DS libraries to boot. Notably, the 3DS library has an Ocarina of Time port (I don't love the visuals but otherwise it's a solid port) and a Majora's Mask port (which has some stupid changes but are mostly fixed by a fan mod [restoration.zora.re]). So between these two little systems, I have a LOT of variety.
Still, it'd be nice to see a new first party handheld. The 3DS and Vita are both over ten years old at this point and both systems are retired, I'd like something that's actually getting releases. Smartphones are awful for gaming for many reasons and even the Switch Lite is just too big.
Also on my wishlist: there's really no excuse for any console-maker not having a cross-generational library at this point. I'm not going to rebuy the same game over and over. If I buy Super Mario Bros on one system, I should have access to it on every other online-capable system that can run it that Nintendo makes until the end of time. If you want to charge some kind of service fee for keeping the infrastructure up to enable this, sure, whatever, but I'm not rebuying the damn game.
While it sounds like OP wants a much smaller machine than a Steam Deck, I'd just like to point out that a machine powerful enough to emulate Xbox 360 games that also plays newly-released PC titles is worth carrying a bag for. There are also smaller machines (GPD makes a few of them) that fill a similar niche. I have taken my Steam Deck to hilarious places (nature trails, courtrooms, casinos...), I can't remember the last time I left it at home, and I can just hop on Warframe with my buddies over cellular da
I think whether it's worth it is a matter of personal preference. Carrying a bag for a game console isn't worth it to me no matter how powerful or good the console is; it needs to fit into my pocket to be useful. I can definitely see how if you are more tolerant of that how it would be a much better value proposition.
There are some third party small form factor devices that are interesting, I bookmarked a few but I don't recall names off the top of my head. So it's not like the form factor is dead, it's
Adult stuff: cook, clean, procure groceries, household repairs, yardwork, minding kids, my actual job I get paid to do, physical exercise, social obligations, eat a snack or veg out in front of the TV for a bit after the kids are down...you know, adult stuff as opposed to man-child stuff
Guess what, you are an adult now. That means you can make your own rules instead of following some outdated straightjacket stereotype of 'adult stuff'.
You don't need anyone's permission to play video games. It's kind of sad that you associate game playing with childhood. Games have a long history in human culture, with the earliest generally accepted board games predating the bronze age. Games likely much farther back - but it is harder to tell what some arti
Hard to pin things down. I game on gnu/linux. Sony and microsoft consoles are getting fewer and fewer exclusives, but Nintendo consoles still have just as many 1st party exclusives. Back in the day when online console gaming was really first coming, together, I'd pick whatever consoles my friends were playing, so we could play together. Nowadays, It's all PC.
There are missing options. RetroPie running on a Raspberry Pi makes a great compact, low power gaming station. Load up some emulators, some roms, and off you go. There are also emulation handhelds of all kinds, but I prefer playing on a larger screen.
I prefer playing games on a PC because it offers me the flexibility and performance that I look for in gaming. With a PC, I can customize my system to match the requirements of different games, and I have access to a vast library of titles ranging from the latest releases to classic gems. The graphics and controls on a PC provide a more immersive experience, and I appreciate the ability to use the same machine for work, study, and other entertainment. The combination of these factors makes the PC my favorit
For fighting game players, it's typically PC for home (online) play for the flexibility of input device, better online, mod support etc. but it's gonna be a console (Playstation) for tournaments as they are easiest to source and set up. So what ends up happening is players with custom controllers show up with adapters to tournaments.
As for me, I've amassed all the current-gen gaming platforms. Lately though outside of fighting games that I play with other people in events anyway, I find myself reaching fo
I still play games on my 48K Sinclair ZX Spectrum with the rubber keys. Games can be loaded off SD card in an instant with a DivMMC adaptor.
If your don't have real hardware then look for the MiSTer FPGA system. This open source solution uses an FPGA to represent the real hardware of many retro computers of the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. Also has support for arcade machines. Meaning that original software can run on it.
Civilization VI on the iPad is a great port. I play PC and Xbox too. But if I had to choose just one thing, having a full quality PC game on an iPad mini to play anywhere with many, many hours of battery life is just perfect.
What about those who don't play computer games? I pretty much fit that description. Until I got my new M1 iMac, the only computer game I played with any sort of regularity was Starcraft Remastered but even that minor pleasure is no longer available to me although I have received some rumblings that I may be wrong in that. We will see.
I bought a cheapo but decent spec Android tablet just for playing a few games but I guess if I really want to get back into gaming, I'll build a custom PC
Filthy casuals (Score:1, Flamebait)
Re: Filthy casuals (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. I'm a grown ass man with a good job. I own a gaming PC and ALL the consoles because the hardware for a console isn't particularly expensive and there are such things as exclusives.
Loyalty to a platform is mostly about younger guys who can either only afford one or whose parents will only buy them one and so they have to mentally reinforce their self image by claiming that the reason they only have one is because the others are inferior and not worth owning.
Re: (Score:2)
Linux or Mac (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
You're right, Mac is a viable gaming platform nowadays, shame they didn't include it as an option.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Linux or Mac (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Are you trolling? What does "Pentium compatible" even mean? (the architecture is either x86 or x64 neither of which started with Pentium chips)
Re: Linux or Mac (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If I can get the game to run on my Xubuntu installation then it's really not important if it was compiled for Linux or not! Steam Proton has apparently come a long way and MANY games work with extraordinarily little effort, if anyway. It's a great time to be a Linux gamer!
Re: (Score:3)
Both of those are PCs
Re: Linux or Mac (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
No, that is just Mac users. They are "special" (point at my head and rolling my finger).
Re: Linux or Mac (Score:1)
Re: Linux or Mac (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
The Mac users deemed themselves "not a PC" - not the other way around.
Once upon a time you'd see games marketed as having their platform on the outside of the box - sometimes they'd even include multiple disks or you'd have 5.25" floppies where you could flip them and one platform might be on one side and another on the other.
It was common to see games as being for "Commodore 64, Atari XL, Apple II, Amiga, and/or IBM PC or 100% compatibles" (often some subset of that, and there were sometimes others). That
Re: Linux or Mac (Score:2)
Re: Linux or Mac (Score:3)
I'm with you. Max user since '06, Linux before, OS/2 before that, and I'm considering switching back to Linux now that macOS is starting to look like an iPhone.
Re: (Score:2)
Gaming on linux is basically gaming on windows with some extra steps and some games not working, but in a few cases with some advantages, like having a non-pathetic OpenGL performance when using AMD video chips, or when there's some directX snag that gets solved by virtualizing the game on vulkan (GTA IV being the best example of it, with the frame rate basically doubling when under DXVK)
Re: (Score:2)
PC - iPhone (Score:2)
However, I don't have time to play games these days as an old fart. :(
Re: (Score:2)
However, I don't have time to play games these days as an old fart. :(
??
If you're sufficiently chronologically advanced, you should have plenty of time.
What's keeping you so busy?
Re: (Score:2)
Colony, works, etc. You know the usual old fart life. :(
PC? Pfft... (Score:3)
I only play Zork on my PDP-11 minicomputer.
Re: (Score:3)
Bah! I'm still playing Trek [michaelburns.net]. Lately I'm having trouble sourcing enough tractor-feed paper for my DECwriter, though...
I play a few PC games still (Score:2)
Don't have much time for gaming any more, but still play Elite: Dangerous, Oolite, and XPlane 11. Personally, I think there should be an Elite-to-XPlane plugin that lets you fly around 21st century Earth and interact with the aircraft there. Just to satisfy the UFO hunters.
Sooo (Score:2)
PC Master Race (Score:4, Informative)
Why?
* Mods
* Upgradeability (Throw in a new GPU every 3 generations.)
* 60+ FPS when consoles could barely do 30 FPS
Games such as Minecraft, Conan Exiles, Terraria, Beam.ng, Skyrim, Elden Ring, etc., become almost entirely new games with mods (especially Seamless Co-op Mod in Elden Ring.)
Mouse+Keyboard is far superior for aiming but sadly some games don't respect your time or wrists such as Path of Exile. Thankfully seamless input device switching from Mouse/Keyboard to/from gamepad is becoming standardized.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
I already use a gamepad for some PC games. i.e. Elden Ring. I thought that was implied when I mentioned seamless input switching to/from gamepad but I guess it wasn't clear.
The Voyee Wired Controller [amazon.com] is inexpensive and decent.
Re: PC Master Race (Score:2)
Not to mention that a lot of games are broken without mods, not just better with them, like literally any PC game from Bethesda... Console players commonly have to restart those games because of game breaking bugs that prevent progressing the story line.
Re: (Score:2)
Kind of sad that "BUGthesda" has become a meme. :-/
Re: PC Master Race (Score:1)
Re: PC Master Race (Score:1)
Re: PC Master Race (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I don't play video games (Score:3)
I grew up in a house hold of poets. We sit around the fire and entertain each other with stories.
My intellectual superiority must be validated. /s
Re: (Score:1)
for my mind it was quite a see
I am a poet and I must know it
There will be no games for me
Re: (Score:2)
There once was a corpse named LeChuck
He wanted the hot lassie to fuck
A poet must.relax
Guybrush Threepwood he tasks
To save the young lady from schmuck
Re: (Score:2)
I grew up in a house hold of poets. We sit around the fire and entertain each other with stories.
Could you point us to your Twitch stream?
Depends on age (Score:5, Interesting)
I started playing games somewhere around 1993 on a 386, and continued playing on PCs that I owned, up until I got my first child. After that, I just don't have time ...and I choose to do other activities instead when I do have free time. I'm talking about rich story games that take days and even months to fully finish. RPGs, FPS, Strategies, Simulations, Management games. All of it. I found that lately if I start playing such games, I just can't concentrate and immerse myself into it the way I could when I was younger.
Now, I recently bought a second hand PS4. I'm "casually" enjoying it often. Games like Crash Bandicoot or Crash Bandicoot team racing... are brilliant.
Just turn the PS4 on, game starts in about 1 minute... no problems with drivers, performance issues, OS issues, compatibilities with gamepads...nothing. Just press X on the game I want, and off it goes.
If I was asked this question 10 years ago, would've voted PC. Now, it's PS4.
PC gaming is far superior in every regard except convenience, and with all the life's worries, I find more convenience to be more important to me than better graphics.
Re: (Score:2)
PC and handheld (Score:4)
At this point, if I'm on the go, my hacked 3DS and hacked Vita are still my systems of choice. Between the two of those, I get the obvious easy-to-emulate libraries (NES, Genesis, GB/GBC, etc.), adequate SNES emulation, a good PS1/PSP experience via Adrenaline on the Vita, a good NDS experience via TwilightMenu++ on the 3DS, good GBA performance (but a clunky setup experience) via open_agb_firm or GBA injection on the 3DS, and of course the Vita and 3DS libraries to boot. Notably, the 3DS library has an Ocarina of Time port (I don't love the visuals but otherwise it's a solid port) and a Majora's Mask port (which has some stupid changes but are mostly fixed by a fan mod [restoration.zora.re]). So between these two little systems, I have a LOT of variety.
Still, it'd be nice to see a new first party handheld. The 3DS and Vita are both over ten years old at this point and both systems are retired, I'd like something that's actually getting releases. Smartphones are awful for gaming for many reasons and even the Switch Lite is just too big.
Also on my wishlist: there's really no excuse for any console-maker not having a cross-generational library at this point. I'm not going to rebuy the same game over and over. If I buy Super Mario Bros on one system, I should have access to it on every other online-capable system that can run it that Nintendo makes until the end of time. If you want to charge some kind of service fee for keeping the infrastructure up to enable this, sure, whatever, but I'm not rebuying the damn game.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
There are some third party small form factor devices that are interesting, I bookmarked a few but I don't recall names off the top of my head. So it's not like the form factor is dead, it's
Re: (Score:1)
My friend, meet the steamdeck. My life has been changed.
Missing option: (Score:2)
"I do not play computer games"
Re: (Score:2)
Is this the new "I don't even own a TV"?
Re: (Score:2)
No: I have other things to do with my time than play computer games. Also: no - I do not own a TV.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Missing option: (Score:2)
Adult stuff: cook, clean, procure groceries, household repairs, yardwork, minding kids, my actual job I get paid to do, physical exercise, social obligations, eat a snack or veg out in front of the TV for a bit after the kids are down...you know, adult stuff as opposed to man-child stuff
Re: (Score:2)
Guess what, you are an adult now. That means you can make your own rules instead of following some outdated straightjacket stereotype of 'adult stuff'.
You don't need anyone's permission to play video games. It's kind of sad that you associate game playing with childhood. Games have a long history in human culture, with the earliest generally accepted board games predating the bronze age. Games likely much farther back - but it is harder to tell what some arti
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Sega is best. (Score:1)
Pc gaming (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I am pretty sure the C=64 wasn't out in 1981
Back then I had an apple ][+
Before that I had a Compucolor
Ranking would be nicer :) (Score:1)
Emulation / RetroPie (Score:2)
There are missing options. RetroPie running on a Raspberry Pi makes a great compact, low power gaming station. Load up some emulators, some roms, and off you go. There are also emulation handhelds of all kinds, but I prefer playing on a larger screen.
Re: Emulation / RetroPie (Score:2)
Why I Prefer PC (Score:1)
I use an abacus (Score:2)
You insensitive clod.
Pinball, of course (Score:2)
Just pinball.
Re: (Score:1)
+1
Atari 2600 (Score:2)
Atari 2600 FTW!
RPi4 running Batocera Linux (Score:2)
Why the Smartphone hate? (Score:1)
For the 5-15 minutes per week I spend playing games, the options available on a smartphone are adequate.
PC at home, Consoles for fighting game events (Score:1)
Wot no Sinclair ZX Spectrum option ? (Score:2)
I still play games on my 48K Sinclair ZX Spectrum with the rubber keys. Games can be loaded off SD card in an instant with a DivMMC adaptor.
If your don't have real hardware then look for the MiSTer FPGA system. This open source solution uses an FPGA to represent the real hardware of many retro computers of the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. Also has support for arcade machines. Meaning that original software can run on it.
retro systems option missing (Score:1)
I only played games on C64/Amiga (I'm old). I just don't care anymore.
Also the "I don't play games you insensitive clod" is missing.
iPad! (Score:2)
Civilization VI on the iPad is a great port. I play PC and Xbox too. But if I had to choose just one thing, having a full quality PC game on an iPad mini to play anywhere with many, many hours of battery life is just perfect.
Stick with the classics (Score:2)
I only play Lemonade Stand on the Apple II
Missing option (Score:2)
What about those who don't play computer games? I pretty much fit that description. Until I got my new M1 iMac, the only computer game I played with any sort of regularity was Starcraft Remastered but even that minor pleasure is no longer available to me although I have received some rumblings that I may be wrong in that. We will see.
No option for tablet? (Score:2)
I bought a cheapo but decent spec Android tablet just for playing a few games but I guess if I really want to get back into gaming, I'll build a custom PC
PC (Score:2)
The style of games I like is best played with keyboard + mouse, so the choice is obvious.
I selected PC⦠(Score:1)
Missing Option: Atari computer (Score:2)
Writing in the dust on the floor. (Score:1)
So I guess that counts as PC, since the Dungeons of Doom that I live in exist within NetHack.
Missing option (Score:2)
ConsoleNeal
Atari (Score:2)
The Atari VCS is the best failed console ever. I really like it.