How is PC gaming expensive? Older Games

Seriously, not only do console games normally cost more. But a gamer would probably spend thousands on games every gen. A new console comes along long and its not backwards compatibility. So then you either have to leave your old console out collecting dust or just give up playing it.

But with PC if you wanted to play a 20+ year old Doom you could.

If Half Life 3 were to come out (lol). You could play Half Life and HL2 with its episodes to get back into the story.

In my experience playing old PC games is not that smooth. For example I revisited Sands Of Time a couple of months back and it was fairly glitchy. There's a variety of fixes I tried (lots of helpful people) and managed to play through it, but it was a bit of a hassle and it never runned perfectly. Some problems with how timed puzzles worked nearly made it impossible to beat.

It's also my opinion that games don't age that well in general. This is especially true since I mostly enjoy action (/adventure) games and mechanics have generally not aged well. Things just don't feel right. For example Max Payne 2 is one of my favourite games of all times. When I tried to replay it after MP3 the shooting just felt wrong. It was like I was firing toy guns in comparison. I just couldn't get through it. When I replayed F.E.A.R. the gunplay was allright but movement is stiff and the way the hands look is just really awkward.

I dunno I don't think lack of BC is that big of a deal tbh. Imo games have just reached a fraction of their true potential and I prefer to look forward rather than back.

It doesn´t matter whether it's smooth or not. The most important thing is that you CAN.

Exactly.

Consoles are wasteful when new ones comes out because of the lack of backwards compatibility and people will just stop playing them. Console games in 10 years time are gonna be a challenge to play because manufacturers won't make old consoles anymore and you will have a hard time hoping that the console won't break, add that with increased use of the space in your room with all of those damn consoles. With PC, you totally have a peace of mind. Hence the "master race".

In the long run as a console gamer, you end up spending more than those on PC. Plus you get inferior gaming experience. Why would you play on consoles for multiplats?

THAT is a very good question that nobody has answered yet. My guess is that they are ignorant. They definitely ignore that question in the threads about pricing.
I only saw one person blabber about him needing to play games in an environment in which it was impossible to place a PC... I think we can consider a spacestation to be the exception to the rule.

I disagree, the hassle/time matters. Makes it less appealing to go back and play older games.

We go through this topic every month.

The PC has a higher initial cost, but far lower upkeep (games, maintenance, online) then consoles.

Consoles have a lower initial cost but everything past the point of initial purchace is far more expencive.

In the end after a gen if you bu around the same number of games and whatnot you will liekly en up at the same areacode in overall spending.

Unless ofcourse you only have 1 console 3-4 games per year, and never play online.

The way I see it, is that the upfront cost is typically higher, and the average cost after that could vary between consoles and PC. Console games actually dropped in price relatively quickly in the later years of last gen.

Vary? You buy PC games for at least $10 less on average. Maybe even $15 if you only count the full priced games. And no monthly fee. It's not close. It's easily a $900 difference in a 5 year gen. For me it's more like a $1400 difference.
And that's only if you live in the lucky half of the world, like me, where the consoles and console games aren't heftily overpriced.

@KungfuKitten: well he IS right that console games fall in prise earlier now, but that is ironically pretty much in line with how fast games on PC have begon to fall in Price. Generally games overall falls faster, except on handhelds for some odd reason.

Absolutely. It entirely depends on the games you are buying, what you are buying, and how many you are buying. If you're buying all new games, the PC would likely beat out consoles due to usually having a lower launch price ($50ish). That being said, if a console player was only buying, say, arcade games, then it'd likely come out cheaper for them. At the end of the day, it's on a person-to-person basis.

Thanks to sites like GMG, people are even getting launch games cheaper.

The reason to play multiplats on console would be for the larger player base for multiplayer and to avoid cheaters. Most games will have more players on console. Take COD for example, the only gametypes that always have players are tdm, dom and ffa. All other gametypes usually have very few players. Games like Tombraider and Assasins Creed will have far more players in mp

Why do you care?

@lundy86_4: indeed ^^ games can be insanely cheap if you want to look for the offers across platforms (apart from the beforementioned handhelds, mabe I have just been unlucky).

but Yeah GMG tends to have a near constant 25% off codes for preorder and launch titles. and usually an aditional 5-10% from the get go

You must be unlucky.

I never had much trouble with any old games.

A simple google search solved my issues when I actually ran into one.

Also it's nice to be able to play all my old console/handheld games on PC and see them in HD.

I recently just finished Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday on my PC.

Next I will probably play Final Fantasy Type 0.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJgxFHspQMw

Oddly enough, i've never actually shopped there. Seems really cool, though. MY PC is outdated as all hell now, so I mostly use it as a HTPC :P

I don't understand how they stay in business doing that. I guess they buy keys in bulk.

I wonder if they go to these larger services, offer their large userbase, in order to market to a wider community. I know of online stores that do this with physical products, and submit shipping orders directly to the company they are selling for.

All in all, I really have no clue.

I am confused. Why do I got to stop playing my PS3 and let it collect dust when I get a PS4? Is there some unwritten rule I am unaware of or something?

Yes. It's great. I've been playing on PC since `1990, after we got a 486 DX50 MHz.

Whenever I wanted to play any game from days-of-old, I have always been able to get it running. Never had a problem. But, humbly, I lived through the days of messing with autoexec.bat and so on, so I've got a lot of experience which certainly helps.

The other day I saw the movie 'Dune'. It was terrible. But there is also a game called 'Dune', it's awesome. Also Dune 2 but stay away from Dune 2000. I should have the discs downstairs somewhere. lol, will have to connect a floppy drive though, haha!

I'm confused as well. It's like we should throw out our older consoles simply because we bought a new one..

..and I think this is a pretty Sh!tty argument considering this gen is the ONLY gen in recent memory (save for the N64/Saturn era of course) that didn't have some form of BC.

I have an XB 360 that stills plays old XB games.. The older PS3's still play PSOne & PS2 games.. The older wii still plays GC games..

The new PS3s still play PS1 games.

not to mention with playstation now we can kinda play PS1,2,3 games on the go abliet poorer performance but still worth noting in my eyes its still a technology in its infancy.

Also BC was only really something the PS2 had most consoles never ever really had it in the first place, with the case of the genesis it was through a fairly expensive addon if im not mistaken :P

Lol COD.

Yeah, you pretty much described the majority of consolites. It's a good thing that few PC gamers are playing COD. Great games are where they are playing at.

Multiplayer in Assassin's Creed and Tomb Raider? Hahahahaha. Oh man! Yes, of course, consolites would play them.

Yeah you see, when people on here, I'm not talking you here but, when people here talk about price comparisons I always think that they mean new games and new platforms because if you wait, you can always find things cheaper. If I wait two years to buy the PC that I want to buy today then of course that's going to be a lot cheaper and I know you know that. But at least where I live, if I look at the difference in pricing between console and PC games then even with a super PC of like $1600 I still end up spending less than if I were to game on a console, which is bonkers.

The new price for a big budget PC game is more like $45 or $40 for me. I pre-ordered BF4 for $35. Same with Company of Heroes 2. Tomb Raider was $45. Skyrim $47.50 I think when it was new. I just look around a little at online stores and especially for pre-orders you can find awesome deals.

Well, most of the time. I couldn't find Diablo 3 for cheap. (And boy did I regret buying that. Auction house killed the game for me and consoles won't have that problem, damn.)

I do get that. There isn't anything wrong with believing that, considering we're on the forefront of gaming here... We know all the news pretty quick, and we are avid gamers. That being said, we're talking general market. Any conversation regarding sales of anything, should take the whole market into account.

Exactly. You seem to be under the impression that I am saying that console gaming is cheaper, full stop. That's not the case... Just that it's entirely dependent upon the end-user. PC's typically cost more up front (unless you are really trying to hit console prices), but you get a slew of benefits with that. Shit, my gaming PC has largely become my HTPC... Which i'll tell you know, I couldn't live without. All dat digital media!

The thing is though, you can't take your NES cartridges and plug them into a Wii. You have to buy another copy of the game in ROM form.

On PC, if you have the hardware, you can take your old 5.5" floppy discs and run them on a new computer (granted, you'd probably want to run them on an XP platform, and not a 7/8 platform).

As for the thread topic, PC gaming's only major expense is the initial hardware investment. Upgrading over time always costs less and games help save you money compared to consoles.

Everyone here has a PC just not a gaming PC. So I can still play that 20 year old Doom of yours and half life 2 No problem with the PC or laptop I bought a few years ago that wasn't a gaming PC I bought for other purposes.

So there you have it and a smart consumer doesn't buy games right out of the gate if you do PC games are usually just as expensive. Within a year or less most console games (at amazon at least are usually around the 19.99-29.99 mark and that's new I also have the option to buy used but either way I actually own the disc when you down load these cheap games from Steam you're just renting.

Phones and tablets exist... PC hardcopies exist...

Are you really going to argue that at least the Vast vast majority of people here (and pretty much everywhere) That Own a tablet or a phone to access the internet don't have some device to play these older games?

And PC hardcopies exist that's only a myth. But seriously they're not easy to find and they don't exist for every game anymore.

I don't need to argue anything. Unless there are specific statistics, there is nothing to debate. Tablets and phones have boomed, which your post fails to address. For something anecdotal, my parents solely use a tablet.

As for your PC hardcopy point, stop talking. Show evidence, after all, you stipulated the ability to own the disk, yet solely talked about Steam.

If you think you're worth the time for me to spend time looking up specific statistics to show the brain dead obvious think again. And I highly doubt your parents who solely use a tablets are big gamers wanting to play older games. My point was you don't need a Gaming PC to play those older games.

Not to mention you can also PLAY THOSE OLDER GAMES ON TABLETS even cheap android ones you $^&*ing re$#&#%

http://android.mob.org/game/half_life.html

And don't even try and argue the PC hardcopy BS it just makes you look stupid...er

Nobody said that I was worth the time, but your initial post is. That's debate practice, sunshine... You prove your points.

You can play those games on an iPad Mini? Not very well, I bet. Undermining your point. You do realize that Android is not the whole tablet market, right? There is Apple... You cannot play all old PC games on a tablet. Thus, your point is rendered inane.

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PC hardcopies exist. There is nothing to argue,

If you want to debate the painfully obvious look for someone else You don't need a gaming PC to play those older games period their is nothing to debate.

So in other words You don't know. You accuse me of not showing evidence to support the obvious yet fail to bring your own. "Cough" hypocrite

Not for every game and the ones that do exist are either expensive or hard to find not worth the trouble so your points inane.

No I did not look up every Tablet device and old PC game out there to see if it would run on each for this silly little thread because that would be insane. I just chose one of the cheapest devices and seen if you could play it. The point was and still stands you do not need a gaming PC to play older games.

Oh and Apple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5cTorEZCRk

Half Life 2 even for the ipod touch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ20ShvP8Zo

You know what you might want to follow your own advice and look things up because your the only one running into that wall. I'm done with you have fun debating the obvious with someone else because you obviously have know idea what your talking about and are just looking to argue for the sake of arguing.

1. Who said you need a gaming PC? The fact is, you said everybody has a PC. That's incorrect. Tablets and phones exist as an alternative.

2. I do know. You cannot play those games well, nor can you play all PC games. Shit son, try harder. Not all tablets play all old PC games... Fact of life.

3. So prove your point. You specifically stated that you needed Steam, which is wholly incorrect. Prove that hardcopies are what you say, as you made that point (well done, lol).

4. it doesn't stand if it can't play all old PC games. You made the point, not me.

Dude, smarten the f*ck up. Also, "your" is possessive, and "you're" is a contraction of "you are." Are you sure you want to correct me? Dipshit.

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Debate 101: You make a claim, then you provide evidence.

there are no words nor expressions for the amount of irony here

Yes, on Steam you're renting games for forever.

I honestly cant believe there is this much for gamers to disagree about. if you like to play videogames....play them.. if not move on.

pcs are good for older games..but there is normally a "work around" to get them to work. Consoles are what they are..consoles. great games,ease of use,plugNplay,and sometimes they have bc and sometimes they dont..

FEAR is one of the best single player FPS games of all time. It has amazing gunplay and I don't know what you're talking about with the movement.

And the hands look weird? Well no shit the game's over 8 years old.

Being more lenient with your expectations goes a long way, if you can't appreciate them and look at what they do right, it's hard to enjoy a game that is technically outdated.

I mean, i'm not going to play a DS/3DS game expecting graphics/mechanics similar to Crysis 3. This isn't about a game 'aging', this is about appreciating a game based on the time and system it released on.

Max Payne 2 never had that 'oomph' to its gunplay like the first one, but it's still a blast to play. And FEAR? Obviously the animation and polygon count is going to be less than what we get now with modern engines, it should come as no surprise. But the gameplay? Stellar.

Personally i don't look forward, or backward. I just play what i want.

People always forget when you by a PC that it serves multiple purposes, not just playing games. A console really excels in only one area which is games. Another thing about PC is you have DD which means there are no used games hence great sales and access to really old games that are actually cheap instead of having to go on ebay and buy an old game only to figure out it is a collector's item. I really hate that when I just want to play a game and it is like $80 or $300-$350. That's insane. Why in the world would I pay that much money to play a really old game?

I don't think it has amazing gunplay by modern standards. Games like Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2 (haven't played 3) are far superior. They also allows you to moive around the enviroment in a smoother, more connected way. Obv Crysis has some sci-fi stuff, but it's true even wthout those features.

I say that old games are less enjoyable than new ones to which you respond (to one of my reasons): "Well no shit the game's over 8 years old.". I hope you see why this isn't logical.

Being more lenient with your expectations goes a long way, if you can't appreciate them and look at what they do right, it's hard to enjoy a game that is technically outdated.

I mean, i'm not going to play a DS/3DS game expecting graphics/mechanics similar to Crysis 3. This isn't about a game 'aging', this is about appreciating a game based on the time and system it released on.

Max Payne 2 never had that 'oomph' to its gunplay like the first one, but it's still a blast to play. And FEAR? Obviously the animation and polygon count is going to be less than what we get now with modern engines, it should come as no surprise. But the gameplay? Stellar.

Personally i don't look forward, or backward. I just play what i want.

It's true that your expectations shouldn't be as high when you play old games, but isn't this an indication that they are simply not as good? If you highlight the things that are better in an old game and for all things worse you excuse it with its age, than ofc older games will seem better in comparison.

I'm a feel/mechanics player. I love games that feels just right when you play them. For example Mirror's Edge when you get that awesome flow, or Vanquish when your are flying around the battlefield and so on. And in my experiences old games typically fail to deliver the feel of modern games. It's the rough edges, poor animations, you feel less connected to the enviroment, impact of bullets is very flat, sound design is flat etc etc.

Sure you can excuse all these things with "the game is old". Doesn't make it less problematic to me.

F.E.A.R. doesn't hold up at all imo. The level design is very repetetive with a constant stream of double corridors (meaning the AI has two routes to attack). Running doesn't feel right (very poor sound design). You have little control in terms of climbing/jumping in the enviroment. The weapon/hand combo does look very weird and as this is your character in an FPS it's very disturbing.

That's the exact opposite mentality I've had lately. I've been going back and playing games like Chaos Theory (best fucking game ever), Jade Empire, Thief Deadly Shadows, Arx Fatalis, and others. I've found they hold up incredibly well--Chaos Theory in particular. Videogame design really hasn't improved much since the PS2/GCN era.

I also wanted to play Sands of Time, but before I do, I'd want to buy a DirectInput controller--the Logitech ones. Until I do, I won't even bother trying to play them.