Is console 'next-gen' again holding back PC gaming?

I think it is. My PC is powered by a eight core 4.2GHz FX 8350 and a 4.9TF R9-290 video card. The console CPUs are much less capable than my CPU and their video card are immeasurably weaker (XBO 1.2 and PS4 1.8 teraflops). Most developers out there are building games with the consoles capability in mind ... not what PCs are capable of. It's making me feel shafted because of lame-arse "next-gen" games COULD look a lot better if they were developed for top-spec PCs in mind ... and then downscale for the consoles.

It devs themselves, holding themselves back when they choose to develop on consoles first..instead of pc. :p

@Kjranu: Consoles have reached 2011 with the PS4

The x1 and PS4 have only been out for 4 months, and a bunch of the big name games are cross-gen games. Give it some time. It looks like the Witcher 3 will be pushing hardware pretty hard

CD Projekt Red won't do that. You can be sure that Witcher 3 will destroy your system, when all the bells & whistles are on show.

But yes, the PS4 is very weak compared to the Xbox 360 at release (in comparison to PC hardware of the time).

But yeah, I look at the PS4/X1, and I think... This thing can't handle high quality AA & tessellation NOW? How is it going to cope in 5 years time? It will be interesting to see how Crysis 3 holds up to the PS4's exclusive titles in a few years time.

I think it's the hardware defelopers. Personally, they should try to find more cost-effective ways to manufacture their stuff so that it's cheaper to build gaming PCs,

*shakes head* such a stupid concept, and argument.

The only people holding back PC games are PC gamers whom refuse to buy unlocked 1k dollar i7's and setup nvidia titans in 4 way sli...etc...etc Basically PC Gamers are holding the PC gaming back by not buying 2k dollar systems.

Also of note the best selling PC game Minecraft, and other low system requirement games which are more powerful on the pc than high end system needed games.

Not anymore than people who game on laptops with integrated graphics.

Last gen consoles are, they're also holding back the current consoles. Once we start getting games coming out that are actually made for new-ish tech instead of games that still need to scale for shit 8 year old hardware THEN we'll be seeing PC improving massively alongside the consoles.

@Kjranu: No.

No

@leandrro: That's generous

No. My GTX 560 Ti and my GTX 660m are holding back gaming, at least for me. On the bright side, I'm getting my money's worth with those two the longer I don't buy a new GPU.

It's been tough resisting the itch though. Ha ha!

That's why I stick with mid-range video cards. They have more than enough juice to power current games and just enough for later games. I may have to settle for a notch below max or use a slightly lower res near the end. But, at half the price (or lesser) of a top-end card, I'm not bound to complain whether the price I paid was worth it or not.

*twitches* eeeeeew laptops with integrated graphics.

I don't think these consoles are holding pc games back that much because their hardware is more alike PCs this time around. Many games could very well have pc as lead platform and then be scaled down to run on the consoles. They could even in the be dumbed down with less AI and less physics if necessary.
Just look at Battlefield 3 from 2011 a great example of a game that runs and looks great on pc and then was scaled and dumbed down (smaller maps, fewer players etc) to run on ps3/360.

Nope they are bringing in the dough.

Pc gaming, once again, holding itself back, by not producing games herms want, so back to begging for console ports.

My friends next generation brought great innovations. Such as higher priced games. A free2play price shot on top of a fully priced retail game. And Titanfall, which has mechs and jetpacks from Tribes. The future is very bright.

Cows finally tasting 1080P,late by about 10 years

@MonsieurX said:

@xboxdone74 said:

Pc gaming, once again, holding itself back, by not producing games herms want, so back to begging for console ports.

Cows finally tasting 1080P,late by about 10 years

Keep on beggin'. :)

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/rockstar-release-gta-v-on-pc

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/01/13/dark-souls-pc-petition-at-nearly-70000-signatures-namco-listening/

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dragonsdogma-pc/

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/release-destiny-on-pc

http://www.change.org/petitions/rock-star-games-bring-red-dead-redemption-on-pc

http://www.change.org/petitions/konami-release-metal-gear-rising-revengeance-on-pc

http://www.change.org/petitions/naughty-dog-the-last-of-us-we-want-the-last-of-us-to-come-to-pc

https://www.change.org/petitions/sega-increase-the-number-of-pc-releases-segapcports

sure. sounds good.

Of course it is. With a tablet CPU and GPU equivalent to 570. The so called next gen consoles finally matched the mid range PC hardware. It's a shame that a 2011 game is still shitting on these 'Next-Gen' consoles and looks like it will remain that way. But the good news is Sony is about to bankrupt, MS to can the Xbox and Nintendo will drop out of home consoles.

Pc gaming is holding pc gaming back. Most pc gamers dont even have pcs equal to the new consoles. There is nothing stopping devs from making demanding pc exclusives, many just do not see the benefit. I mean iy scaresndevs when you look at some of the mostn respected pc games get pirated over and over.

I couldn't give a shit one way or the other.

The next gen consoles also delivered plagues unto our crops, poisoned our water supply and burned down our houses.

No.

Most PC gamers would rather not not spend money every year to play all the latest games. I'm glad devs cater to that mindset. I've had my current PC for nearly 4 years, and still have no really reason to upgrade. I can play 99.9% of games getting released flawlessly.

Blame the developers.

Its not our fault that there is no PC game that beats shadow fall. Its PC devs fault for not being good.

i think its going to be easier for developers to build high and scale back this gen that it was last gen. last gen the PC and 2 consoles had little in common. developer had to build 3 different systems for many parts of the game so that the PS3, 360 and PC were accomodated. that would also mean more testing.

now its going to be easier for them to build a high end version and tweak and cut as needed to make it work on consoles and mid to lower level PCs. once the 360 and PS3 support is scrapped developers will be able to do a lot to streamline the whole process i think. there will always be some things that cant be cut and may be held back by consoles in the future (physics in a racing sim for example or doing things like making a really big level for the PC version and dividing it up into smaller levels for the console version.)

but i think we wont have the stall in tech this gen that we had last gen. developers can essentially start planning for the PS5 and X2 now and a lot of what they develop for the PC version in future will be usable on the next consoles. more of the optimisations made for the console versions of the game may also feed back into the PC version which would also be nice (as long as its not the "axe" type of optimisation).

....unless MS and sony decide not to use more off the shelf parts next gen. that would be a silly thing to do though.

Engines are built to be scaleable. The gulf between next gen consoles and PC isn't so large that the vast majority of games couldn't be scaled down somewhat to work on the consoles, especially when you consider that the majority of PC games are also designed to be played on mid-range hardware as well as the super high end stuff. Games like Arma 3 COULD be on consoles if Bohemia decided to rework its engine so that it actually takes advantage of numerous CPU cores (I use Arma3 because it's generally touted as a game that consoles couldn't handle--the problem though is that the reason they couldn't handle it has everything to do with Bohemia shitty, unoptimized engine and less to do with the game itself).

Nope. Devs are catering for the largest group of users. What I do love is the scalablitiy of some games. Sure I run the latest and greatest hardware but I can still play games with my buddy who has a shitty integrated graphics laptop.

Since many pc games have so much scalability I don't think these consoles will hold new games back that much, even AI and physics could be scaled down if their CPUs prove to be to weak, and not just the graphics which is already being scaled down in the console versions.

Nah, I don't think so. Games are usually really scalable these days to support a wider range of hardware specs (Prefferably mid-range). The devs are whats holding it back, with good reason I believe. Thats not to say that the PC versions of the games don't offer their own bells high-end whistles. Win-win

Everything is holding back PC gaming. The weather, Obama, Flappy Bird, the Illuminati, everyone..

You ever stop to think...and then never start again?

Honestly, I couldn't care less. It just makes my PC take a whole lot long to become obsolete and need upgraded, which in turn saves me money. I already find PC gaming to be a lot cheaper than console gaming and this does nothing more than make it even cheaper for me. All win win for me. Not a negative in sight.

PC gaming actually progresses because of next gen consoles. Check out this AC4 next gen tech video for example and compare it to AC3 PC tech video. PC graphics card from 2012 were fully capable of next gen features found in AC4 Black Flag so why did devs not include those in PC version of AC3? Obviously Devs/Publishers think it's not worth putting extra effort just for PC version. Hermits should be thankful because of next gen consoles their expensive GPUs are getting some good use but still a lot of PC GPU potential is being wasted because devs don't care much about PC.

stop pirating games ? maybe it's your own fault ? and lol @you spending so much money for nothing

No.

No.

The potential of the new consoles are still much higher than that of the average PC gamer's PC.

@xboxdone74 said:

@MonsieurX said:

@xboxdone74 said:

Pc gaming, once again, holding itself back, by not producing games herms want, so back to begging for console ports.

Cows finally tasting 1080P,late by about 10 years

Keep on beggin'. :)

Keep on beating a dead horse.....

The vast majority consolers tend to be followers not leaders. Even so how about the petitions to keep GTA 5 off PC? which is low and very dumb..... Just because some want a selection of games to be brought to pc does not mean its begging or pc gamers in general are beggars. It means that some want to experience these unique games whether or not its based on not having a console to play them on to just wanting to experience the games with better control and graphical options.

Just because you think these petitions are proof that PC does not have good games that some have to petition to get them ported over thinking that its begging is very narrow sighted and a poor attempt to prove pc has not games.

There is no doubt the xbox1 does hold back not only pc gaming but also PS4 multiplats, as the xbox1 is the weakest system out of the multiplat bunch.

It was never the power difference that generated the endless sea of dumbed down shit games or crippled IP that was good before, it was and still is the developers knowing the sheep will buy mediocrity and sellling out by rehashing games.

There's barely any good complexity(not complex for the sake of it/detriment to learning curve) any more.

Age of Empires II has more functionality then most RTS made after it. You can save and load multiplayer games.

They're not holding back PC focused devs (Star Citizen etc.) so that's one good thing.

Do tell what the average PC gamer's PC is?.

PC gamers is holding PC back by not get better hardware or/and not buy the games.

Most of those games you're referring to wouldn't even been made if not for consoles driving sales up. Consoles are like the bee you need us but we don't need you.