Outside of mods, why do people still game on pc?

With the advent of cross play and multiple platform releases it feels like pc gamers have the most to complain about.

Hackers, most major glitches/bugs are on pc, games are often bottlenecked graphically for console, less and less exclusive value, the competitive pc scene has all switched to controller.

Also let’s be honest there’s never been a more hive minded, neck bearded segment of gaming than pc gamers and there seems to be a culture of telling and not showing when people really break down why they are so hardline towards pc

😎

@Mercenary848said:

Outside of mods, why do people still game on pc?

1. The largest selection of high scoring titles, by a large amount, each gen. The most number of highly actively played online games and gamers as well. For example, it had 120 more high scoring (8 and above) games over the next best system last gen at both MC and GS.
2. Double to triple (and sometimes quadruple) the framerate in any given title vs PS5. This alone is like black and white vs color. On top of typically higher settings.
3. A complete stronghold on competitive gaming and/or e-sports. PC makes up almost all of it. No system even begins to compare if you want to competitively game. Lower input lag, faster internet latency, 2-3 the fps and hz. Which brings me to your opposite day gas-lighting:

What are you talking about. The top/biggest competitive scenes use KB+M and more importantly use PC. Even fighting games, the last bastion for console's biggest competitive scenes, moved to PC. This isn't even fair for consoles.

Nah gonna farm console kids with k/b with their sluggish tank controls at low fps and high input lag.

You have more options on PC than any console. Freedom to play any game however you want too.

Or like Ghost, so he can get free games.

This thread will be locked because of the bias towards PC haha

I’ve always preferred console gaming and controllers to mouse and keyboard personally, so PC gaming has never appealed to me. I have a couple friends that try to talk me into it but I’m content with my PS5, don’t really have time to add more gaming systems into my life either lol.

I know you're trolling, but I'll feed you.

I prefer PC because of mods.

Oh, you mean besides mods? OK, a few reasons:

1. Largest number of hardware options suiting a wide range of budget, requirements, and styles.
2. Huge library of past, present, and future games that dwarfs the console library combined.
3. Near-infinite backwards compatibility.
4. Games cost less on PC than console on average. I probably spend 20-30 dollars per game.
5. Home of independent and small-scale development, which IMO is far more enjoyable and more critical to the industry than AAA development (though we get AAA titles).
6. In recent years, more once-console exclusive titles have been getting ported to PC.
7. Wide range of peripherals. We not only have the vastly superior mouse and keybaord, but we also get: controller, flightsticks and throttles, racing wheels, weird gaming-specific setups, TrackIR, Tobii eye tracking, VR headsets of many manufacturers, and more.
8. Best performance, even on mid-tier set ups.
9. Ability to customize your setup; make it as vanilla and plain as you like, or get a clear case and RGB that thing up!
10. Open platform; anyone can make a game for PC and doesn't need to pay fees to a console manufacturer. You could wake up tomorrow and decide to make the next Minecraft and host it on a website for download.
11. Variety of storefronts to purchase games from: Steam, GoG, Epic Game Store, and all the publisher storefronts as well. Not to mention various key retailers.
12. Mods.
13. Ability to customize games: edit visual settings, edit files to add singleplayer cheats to your game (I won't lie: I cheat in Valheim because I'm not trucking that ore all the way across the world. Fly across!), and so on and so forth.
14. Multipurpose. I can listen to a podcast, play a city-builder, alt-tab to look up good strategies, and check my email all with a few clicks on the same machine and in a matter of a few seconds. Super efficient and convenient.
15. Home to the most genres of games. Some that are incredibly niche.
16. Generally has access to the most early-access titles, betas, alphas, and more.
17. Best community. Seriously where else can you log into a flight simulator and fly and A-10C on a server with an actual retired A-10C pilot? Squad up with a group of guys from across the world to play a tactical, squad-based shooter? Raid fantastical dungeons with a group of 24 other players? Play on a massive map with ~150 players with tanks and planes and helicopters and infantry? PC, and only PC.

I personally am super-excited about cross-play and the fall of exclusivity. This is a victory for all gamers. It brings the community together.

I am happy to be able to play on PC the same games my friends play on console. Valheim co-op!

Eh, the hacking is blown out of proportion. Really not a big issue in my experience.

Graphics are less important than ever. We've reached the point of diminishing returns. And how is being bottlenecked by consoles a PC problem? Sounds like a console problem. Up your game, consoles!

Console exclusive value is dropping, not PC.

People wanting to game on PC with a controller is a positive; people can choose what they want to game with, as opposed to being forced to use a controller (lame).

You're literally making an argument for why consoles are less important, not PC.

Well now you're just stereotyping and being mean.

Why, if I didn't have a WoW raid scheduled in 10 minutes that wasn't scheduled to last five hours and wasn't stuck in my mom's basement, I'd grab your head and rub your face in my neckbeard!

I didn't think anyone gamed on PC anymore. They are probably a tiny number of people. Everyone likes to game on console and mobile now.

There are several reason I have mainly switched to PC gaming and mods isn't even one of them really. The games are generally cheaper, gamepass is cheaper, free online play, extensive library stretching decades back, and what do you mean the competitive scene has switched to controller? I have a Series X controller I often use with PC so.... I also have a VR headset and you can't get that on an Xbox.

As others have said, it comes down to freedom.

for me specifically:

Performance is really important to me, these days I really prefer to play games at 80+fps if I can in most cases without sacrificing visuals. Some console games allow for this, but not a lot, and being able to fine-tune graphics settings to get the visuals/performance you want is important to me.

Most people complaining about performance issues tend to have weaker PCs - there is the odd badly optimized game but I struggle to think of the last time I didn't play a game on PC due to bad performance personally since I upgraded my CPU a year ago. I guess I avoided Callisto Protocol in part due to that, but it also didn't sound like a very good game. I don't have a top of the line PC either, just a decent one.

I also still prefer to play most games on a mouse + keyboard, especially first person games. I still do fine in competitive FPS games online against people using controllers with auto-aim, even though I'm at a disadvantage. It feels like it's cheating/not much fun using a controller for those games.

The argument about cross-play/exclusives cuts both ways. with cross-play, PC hackers effect all platforms! also, while PC gets less big exclusives, so do consoles. Everything on Xbox comes to PC day-1, and Sony exclusives are now coming to PC a couple years later and I'm fine waiting so I can play those games with the performance/control method I find most comfortable.

Why wouldn't I? Its the best machine to play games on and the best ecosystem (since it's open) to buy into. I can use the controller I want, on the hardware I want while using the service I like.

I know, when i buy a PC game, it will work not only on my current PC but on future PCs too. I can also play that game on a range of devices: from a beastly desktop to a more moderate laptop to something like a Steam Deck or Aya Neo.

I mean the only reason i have a console (the switch) is the exclusives. That's it. There is no other reason for me to play a game on a console. I keep purchases on that only to exclusives basically. I have no reason to pick up a multiplat for a switch or any other console.

SolidCoper

I like gaming from my couch, and I don't want to deal with hardware upgrades and drivers and updates all the time. SCREW PC.

Larger selection of games

Cheaper games

Higher settings

Higher framerate

Higher resolution

Community support

Configuration tweaks

Control options

Community fixes to problems developers ignore

Infinite backward compatibility

Play retro games with community patches and fixes

Choice of form factor

I jumped back into PC gaming a couple years ago, after spending nearly two decades as a console gamer. Everything is way easier now than it used to be. Haven't had compatability issues with anything yet, even some old 90's games I still have on CD (though I'm sure I'll hit a few snags if I dive deaper into my back catalog). Maybe not quite plug and play, but pretty damn close.

My system was $550, so low end by Master Race standards, but it plays gen 8 games at 1080p 60fps no problem. When it does start to struggle in a few years, I'll replace the gpu and be back in business. No need to transfer files and update accounts. Right now, I see no reason to go back to console, except Switch for Nintendo exclusives.

you must not follow gaming news much, PC gaming is growing faster than consoles

Way more options and games. Better graphics and performance. It's the superior way to experience gaming.

I was just joshing.

Didn't take long for someone to bring up Halo again!!!

@SolidGame_basic: It’s crazy how pc gamers are the ones who always like they are too good to debate

To make consolites such as yourself b*tthurt.

It really is easier.

Everyone complaining about hardware and drivers and cost is making an argument from the early 2000's.

Been a PC gamer my whole life. Been building my own PC's since I was 16. It was a pain in the ass.

But now? If you can build LEGO's and operate a screw driver, you can build a PC. Sometimes there's some initial troubleshooting but honestly you can solve all that with ease.

Nah, you're trying to cope with inferiority.

It's OK man. There's nothing wrong with liking Twinkies and other processed junk food crap. Some of us just prefer finer things like a nice pastry from a local bakery. And that's OK too!

You don't have to feel bad about liking crap. Just own it and move on.

@mrbojangles25: Haha I am just ribbing, most of my friends are pc gamers. My logic behind the console bottleneck(and I agree consoles should step it up graphically if they are gonna charge full price) is that it still defeats the purpose in a lot of ways to have a suped up pc but most of the games are optimized for this PS4.5 era we have been in a weird limbo in.

Also I’m a Nintendo fanboy lol

It's gotta be nice to not have to pay an additional $10 a month/$60 a year to play online multiplayer.

Actually, no I was just kidding. My end game is to build a PC and dump my consoles.

It's 2023 and some people still speak of PC gaming as if we're only playing with KB + M. I play almost exclusively with a controller because that's how I'm comfortable playing and PC gaming gives me that choice and so many others.

All the reasons why I love PC gaming have been stated here. I play games my way and with almost no restrains.

I can game on my monitor, I can game on my 4K TV, I can game anywhere on my Steam Deck. All with the same library of games.

You guys are seriously answering a blatant troll?

We are all just joking. It's System Wars after all. Woe to anyone that takes this shit serious.

I never ever joke. I am posting on this forum right now.....butt naked....at my desk at work. All 1" of me exposed.

Isometric RPGs.

Spent $1200 on a PC, which isn't a lot considering what's out there. Hooked it to my 75" tv. Sounds goes out every few minutes for about 10 seconds. Found no way to fix it. Hate having to use a m/kb to start a game up. Hate having to open steam launcher, takes too long. Bought a PS5 and will never go back to PC, unless it's to play a few gamepass games I can't get on PS5. Everything just works 100% of the time. Grab a controller, and hit a button, and the game starts right where I left off at. Don't even need to turn the TV on, as the PS5 will do that to as an option. The "freedoms" on PC are cool, but they aren't without cost. I've never used a mod that I know of, and couldn't tell you how to use one, and really don't care to learn. I just wanna play the game the way it was meant to be played and the same way as friends and reviewers play it.

Played Horizon on PlayStation 4 years ago and thought it would play way better with a mouse and keyboard and better performance. I am now playing it again with a mouse and keyboard and better performance. This is so common for me. I play a minority of games with a controller. The controller never really evolved. The basic design is as it was in 1997, not intended for the kinds of games we play now. Games then commonly had either lock on targeting or fixed camera angles to make up for the poor aiming. What wasn't improved in the PC controls of Horizon is item navigation. There's that whole number row, but you can only assign four weapons, as on a D-pad. You cycle through items with Z and X. Could have assigned those to the number row as well, with an alternator key. Then again, the kinds of games I really want wouldn't use so many buttons anyway. We're just stuck in pseudo-RPG hell.

This has got to be the dumbest thread I've ever seen.

I mean, if you're an avid gamer, why the hell would you not want to game on PC? Better graphics, better performance, humongous library, mods, freedom to do whatever the hell you want, endless backwards compat, great sales, peripherals galore, and on and on.

Let's see:

-3 monitors kek

-Flight sim hardware (yoke, pedals, gauges and radio panel)

-TrackIR

-Turn environment density all the way up so no magic appearing objects and foliage 30 feet in front of you

-144hz

-I have four decades of games I can play, and the games I buy now won't be useless when new hardware releases.

-Alt+tab

-8TB total storage

-Strategy games

-No tax to play with other players

-Games are cheaper

@nod_calypse: And for only x10 the cost.

There are only 3 reasons: free games, free music, free movies, free = illegally downloading 🤴

Man, so many reasons.

The biggies for me.

- Game selection. Gets almost everything that comes out. Can play most older games, console and arcade included. Can even play these classics online with stuff like fightcade, amazing netcode. Even the newer Nintendo stuff tends to run better on PC, if not day 1, then within months. Just about anything I'd want to play is on one system.

- Performance. Not at the whim of a developer or a closed systems specs. More often than not, come out way on top.

- Controller choice. MKB, the full range of modern controllers, classic pads, arcade sticks, etc.

Don't use mods all too often, but they're a nice difference maker at times. Not a graphics snob either, but it's a nice bonus.

Because I want to. What are you gonna do about it?

Most of them are hackers. They buy a 4090 to hack faster.

Shits and giggles.

why do they prefer to play on keyboard and mouse instead of console controller? 👀

Easier to connect and interact with friends

Don't have to pay extra for online

Best version of most games

After I got a high end PC over the pandemic, I bagged up my PS4 and only use it as a set up at local Fighting game gatherings/tournaments. I also feel no need to upgrade to PS5 until I'm going to have to bring a console to play SF6 at locals

There is so much gamers can do with playing games on the PC that other posters had already touched about in this thread, but still home consoles are still relevant and have yet to go the way of Blockbuster Video. What is keeping home consoles alive? Perhaps if the PC platform can copy the plug-and-play feature of home consoles, have high-end PCs be competitively-priced with home consoles, laws that outlaw console exclusives (e.g. no more Legend of Zelda game exclusively on a Nintendo system), or shread its geeky image (so to appeal to non-geek gamers like myself).

@BassMan said:

The only reason you're saying this is because you're a hermit, and you don't want to admit how pointless your pc is when the x/ps5 exists.

Well, I mean, shit. You get what you pay for.

Because PC is closest thing to Xbox