PC Gamer lures PS3 buyer with $7500 gaming rig

LiNK, when consoles can use a mouse and keyboard (the PlayStation 3 can probably do so via Bluetooth already), and you can browse the internet from your couch, what exactly will I need my PC for, besides writting reports and doing my taxes? It certainly won't be for gaming, unless I want to play PC exclusives.

#45
I think LiNK is saying that Keyboard and Mouse is a better way to play than controllers.

"Other than WoW, how many games have sold a million copies in the last year? I guarentee it's less than the PS2, and it's on the way out the door."

True, though World of WarCraft is out-earning every console game on the planet, and that can't be completely discounted and shows that PC gaming, when done right, can be dominant.

There's also no console tax on the PC, and it costs less to market your games, so companies can make profits without needing to sell millions of copies.

Still, some of the big PC games in the last year or more have sold a lot of copies: The Sims 2, Civilization IV (which was the #1 game last Christmas from amazon.com for all platforms, including consoles), Oblivion (I don't know what the breakdown is vs. the 360 on that one), Half-Life 2 Episode One, Company of Heroes, Battle for Middle-earth II, Star Wars Empire at War, Age of Empires III, Flight Simulator X, The Sims 2 and its millions of expansions, Guild Wars, Titan Quest, etc.

But NPD numbers don't track online sales, either via places like amazon.com or direct download via Steam or Direct2Drive. So, it's not really fair to compare retail sales.

"RTS is present on consoles just in a smaller number. Most RTS games are crap anyway, and most of the good ones will be on the 360, and probably the PS3 as well, over the next few years."

Well, just because you think they're crap doesn't make them an insignificant part of PC gaming (and you're missing out on games like the superlative Company of Heroes). While people have gotten used to playing FPS games on a console, it'll take a while for them to become common on consoles because of the controls. Battle For Middle-earth II was a trailblazer; we'll see if others start bringing over more.

"Turn based strategy is well represented on consoles, just with a different style. And consoles fully have FPS now. Any PC FPS worth anything will, and is being, ported to consoles, and the consoles have several that the PC doesn't."

And? Sharing genres doesn't mean anything if you're trying to invalidate PC gaming, because it would work both ways; you're essentially arguing for the console's irrelevance too.

"RPGs... Neverwinter Nights 2 and Titan Quest..."

Gothic 3 too, which is sort of like a slightly ghetto version of Oblivion. But when you consider the mod scene for the original, Neverwinter Nights 2 is a huge, huge game.

"Anything else worth a crap in the last year that didn't also come to a console?"

I listed a bunch (and there are way more), but it should be noted that the console Sims games haven't even come close to matching the PC versions in terms of sales. If you add up the expansions, the original Sims has sold something like 40 million copies.

"Spore will be on the 360."

Says who?

"Level editors are more and more common in console games."

Good luck getting them to other players. It's pretty easy to download levels from various websites. It'll be interesting to see if the 360 adds this functionality.

"Indies are getting more exposure on the 360. Flash games and browser games, for the most part, are barely games."

Tell that to PopCap. And have you ever played Runescape? Kingdom of Loathing? Hell, every fantasy sports game on the planet is a browser game.

"I will give you that PCs dominate in the "Tycoon" genre, but seriously, you can keep that one."

You don't know what you're missing. And if you're going to talk solely about sales, RollerCoaster Tycoon sold something like 6 million copies. And is an awesome game.

"The 360 even has the potentional to steal the MMO crowd, if they do it right. PSU and FFXI are good examples of how not to do it..."

It's unlikely it'll happen with the 360 due to Microsoft's involvement. Why would a third-party hand over part of their cash to Microsoft because of the requirement to go through Xbox Live, when they can have 100% of the money on the PC or PS3?

Also, MMOs will remain primarily on the PC because of the emergence of China and Korea as huge markets for those types of games.

I've been a hardcore console gamer all my life. But if someone offered me a PC system worth over 7 grand with all the fix-ins, including a Tera or two of storage and enough RAM to choke a horse, I'd learn to love PC gaming real fast.

And if the trade-off was to promise to not buy one particular console - eh, there are two others in the upcoming generation. I'm hardly lacking.

No one has mentioned it, so I will. Speaking as an attorney, I am sure the contract provides that he cannot buy, own, possess, live in a house with, or otherwise have regular access to the PS3. If he does, he forfeits the gaming rig. So he can't have his dad buy one, or his roommate, or give money to a friend to buy one for him.

Of course, there are issues of enforceability, as he can always keep the PS3 hidden in the attic and only set it up when its time to play. But overall, I like the deal!

"My mistake. However, when top end video cards are pushing a grand, I think my point is still valid."

There are no videocards pushing a grand. The highest-end 8800GTX is $650. Which is a goofy amount, but it's selling in small quantities to people who have more money than sense. The real interesting card will be the eventual 8600GT for $200.

And sure, if you buy two 8800GTX cards and run them in SLI, you'll be spending $1300. But you also won't see any real boost in performance unless you're running a 30-inch LCD with a native resolution of 2560x1600 because you'll be hitting the maximum limitation of even a Core 2 Duo Extreme CPU. Which again, isn't approaching rationality.

But it's also a strength of the PC that you can do this with any game, scale it up to make it look even better. (Which is something console owners are getting all giddy about with backwards compatibility on new machines.)

But it's also what makes people feel like they can never keep up, because they get FPS envy or something.

Three things.
1. The Xbox 360 has been out a year, the PS3 a day.
PCs had better graphics A YEAR ago.

2. My pc cost LESS than your shiny HDTV to get the BEST out of your "less expensive" console. Like your HDTV, it also serves OTHER PURPOSES rather than just games.

3. I like how all you console fanboys oggle and argue over the graphics of the 3 new systems, and then you put down PCs, which have both the ps3 and xbox360 far outdone. The nature of a fanboy?

#51 Loque

"The nature of a fanboy?"

You know it!!! Of course I favor Nintendo and the Wii but have many avid PC gamer friends, they told me they want to try out the Wii. I use to be a PC gamer but don't have the money to upgrade PC's so much.

You guys are so console bias its crazy. PC Gaming is the only platform for me!!!!!!!

600 PC > PS3.

A pc can actually do more than a PS3..OH MY!

What do I get if I sign a contract to never "OWN" another Sony product for the rst of my life? I'm DEAD serious. I would sign right now!!!!!!!!!!!

DeezNuts420

Hell yeah, i don't own a sony product right now. I'll take that offer too for a free kickass PC.

Console Vs. PC: Sigh.

These threads always make me laugh. I'm mostly a pc gamer, and plan to buy a wii because those games won't be the same way to play as on pc, but I enjoy the oblivion i have on pc because of mods (like multiplayer mods) and The only games i buy on my consoles (xbox and ps2) are exclusives, like guitar hero and halo 2. and Shadow of the Colossus.

I paid $170 for my computer (one of those cheap ass deals at circuit city) threw in a $30 stick of 512 memory, and a gt7600 video card for $100, which gives me a $300 machine that can play any current game at near top framerates, and I can take care of homework and have a damned keyboard. I don't have to pay $5 a pop for "casual" games, I can watch any video I want on it (don't have to worry about Divx and wmv and rm and all that jazz that won't play on certain consoles).

My tv wasn't made to read websites. Ask those who play Dead Rising on an SD set.

Oh and patches, yes pc games are known to come out as buggy, but then get fixed, and then continue to get fixed to what can be a much better version of the game. Well, i guess consoles have started to do this too.

Have fun paying for your EA cheatcodes though.

Realistically "ever" is only 5 or 6 years then the PS4 will be out. If there are any games he absolutely has to have he can pick them up (article doesn't mention anything about not owning PS3 games) and play them on the PS4.

I'm surprised no one mentioned how PC games typically have shitty framerate drops, errors, crashes, etc.

Not to mention if you want the newest, latest greatest game, you've got to upgrade upgrade upgrade.

And if that weren't enough, you have to install the game to your hard drive, which consumes space.

The only thing that makes PC gaming better than console gaming is that if your monitor supports it, you can squeeze out 1600x1200 anti-aliased resolutions. But hey, don't expect 60+ fps.

PC -
- connect nicely to HDTV's these days
- are the ultimate entertainment appliance
support every single media standard
- brilliantly upscale video to any resolution
- can nearly perfectly emulate every console or handheld made up to and including N64
- has largest library of free games, free mods, free upgrades, free everything.

It is far and away the best gaming console, with one notable exception - big gaps in the catalog include many of the top notch console and handheld games of the last 4 years. That could be said of an individual console however.

It really is no contest. If you can only own one device, it should be a PC, with wireless mouse keyboard, gamepad and flight stick, plugged into a nice hdtv or projector. now you're talking.

Quote: Just about everyone above

"PC gaming is dead, PC's aren't for gaming, PC's can't touch consoles, PC gamers are insecure."

Just who is being insecure here? If you're a true gamer you own every platform. If you can't afford every platform, then you point fingers and claim that ones you can't afford aren't worth owning. My PC gets just as much play time as my 360, DS, GC, Xbox, etc. PC Gaming is dead? Try to keep convincing yourself that when I'm busy playing Crysis.

@59

Dude. I think you should hide your PC's power cord from yourself... because honestly you sound like an addict.

I bet your computer chair has permanent cheekprints from 20 or more hours a day spent on that thing.

I'm not trying to be a dick, man... but honestly... get a life. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

I wonder if this guy could just have someone else buy the ps3 for him? I bet there is some loophole this dude could use to get a ps3 ;)

@61

"get a life"
because I posted a PC-advocating post to a discussion surrounding PC advocacy?

"I'm not trying to be a dick"
but you're succeeding. Why the unnecesary rudeness? And what macho manly reason do you have to be reading "joystiq.com"?

I did some number crunching about a month ago, looking to upgrade my fiance's 6-year-old PC. By salvaging everything in her old one that is worth anything, I found that she could upgrade to a system that could easily reach 360 or PS3 resolutions without drop in framerate... for under $500.

There will always be a place for consoles, but PCs have a staying power and flexibility that consoles won't be able to match. Saying that PC games are guaranteed to move over to consoles is, quite frankly, stupid.

Consoles have a major limitation: proprietary hardware. No matter HOW you engineer a PC game, you have to spend a ton of money to get that game ported to ANY console. Which leaves a LOT of games unable to bridge that gap.

It's not a matter of power or quality of games. It never has been. It's always been a matter of whether the publisher of the game you want to play is working to make a PC game or a console game. Arguing over platforms is like arguing over fruit.

How did they manage to spend $7500 on a PC? It's not even SLI!

Newegg says that's a $700 graphics card, and maybe they went with the $1000 processor. A 32-inch LCD screen is $1500. That leaves over $4300 for RAM, HD, case and peripherals... maybe it comes with a laser printer or something. Anyone got the spec?

i've got to wonder if people realize that consoles are computers with a controller instead of mouse and keyboard

and something you cant really upgrade
whilst when new hardware comes out game devs are breaking their balls to make a game that absolutely uses that hardwares true power

whilst new games sorta have to be downplayed in consoles

if im mistaken im sorry but thats my view

PC for LIFE
(oh and pc gamers pwn console gamers in most genre's)

wait forgot something there consoles have uber huge restrictions

and u just cant do as much stuff

"One other observation: That "$7500 gaming rig" will be obsolete before the PS3 is. Simple truth of the matter."

Actually, that 8800GTX obsoletes the PS3's capabilities so it's the other way around. Yeah, the $7500 will be eclipsed by something faster in the near future, but the PS3 has already been surpassed by PCs. Albeit, bleeding-edge and ridiculously expensive PCs.

I wonder why it costs $7500 anyways? I could probably build that PC with the same specs for much less.

@63 Liquid cooling and custom airbrushed paint job add a lot to the price.

For those people who complain about PC pricing: yes you pay more for PC hardware, however, I can not see how any gamer claiming to be "hardcore" could pass up the opportunity to play his favorite games in the highest quality available. Should I mention the wealth of additional functions PCs have? Anything from video editing to word processing to P2P. No artificially imposed software limitations, no proprietary stupidity and 100% freedom.

Oh and an extra link for all those people still seeing PCs as an "inferior" gaming platform: http://www.2old2play.com/Blog/Permalink/2275/4983

Wow, people are stupid. No, not the guy who did it, I'm reading over these comments...

Anybody who WOULDN'T do it is a straight-up fool. That is one monster machine, and I mean...god...I don't even know what to say about that. That thing is so superior to a PS3 I can't see straight...PC gaming FTW...

Wii60 can keep you happy, and you can always play your precious black box at a friend's house...

That's a sweet rig he got there. PC Gaming is gonna be around for a long time. Now that games for windows is in full swing along with a renewed retail space, it's gonna go up. They forget that a lot of pc titles are going the way of online distribution so they wont show up on the NPD. What difference does it make how much a game sells? None of you get a dime of that.

"Well, i think the moral of the story is pretty obvious. When money is no object, and all you care about is graphics, get a PC. If you care about unique games and unique gameplay, get a console."

LMAO, innovation? Explain whats unique about Xbox360 and PS3 other its HD support? Where is the innovation in games? Are you trying to say that Resistance is a innovative shooter or that Gears of War is a innovative shooter? The only console offering innovation is Wii which is causing it to sacrifice graphics for the innovation. However, innovation has always existed in PC games. Ever heard of indy games?

Yeah, FPSs and RTSs are moving to consoles. But it isn't because they work well there, that's for sure. Just a lot more people buying them because they're cheap and n00b friendly. PC games that are designed with consoles in mind suffer because of it.

PCs are hard to buy and maintain. They are more expensive if you play games when they come out, but not by the ammount people think. The truth is, if you're spending thousands of dollars to get a console-level experience, you're doing it wrong. It's easy to pay too much, because it takes a large investment of time to be competent in PC gaming.

Consoles are beginning to enjoy the benefits PC games have had for years. PC games have not advanced like they used to however and are letting consoles catch up. Game developers make more money remaking old PC genres on millions of consoles, instead of making new great PC games. There's just less money to invest, and while indie games are cool, they often lack polish and infrastructure to really make it out in the real world.

PC gaming will never die, but it's limping a little.

"46. "Spore will be on the 360."

Says who?"

Says Will Wright (tinyurl.com/odfcq): "We are going to go on all platforms, but we will come out on PC first." True, the game hasn't been officially confirmed for consoles, but it's only a matter of time.

Am I the only one who would take that deal, sell the PC, buy an Xbox 360, HDTV, a $1000-$1500 gaming rig?

I'd take that deal any day. And I'm a huge Sony fan.

a 7,500$ rig to use MSN messenger, YouTube and play either Counter-Strike or Starcraft.

Just, WOW !

Now don't get me wrong, most of my favorite games of all time were PC Games. These days are over though. PC Gaming is dead.

Obviously, we here all have computers.

Seriously I would never imagine playing an fps on anything other than a PC, the precision and speed of a mouse and keyboard can't be matched on a console ( except for maybe the wii :P). Same thing with rts it can only be limiting to use a controller at a task that the keyboard and mouse already have mastered. PC gaming will always be the place for hardcore devotee gamers, people willing to live on noodles to have the fastest rig around, and so therefore will always be the cutting edge of tech and innovation. Consoles are for the masses.. although brawlers, sports, turnbased and the gta series do belong on consoles hands down :P.

Well what I would do is sell the $7500 computer on eBay. And then either build a computer or buy an ABS PC for $5000 dollars less. Then, I would use the rest of the money to buy a 1080p set, and the rest would be for the Playstation 4. Whenever that comes out.