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[eizarus]

No, we already entered the current PC gaming golden age around the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014

And the most important point of it for me is one you don't mention:
- A return to form for classic PC genres such as (above all) CRPGs, but also P&C adventures, space sims, building games, 4x, etc.

Seems like everyone's got their own timescale. However, this is the one I agree with because it's when PC gaming gained traction in a way it hasnt for at least 2 generations of consoles (correct me if I'm wrong).

IMO this heading towards the peak (or close to it) considering the points OP has mentioned, notably the Steam Controller and Steam refunds making sure devs can't do shitty ports and call it a day anymore. Even EA's Origins is getting better (does GAF hate it? Cos I kind of like it now).

I hope MS pushes Xbox exclusives forward to PC gaming like theyve done with Ryse and Killer Instinct so far.

 

[Koutsoubas]

Why do PC-Gaming thread always attract such people?

Because I have dual GTX980s and I see what it takes to max out games. I know what im talking about

 

[BennyBlanco]

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

This is crazy talk. 750ti is still keeping pace with console settings on most games and sometimes besting them.

 

[Kezen]

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

That is not correct.

 

[Corpekata]

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

See this guy gets it. And nobody wants to play Dark Souls on keyboard or hunched over at a monitor. I worked all day at a monitor and all I want to do when I get home is sink into my comfy couch and play with my console that just works, y'know?

 

[alexandros]

I know what im talking about

No, you absolutely do not.

 

[pa22word]

Why do PC-Gaming thread always attract such people?

Because it gets them free attention.

Fact of the matter is, nvidia's new maxwell budget card (950ti?) that's going to come out soon is probably going to beat modern console perf pretty handily once it comes out if the perf of the 750ti vs consoles is anything to go by. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if Pascal is to be 500 series equiv of this generation, offering double console perf at entry level pricing.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

We've been in one since Steam started becoming the dominant digital distribution and community platform on PC circa 2007-2009. The initial release of Doom to about maybe 2000 or whenever Quake and UT were at their peak was the first, then it was the dark ages from about 2000-2006 while it was plagued with securom and the fall of 3Dfx. More momentary blip on the radar than anything though.

 

[HK-47]

See this guy gets it. And nobody wants to play Dark Souls on keyboard or hunched over at a monitor. I worked all day at a monitor and all I want to do when I get home is sink into my comfy couch and play with my console that just works, y'know?

Top kek

 

[FlyingSaucer]

The 90s were a different beast.

Concerning the current golden age, I began to suspect something was afoot when Capcom released SFV on PC; it has only got better and better since then. I suspect we may be near the tail end, though.

 

[Koutsoubas]

No, you absolutely do not.

Of course I do. Except if you would like to play games at 30fps on medium settings, then you dont have a PC but a console experience.

There is no way you could play 1080p/60fps games like the Witcher 3 or GTA V with cheap Hardware.

 

[ChemicalWorld]

See this guy gets it. And nobody wants to play Dark Souls on keyboard or hunched over at a monitor. I worked all day at a monitor and all I want to do when I get home is sink into my comfy couch and play with my console that just works, y'know?

Controller support and that gaming pc can easily be hooked up to a living room tv.

Fact is pc gaming isn't limited to a desktop only setup these days.

 

[0.1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55]

Where is Groove Champion and the poetry or Taurus.

 

[Nzyme32]

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

This is complete nonsense, as is the follow up comment of yours. You do not need dual 980s to "Max out" the majority of games, and you definitely don't need to be spending so much or upgrading so much for gaming.

As a simple example I'll use myself. Through 2007 to 2013 I chose to upgrade every 2 to 3 years. Each upgrade, either buying new or selling the old component on ebay and buying new using that money, cost less than £80 - for comparisons sake, less than 2 years of a console subscription - and I had no problems playing everything at reasonably high settings or "maxed out". The initial 2007 build cost me £670, but was built from scratch. And this is just one way of going about things, there was no need for me to upgrade that frequently

 

[PARANO1A]

Definitely. The diversity in gaming on PC has blown me away as someone that shuttered their desktop in the mid 2000s. It's great to be back. There's generally something new each week that is worth my time.

The near future of Steam controller opening up couch gaming for thousands of new and old games, plus the open VR market, means 2016 will likely be a true revolutionary year.

 

[pa22word]

Controller support and that gaming pc can easily be hooked up to a living room tv.

Fact is pc gaming isn't limited to a desktop only setup these days.

Spoiler

pretty sure he's just fucking with you man ;p

 

[Hektor]

Of course I do. Except if you would like to play games at 30fps on medium settings, then you dont have a PC but a console experience.

There is no way you could play 1080p/60fps games like the Witcher 3 or GTA V with cheap Hardware.

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

mhm...

 

[AlanOC91]

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

You really couldn't be more wrong.

 

[rhayader]

Because I have dual GTX980s and I see what it takes to max out games. I know what im talking about

"Maxing out a game" is very relative. If the game scales well and the developer thought ahead, maxing it out could require a PC from the next decade, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I'll enjoy it again years later with my next PC. But I think most people aim for native resolution and 60fps, something you can consistently get with a GTX 760 and tweaking a few options.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

-Refunds on Steam burning shit ports, no major dev is going to try something crappy after how badly WB got hammered for Arkham Knight
-Prices often under the console standard, frequent sales

Don't these two contradict each other a bit? In order to get a refund on Steam, you must actually buy the game on Steam, and the prices on Steam are equal to console games in US (or often higher if you are in Europe)

It's true that PC games are cheaper than console games if you know where to look, but then you do not get Steam refunds.

 

[Trago]

PC gaming is on the rise, the barrier of entry is lower than ever, and the game selection is ever growing. And Steam is the dominant force in digital distribution. We're already here.

 

[Koutsoubas]

You really couldn't be more wrong.

Well im open for discussion. I'd like you to show me Witcher 3 running on High Settings on a 3 yeals old 300 euros GPU!

Then I will defnitely be wrong. No harm in being wrong.

 

[Durante]

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

You need a €150 GPU to play at console settings. This is aptly demonstrated in pretty much every single multiplatform comparison.

 

[Hektor]

Well im open for discussion. I'd like you to show me Witcher 3 running on High Settings on a 3 yeals old 300 euros GPU!

Then I will defnitely be wrong. No harm in being wrong.

Is this what you call "moving the goal"?

 

[Easy_D]

Not a golden age until all kinds of sim games are back in style (Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, RCT etc)

Also god-games

Well im open for discussion. I'd like you to show me Witcher 3 running on High Settings on a 3 yeals old 300 euros GPU!

Then I will defnitely be wrong. No harm in being wrong.

My 280x runs Witcher 3 just fine. And it's essentially a rebranded 7970 Ghz edition, released in 2012. So there's a 3 year old GPU that you can get for less than 300 euros that performs a lot better than consoles already.

 

[Koutsoubas]

"Maxing out a game" is very relative. If the game scales well and the developer thought ahead, maxing it out could require a PC from the next decade, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I'll enjoy it again years later with my next PC. But I think most people aim for native resolution and 60fps, something you can consistently get with a GTX 760 and tweaking a few options.

Well the thing is, if you choose to scale down options like, textures, or AA or Shadows, then all you have is PS4/Xbox One graphics. No wrong with that, but then why shouldnt you just buy a console and be happy?

You can always find 40 euros videogames and receive some completely free from PSN Xbox Live.

 

[Kezen]

Well im open for discussion. I'd like you to show me Witcher 3 running on High Settings on a 3 yeals old 300 euros GPU!

Then I will defnitely be wrong. No harm in being wrong.

Moving the goal post already ? You never talked about high settings but console settings.
And this is a very good things "maxing out" requires top-end systems : it's called scalability.

The WT3 does not use high settings across the board on consoles, far from it.

Well the thing is, if you choose to scale down options like, textures, or AA or Shadows, then all you have is PS4/Xbox One graphics. No wrong with that, but then why shouldnt you just buy a console and be happy?

Why are you changing your argument ? You talked about console settings and indeed you don't need to renew your hardware stack every two years to match them, it's irrelevant whether or not console settings on PC defeat the point of gaming on PC.

 

[Randomizer123454444]

We already are living the golden age of PC gaming. PC gaming before Steam was awful. Rise of Steam and other digital distribution platforms have made PC gaming incredibly easy and affordable, once you have PC hardware up and running.

Only thing that could stop it is if developing for PC becomes too expensive. Developers would rather stop developing for PC than deal with the hassle.

 

[Durante]

Well the thing is, if you choose to scale down options like, textures, or AA or Shadows, then all you have is PS4/Xbox One graphics. No wrong with that, but then why shouldnt you just buy a console and be happy?

You can always find 40 euros videogames and receive some completely free from PSN Xbox Live.

 

[Koutsoubas]

Moving the goal post already ? You never talked about high settings but console settings.
And this is a very good things "maxing out" requires top-end systems : it's called scalability.

The WT3 does not use high settings across the board on consoles, far from it.


Why are you changing your argument ? You talked about console settings and indeed you don't need to renew your hardware stack every two years to match them, it's irrelevant whether or not console settings on PC defeat the point of gaming on PC.

In Comparison Videos console settings(Edit PS4/Xbox One) are the equivalent of PC High Settings. In most cases. So if you wanna feel a difference you have to go beyond that. Thats how I see it

 

[pa22word]

Well im open for discussion. I'd like you to show me Witcher 3 running on High Settings on a 3 yeals old 300 euros GPU!

Then I will defnitely be wrong. No harm in being wrong.

Considering you can run witcher 3 console settings at an average 30fps on an i3 and a 750ti, im going to say that will be a pretty easy test...

 

[More_Badass]

Got into PC gaming in 2013, and haven't looked back. My PS3 is basically reserved for GTA V and The Last of Us now.

The insane amount of great indies and the revival of genres like cRPGs and arcade racers has been amazing.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Well the thing is, if you choose to scale down options like, textures, or AA or Shadows, then all you have is PS4/Xbox One graphics. No wrong with that, but then why shouldnt you just buy a console and be happy?

You can always find 40 euros videogames and receive some completely free from PSN Xbox Live.

Oh lord. These arguments from the console side are getting dumber each year.

 

[Koutsoubas]

Considering you can run witcher 3 at an average 30fps on an i3 and a 750ti, im going to say that will be a pretty easy test...

But then again you run it at 30fps which is a console-like experience. Thats what im against. I need to see a different experience from PC, which is quite expensive.

 

[Easy_D]

In Comparison Videos console settings(Edit PS4/Xbox One) are the equivalent of PC High Settings. In most cases. So if you wanna feel a difference you have to go beyond that. Thats how I see it

MGSV's LoD on consoles is lower than the Low setting on PC.

And IIRC Witcher 3 is medium/high

 

[Koutsoubas]

Oh lord. These arguments from the console side are getting dumber each year.

Again, i have a pretty powerful PC and I am a PC Gamer. Im just seeing things from 2 perspectives and I'm talking in order to see other people's opinions too.

No need to be rude m8

 

[Caronte]

Well the thing is, if you choose to scale down options like, textures, or AA or Shadows, then all you have is PS4/Xbox One graphics. No wrong with that, but then why shouldnt you just buy a console and be happy?

You can always find 40 euros videogames and receive some completely free from PSN Xbox Live.

More genre variety including genres not available on consoles, cheaper prices thanks to Steam, mods, compatibility with games released decades ago...

 

[purdobol]

GAF Games o' Gen 5 convinced me that coming up with top 20-25 best games of PC Golden Age would be easy. Doing the same thing this gen would give me trouble. So in my opinion we're not there yet. At least PC gaming is getting better and better

EDIT: Why every PC gaming thread gets derailed into cost and settings/performace? More talk about quality games less about hardware and benchmarks would be better for everybody.

 

[Durante]

For people with money. We have to be clear about that. As long as you need a new 300 euros GPU every 2 years to play medium-high settings(console settings in other words), then it's a no-go for millions of people.

But then again you run it at 30fps which is a console-like experience. Thats what im against. I need to see a different experience from PC, which is quite expensive.

Let's play spot the difference!

 

[old manatee]

Even FMV games are relevant again.

 

[Randomizer123454444]

But then again you run it at 30fps which is a console-like experience. Thats what im against. I need to see a different experience from PC, which is quite expensive.

I'm mainly a PC gamer, and the 30fps experience doesn't bother me too much. Sure, it's not optimal, but I'm the kind of gamer who found The Evil Within PC port enjoyable. I'd love to see 60fps high quality experience, but it's not WHY I play with PC.

 

[diaspora]

Erm, there are visual features on console games like MGS5 and Dying Light that run lower than PC'S low setting...

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

check the edit, It's not real time

Edit: Jesus Christ, post something that is slightly incorrect and you people rush to correct it

Talk about attack of the nerds

How the hell is it slightly incorrect? It's completely incorrect as it's time based. That's like saying an RPG with turn based fights is "close enough" to active battle systems or that 3rd person shooters are close enough to 1st person shooters, it's absolutely wrong by definition. Would calling Uncharted the best 1st person shooter be only slightly incorrect? Stop being mad at others because you didn't know what a RTS was.

Let's play spot the difference!

I was more shocked that somehow a console that doesn't change at all during it's life somehow doesn't need upgrades but if you want to play on PC then you need to spend $300 on a GPU every 2 years just to make it comparable to a console... Do console GPUs have nanomachines or something?

 

[Easy_D]

I'm mainly a PC gamer, and the 30fps experience doesn't bother me too much. Sure, it's not optimal, but I'm the kind of gamer who found The Evil Within PC port enjoyable. I'd love to see 60fps high quality experience, but it's not WHY I play with PC.

Yeah. I mean when you *do* upgrade your HW every single one of your games turn into a "HD remaster", you can run them at higher settings and downsample from higher resolutions. It's quite nice.

 

[Kezen]

But then again you run it at 30fps which is a console-like experience. Thats what im against. I need to see a different experience from PC, which is quite expensive.

You are all over the place. Your argument is not consistent, you seem to change your tune because you have been proven wrong.

Let's summarize :
1) Yes, it is absolutely true that in order to take advantage from higher PC settings more powerful hardware is necessary.....Is it shocking ? No, not really. Everything has a cost.
2) Your first argument holds no water. You don't need to continually upgrade to match consoles, unless your upgrades consist of 5% performance boost. I have a 980, will I have to upgrade to match consoles in the next two years ? I doubt that, but you know what ? I'll do it regardless because I can.

 

[AlanOC91]

I'm mainly a PC gamer, and the 30fps experience doesn't bother me too much. Sure, it's not optimal, but I'm the kind of gamer who found The Evil Within PC port enjoyable. I'd love to see 60fps high quality experience, but it's not WHY I play with PC.

I bought a 40inch Smart Samsung TV that I'm waiting to arrive. It doesn't have displayport and my R9 290s don't have HDMI 2.0 so I'm going to be playing at 30fps for a while unfortunately.

But thankfully I can swap between that and my 4k monitor for 30/60fps options. I'm never really restricted. And down the line when it becomes viable, I can simply sell my two R9 290s and buy another, better, card on the cheap.

 

[Theanine3D]

Well the thing is, if you choose to scale down options like, textures, or AA or Shadows, then all you have is PS4/Xbox One graphics. No wrong with that, but then why shouldnt you just buy a console and be happy?

You can always find 40 euros videogames and receive some completely free from PSN Xbox Live.

This makes no sense. There are far more reasons to game on PC than just graphical superiority.

Mods, no online subscription fee, I could go on really.

If cutting-edge graphics are the only reason you're gaming on PC, there's a whole world of great PC games out there you've been missing out on that will run even on a piece of shit $400 laptop.

 

[Koutsoubas]

Let's play spot the difference!

There is no way we do a useful conversation of you take and quote things from different people's posts. You have to pay significant amounts of money to even play on par with console-like settings. Then in order to go higher than that, and see something different(which is MY personal desire) you have to pay even more than that.

Thats my opinion, but too many people are arguing at the same time! Its difficult to reply to all of you guys. So thx for the talk, we have different opinions on the matter, which is good!

 

[More_Badass]

This makes no sense. There are far more reasons to game on PC than just graphical superiority.

Mods, no online subscription fee, I could go on really.

If graphics are the only reason you're gaming on PC, there's a whole world of great PC games out there you've been missing out on that will run even on a piece of shit $400 laptop.

Pretty much. I have a laptop with an Intel i5 & Intel HD 5500, and can play most indies as well as games like MGS V and Bioshock Infinite on High setttings

There is no way we do a useful conversation of you take and quote things from different people's posts. You have to pay significant amounts of money to even play on par with console-like settings. Then in order to go higher than that, and see something different(which is MY personal desire) you have to pay even more than that.

Thats my opinion, but too many people are arguing at the same time! Its difficult to reply to all of you guys. So thx for the talk, we have different opinions on the matter, which is good!

No, you don't. My $450 laptop can run AAA games on par with console graphics

 

[pa22word]

But then again you run it at 30fps which is a console-like experience. Thats what im against. I need to see a different experience from PC, which is quite expensive.

Congrats! The 750ti is 140 euro on amazon germany. You could easily bump up to that 300e line in the sand you were touting and get a card that runs witcher 3 better than consoles, and will continue to run games better than the consoles today for the rest of the generation.