There are some pretty HUGE negatives to PC gaming that people don't think a lot about:
1. No Renting - Not being able to rent games, does suck to a degree. One nice thing that the consoles have going for them, is the fact that I can run up to RedBox and rent L.A. Noire for a couple of days for 2 bucks. (rent early in the morning on Saturday, return before 9pm on Sunday). I could get a really, really, really good idea as to whether L.A. Noire is worth my time, with a quick Redbox rental.
Now, immediately PC gamers will say, "Well, there is usually a demo you can download, so you don't need to rent". Hey, Demos are cool and all, but playing a 1 level demo (or small portion of one level) doesn't give you anywhere near the insight on a game like having the full entire game, even if you only have it for a 36-hour period of time (Redbox).
So, you really can't spin the fact that we are unable to rent PC games.
2. No Legitimate Used Game Market - While the gaming industry, and publishers in particular hate the used game market, as a consumer, it's a godsend. I'm not talking about buying used games at GameStop. GameStop is a ripoff. I'm talking about finding that game you want on Craigslist for 8 bucks with no tax.
Now, I know what PC gamers are going to say about this: "Well, yeah, there really isn't a used game market because of the crazy DRM stipulations, but we don't need a used game market because the prices are so cheap anyways."
Well, I will agree that prices of PC games drop pretty rapidly, and if you're patient and watch for sales, and use the various digital download services, you can get games pretty cheap, but there are always certain games that don't seem to drop in price. Take the original Crysis. Crysis has been around for awhile now, and if it was a console game, I could get it on Craigslist for about 8 bucks. But, it's a PC exclusive, and they know that many people use that game as a benchmark for their PC's, so you rarely can find the original Crysis for super cheap. So, while I agree for the most part, there are always a few exceptions to the rule.
3. Same room Co-Op or Versus Play
Ok, I'll admit that I don't really know how this works. There aren't very many sports games on the PC, and it seems that the ones that make it over are rush job ports that aren't handled very well (NBA 2K11). I know they made Street Fighter 4 for the PC, and I'm guessing that two people can play each other if you just hook up an extra wired 360 gamepad, but I've never tried it myself. I'm assuming it's the same thing with the sports games that do get a port. I'm guessing you can play another person.
However, I'm not sure it's like the consoles, in the fact that you can have 4 or 5 friends playing the game of Fifa 10 or NBA 2K11. I'm not saying it's impossible, I've never tried it, but it's just that it seems to me like most PC games assume it's just going to be one player sitting at a desk playing the game. They don't realize that people can now play PC games on the sofa, hooked up to a big screen.
4. Patches and Configurations and incompatibilities - Yes, console games have patches too, but it's not quite the same. On the PC, you have to go into your menu and configure a whole bunch of stuff. Then you start playing and the game starts locking up on you or whatever, and you have to go back into the settings and turn off V-Sync or something. You always have to tinker with stuff to get it working right. Yes, sometimes you'll play a certain game, and all you have to do is put all the settings at max, and everything works perfectly, but more often than not, you have to adjust stuff, sometimes several times, and you have to do it each time you fire up that game.
With console gaming, everything is so standardized that you just pop in the game and play. Maybe there is a patch that needs to be downloaded and applied, but all that pretty much happens automatically, and there isn't much fussing around with all the various settings just to get the game to run.
I'm not trying to be a hater at all, and I've just spent 1 grand jumping on the PC bandwagon, but I will admit that there are some pretty huge downsides. I'm probably forgetting a few things too.
1. No Renting - Not being able to rent games, does suck to a degree. One nice thing that the consoles have going for them, is the fact that I can run up to RedBox and rent L.A. Noire for a couple of days for 2 bucks. (rent early in the morning on Saturday, return before 9pm on Sunday). I could get a really, really, really good idea as to whether L.A. Noire is worth my time, with a quick Redbox rental.
Now, immediately PC gamers will say, "Well, there is usually a demo you can download, so you don't need to rent". Hey, Demos are cool and all, but playing a 1 level demo (or small portion of one level) doesn't give you anywhere near the insight on a game like having the full entire game, even if you only have it for a 36-hour period of time (Redbox).
So, you really can't spin the fact that we are unable to rent PC games.
2. No Legitimate Used Game Market - While the gaming industry, and publishers in particular hate the used game market, as a consumer, it's a godsend. I'm not talking about buying used games at GameStop. GameStop is a ripoff. I'm talking about finding that game you want on Craigslist for 8 bucks with no tax.
Now, I know what PC gamers are going to say about this: "Well, yeah, there really isn't a used game market because of the crazy DRM stipulations, but we don't need a used game market because the prices are so cheap anyways."
Well, I will agree that prices of PC games drop pretty rapidly, and if you're patient and watch for sales, and use the various digital download services, you can get games pretty cheap, but there are always certain games that don't seem to drop in price. Take the original Crysis. Crysis has been around for awhile now, and if it was a console game, I could get it on Craigslist for about 8 bucks. But, it's a PC exclusive, and they know that many people use that game as a benchmark for their PC's, so you rarely can find the original Crysis for super cheap. So, while I agree for the most part, there are always a few exceptions to the rule.
3. Same room Co-Op or Versus Play
Ok, I'll admit that I don't really know how this works. There aren't very many sports games on the PC, and it seems that the ones that make it over are rush job ports that aren't handled very well (NBA 2K11). I know they made Street Fighter 4 for the PC, and I'm guessing that two people can play each other if you just hook up an extra wired 360 gamepad, but I've never tried it myself. I'm assuming it's the same thing with the sports games that do get a port. I'm guessing you can play another person.
However, I'm not sure it's like the consoles, in the fact that you can have 4 or 5 friends playing the game of Fifa 10 or NBA 2K11. I'm not saying it's impossible, I've never tried it, but it's just that it seems to me like most PC games assume it's just going to be one player sitting at a desk playing the game. They don't realize that people can now play PC games on the sofa, hooked up to a big screen.
4. Patches and Configurations and incompatibilities - Yes, console games have patches too, but it's not quite the same. On the PC, you have to go into your menu and configure a whole bunch of stuff. Then you start playing and the game starts locking up on you or whatever, and you have to go back into the settings and turn off V-Sync or something. You always have to tinker with stuff to get it working right. Yes, sometimes you'll play a certain game, and all you have to do is put all the settings at max, and everything works perfectly, but more often than not, you have to adjust stuff, sometimes several times, and you have to do it each time you fire up that game.
With console gaming, everything is so standardized that you just pop in the game and play. Maybe there is a patch that needs to be downloaded and applied, but all that pretty much happens automatically, and there isn't much fussing around with all the various settings just to get the game to run.
I'm not trying to be a hater at all, and I've just spent 1 grand jumping on the PC bandwagon, but I will admit that there are some pretty huge downsides. I'm probably forgetting a few things too.
Just enjoy it and stop worrying about money. Remember you can not take it with you. I plan to die broke with a keyboard and mouse in my hand!
At around that time, your going to want to pass her the iPad...trust me
