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PC Gamers Crush Console Brethren

l_bratch writes "Since December 22nd DICE have been running a competition between each target platform of their latest Battlefield expansion — Bad Company 2: Vietnam. Players were required to complete a large number of 'team actions' in game, in order to unlock a hidden, remastered version of the Operation Hastings map from the original Battlefield: Vietnam. PC gamers have completed the task, whereas gamers on both console platforms are only about halfway there."

387 comments

  1. Shocking news: by The+Master+Control+P · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Players with superior input devices do better. More as this story develops.

    1. Re:Shocking news: by cyberstealth1024 · · Score: 1

      mod parent up. I am far better at most games (esp. FPS-types) by using a keyboard and mouse. Perhaps this is never because I had a N64, Playstation, or XBox growing up...I had never honed my analog stick skills. ...or perhaps the keyboard/mouse combo is just easier to learn and master.

    2. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except they're not playing against each other, so input device has nothing to do with it. The fact is, the Battlefield series has always been more popular on PC, the Call of Duty series has been more popular on consoles. This contest started not too long after the most recent Call of Duty release. I own both games on PS3. Currently the Call of Duty servers are swamped, the Battlefield servers aren't barren but there's not a lot of people playing. TFA says nothing about how many game hours were logged on each respective platform, but I'd wager it's significantly higher on PC.

    3. Re:Shocking news: by Dan+East · · Score: 1

      Ironically, the Wii, which IMO has the best hardware control scheme for First Person Shooters of all the consoles, was not included in this competition. Many years ago I remember playing the Quake 2 "port" to the PS1 (wasn't really a port as much as the levels being retrofitted into an entirely different game engine - the player couldn't even duck, etc), and I remember being the most frustrated I think I've ever been playing a game. I was very proficient on the PC version, and the change to a dual-shock controller was terrible. I felt like I had to play with one hand tied behind my back. There simply is no comparison to mlook for a FPS, although the Wiimote comes very close.

      --
      Better known as 318230.
    4. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      A keyboard/mouse combo is better for online first-person shooters, I'll grant. But that doesn't mean it's better for everything. For instance, is it better for fighting games? And what do players 2-4, who are visiting your home but A. happen not to have brought laptops or B. happen to have bought different games from you, use?

    5. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the games was 5$ for sale on EA Store and Steam.

      it was 70$ for console.

    6. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gamepads are better for some things (driving games for one), which is why it's good that PCs can use them as well.

    7. Re:Shocking news: by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      No, I couldn't imaging playing platformers or fighting games sensibly with a keyboard. Maybe the grand-grandparent meant superior input device for this kind of game. And, frankly, I can't imagine playing FPS games sensibly with console controllers.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dunno... I've played some driving games with a joystick or a keyboard.. It's actually easier to steer... But if you want more realism you need a steering wheel, even though it's not as easy to control. I also go to the shooting range quite often. I have yet to find any control that works anything like a pistol or a long rifle. The technology just isn't there yet to be able to sight and shoot..

    9. Re:Shocking news: by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      No, for driving games a wheel is what you need.

    10. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      Gamepads are better for some things (driving games for one), which is why it's good that PCs can use them as well.

      So I've got a PC with a 32" Vizio monitor, and I plug in four gamepads through a USB hub. Why is the PC game only reading the first gamepad?

    11. Re:Shocking news: by SplashMyBandit · · Score: 2

      Well, there is at least one entire class of games that PC has that consoles don't: flight simulators. Some of this is due to the hardware: serious PC flight-simmers have TrackIR head tracking devices, rudder pedals, HOTAS (throttle & stick joysticks), throttle quadrants, multi-function displays (MFDs), assignable keypads, & touchcreens. These are simply not available for consoles where H.A.W.X. is considered to be the equivalent of LockOn, DCS:BlackShark, DCS:Warthog, Falcon 4, Flight Simulator X, Il;-2 1946, or even the lightweight Third Wire series. The consoles are no where near the same league for this, admittedly niche, genre - all you get are kinda basic FPS, RPG, and RTS with lousy moddability. Unfortunately most of the gamer press is mostly oblivious/uninterested in sims, which means the punters are so poorly informed they still think the one console or the other is the bees knees (understandable if you have the gaming budget of a teen).

    12. Re:Shocking news: by icebike · · Score: 1

      They aren't playing each other, but that should not affect the completion percentage rate if equal skills were brought to the table.

      Even dramatic differences in the sheer number of players should not affect a measurement of Percentage of completion.

      So that kind of suggests two sources for the difference, 1) the console controllers, and their effectiveness in game play, OR 2) relative skill level of the players.

      The headline suggests its the skill of the PC gamers, but I'm not so sure.

      (Not having played the game on either platform, I can't comment on the team coordination capabilities (voice, chat, etc) of the platforms but that might enter into it as well).

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    13. Re:Shocking news: by Gulthek · · Score: 1

      Superior for playing the game better, yes. Superior for gaming comfort and realism, not for me.

      If I'm playing a robot or enhanced human, sure I'll grant being able to whirl around and hit five targets in five directions in less than a second. If I'm playing a WWII soldier, not so much.

    14. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RTFA. There's no percentage of completion, the contest was to complete 69 million actions, it's pure grinding. Actions are all a routine part of gameplay, every game played will have X number of actions. Yes, it's possible that X is higher per game for PC players than for console players, but those numbers are not given.

    15. Re:Shocking news: by brainboyz · · Score: 1

      Bad design? I've got several programs that let you pick which controller to use and assign whatever macros you like to each button (including completely remapping looking/moving/etc). Oddly enough, an N64 emulator from years ago is one of those programs.

    16. Re:Shocking news: by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 1

      I suspect he is wondering why he can't use multiple controllers all at once.

      Of course the answer is probably again: "bad design".

      --
      "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
    17. Re:Shocking news: by Eudial · · Score: 1

      No, for driving games a wheel is what you need.

      That is the best option, obviously. But a gamepad with "triggers" like the xbox360 controller is okay, as it at least allows you to control acceleration, braking and turning in a smooth fashion. Keyboard+Mouse is the worst sort of atrocious. Everything is either full on, or full off. Either you slam the pedal, or you take your foot off it completely.

      --
      GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
    18. Re:Shocking news: by mjwx · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Players with superior input devices do better. More as this story develops.

      Ordinarily I'd agree with you but I'd say that it has little to do with the input devices and more to do with the skill level, courteousness and ability of the players to work together in this case which gives the PC no intrinsic advantage.

      Players had to perform 69 million team actions, which include spotting, performing repairs, and healing, reviving and resupplying. Given the push button, receive medkit nature of these functions there's no difference between console and PC. If it were based on number of kills then we'd be able to say that the PC's input dev has a great advantage. The difference we have is in the kind of people who choose these respective platforms. PC players tend to work together, healing and resupplying others as they go, console players tend to be a lot more selfish, going after other players on their own rather then working as a team.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    19. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL, justify your deficiencies all you want. But maybe it's just that you suck.

      One method requires actual physical skill while the other does not.

      Also, replying to the OP, it's not just input devices, the hardware in general on PC's is better. Better CPU and better graphics.

    20. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Poor programming.

      There's no limitation on Directinput - it will support as many gamepads as you connect to the PC. A lot of games don't bother to poll beyond the first one they find though.

      It's the same reason we don't get split-screen games on PC's. They can do it - but the developers just assume it won't get used, so don't bother implementing it.

    21. Re:Shocking news: by brainboyz · · Score: 4, Informative

      As of now, (according to http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/globalstats?platform=pc), the consoles clock in at about 90M hours each. The PC is only at about 55M.

    22. Re:Shocking news: by gman003 · · Score: 1

      While I don't actually disagree with you on that, this story doesn't say anything about skill. This was purely a count of "cooperative actions" - deploying a medkit for teammates, marking enemy positions, and such. Skill wasn't involved - teamwork was.

    23. Re:Shocking news: by Seumas · · Score: 0

      Gamers clinging to half-dead platform grasp onto any silly statistic to assure themselves that they're still going strong and they're still the primary development platform for game studios.

      Look, I'm a life-long PC gamer who hasn't even let consoles into my life until the last few years. However, I've gotten over the "WASD DURPA DURPA DURPA THUMBSTICKS" discussions and I've certainly come to accept that I'm a secondary citizen of the gaming world when it comes to PC games (except for MMOs and some RPGs and RTSes). I understand that the sales numbers for most games on consoles dwarf the same games on PCs.

      I'm also not so delusional that I'm going to cling onto this number as proof that PC gaming is thriving, when it's obviously more likely that it's the difference between gamers on the PC having fewer modern choices to focus their attention on, while the console gamers are spreading their attention across many games.

    24. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A pistol-grip R/C car style controller would actually work great. (Something like this. Provide a few changes with extra buttons and better ergonomics, and it'd be perfect.) But for one dumbass reason or another, finding one that's affordable and readily available on the market is next to impossible. Instead we're stuck with either really fiddly thumb nubbin analog sticks, using single analog stick more appropriate for aircraft sims, or seriously overpriced and bulky steeringwheel and pedal rigs.

    25. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've got two gamepads, a flightstick and a gaming keypad hooked up to my PC right now. They all work together just fine. Sounds like you have a problem with your computer.

    26. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Players with superior input devices do better. More as this story develops.

      There are not enough mod points in the world

    27. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      I've got two gamepads [that] work together just fine.

      What games do you play that use the two gamepads? A lot of games made for PC have only "single player" and "online" modes, not non-networked multiplayer.

    28. Re:Shocking news: by davester666 · · Score: 0

      Actually, it's because all the PC gamers are using bots to automate the process. The console gamers have to do it in-person.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    29. Re:Shocking news: by aliquis · · Score: 1

      I actually thought the same one-two days ago.

      I've been playing a little Giana Sisters on my DS and damn it's easy.

      I don't remember it being that easy (maybe not the same levels?) on my Amiga.

      But on the Amiga I played it by (digital) joystick in the shape of TAC-II or The Bug which makes for loser handling and less precise control. _Not_ what you want than the difference of falling and having something under your feet is just one pixel =P

      So I guess all the joystick games where harder just because they used the joystick.

      You could hook up a Sega Megadrive controller to the Amiga if I remember correctly, obviously just with one button, but anyway. Maybe that would had leaved you with more precise control?

      Also, mouse Quake players beat keyboard players! :D

    30. Re:Shocking news: by Burnhard · · Score: 1

      I disagree there. I've got a wheel (and pedals) and I'm much better with keyboard controls than I am using it. I'm not suggesting we should put them into cars!

    31. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the games was 5$ for sale on EA Store and Steam.

      it was 70$ for console.

      But you'd need to buy rather a lot of those to make up the price gap between a console and a "gaming PC".

    32. Re:Shocking news: by pla · · Score: 2

      If I'm playing a robot or enhanced human, sure I'll grant being able to whirl around and hit five targets in five directions in less than a second. If I'm playing a WWII soldier, not so much.

      Except, people do that as a human playing the game.

      Assuming someone has a recoil-less ranged weapon with near-infinite firing speed (and some modern double-action semiautos come close), they really could perform such a feat. It the best of "twitch" gamers can drop a handful of targets in a single rapid sweep of the sights, so could a human with a similar weapon (and in fact, if you've ever watched some of the sport-shooting stars at play, they pretty much do that with real firearms).

      Now, admittedly that doesn't describe any weapon that existed in WWII - But both consoles and PCs share that particular unrealistic edge equally.

    33. Re:Shocking news: by aliquis · · Score: 1

      You're sure it's not just that running around, fighting, healing and doing everything at once is much easier on a PC thanks to superior controls?

      Or did they just stand there pointer at team-mate waiting to press the healing button 5000 times in a row?

    34. Re:Shocking news: by morari · · Score: 1

      Actually, no one serious about the fighting genre would use a gamepad either... That's what arcade sticks are for. ;)

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    35. Re:Shocking news: by aliquis · · Score: 1

      The Amiga or an emulator + USB controller pads? :D

    36. Re:Shocking news: by perlchild · · Score: 1

      I'm taking the same tack along a different angle.

      Difficult quest handled better on platforms with more rabid, addicted gamers, while platforms with more of a history of casual gamers struggle.

    37. Re:Shocking news: by perryizgr8 · · Score: 1

      Ironically, the Wii, which IMO has the best hardware control scheme for First Person Shooters of all the consoles

      no it doesn't. it's probably the worst.

      --
      Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
    38. Re:Shocking news: by zach_the_lizard · · Score: 1

      The sad thing is the weak hardware is stopping us from getting all the FPSes, because most players want shiny graphics and the Wii can't deliver, even though the Wii would be great for this.

      --
      SSC
    39. Re:Shocking news: by wagnerrp · · Score: 1

      Ironically, the Wii, which IMO has the best hardware control scheme for First Person Shooters of all the consoles, was not included in this competition.

      The Wii is piss poor for anything but rail shooters. Aiming to the side of the screen to turn is one of the clumsiest things I've ever done in a video game.

    40. Re:Shocking news: by Nemyst · · Score: 1

      PC gamers are more dedicated and serious while console players are more casual. Unsurprising, considering the barrier of entry for a PC game versus its equivalent console game.

      As for whether that's good or bad...

    41. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Arrogant Slashdot poster fails to investigate article before talking out of his ass. More as this story develops.

      PC players have 55 million hours played, PS3 players have 90 million, X360 players have 95 million. Console players have over 60% more hours logged than PC players on either platform.
      PC players completed the challenge twice as fast as either console.
      Run the math, and PC players completed the challenge with over triple the efficiency per player as console players of either platform.

      The challenge was to be a good teammate. Not a good shooter, not a good dodger, not a skilled weapon swapper, all of which would naturally favor a control scheme with precision (a mouse) and plentiful inputs (keyboard). All you had to do was walk next to a teammate or vehicle and hit a single button. That's it. Even a first-time player can do that more than capably on any of the three platforms. And yet, a PC player is three times as likely to support his teammates, be helpful, and be a good teamplayer.

      The BC2 PC players, on average, care more about the people around them than console gamers. "But it's just a game" you say. Funny, that's the same thing griefers and asshats say, but it's still a lie. When you make selfish excuses to support selfish behavior, it doesn't make it not true. If I go walking down the beach and kick over sandcastles, I don't get to just say "you're just playing in the sand" and it's all good. I'd still be an ass, griefers in a game are still asshats, and the PC players who were part of this challenge are more generous people than the console players.

    42. Re:Shocking news: by rainmouse · · Score: 2

      Players with superior input devices do better. More as this story develops.

      I believe this is very much old news however unless I am misreading the article, the focus is comparing teamwork/cooperation/non-combat roles and not kills or aiming accuracy. Also worth noting that the survey counts the number of individual team based actions instead of factoring in populations of the three platforms; however according to ve3d.ign.com, PC players only make up 16% of the total sales of this game.

    43. Re:Shocking news: by strack · · Score: 2

      the keyboard and mouse combo are inherently better for fps, as the mouse position is a direct translation to shooting direction. the gamepad analog stick position is a direct translation of how fast the crosshairs are moving to who you want to shoot, which is much slower.

    44. Re:Shocking news: by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Sure, but only 'cause we don't have built-in aimbots so we can hit anything at all.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    45. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I play a lot of Star Control II and Street Fighter IV with some friends when they come by. We also play emulated games ranging from Atari 2600 up to PlayStation 2 and Wii, no problems. If I were a sports fan, we'd probably play a bunch of those too since they are all two players, but I can only really stand video game basketball, so we only do stuff like NBA 2K10.

      There are actually a lot of multi-person games available for PC.

    46. Re:Shocking news: by mehemiah · · Score: 1

      honestly, I prefer dual analog sticks to a trigger because my thumb is more dexterous than my pointer at that angle. Think about it, one is a rotational motion across multiple muscles and the other is a hinging motion on one joint. I was thrown off in halo by my experience with Bond. I was use to controlling strafing with my pointers on the shoulders of the controller.

    47. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What a typical noob excuse when he gets pwned.

    48. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sorry, but a shitty joypad or thumb analog stick isn't very realistic either.. in fact, a mouse/keyboard offers much more realism for just about any shooter

    49. Re:Shocking news: by maitai · · Score: 1

      For the record IL-2 does exist on consoles, and uses my Saitek X52 (at least on the PS3)...

      Assign button 18 to this, 16 to that, took forever to setup.

    50. Re:Shocking news: by Antisyzygy · · Score: 1

      It made my wrists hurt after a while, and I work out.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
    51. Re:Shocking news: by joeme1 · · Score: 2

      Metroid Prime is great on the Wii. I was reluctant to get a FPS on a console for the reasons stated here. I love the kb mlook combo, but the Wii look and firing with the nunchuck make it almost comparable.

    52. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Platformers aren't terrible with a keyboard, at least in my experience... Fighters... Yeah, utterly terrible.

    53. Re:Shocking news: by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      http://steelseries.com/us/products/keyboards/steelseries-6gv2
      Actually, with one of these, playing fighting games is quote doable and competitive. Even a regular four button max PS/2 keyboard can hold its own against a joypad.

    54. Re:Shocking news: by SplashMyBandit · · Score: 2

      In the form of 'Wings of Prey'? It's kind of a sim, looks lovely but you don't always do take offs and landings (in a 'real sim' you often have to land in cross-winds, with one engine out etc etc and this is a challenging as the combat). So I'm still reserving the right to be snobby about console sims - although WoP is a great leap forward.

      I think it was their (Oleg, 4c) use of Java and OpenGL in Il-2 that allowed them to port easily from PC to console. They have their alternate DirectX rendering pipeline but that probably wasn't used for the PS3.

    55. Re:Shocking news: by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      But you'd need to buy rather a lot of those to make up the price gap between a console and a "gaming PC".

      At that price difference, it would only take me 8.5 games to completely cover the cost of my gaming PC (at today's prices). That is excluding the monitor, because I reused my existing one. The system was a pretty low end machine when I got it 2 years ago and now it is the ultra low end. But it can still run any game that I throw at it at the default medium settings. It is only when you want to max out the display settings that you need to spend serious money on a gaming rig.

    56. Re:Shocking news: by Liam+Pomfret · · Score: 1

      Then you're probably holding it wrong. The "arm raised pointing directly down at the screen" that so many people do is, I find, the most tiring and least precise way to hold it. Looks great in ads and at demo stations, but is horrible for actual extended gameplay.

    57. Re:Shocking news: by Liam+Pomfret · · Score: 2

      Agreed. I hear a whole of people talk down on the Wii controls, including for FPS, but I've never met a single person who hasn't found the Wii controls superior after actually sitting down and playing a couple of extended sessions. So many people just try it for 15 minutes and give up, getting too frustrated too quickly about the different quirks of the controls. There seems to be an expectation that because it's motion control, they should be able to get used to it instantly. While that's true for non-gamers who don't have a lot of habits to break, it can take a while for gamers who have become used to dual-analog sticks to adapt.

    58. Re:Shocking news: by kainino · · Score: 1

      Depending on your hub and controllers, it may be an underpowering issue. If your hub isn't externally powered you might want to consider getting one that is (one with a power adapter). If you have multiple ports directly on your computer, you can test this theory by plugging a few controllers in directly and seeing if they work.

      --
      Please disregard any grammatical errors in the above message. I normally perfectly English just well!
    59. Re:Shocking news: by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      You've never played metroid prime 3 then have you.

    60. Re:Shocking news: by causality · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't call it "arrogance" myself... I'd call it a lack of objectivity. It's the same effect either way; it's just that one is more deliberate than the other.

      Otherwise... it's a shame I put my last modpoint to a less worthy use than modding this up.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    61. Re:Shocking news: by bronney · · Score: 1

      Then you failed. Either that or you don't drive in real life. If you have a reasonable lesson on gas and brake control, especially if you live in a snowing country, the gaming wheel pedal combo should serve you extremely well compared to a keyboard. More so for rally games on gravel.

    62. Re:Shocking news: by bronney · · Score: 1

      You can't tell me you haven't played commander keen!! oh the humanity!!! :D

    63. Re:Shocking news: by maitai · · Score: 1

      Birds of prey, yeah.

      No, I definitely think PCs are better for sims than Consoles are, just commenting that there was at least one decent one for consoles. And it will use most of the buttons on your controller (figuring out what "Button 18" was was fun)

      As far as IL-2 goes I've used to play that up through Pacific fighters (Although I barely played that, stopped mostly after Forgotten Battles).

      There's actually a dearth of of flight sims even for the PC. I still have my MS FS 1.0 and Jet disks, first time I ever played a "flight sim" was on my neighbors Commodore 128 though...

      Now I'm tempted to go play Aces high again, thanks a lot.

    64. Re:Shocking news: by bronney · · Score: 1
    65. Re:Shocking news: by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      The parent's post has nothing to do with which is more popular, but a (rather dubious) measurement of skill stated in the article. To use a car analogy (I know), most people drive hondas and toyotas, but that doesn't mean there aren't (or shouldn't be) better cars/drivers out there.

    66. Re:Shocking news: by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      I've gotta disagree with you. Psychonauts was brutal until I dug out the old gamepad...

    67. Re:Shocking news: by LBt1st · · Score: 1

      Because it's poorly implementing DirectInput.

    68. Re:Shocking news: by Sam+Douglas · · Score: 1

      I always find the shared axis accelerate/brake to be a bit of a hindrance in decent racing games; the additional positional control you may get is probably outweighed by the difficulty of applying accelerator and brake quickly _and_ precisely. I prefer separate axes, analog triggers or even the analog buttons on the PS2/PS3 controllers (with a bit of practice and attention you can get reasonably good throttle and brake control in Gran Turismo using those)

    69. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dare I ask what you're doing to "work out" your wrists?

    70. Re:Shocking news: by dangitman · · Score: 1

      There's no reason modern consoles couldn't have those controls, as they have USB inputs that support keyboards, joystickes, cameras, etc. But you answered your own question: it's a niche genre, so Flight Sims tends to only be made for more specialized platforms.

      Unfortunately most of the gamer press is mostly oblivious/uninterested in sims, which means the punters are so poorly informed they still think the one console or the other is the bees knees (understandable if you have the gaming budget of a teen).

      This is just a non-sequitur. "Most of the gamer press" is not interested in flight simulators, because most gamers are not interested in flight simulators. Shocking News at 11.

      Why would the "punters" care if consoles don't do flight sims if they aren't interested in flight simulators in the first place? They aren't really games to begin with.

      Personally, flight simulators are one of my favourite genres of electronic occupation, but I don't understand your argument. Why should we be worried about console gamers caring about niche non-gaming activities?

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    71. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      We also play emulated games ranging from Atari 2600 up to PlayStation 2 and Wii, no problems.

      How do you dump your Atari 2600 cartridges and Wii discs to make ROM files for the emulator?

    72. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Completely incorrect. The mouse is currently the only 1:1 control scheme for FPS gaming.
      Takes some programming knowledge and general logic though.

      Crosshairs, reticule, whatever, move on a 2d pane in game (technically this is not 100% true, but the actuality is more complex then even this basic understanding), mouse moves on 2d surface. 1:1 movement = optimal. Because the Wii supposedly allows you to move in 3D, does not equate to more control, as a matter of fact it detracts from it.

    73. Re:Shocking news: by uolamer · · Score: 0

      You can download the entire 2600 roms in a couple minutes, screw dumping all that stuff yourself. (bla bla piracy bla bla) As far as Wii, google it. or download them too. (bla bla piracy i dont care, bla)

      --
      s/©//g
    74. Re:Shocking news: by Skidborg · · Score: 1

      There's a difference between strength and endurance after all...

      --
      Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
    75. Re:Shocking news: by Martin+Blank · · Score: 1

      Players 2-4, in my case, always show up with laptops -- always. YMMV.

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    76. Re:Shocking news: by bds1986 · · Score: 1

      Pretty sure. To heal someone in BC2 you change weapon to your medkit and press the fire button to chuck it on the ground. Players are healed when they stand near the medkit. It isn't like RPG-type games where you have to use special spells and powers in certain sequences or anything, only a few button presses are necessary on either platform.

      Spotting is about the same; look at the enemy and press the spot button to make them show up on your teammates map. The "Q" key might be slightly easier to reach than the "select" button on xbox, but not so much that it would prevent anyone from doing it I would think.

    77. Re:Shocking news: by Hadlock · · Score: 0

      I wonder what those numbers would look like if you clipped off the first three weeks worth of numbers. From my personal experience, BC2 experienced a huge surge in popularity on the PC when it dropped in price to $30 back in September 2010 or so. I would imagine most console players have sold their copy of BC2 to gamestop by now (or within 2 months of buying the game). Also, I'm pretty sure the console version was released in fall 2009, giving it a huge lead time on the PC version (released March 2010?)

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    78. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PC players are used to grinding with little satisfaction. They also have keyboards to use cheats.

    79. Re:Shocking news: by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 1

      So that proves it. The PC gamers only need half the time compared to the console gamers.

    80. Re:Shocking news: by TheTurtlesMoves · · Score: 1

      I have 4 dual core laptops and 2 desktops at home. I *am* a one man lan party. Other people to play with is a bonus.

      --
      The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
    81. Re:Shocking news: by qoa · · Score: 1

      The one controller I would take any day over a stick is the Japanese Saturn controller.

      --
      Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
    82. Re:Shocking news: by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The reason is simply that the split-screen gaming market is first of all cornered by consoles and second not profitable.

      There's a reason why more and more console games drop it. My guess is that it was implemented as a stopgag when consoles were not yet network able and people wanted to play with their friends, and they didn't want to lose these players to the PC market. So they implemented splitscreen.

      Now that consoles have networking, you see a lot of game sequels of splitscreen games dropping it again and instead hoping to sell more copies by "forcing" people to play over network.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    83. Re:Shocking news: by SplashMyBandit · · Score: 1

      > This is just a non-sequitur. "Most of the gamer press" is not interested in flight simulators, because most gamers are not interested in flight simulators.

      Most gamers don't know about flight simulators because the press doesn't report it thinking people aren't interested. It's chicken and egg. The press writes a lot about inane racing games yet a masterpiece like RFactor hardly gets a mention.

      Unfortunately most game companies are so growth focused (like most of the US Business world) that it is not good enough to be profitable, but instead must be the most profitable it can be for the next quarter (eg. tactical gains rather than strategic ones). This means that even profitable niche genres don't get a look in - which is why all the great flight sims are written by Russian companies rather than US ones. The US companies that used to make decent sims have evaporated or their work moved offshore (in the same way the rare earth element mining has). If you are a US citizen (disclaimer: I'm not one) you ought to be concerned - this is the reason for your gradual downfall (and pretty much the same reason the Roman Empire declined - barbarians ended up doing all the real work).

      Unfortunately these Russian companies don't have the marketing budget of EA, so gamers are usually very unaware of their products or how far the 'art' of gaming has advanced through various sims far more than another me-to yawn-worthy Madden clone. A diverse ecosystem is a good thing. To use your words, this is why we should be 'worried' that console gamers have niche games to choose from. Actually I have a PS3 and good PC, and the games on the PC3 are so unimaginative and 'samey' and so far short of even their direct PC equivalents [compare Battlefield 2 on both, for example]) that it is worth lamenting how the state of the gaming art has been skewed towards the banal by the consoles and what the big players do with them.

    84. Re:Shocking news: by RichiH · · Score: 1

      If PC gamers work together more than console gamers, based on my very limited experience in this field, I should never ever play a co-op game on a console, I guess.

    85. Re:Shocking news: by hitmark · · Score: 1

      funny enough, the PS3 can take keyboard and mouse input via usb. But games need to support that.

      this on top of various converters and at least one custom mouse and keyboard kit that to the console appears to be a controller.

      There is also at least one converter device for xbox360 that seems to produce a very PC like feel for FPS games.
      http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/xim3-final-hardware-revealed-coming-soon-to-give-an-unfair-adva/

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    86. Re:Shocking news: by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Most gamers don't know about flight simulators because the press doesn't report it thinking people aren't interested

      Flight Simulators aren't games, so why would the gaming press report on them?

      which is why all the great flight sims are written by Russian companies rather than US ones.

      Umm, X-Plane? A 100% American product.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    87. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Having competitively played PC FPS games on the highest level I must say that Wiimote is lightyears away from the precision and speed given by your keyboard and mouse.

      Nothing currently on the market compares. The games have to be dumbed down on consoles to meet the restrictions applied by crappy controllers.

    88. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Atari 2600 cartridges

      EPROM reader.

      Wii discs

      My LG DVD drive will read Wii discs using Friidump or Rawdump.

    89. Re:Shocking news: by sqldr · · Score: 1

      well, some console FPSs have auto-aim to try to make up for it. Just not all.

      --
      I wrote my first program at the age of six, and I still can't work out how this website works.
    90. Re:Shocking news: by pyster · · Score: 1

      This was the only comment needed to be made. The rest should just be in agreement with this.

    91. Re:Shocking news: by smittyman · · Score: 1

      Probably the same number of games, consoles takes ages to 'Aim' as the PC users slaughter a lot faster.

      Can we keep the consoles for Pinball now and have the FPS for PC where it belongs please?

      Frag you later!

      Waaaaaaagh

      --
      Message from god, Please logoff, rebooting the Universe
    92. Re:Shocking news: by jack2000 · · Score: 1

      Depends on your style of play and the fighting games you play. For a fighting game I'd say an arcade stick with buttons is better. But some games like GGX and even Street Fighter can be played very successfully on a keyboard.

    93. Re:Shocking news: by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      So are we talking about 2D or 3D platformers? 2D work perfectly fine with the keyboard, 3D require mouselook if you want to use a keyboard or you can't run into the direction you want to go. Generally 3D platformers tend to be problematic on any system due to the perspective though. Some games manage to make the 3D aspect acceptable but it's never entirely great.

      As for fighting games all it takes is practice, a keyboard isn't terribly different from an arcade stick and once you're used to it it's easier than a gamepad because you can use one finger per button.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    94. Re:Shocking news: by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      How many hours per user? Console games generally sell much better than PC games so if it has sold 10 times as many copies then each person isn't playing nearly as much as his PC counterpart.

    95. Re:Shocking news: by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      HAWX is more comparable with After Burner than Falcon but that's not a bad thing.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    96. Re:Shocking news: by Burnhard · · Score: 1

      Sure, I do drive in real life. I've only been doing it for 2 years though.

    97. Re:Shocking news: by bronney · · Score: 1

      When you get a chance, have someone drive with you in snow :). Very good lesson.

    98. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spotting is almost certainly a major factor in this discrepancy. Any good PC player automatically hits Q before even opening fire on a target, or does the two simultaneously. It's only a tiny extension of the ring finger and affords ridiculous benefit. Hitting the spot button on the Xbox, though, requires removing a thumb from a joystick and stretching it all the way into the centre. A whole lot more effort. To a PC player spotting is like pressing the shift button to sprint, to an Xbox player it's like old school pressing 4 to select and throw a grenade. So that, at least, is definitely attributable to inferior controls on the console's part.

      I have no doubt, though, that even if it were incredibly simple to spot, console players would still do it less.

    99. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      I have 4 dual core laptops and 2 desktops at home. I *am* a one man lan party.

      For one thing, not a lot of parents have the money to keep a gaming PC for each household member and visitor, including the children and an occasional classmate, up to date. For another thing, few LAN games support spawn installation nowadays.

    100. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      Atari 2600 cartridges

      EPROM reader.

      Most people aren't skilled enough to build one.

      Wii discs

      My LG DVD drive will read Wii discs using Friidump or Rawdump.

      How many PC drive firmwares work with Friidump?

    101. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dunno, Halo pulled it off pretty good, as did Metroid Prime

    102. Re:Shocking news: by morari · · Score: 1

      Hm. It seems as though I never owned one of the original North American SATURN controllers.Looking at pictures of it compared to the "Japanese controller" that I'm familiar with, I can't say that I'm sorry. :P

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    103. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most people aren't skilled enough to build one

      Then buy one. It's not like it's some rare piece of equipment. If you want to save some money, however, it's easy enough for anyone to make one with a solderless breadboard and a few dollars worth of components.

      How many PC drive firmwares work with Friidump?

      I don't know and I don't really care since it works for me and it's irrelevant to the discussion.

      If you're really too lazy to do either of those things, then play other games or choose a different platform to emulate.

    104. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      Then buy [an EPROM reader]. It's not like it's some rare piece of equipment

      Desoldering the ROM from the cartridge PCB and then resoldering it after you have dumped it is an obscure skill.

      If you're really too lazy to do either of those things, then play other games

      That's exactly what I was asking about in the first place: what other games should one play with one PC and two to four gamepads?

    105. Re:Shocking news: by Antisyzygy · · Score: 1

      Working out increases endurance. It doesn't require a bunch of endurance to sit and type all day long but some people end up with carpal tunnel from it.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
    106. Re:Shocking news: by iainl · · Score: 1

      Even if it were based on kills, PC owners can't fight 360 owners directly on the system. So they're shooting at fellow PC owners. Logically, it could have been that the keyboard is a bit rubbish for avoiding death, rather than the mouse good at causing it, had the kill rates been shown to be higher on the computer.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    107. Re:Shocking news: by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Depends on the game. A lot of more arcadey driving games are really freaking hard to play with a wheel, because they're unrealistic. As an extreme example, NFS2 is best played with a keyboard or D-pad!

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    108. Re:Shocking news: by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      No some games are just stupid and only use the first joystick-like device they detect.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    109. Re:Shocking news: by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I played Psychonauts with an Xbox 360 controller, it was surprising that the game worked nicely with it, unlike most games that don't have specific support for the controller.

      Still the best-designed controller ever was the Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 1. The only modern conveniences it's missing are analog triggers, analog buttons (not that anything uses them) and stick-click. The software that came with it and the fact that the sticks had square rather than circular travel are what really made it stand out. Unfortunately they're built with bargain-basement components and they fail pretty quickly.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    110. Re:Shocking news: by bronney · · Score: 1

      Agreed, burnout series is much easier with the dpad.

    111. Re:Shocking news: by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      There are actually adapters you can use to plug those into PCs.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    112. Re:Shocking news: by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      what other games should one play with one PC and two to four gamepads?

      None. The real answer is "that's what consoles are for"

    113. Re:Shocking news: by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Well, there is at least one entire class of games that PC has that consoles don't: flight simulators. Some of this is due to the hardware: serious PC flight-simmers have TrackIR head tracking devices, rudder pedals, HOTAS (throttle & stick joysticks), throttle quadrants, multi-function displays (MFDs), assignable keypads, & touchcreens.

      It's not the late 1980's anymore..when the Tom Clancy reading, Jane's book owning, flight-sim grognard was a larger part of the nerd gaming market. Back then ex-colonels would get jobs working for wargame or flight-sim companies. Nowadays those gamers are a tiny tiny niche that really isn't all that profitable for the big-timers to make games for. Also not everybody is as affluent as the hardcaroe flight-simmers are. Yes they tend to be older and more affluent, that was even true in the old days. How else could they afford their setups and their "military hobby stuff"

      IL-2's support of HOTAS on the PS3 has been noted, but also the later Ace Combats (though arcade-y), starting with Ace Combat 4 I think, also support them.

    114. Re:Shocking news: by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Hardcore PSone Quake II players owned the PSone mouse.

    115. Re:Shocking news: by Skidborg · · Score: 1

      It does depend on what kind of working out you do, true. And there are ways to completely prevent carpal tunnel, or reverse it. I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with this argument.

      --
      Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
    116. Re:Shocking news: by Burnhard · · Score: 1

      I did that already (last year). It's ok in a front wheel drive as long as you go really slowly and the snow isn't too deep :p.

    117. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Desoldering the ROM from the cartridge PCB and then resoldering it after you have dumped it is an obscure skill.

      Which anyone running emulators is probably more than capable of doing. If you aren't willing to put in the tiny amount of effort it requires and you aren't willing to buy a console copier and you aren't willing to have someone else do it for you, then yes, I agree that you should stick with playing those games on a console.

      That's exactly what I was asking about in the first place: what other games should one play with one PC and two to four gamepads?

      I already told you what I play using multiple gamepads on a PC and it demonstrates that it works. If you want to find more, go check some gaming sites. Whatever problem you are having with your computer only recognising the first gamepad isn't due to a limitation of the platform.

      With every answer, you come up with more and more red herrings. You want things exactly one very specific and restricted way with absolutely no deviation, research or effort on your part. Instead of making nitpicky excuses that aren't relevant to the current discussion, you could have been reading about how to find or accomplish anything that you asked.

    118. Re:Shocking news: by illaqueate · · Score: 1

      in the types of games many of us are playing it's also very difficult to see with split screen. in my game room I have two televisions and two ps3 and 360. in the past the only games we would end up playing in the same room would be the games with same screen gameplay like fighting games, side scroller, or overhead shooters. no one wanted to play left 4 dead or motorstorm when it was split screen

    119. Re:Shocking news: by illaqueate · · Score: 1

      the stats were wrong in the past so i dont know whether or not you could assume they are correct. there were a few months when the pc stats up there where frozen

    120. Re:Shocking news: by shentino · · Score: 1

      In actuality, you are just as pwned by an aimbot as you are pwned by a railgun god.

      If you can't prove it happened, what can you do? You have even less of a case in the court of public opinion when your peers don't even give a shit anyway.

      Which could very well be the case if you're among a crowd where aimbots are an accepted tool of the trade for pwnage.

    121. Re:Shocking news: by Miseph · · Score: 1

      Option 3 is that the game is a flawed recreation of actual driving mechanics, and the wheel/pedal setup is a flawed recreation of an actual car interface, such that it is easier to just use a different input better optimized for what you're operating.

      I'd actually guess that is precisely the situation the GP has found themselves in.

      --
      Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
    122. Re:Shocking news: by Antisyzygy · · Score: 1

      The control is awkward for long term play and I have to hold it and use it in such a way that makes my wrists start to hurt in an almost "sprained feeling" way after a long period of time. The control is too small, and you have to arch your wrist in a weird "remote control" way for an extended period of time if you want to play certain games. I learned a sort of way to play twilight princess by holding my hand at my side which was better. As far as the Wii control, it got quite a bit better with the rubber cover / motion plus. I don't have any problems on my PC and I game on it the majority of the time, I also don't have problems with the Xbox. Maybe its my physiology.

      --
      That brings me to an interesting point, / . is just "the ramblings of socially-inept, technology-literate news-mongers".
    123. Re:Shocking news: by SplashMyBandit · · Score: 1

      Umm, X-Plane? A 100% American product.

      X-Plane is an interesting outlier. Built by a hobbyist not by a professional gaming outfit. Arguably not as good a 'game' as LockOn, BlackShark etc but point taken.

    124. Re:Shocking news: by SplashMyBandit · · Score: 1

      You do know that the author of X-Plane make 3.5 million personally in the release of X-Plane for the iPhone and sold half a million units within a month of release? That's a substantial number for a 'tiny tiny niche'. Sure it is a niche, but actually not that small and even so is still pretty profitable (except if you're a lumbering giant the size of EA with colossal overheads).

    125. Re:Shocking news: by Miseph · · Score: 1

      Why exclude the monitor just because you're using the old one?

      Much better to include the TV.

      --
      Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
    126. Re:Shocking news: by MaWeiTao · · Score: 1

      You might want to believe that the Wii has the best control scheme for FPSs but you'd be wrong. The Wii has nowhere near the precision or responsiveness that a mouse and keyboard provide. And a player's arms and hands are generally in a resting position while playing on a PC where extended play on the Wii guarantees exhaustion. And given the complexity of many current FPSs, which is totally unnecessary in my opinion, the limited options of a Wiimote only aggravates the situation.

    127. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I'm playing a WWII soldier, not so much.

      What does this have to do with your control scheme? If the game company didn't want your toon to turn 360 in a second they can you know limit the speed? You know same way if they don't want you to shot trough walls well they can. And it won't matter if you are using a joystick, game pad, nostromo, mouse/kb, wii remotes because it's IN the game not depending on something out of the game...

    128. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FragFX-like controllers for Consoles. Or PCs. Not as good, but ok.

    129. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be up to the game... I wrote one that uses up to 4 gamepads for splitscreen play on the PC and it works fine !
      (Using libSDL via the pygame module for Python)

    130. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      But CronoCloud keeps telling me that if I write such a game myself, I won't be able to sell it because there aren't enough other people willing to buy games optimized for home theater PCs.

    131. Re:Shocking news: by Nick+Ives · · Score: 2

      Actually, the PC games market is having a bit of a resurgence, witness the latest annual Steam sale and the high quality multiplatform releases that are coming out on PC as well as console.

      Since the days of the PSX, PC gaming has waxed and waned with the console cycle. Most current PCs with separate graphics cards can easily match a PS3 or Xbox in terms of performance and so publishers are willing to take the time to port AAA titles; when the next generation comes out the PC will be ignored again for a couple of years.

      --
      Nick
    132. Re:Shocking news: by sahonen · · Score: 1

      aimbots are an accepted tool of the trade for pwnage.

      [Citation Needed]

      In all my years of PC gaming I've never run across anyone whose skills couldn't be explained by... skill. Your peers ignore your cries of "cheater!" because 99% of the time that someone accuses someone of cheating it's because they got owned and feel like crying about it. I have a friend who gets banned from MW:BO servers constantly, despite having a web page full of demos and a youtube channel full of videos showing him doing everything he does perfectly legitimately. People just can't believe that other people are better at video games than them.

      --
      Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
    133. Re:Shocking news: by shentino · · Score: 1

      if you're among a crowd where ...

      Way to conveniently overlook a blatant qualifying statement there, bravo.

    134. Re:Shocking news: by innerweb · · Score: 1

      Don't worry. Nobody ever wanted to fly. If God had meant for humans to do it, we would have had wings. Try something crazy. Just do it. If you earn nothing from it financially, you are bound to earn tons from it in the form of knowledge and skills.

      --
      Freud might say that Intelligent Design is religion's ID.
    135. Re:Shocking news: by innerweb · · Score: 1

      Your friend may be tops, but I have seen after game videos enough where impossible shots were made. Repeatedly. There are enough cheats out there, and cheating has proven to be easy enough on different platforms, that the cheats far outnumber the skilled ones. I have seen the cheats as well, so I know they are not a myth. From what I saw, they were easy to put in place and use.

      Now, I don't use them (as my ratings all reflect), because I want to win on my own accord. Many people make the winning part far more important than honesty, honor or personal integrity. To quote one of the hacks,"Winning is the only thing. If they do not catch you, you still won." A natural reflection of our current society.

      --
      Freud might say that Intelligent Design is religion's ID.
    136. Re:Shocking news: by Phopojijo · · Score: 1

      Autolook does not a good control scheme make.

      Sure it might be a fun way to play... but the game partially plays for you.

      That's like saying the Xbox is more accurate than PC because the game has autoaim... only just autoaiming the camera, not the weapon itself.

    137. Re:Shocking news: by bat21 · · Score: 1

      I grew up with a SNES and an N64. My first FPS was Goldeneye and I didn't start playing games on the PC until about 4 or 5 years ago. There are very few games I prefer a controller to a mouse and keyboard for.

    138. Re:Shocking news: by sahonen · · Score: 1

      I have seen after game videos enough where impossible shots were made. Repeatedly.

      What is your definition of an "impossible" shot? The problem with most accusations of cheating is that people generally use the term "impossible" to mean "something I couldn't do myself," when the reality is that what is humanly possible goes *well* beyond your own personal limitations, especially if you do not routinely push them. The top tiers of video gaming are full of people who have dedicated their lives to approaching the limits of what is humanly possible, just like the top tiers of any other endeavor you could imagine. Unless you're seeing things like crosshairs snapping perfectly (as in, in zero frames) to unpredictable targets (someone walking in a straight line is not unpredictable), I really wouldn't be that quick to label someone a cheater. There is a very real possibility that they're just that good.

      I stand by my assertion that I have never, in 15 years of online gaming, ever seen anyone do anything that I couldn't attribute to pure skill on their part. If anyone I've played against actually was cheating, they weren't doing anything that was humanly impossible, and that I couldn't figure out how to beat.

      Furthermore, if you're playing games that a simple automatic cheat could substantially improve someone's play at, then you're really playing the wrong games. Aimbots only help you in games with extremely powerful hitscan weapons, like Counter-Strike (which I've always found boring). Play Quake or Team Fortress. Even if you're cheating, somebody who knows the game better than you will demolish you.

      --
      Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
    139. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you have anything to support your claim? This sounds like anecdotal evidence to me.

    140. Re:Shocking news: by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      A keyboard/mouse combo is better for online first-person shooters, I'll grant. But that doesn't mean it's better for everything.

      This pretty much goes without saying. Why do you think there's so many different types of controllers, and they're still in use? Because there simply are games that work best with that kind of controller.

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
    141. Re:Shocking news: by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      Simple; either the game was coded badly when it comes to using gamepads, or your system isn't detecting three of them (possibly because of the HUB).

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
    142. Re:Shocking news: by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      The Wiimotes still have the problem that you have to "touch" the edge of the screen to turn. I don't know if there are any FPSes out there that actually use the Wii remote expansion, but if there are, these games would really benefit from being able to just turn your remote around to turn your character around. Then you'd get near-mouse precision (I say near because flipping a Wii remote 90 degrees is still more effort and inconvenience than moving your mouse to the right quickly).

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
    143. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      So the choice of controller depends on the genre. The problem comes when the choice of platform depends on the choice of controller for historical reasons, and the choice of a developer's business model depends on the choice of platform. For example, gamepads are associated with video game consoles, and mouse and keyboard are associated with PCs. But small developers with nontraditional business structures have a hard time getting licensed to develop on consoles and thus are blocked from the platform most suited to genres designed for gamepads, especially two to four gamepads.

    144. Re:Shocking news: by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      Well, if you're going in that specific direction, one could argue that keyboards and mice are good enough for most types of games. Just not always the best. This is why PC gaming works most of the time even if you don't have the special controller for the best experience.

      It's also the reason why there are FPSes for consoles. Having the best controller on a certain platform doesn't necessarily mean you'll be using it when you're doing stuff for a different platform, especially when it doesn't have the optimal type of controller. So the gaming studios try to compensate for it (like auto-aim), sometimes succeeding in at least making the experience enjoyable (and sometimes not).

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
    145. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      Well, if you're going in that specific direction, one could argue that keyboards and mice are good enough for most types of games. Just not always the best.

      If player 1 uses a mouse and keyboard, what do players 2, 3, and 4 use? It's a lot harder to dismantle the family PC to bring to a LAN party than to toss a gamepad in your bag.

    146. Re:Shocking news: by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      Well... It's a LAN party. Usually several computers with several keyboards and mice are involved. If not, I've seen (experimental) single-computer games use multiple keyboards and mice before, so bringing another mouse isn't exactly anything big. But if the games being played are gamepad-based, it's best to just bring a gamepad.

      My only point here is that some controllers are just more suited to some types of games, but that doesn't stop game devs from trying stuff out.

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
    147. Re:Shocking news: by mehemiah · · Score: 1

      Shared axis? you mean having steering and acceleration on the same stick? I mean one stick for steering and the other for acceleration. Otherwise, i think you're right about analog buttons being better for this. I might have put brake on a trigger to compensate for this in my dual analog setup.

    148. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, I meant accelerate and brake both on the vertical axis (stick forward accelerate)

    149. Re:Shocking news: by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Even if it were based on kills, PC owners can't fight 360 owners directly on the system.

      But it's based on number of actions, not number of cross platform kills.

      If the typical PC player can rack up 30 kills in 20 minutes and it takes the typical Xbox player 45 minutes to do the same thing, is that not an accurate test?

      The metric you're testing is the same, the variable is the platform. In gaming terms, it's like a time trial when each player competes after each other, not concurrently. That's how we did multi-player before the split screen. See that lawn you're standing on.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    150. Re:Shocking news: by innerweb · · Score: 1

      Impossible shots would be of the following

      • Shooting out your back
      • Shooting through walls (not spraying, but single shots)
      • Shooting across maps (beyond range of any gun in map)
      • Being able to see entire map in spite of fog of war
      • Boosting *hit points*
      • Boosting damage
      • Boosting Income
      • Boosting build speed
      • ...

      Now, maybe these are all normal, but to me they are not. I have seen people use them from their side of the console, so I know what they are. Have I beat people using them? Sometimes. But the reality is that many people cheat (morals) and some people do not at the top. Heck, just think of steroids and other *preformance* enhancing drugs. It is not like only gamers do it..

      One we saw just this week on Halo Wars. This kid had a full army of fully upgraded units at ~2:40 into the game with 3 full bases fully built out. Right... That must be skill.

      --
      Freud might say that Intelligent Design is religion's ID.
    151. Re:Shocking news: by Tukz · · Score: 1

      No, the PC gamers just do more teamwork than the Consolers.
      The Consolers just shoot people, and don't care about helping your team as much as PC gamers.

      See what I did there?

      --
      - Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
    152. Re:Shocking news: by tepples · · Score: 1

      Well... It's a LAN party. Usually several computers with several keyboards and mice are involved.

      Most parties that I've attended where video gaming has been involved have not been LAN parties. In many of these cases, it's a periodic reunion of the extended family where the adults have brought their kids along, and I end up having to provide entertainment for them. It'd be an extremely tough sell to get the adults to dismantle and bring the family PC so that their kids can be not bored at the party. It'd also need a lot of tables for PCs and monitors, instead of one for a console or HTPC and a TV. And because so few PC games nowadays support spawn installation, it'd be even tougher to get the parents to buy the same copies of the games that I'll be hosting.

      But if the games being played are gamepad-based, it's best to just bring a gamepad.

      The trouble is that path dependence originating in the mid-1980s has resulted in a Catch-22 for independent video game developers. From the rise of EGA and VGA in the mid-1980s through the rise of HDTV in the mid-2000s, PCs haven't had television output as a standard feature. For this reason, few major-label PC games are gamepad-based, and it's hard for an indie developer limited by console makers' business organization policies to the PC platform to sell a gamepad game to a PC owner who doesn't already have a system set up for gamepad games. In fact, Slashdot user CronoCloud has repeatedly asked me to give it up and start a traditional business just so that I can port our game to a console, which is the only platform where it would have a chance of selling.

      My only point here is that some controllers are just more suited to some types of games, but that doesn't stop game devs from trying stuff out.

      To sum up, it's a case of the genre dictating the controller (as we both agree), the controller dictating the platform (due to past unaffordability of TV-sized PC monitors), and the platform dictating the form of business organization (due to console makers' policies). Break any step in this chain, and indie developers have a market.

    153. Re:Shocking news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trine, supports 3 players concurrently. Fairly fun game in single player, but getting a second player makes it much better. If you can wrangle up a third (and get a third gamepad or mouse+keyboard) it's phenomenally fun.

    154. Re:Shocking news: by Gulthek · · Score: 1

      Yes, but as a human not feeling the inner ear effects.

      I love to play Unreal on the PC (well Mac) because I can completely justify the enhanced abilities within the context of the game.

      Playing as some drafted kid in WWII...not so much. The limitations of the controls hold back my skill as a gamer and highen the realism.

  2. Skillz. by unity100 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    pc is some serious shit. pcers generally play with keyboard wasd and function keys and mouse, which requires greater coordination, attention, and dedication (tiring). therefore, they are more honed in their gaming 'skillZ' (tm) than people playing with consoles with easy to use, ergonomic designed controllers. moreover, the pc gamers play full spectrum of games with that keyboard and mouse, as opposed to console-friendly games made for or ported to consoles, further increasing their skills regarding coordination and gaming.

    1. Re:Skillz. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      u mad, bro?

    2. Re:Skillz. by unity100 · · Score: 1

      It sounds more like people who play on consoles likely also do other things, like have a life.

      eewwwwwwwwww 'have a life' card was called. im out of the juvenile-destined discussion at this point. come back when you are grown up enough to know that there is no such thing as 'having a life' or the opposite.

    3. Re:Skillz. by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 1

      Exactly, as if people enjoying their leisurely pursuits is not having a life.
      If this is the case, the same would go for all people playing sports instead of going to bars or whatever "having a life" requires in the narrow mind of people like "theshowmecanuck"

      --
      This is the sig that says NI (again)
    4. Re:Skillz. by Draek · · Score: 2

      Actually, it's the other way around. Consoles are expensive systems, you only buy one if you're certain you'll spend a significant amount of time with it as otherwise it'd be an useless waste; meanwhile, many PC gamers are simply professionals who already own computers as part of their jobs, and decide to spend $60-80 on a relatively modern-ish GPU in order to play BluRay movies more smoothly on their PCs as well as play the odd game or two.

      That's why nearly all driving and flight sims, the most realistic FPS and strategy games are all PC exclusives and why none of them require the high-end GPUs commonly owned by console-gamers-turned-PC, because their core market is composed of grown adults and they, by and large, aren't ready to spend $400 on a device built solely to play videogames.

      Though that probably doesn't apply to TFA though, given that Bad Company isn't *quite* to the level of Operation: Flashpoint in terms of realism.

      --
      No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
    5. Re:Skillz. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy shit, you think driving and flight sims are targeted at budget customers? Are you insane? Have you seen the shit that flight simmers will put up with? Have you looked at prices on flight simming hardware? The cheapest stuff you can get, Saitek, considered by most simmers to be a bit crap and plasticky: £99.99 rudder pedals, £139.99 yoke. Or £110.35 for a HOTAS system if you're an IL2 guy (still gonna need those throttle pedals). Not even going to go into how much you can expect to pay for addon aircraft and scenery.

      Driving sims are more sane, so long as you don't start building cockpits, but still, the gold standard Logitech G27 steering wheel is £318. That's all you need, but it's a fucking insane price, you could go to a junkyard and pull a real steering wheel and gearstick and pedals out of a real car for a tenth of that.

      Simming product sellers can get away with this, because simmers are so disproportionately old (rich) and because it's such a niche market. It's incredibly annoying for someone who, like me, is interested in this stuff and also not old and rich.

    6. Re:Skillz. by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      I use gamepads on my PC regularly because they just work better for some types of games. It's a different type of controller, meant for different games. Also, the 100,000 buttons available on a XBox 360 controller requires quite a bit of coordination and memorization, especially when a game abuses them with awkward control schemes.

      Of course, you wouldn't know this if you only ever played keyboard and mouse-appropriate games.

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
    7. Re:Skillz. by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      Countering falseness with falseness doesn't work.

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
    8. Re:Skillz. by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 1

      There are some days I just feel like ruffling feathers. It needs to be done every now and then. It happens to me too. ;)

      --
      -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
  3. It doesn't say that at all. by Jason+Pollock · · Score: 1

    It doesn't say anything about the ability of the players.

    Now, assuming that the player populations are of equal size, with equal numbers of hours played...

    It might be construed to say that PC players are more team focused, willing to do things other than shoot the enemy.

    Of course, it is just as possible that someone's programmed a bot on the PC version and the _bot_ is doing the running around, or that the PC players play 10 hours vs the console gamer's 1, or some other difference between the platforms.

    1. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Now, assuming that the player populations are of equal size, with equal numbers of hours played...

      That may be quite an assumption, since the hours played since team actions have counted towards unlocking the map isn't listed (at least it wasn't when I checked). Considering that BC2 is a bit of a darling on PC in light of Activision's actions of late, it likely has a much larger portion of the online population on the PC than the consoles (where most players are probably playing CoD, Halo, or Resistance/Killzone). That being said, PC gamers are still faring a higher actions per hour rate since launch, but with the possibility of a larger population on PC it's likely this was never going to be close.

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    2. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/globalstats
      Both consoles have over 90k combined playing hours, while PC gamers only accumulated 55k so far and have been nearly doubly as "efficient" in total (regarding this challenge).
      Which of course makes one PC gamer 3-4 times "better" than a console gamer ;)

      On a more serious note, you have superior input instruments and superior communication channels on the PC, plus the crowd is generally a bit more "savvy".

    3. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Barny · · Score: 1

      http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/globalstats?platform=360

      I know its not since they 'started counting actions', but still its a pretty telling story.

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
    4. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 1

      No it isn't, because BC2 doesn't have the draw on the consoles that it does on the PC. Activision's the bad guy to PC gamers, and they look at DICE games fondly. Neither of those things work in the game's favor on the consoles, and I'd be very surprised to see if the hours played on the consoles is comparable.

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    5. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, if you'd actually clicked the link that the gp provided you might have seen that both the XBOX and the PS3 crowds have more than 90 million hours played, while the PC gamers sit at 55 million hours.

    6. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Seumas · · Score: 0

      Can someone explain how the input device is relevant, here?

      This objective only counted support actions. There is no input-advantage in pressing one button that throws out a health/ammo pack versus pressing one key that throws out a health/ammo pack.

      I'd suggest that one major difference is probably the match-making. I play a lot of BF:BC on console, because I have a giant 8' bean bag to relax on, a 65" TV to play on, and an audio system worth more than my Mustang. I'm willing to give up my WASD+M much of the time, for these accommodations.

      However, the thing that sucks the most on the console is that it's hard to get a full 12v12 game. And when you do, it's hard for that lobby to last more than one game. Instead, it is most often 2v2 or 3v3 or (worse) 7v2 or something along those lines. There is no way to leave the game after a game is over. The ONLY way you can exit back to the main menu or quit the game entirely is by leaving IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROUND. So, what happens? You have 12v12 and all the people that wanted to quit playing two minutes ago between games (and then would have been replaced before the game started, by new players) quit as soon as the game starts. Then a couple more quit. Then people get frustrated that people have quit, and they quit, too. So you have to quit as well, then find another game and hope that it's going to be a full game. I'd say about two thirds to three quarters of matches suffer this problem.

      It's difficult to perform support actions when there's nobody to support.

      Also, I have to wonder if the team sizes are the same on the PC as the console? I couldn't find this with a brief search, but often the PC version of an FPS allows larger team sizes. Bad Company 2 is 12v12 on the console, but perhaps it's 16v16 or even 32v32 on the PC? (I know that Battlefield 2, itself, was something like 32v32 or even bigger about six years ago, on PC). If there are more players on teams, then there's the obvious answer, right there.

    7. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 1

      They also have far more than 69 million team actions. If you'd both clicked the link and used an ounce of thought, you'd realize that the numbers in the link are since the release of Bad Company 2, not (what I figure is being counted for the map unlock) only what's been done in the Vietnam expansion.

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    8. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 1

      Those stats aren't for the map unlock, as the team actions far exceed the 69 million required (and only recently achieved on the PC). We don't have hours played in Vietnam, but we do know the team actions. Applying the same ratio would be inaccurate because the title likely has more staying power on the PC than on the consoles (where CoD likely has more loyalty).

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    9. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a giant 8' bean bag to relax on, a 65" TV to play on, and an audio system worth more than my Mustang.

      Man, do you sound like a douche bag or what?

      Maybe you should sell your horse and put the money toward a television that will accept the HDMI output from your computer's video card. Then, you can sit your fat ass down in your beanbag chair and play whatever you want, without getting all hung up on gaming consoles.

    10. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Mishotaki · · Score: 2

      So you're blaming the players for not staying in the games... The PC version does the same thing as the console, as soon as the objectives are completed, you get stuck with the scores where you can't quit, then the loading screen for the next map where you can't cancel or leave, you have to wait until you're completely loaded to leave the game...

      The big difference is that you can access your keys much more easily on the PC than on the console, that's the way it is... You can much more easily press "Q" while still moving and shooting on the PC to spot an enemy while pressing the "select" button on a controller is pretty much impossible to do while you're trying to do movement and aiming at the same time... that's the way the human hands works, you can't use a joystick effectively while pressing on a button right next to it with the same hand...

    11. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Ihmhi · · Score: 2

      giant 8' bean bag

      65" TV

      [expensive] audio system

      Mustang

      According to my handy dandy "Expensive Purchases to Compensate for Penis Size" chart, you're currently sitting at -4 inches.

    12. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      According to the BC2 stats, there are twice as many PS3 players than PC players, and twice as many Xbox players as PC players, for a grand total of four times as many console players.

      The population is much, much smaller for PC.

      Does that make things clearer for you?

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    13. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 1

      No, because the BC2 stats are listing all players that have played BC2, not just Vietnam. Is that clear for you?

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    14. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 1

      I'm actually really excited about hooking up my laptop to my home theater. Not too excited about using a wireless keyboard and mouse on a couch, but I'm willing to take a crack at it.

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    15. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      I'm looking at the website now, and it says 94 million hours played for Xbox, 90 million hours played for PS3, and 55 million hours played for PC.

      Unless I'm a hell of a lot worse at math than I think I am, that's not quite four times as many hours played on a console than hours played on a PC.

      It pretty much completely invalidates your whole argument, because the game is clearly more popular on consoles.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    16. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 1

      You don't even know what my argument is. Yes, more team actions happen on the PC per hour. All of them. But the speed of the map being unlocked has little to do with the overall stats page, because it includes the launch hype of BC2 on the consoles. I'd wager that Halo, CoD, Resistance, Killzone, etc have regained more of BC2/Vietnam's share on the consoles than other PC titles have on the PC.

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    17. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by geminidomino · · Score: 0

      Maybe you should sell your horse and put the money toward a television that will accept the HDMI output from your computer's video card.

      You just being glib, or are you actually not aware that a Mustang is a car?

    18. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by Smauler · · Score: 1

      I have a giant 8' bean bag to relax on, a 65" TV to play on, and an audio system worth more than my Mustang.

      You've got a $500 audio system? Personally, with that TV I'd have got something better.

    19. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      I suspect the PC gamers are more dedicated. They get fewer new games released to distract them and consoles generally sell many more copies than PCs.

      Best I could find out is that the console version of Bad company 2 (not the expansion btw) sold 4.70 million copies and the PC sold 310,000 copies.

      Even if you split the console number down the middle and compare PC, 360 and PS3, the PC gamer appears to be putting in more time.

    20. Re:It doesn't say that at all. by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      The PC game sold fewer copies (4.7 million for consoles and 310,000 for PC from what I could find) which means the PC gamer is putting in more time. That's no surprise, console get many more new games so they don't have time to obsess over the handful of titles they receive that aren't Sims expansion packs like PC gamers. ;-)

  4. Not least due to keyboard and mouse by metrix007 · · Score: 0

    It doesn't matter what people say trying to dress itup as some kind of preference BS...mouse and keyboard is vastly more accurate and intuitive. Yes, KB/M are available for consoles, but most people don't use them. This comes down to gamers using a more accurate input system, and pulling ahead of it because of that, nothing more/

    --
    If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
    1. Re:Not least due to keyboard and mouse by v1 · · Score: 0

      It doesn't matter what people say trying to dress itup as some kind of preference BS...mouse and keyboard is vastly more accurate and intuitive.

      While I may have to agree on the accuracy, analog controllers tend to beat keyboard/mouse in the speed department. Also, depending on the game of course, the options available for control can either be unbalanced, or just outright different.

      I got a PS3 USB controller for my computer, and tried using it for call of duty. It didn't work. There was no physical way to map the controller 1:1 to the computer because the computer lacked the analog inputs. So for example, a consoler could aim by nearly instantly zipping their thumb on the one stick to the x,y of the target. The computer required the user to move the mouse, or to hold down keys to move the aim. (at a fixed speed) The stick has the k/m beat in target acquisition speed.

      OTOH, once you have the crosshairs in the neighborhood, the accuracy of the mouse (trackball for me) takes over, and can make it much easier, faster, and more reliable to fine tune the aim down to the pixel for that across-the-map headshot. In that respect I think snipers would do better with k/m and melee better with a controller.

      Thinking back on things, if computers more commonly came with controllers or even a joystick, more computer ports of games would have support for analog inputs. I remember having a joystick on my apple ii so long ago, and that worked so much better than keyboard with most games.

      Some of it is the game mechanics itself being dictated by the controller in use. Back to COD, look at walking speed. The console player appears to be able to move at any speed in between 0 and fast, controlled by the amount you push on the stick. PC gamers don't have that luxury, they have several fixed speeds and no way to get in between them. I believe it's issues like that which are one of the main reasons we see so very few online games that allow pc and console to play together - they have different mechanics. Even if the console speed was stepped, the player can easily instantly switch between speeds, without needing to "ratchet up" or down with a double or triple tap of a key.

      There are quite a few more lesser differences that also come immediately to mind, but these are some of the bigger issues. There's just too much difference between the two to make any kind of a reasonable comparison.

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    2. Re:Not least due to keyboard and mouse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While I may have to agree on the accuracy, analog controllers tend to beat keyboard/mouse in the speed department.

      This is simply not true. A mouse can, and often is tuned to a higher sensitivity when 'tweak' style speed is necessary. Personally I set the sensitivity very high so that it takes about an eight of an inch to turn 90 degrees, no joke. If you can imagine the time it takes to move a mouse an eighth of and inch then you can begin to understand the advantage a mouse has over analog controllers. Accuracy at that speed takes some time to get used to master, but you'll just have to take my word for it that it can be done.

      What you are referring to with Call of Duty is called "terrible console port". Mouse movements should not be at a fixed speed.

      Also, there are very few, if any, tactical situations where you would need to move at less then maximum speed. Stealth situations (walking to reduce noise) are accounted for on the PC. In those situations where you would need to walk slower (positioning yourself to take out a turret in TF2 for instance) an be achieved by quickly tapping the controls. I will grant you that this isn't ideal, and maybe not quite a substitute for fine control, but this simply doesn't make up for the superior speed and accuracy of a k/m combination.

    3. Re:Not least due to keyboard and mouse by Seumas · · Score: 1

      WASD+M is a more accurate method of input, but Input method isn't relevant here, since we're talking about support actions that don't require any type of aiming or precision. Hit a button and you throw a health/ammo pack out.

    4. Re:Not least due to keyboard and mouse by l_bratch · · Score: 1

      The console player appears to be able to move at any speed in between 0 and fast, controlled by the amount you push on the stick. PC gamers don't have that luxury, they have several fixed speeds and no way to get in between them.

      What!? You can move a mouse as fast or as slowly as you like, you're only limited by your arm/wrist speed. You can move at any speed you like below your physical maximum speed, too. With a controller you can only choose between 0 and some maximum speed defined in the game settings, with a limited usable range angles between those points.

    5. Re:Not least due to keyboard and mouse by v1 · · Score: 1

      What!? You can move a mouse as fast or as slowly as you like, you're only limited by your arm/wrist speed.

      The faster you move a mouse, the less precise it becomes. Trackballs are also that way. I had to do quite a lot of searching to find a good trackball that had high tracking speed. Today's laser mice actually do pretty good but they cost a lot. You are still limited by physically having to swing around a mouse though. If you think about it you'll understand that there's a lot less inertia and travel distance in your right thumb moving a stick 3/4" than trying to whip a mouse halfway across your desk at anywhere near the same speed.

      Also something I forgot to mention.... mice and analog sticks (as typically implemented) are fundamentally different kinds of input devices. Mice specify movement. Sticks specify position. This causes two differences that FPS experience:

      1) lets say you are using the mouse to control your turn left / turn right. To stand in place and shoot at someone that's "circle straffing" you, you have to repeatedly pick up the mouse and move it back to the other side to resume spinning. With an analog stick set for movement, you just hold it a bit to the side to go in a smooth continuous uninterrupted spin. The same problem would occur if you were required to use the mouse to move forward. You'd constantly be picking up the mouse. In this application, sticks almost always have the advantage. Circle straffing some poor bastard with a mouse is almost unsporting. I remember doing that to the noobs trying to use a mouse as far back as marathon. "STOP DOING THAT DAMMIT!" hehe... good times.

      2) to target someone at a distance with ironsights, with a mouse you move it as fast as you accurately can to about the location, then you slow down your hand movement and fine tune it before firing. How close you can get to the target before dropping into "fine tune" mode is the determining factor of how fast you can get off the first shot, and makes an unexpected "surprise melee in your face" a serious problem. With an analog stick and experience with the stick, you can get close to exact almost instantaneously, but getting fine tune can be difficult to impossible due to the limitation of the resolution of the stick. You may have to settle for "close" simply because the stick can't target the exact pixel you'd like to hit. So you can get close much faster than the mouse, but can't be as accurate. And that is why sticks beat mice close up and mice beat sticks at range.

      time was back in the day when there were just basic controllers and joysticks, computers still tended to have the overall advantage because they had over 30 keys to bind to specific actions. Now with the average controller having 10 buttons on it in addition to dual analog sticks, that levels the playing field in that respect.

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    6. Re:Not least due to keyboard and mouse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The facts are that in this game, PC gamers have been more efficient in achieving a particular goal by a significant amount. Everything else is speculation (even if it's educated speculation).

      That being said, I like FPS on PC. I have tried on consoles and cannot do it - or at least its frustrating. The ability to put a cross hair on a target in under a second doesn't exist for me. So I only play FPSs on PC.

      So, I have a mouse for fast and accurate pointing. I also have multiple buttons on the mouse, including the ability to dynamically adjust the sensativity. In Bad Company that means I can turn the turret of a tank faster, toss a grenade, run, reload, change weapons, pull up a sniper scope etc. all without removing hand from mouse. In case you didn't notice, the number keypad on the average keyboard has 16 keys that can typically be assigned + a dozen more nearby. So with the other hand I can move in any direction, spot, enter vehicles, change stance etc. Top if off with teams speak and/or ventrillo.

      The only games I can't play on the PC are those that don't allow full mapping of the keyboard. I rather num-pad 8 mean forward than 'W'

      Simple games, like lego star wars, well that only requires movement in 4 directions, jump, strike, special. 7 buttons? Can't play it on PC because the keys aren't well mapped. That one my kid and I play on PS3.

      "up, up, left, right, up, jump" is not a strategy.

    7. Re:Not least due to keyboard and mouse by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      Today's laser mice actually do pretty good but they cost a lot.

      That comment would have made sense about 5 years ago.

      than trying to whip a mouse halfway across your desk

      Adjust your sensitivity. There's a reason mouse pads are so small, even those marketed for gaming.

      Circle straffing some poor bastard with a mouse is almost unsporting.

      C'mon, anyone using a mouse who can figure out how to get into the game can figure out how to evade someone circling around.

      I remember doing that to the noobs trying to use a mouse as far back as marathon.

      Give them a break, they only had one button.

      to target someone at a distance with ironsights, with a mouse you...
      With an analog stick and experience with the stick...

      What, only the guy with the stick gets experience? Why doesn't this apply?:

      With mouse and experience with the mouse, you can get close to exact almost instantaneously, then if you're still a few pixels off target you slow down your hand movement and fine tune it before firing.

      And that is why sticks beat mice close up and mice beat sticks at range.

      If you're close up then your target is many, many times larger than at range, and precision doesn't matter nearly as much. It's still down to only the speed you can move it at, and there's a reason why games let people adjust the mouse sensitivity so high. One small flick can move the cursor a long way.

      computers still tended to have the overall advantage because they had over 30 keys to bind to specific actions. Now with the average controller having 10 buttons on it in addition to dual analog sticks, that levels the playing field in that respect.

      Not when the standard keyboard has 101 or more keys, and you can get mice with buttons for each finger. There are several games that are too complex to move to a console, like X3.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  5. Numbers rather than skill - and that's good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This achievement has nothing to do with the superior skill afforded by mouse and keyboard versus gamepad. Rather, this achievement is due to the fact that Bad Company 2 on the PC platform has MORE PLAYERS ONLINE than on either console version. That's why this is big, and very welcome, news for PC gamers - at a time when some big publishers have whined about how the PC is no longer viable due to piracy and lower player numbers.

    1. Re:Numbers rather than skill - and that's good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's the daily peak player count on PS3/360?

    2. Re:Numbers rather than skill - and that's good by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      More people = more total player hours. PC players accomplished this with 55k player hours compared to the ~90 that each the consoles currently have.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  6. Obvious explanation by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 0

    PC gamers have completed the task, whereas gamers on both console platforms are only about halfway there.

    Consoles have to be tied to a television - there are lots of distractions in a shared family space. It's much easier to concentrate if you're all alone in your parent's basement.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Obvious explanation by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      It's much easier to concentrate if you're all alone in your parent's basement.

      I'm sure this will come as a crushing blow, but the majority of gamers today are in the 30-45yr old bracket, married, and have kids. You can do searches on your favorite search engine and read all about it.

      Maybe you should have said, "It's much easier to concentrate, if you're all alone, the kids aren't yelling and you're hiding from your wife, kids, and enjoying me time."

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
  7. hold on there by wizardforce · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not to defend the console gamers but:
    1) This is based on one game.
    2) This assumes that the ports were equivalent
    3) This was a count of collective actions of a community not averaged over the individual. The same tournament held between various PC OSes would have resulted in Microsoft crushing Linux's gamers simply because there are more of them on the PC platform.

    --
    Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
    1. Re:hold on there by bryonak · · Score: 5, Informative

      1) agree
      2) agree
      3) http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/globalstats [battlefiel...mpany2.com]
      Both consoles have over 90k combined playing hours each, while PC gamers only accumulated 55k so far and have been nearly doubly as "efficient" in total (regarding this challenge).
      Which of course makes one PC gamer 3-4 times "better" than a console gamer ;)
      So your Microsoft analogy doesn't fit the case at all

    2. Re:hold on there by mjwx · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I doubt you read the fine article.

      1) This is based on one game.

      OK, but it's a fairly popular game.

      2) This assumes that the ports were equivalent

      The players were required to perform certain "team actions" which are healing, resupplying, repairing, reviving, spotting and assisting. With the exception of assisting all of these actions are simple and require no aiming or other complex action to perform, put simply push button, receive medkit.

      3) This was a count of collective actions of a community not averaged over the individual. The same tournament held between various PC OSes would have resulted in Microsoft crushing Linux's gamers simply because there are more of them on the PC platform.

      Yes, but you're logic is flawed. I would bet there are slightly more players on Console then on PC as DLC tends to sell better on consoles. This has less to do with the number of gamers and more to do with the way gamers on the respective platforms work together. PC gamers tend to be less "STFU NOOB" and more working as a team. I've played BF BC2 for a while and I've yet to suggested to perform any sexual acts on my progenitors. I mean the other day this guy accidentally ran over me with a tank as I was getting out, he even apologised.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    3. Re:hold on there by Rifter13 · · Score: 1

      This is an old fight. One that has seen the console players trounced time and time again. Quake 3 anyone?

    4. Re:hold on there by gman003 · · Score: 4, Informative

      1) Correct - it is false to conclude from this alone that PC > consoles. However, it's definitely evidence in the favor. 2) They're pretty much identical, except for input device and, on the PC, more configurability on the graphics. 3) Data does not support this - there are more players on the XBox version or the PS3 version than on the PC. So, then, it's even more surprising that the PC showed more cooperation.

    5. Re:hold on there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That reminds me so much when Quake 3 was available on PC and Dreamcast.
      Dreamcast players would just complain that they always get crushed by PC players and then they got their own servers to play against other console players.

      It's really not a new debate.

    6. Re:hold on there by Seumas · · Score: 1

      If you really want to decide who is better skilled, you need to take a WASD+M and a console gamer who have neither ever used the other platform's controls and pit them against each other in a bunch of matches using the input method which is foreign to them.

      Sadly, I don't see any time soon that consoles will be getting WASD+M. They're too interested in giving everyone a "fair shake", so rather than giving them more options, they just tie everyone's hand behind their back so *everyone* is crippled. And instead of going the route of more precision, they're busy wasting their time with 3D, motion controls, and dancing "games".

    7. Re:hold on there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not exactly.
      This has happened before, a dreamcast game allowed cross platform competition, and PC gamers destroyed console gamers. Every time.

    8. Re:hold on there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One could also assume that PC Gamers spend more time in their basements :P

      Sorry. Had to be said.

    9. Re:hold on there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/globalstats [battlefiel...mpany2.com] [battlefiel...mpany2.com]
      Both consoles have over 90k combined playing hours each, while PC gamers only accumulated 55k so far and have been nearly doubly as "efficient" in total (regarding this challenge).
      Which of course makes one PC gamer 3-4 times "better" than a console gamer ;)

      Why does the [...] part keep adding onto the end? Ohh, because the only original part of you post came from "So your Microsoft analogy doesn't fit the case at all."

    10. Re:hold on there by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      Anybody who has played an FPS on a PC and an FPS on a console knows right away which one is easier.

      I frankly suck at both, and don't play either any more (used to play both but not a ton), but from my own experience I can tell you unequivocally that the keyboard/mouse combo is far, far more intuitive than two thumb sticks. If it's that apparent to someone who doesn't play much, the difference between two masters of their respective input methods is going to be even more drastic. You might be able to get really, really good with a controller, but you'll never be as good as you could have been with a keyboard and mouse.

      The Xbox 360 (and I'm sure the PS3 will too, but I've never done it) will allow you to plug in a keyboard and use it in the base console (very handy for entering text!), but you will never find a console game that allows you to control via keyboard and mouse.

      Know why? Anybody who used it would have an immediate unfair advantage over anybody using the controller, and that's just bad juju.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    11. Re:hold on there by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      Indeed.

      If controllers were actually better in any way PC gamers would be using them - they do exist for PC's you know. It's not like they are stuck with an inferior option.

      Given the fact that PC gamers regularly trounce console gamers when the two square off directly, and given the fact that it is console gamers that are restricted on their input methods, I'd be much more inclined to believe it is the console gamers who are stuck with an inferior input method.

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    12. Re:hold on there by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1

      They're pretty much identical, except for input device and, on the PC, more configurability on the graphics.

      Yeah, and an SNES is pretty much identical to an Xbox.

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    13. Re:hold on there by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Not sure I agree on this.. An average of pad players stats vs an average of kb/mouse players will tell you the same story. The individual mastery of each player doesn't matter so much.

    14. Re:hold on there by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      The console version of Battlefield bad company 2 sold roughly 15 times as many copies. I suspect the vietnam expansion sales differences will be roughly the same.

    15. Re:hold on there by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      1Yes, but you're logic is flawed. I would bet there are slightly more players on Console then on PC as DLC tends to sell better on consoles. This has less to do with the number of gamers and more to do with the way gamers on the respective platforms work together. PC gamers tend to be less "STFU NOOB" and more working as a team. I've played BF BC2 for a while and I've yet to suggested to perform any sexual acts on my progenitors. I mean the other day this guy accidentally ran over me with a tank as I was getting out, he even apologised.

      You're right. There probably will be more console gamers which means means they're putting in less time individually than PC gamers so they'll be less experienced at the game. They have more games to choose from and quite rightly won't take it as seriously.

      You still get the "STFU NOOB" and tea bagging on some servers but it's mainly big games like TF2 that will attract children. But it has gone away because the PC isn't a big gaming platform anymore. When Q1/2/3 and Unreal/UT were at their peak there were loads of douche bags, campers and retards calling each other faggot. Something awful's JeffK is a parody of the kind of losers you found on Quake / Unreal matches.

    16. Re:hold on there by Narishma · · Score: 1

      Why assume when you can just look at the stats and see the console players have nearly twice as many hours spent in the game as PC players?

      --
      Mada mada dane.
    17. Re:hold on there by Narishma · · Score: 1

      Not really. This is about team-play where your input method doesn't matter.

      --
      Mada mada dane.
  8. TFS Lies! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 0

    Console gamers are not our brethren. They are The Unclean Ones.

    1. Re:TFS Lies! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Consoles are the evolution of the arcade game...

      Arcades... You know... where you sent the kids to get rid of them for 2 hours.

    2. Re:TFS Lies! by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Consoles predate PC's in the home. In fact during the 70's and 80's consoles and the home computers had a lot more in common hardware-wise. Remember, the C64 was actually descended from the Commodore Max...a gaming console. The Commodore Amiga itself was originally conceived as a game console. Atari's 5200 console was based on their 400/800 home computer hardware. The Coleco ADAM was a Colecovision game console under the hood, and you could buy an expansion module to turn your Colecovision into an ADAM. Even the original Odyssey predates the Altair 8800

  9. Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on PCs by Peganthyrus · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Mostly this shows that the kind of people who like to play first-person shoot-em-ups prefer to play on a computer.

    I wonder how much the sales numbers reflect this? Or are the kind of people who like to play FPSs also the kind of people who don't bother to pay for games they get a lot of enjoyment out of?

    --
    egypt urnash minimal art.
  10. Color me not surprised... by BulletMagnet · · Score: 1, Insightful

    You need a decently powered PC to push DICE software, ergo your average PC gamer is probably NOT living in his Mom's basement and has a real job to afford nice toys such as said PC and is probably not the typical 14 year old idiot you hear screaming obsenities at you over $ConsolePlatformOfYourChoice....

    So 14 year old ADD kid or older person with disposable income - who do you think would get done first?

    1. Re:Color me not surprised... by Seumas · · Score: 1

      The fourteen year old.

      Seriously, your reaction time and eyesight start to go downhill drastically once you hit 25 and in the "professional gaming" circuit, they supposedly consider you over the hill if you're old enough to drink. As an older person with disposable income, I can't even hope to compete against some teenager. Hell, you hear these little fuckers carrying on entire conversations over an open mic (fucking most irritating thing, ever) while stomping your ass in an FPS. I have to do one or the other - playing or conversing.

    2. Re:Color me not surprised... by skyride · · Score: 1

      in the "professional gaming" circuit, they supposedly consider you over the hill if you're old enough to drink.

      Rubbish. The vast majority of "professional gamers" (i.e. CS 1.6, CSS, Starcraft 1 & 2, etc) are in the 20-25 age range.

    3. Re:Color me not surprised... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you'd be surprised how much living in your mom's basement can save in the monthly costs even when having a real job ;)
      the actual downside ofcourse being the 'living in your mom's basement'

    4. Re:Color me not surprised... by fahlesr1 · · Score: 1

      What do you mean by decently powered PC? I'm running a machine that still uses DDR1 memory and I can run BF:BC2 on medium settings no problem!

  11. What I'd like to know by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    Is more details behind it. There are two major thing I see that could be influencing this that I'd find interesting:

    1) Number of copies sold. If there are more players, well then there's gonna be more points earned. This would be interesting particularly what with a number of publishers hating on the PC and claiming nobody buys games, they all pirate, etc, etc. If that is not the case (pirated copies are probably not happening here, since the servers are all controlled by trusted hosts and they check) it would be good to know. Perhaps for some games PC sales exceed any single console platform, or perhaps all the platforms. I suspect that may happen and EA (who publishes Battlefield) may know it as they've had a big PC gaming push as of late.

    2) Number of online players. Even if copies sold are equal, the people who play online may not be. I wonder if there is a difference between players online and offline. Bad Company 2 DOES have a single player game, it sucks, but it has one. Perhaps consoles are still far more single player platforms. Doesn't mean people don't use them to play online, but perhaps PC gamers are far more in to online gaming whereas more console gamers are content to just play single player.

    Knowing those would be very interesting, and also you could then control for them to get a better idea of another factor: Team play. Do PC gamers tend to team play more? Perhaps the people who tend to wards that platform are also more interested in cooperation than console gamers.

    Either way, interesting given a number of the recent "OMG PC gaming is fucked!" stories that have been published. It would appear that for some games at least, people still want to play.

    1. Re:What I'd like to know by Peeteriz · · Score: 1

      They were counting the hours spent, each of the consoles had almost twice as many hours logged as PC. So the console gamers are progressing twice slower despite putting in almost twice as much time - so maybe they don't care about this goal and are ignoring it en masse, or something like that.

  12. Misleading summary title by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I read the summary title and thought - for once - some insane game company had enabled PCs to play in the same games with consoles. But no... PC gamers just performed more "team actions" in their own isolated world than console gamers did in theirs.

    The game could be more popular on PC than consoles, or perhaps just more "serious" (and maybe older) players on PCs. Hell, maybe the PC version just got cracked and it didn't involve many players at all. Who knows. Slightly interesting, with so little data, only slightly.

    1. Re:Misleading summary title by TheSpoom · · Score: 1

      Can someone shed some light on why it is that the same game on different consoles don't interoperate for multiplayer? I suspect it's a requirement of the respective console companies' network policies, but I don't know for sure.

      --
      It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
      - E. Debs
    2. Re:Misleading summary title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can someone shed some light on why it is that the same game on different consoles don't interoperate for multiplayer? I suspect it's a requirement of the respective console companies' network policies, but I don't know for sure.

      because some platforms are superior to others in different areas

      No need to have anybody discover that their favorite gaming platform sux at some game

    3. Re:Misleading summary title by imunfair · · Score: 1

      Shadowrun tried that and the PC gamers destroyed the console players even though the console players had auto-aim. I doubt anyone is crazy enough to try that again in a FPS

    4. Re:Misleading summary title by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Could be, or more likely it comes in terms of the difficulty of insuring that bugs on one system don't lead to problems playing with each other. Bugs can be a serious problem which lead to people having an unfair advantage. Plus, there's a tendency to tweak the ports to play well on a given system. Trying to test cross platform ends up being tough at times.

    5. Re:Misleading summary title by Endophage · · Score: 1

      I believe it was Sony that tried pitching PC gamers against consoles (although I could be wrong... it could have been MS). The result was that the power of a keyboard and mouse over a console controller sent the console gamers home with their tails between their legs. In short, PCs pwned consoles!

    6. Re:Misleading summary title by Seumas · · Score: 1

      As someone mentioned, Shadowrun attempted this awhile back and it was a miserable failure. There is another developer (I can't recall who) that talks about having researched this possibility, too. In the end, they decided it was probably never *EVER* going to happen, because no matter how much skill you have, a console control simply is not built for the speed and precision that WASD+M is capable of. WASD+M players completely wipe the floor with the console players. There's a reason why most console games have some degree of "auto-aim". For example, it's on in Black Ops. Just aim down your sides as you point your gun at a window and if an enemy walks by that window, your gun will automatically start to move along with them - because of auto-aim.

      The obvious solution would seem to be to have WASD+M for consoles, too. Then you can use whatever platform you want, wherever you want, with whatever input device you want. I don't see them ever doing that, however, because then you have a divide between the console players with WASD+M and those without. They'd rather hobble everyone than allow people a choice. And, to a degree, I guess I can understand it. Part of the reason I've been doing more and more gaming on the console over the years is that as I get older, hunching over a desk with my face plastered against a giant LCD in an office chair (basically, the same environment I spend all day doing actual WORK in) becomes less appealing. I probably wouldn't want to hunch over a coffee table with a mouse and keyboard in front of a giant television, either. So, I have to pick what I want and what I'm willing to give up (which depends on mood, type of game, etc).

      You'd think some genius could have figured it out, by now. Instead, they're all busy with 3D (even on the PC) and controller-free motion detection and fucking dancing games. I don't see things changing in the next ten years.

    7. Re:Misleading summary title by khchung · · Score: 1

      Console's network policy is probably the main reason.

      However, as a PS3 player, I have no desire to play with PC players. Why? Cheaters and griefers.

      In an all PS3 multiplayer game, I can at least be reasonably sure no one is cheating with hacks/aimbots/etc. Although there are still network cheats possible (e.g. lag switches), those are few enough that in >400 hours of BF2 multiplayer, I haven't met anyone that I was sure he had cheated.

      What's more, the LACK of cross team chatting (text or voice), spared me from the rants of 13 yr old losers. There were still 2 or 3 losers who bothered to send PSN msg, during the game, to tell me I sucked/cheated/whatever. (Yeah, they wasted the time DURING A GAME to send flaming msg to opposing players, no wonder their team lost!) Those losers were easily blocked in PSN, after the game was over.

      Even within squad voice chat can be easily blocked, so I easily block those whose only use for voice chat is to swear, or those who played some rock music in background (really, you block out the environmental audio cues* and you wonder why you lost?!).

      * - really, hearing the environment IN STEREO is important, that's how I hear the footsteps of enemy behind the wall (plant C4 and blow it, kill him through the wall), or hear someone turning around the corner, or hear the gunshots of hiding snipers, hear a tank is coming and where it is, etc. It helps A LOT.

      --
      Oliver.
    8. Re:Misleading summary title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft won't allow it; Xbox Live is a closed platform. Developers that buy into Games For Windows Live can enable online play (Windows-to-Xbox, no PS3s can be involved), but it costs them, and very few so far have bothered. You also need to keep the console and PC versions exactly in lock-step, which isn't easy (Sony and Microsoft have their own QA departments that can hold up patches for weeks at a time; patches, past a certain number of freebies, also cost money on both platforms, IIRC, so companies try to limit the number they put out, whereas they can pump them out as fast as they want on the PC). And you've got the enormous difference in input methods; the mouse is naturally more accurate. The games that have done console-to-pc multiplayer usually have options to lock servers down to controllers only. And the PC is full of cheats and hacks in many games, something that's infeasible on the console in most cases.

    9. Re:Misleading summary title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've done it before, but console gamers complain about PC gamers having superior input devices (so wiping the floor with them in PvP)

      Some games still do it, but they give the console gamers aimbots so that they don't suck quite as bad.

    10. Re:Misleading summary title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe it was Sony that tried pitching PC gamers against consoles (although I could be wrong... it could have been MS). The result was that the power of a keyboard and mouse over a console controller sent the console gamers home with their tails between their legs. In short, PCs pwned consoles!

      No! Console players did not go home with their tails between their legs.

      Console players went home with their tails tucked up inside their bloody, ruined, reamed out assholes.

    11. Re:Misleading summary title by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      Because PC users would utterly trash console users. It's not any kind of skill difference, either, because I know console players who are just as dedicated as PC players. The difference is the interface: the keyboard doesn't matter that much (some people do a lot with macros, but that's just gravy) but the mouse is so fast and inherently accurate that a console's thumbstick just doesn't stand a chance. You're using wide, smooth, fast arm motions compared to short, jerky digit motions. The difference is obvious just from the bio-mechanics involved.

      Case in point: BBF2: Vietnam - console gamers have put in four times as many hours as PC gamers, yet the PC gamers have unlocked the secret map while console gamers are only half way through.

      Without a huge advantage for one side that just doesn't happen.

      I'm frankly terrible at both PC and console FPS games, but I know for a fact just with my own experience playing on consoles that I could rip through most of the console players I came up against if I had a keyboard and mouse (I usually got my ass kicked).

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    12. Re:Misleading summary title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can someone shed some light on why it is that the same game on different consoles don't interoperate for multiplayer?

      I believe it was Sony that tried pitching PC gamers against consoles

      Hate to have to be the one to tell you this, but a PC is not a video game console.

    13. Re:Misleading summary title by dragonhunter21 · · Score: 1

      Shadowrun.

      --
      Sent from my CR-48
    14. Re:Misleading summary title by ikkonoishi · · Score: 1

      The netcode for the different platforms may differ slightly. Its more of a logistical hassle then it is worth.

    15. Re:Misleading summary title by jack2000 · · Score: 1

      Stereo headphones 3d spatial virtualisation is even greater. It helps a lot in stuff like Quake, Cs, Tf2.
      Some games support it without fancy hardware, some don't but you can still use it with the proper drivers.
      Hell even WoW has it if you fiddle with the audio settings.

    16. Re:Misleading summary title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's hilarious. I've seen maybe five cheaters in person over my entire PC gaming career, and never met anybody as bad as the console kids I hear so much about. But I have no doubt that if PC gamers and console gamers were able to play together on an even field, your fears would, for yourself, be confirmed. Because the PC players would trounce you so badly you'd be convinced they were cheating.

    17. Re:Misleading summary title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I read the summary title and thought - for once - some insane game company had enabled PCs to play in the same games with consoles.

      For once? I remember one time, I used to play Doom2 over kali on PPP dial-up to the U of MN, and I made some notable friends. Most notable were NoSkill, Chunkk, and Thresh. Thresh went on to become famous for being a talented Quake 3 player, eventually earning him a job playing Quake 3 professionally (and he won John Carmack's Ferrari?).

      Long story short, I'm 99.99% sure that Dreamcast Quake 3 had fully compatible netcode with PC Quake 3.

  13. So, what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And in other news, console gamers couldn't care less.
    Maybe it's about fun rather than competition. Go with the platform you like, whether it's "more accurate" or not.

    1. Re:So, what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      butthurt.

  14. No kidding..its the interface stupid.. by Rytr23 · · Score: 2

    Skill at gaming might actually be equal, but the interface is not. I believe someone from MS said at one time they had Xbox and PC FPS shooters(i forget the game) sharing servers and found that PC gamers always smoked the console gamers. KB/M > gamepad for FPS or RPG or RTS with hotkeys/macros/accuracy via mouse vs toggling a stick to move your reticle around and limited buttons. I thought this was common knowledge..

    --
    So many injustices..so little time..
    1. Re:No kidding..its the interface stupid.. by tepples · · Score: 1

      KB/M > gamepad for FPS or RPG or RTS

      But not for all genres. Could a co-op platformer similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii have been done on a PC? There's Trine, which is sort of like The Lost Vikings from what I've heard, but that's it.

    2. Re:No kidding..its the interface stupid.. by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 1

      I believe you 100%, but can you provide a link, so that I can twap other people around the head with it ??

      --
      This is the sig that says NI (again)
    3. Re:No kidding..its the interface stupid.. by futuresheep · · Score: 4, Informative

      I believe you 100%, but can you provide a link, so that I can twap other people around the head with it ??

      Here you go:

      http://kotaku.com/5593259/rumor-microsoft-killed-plans-for-pc-vs-xbox-360-online-play

    4. Re:No kidding..its the interface stupid.. by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 1

      Thank you :D

      --
      This is the sig that says NI (again)
    5. Re:No kidding..its the interface stupid.. by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

      Could a co-op platformer similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii have been done on a PC?

      Are you kidding? It's five or six buttons. WASD, two mouse buttons, and the mouse itself take care of all of it.

      A better example would have been Super Mario Galaxy, but even then WASD to replace the thumb stick, two mouse buttons to replace the triggers, and the mouse itself to aim the stars.

      Any time you can replace the thumbstick with a mouse the mouse will always win. It's even worse if you can replace the thumbstick with WASD. Three fingers to work four buttons vs one digit to work four directions - it should be clear which one is going to have quicker response times.

      The only games that might be easier to control on a console are those where for some reason you need fine control of both thumbsticks. The mouse can easily handle one of them, but the keyboard only does North NE East SE South SW West NW - if it's important to have SSE or WNW directions, it's very difficult to do that on a keyboard.

      I don't know of any games that require that kind of fine control over both joysticks (it would be hard as hell for console gamers anyway, it would simply be even harder for PC gamers).

      --
      Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
    6. Re:No kidding..its the interface stupid.. by iainl · · Score: 1

      I'm not about to bother reading Kotaku, but even the url shows it's a rumour rather than fact. If it's dead, it's probably because neither of the games that supported it sold more than about 5 copies.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  15. Full spectrum? In my PC? by tepples · · Score: 1

    the pc gamers play full spectrum of games with that keyboard and mouse

    Games made for PC don't necessarily cover the full spectrum of genres. (In before Zed Ecks jokes.) For example, what's the closest PC counterpart to Mario Party series, Super Smash Bros. series, 4-player Tetris Party, and Super Mario Galaxy series? Sure, MySims can replace Animal Crossing series; who can think of other titles to convert Wii fans to PC gaming?

    1. Re:Full spectrum? In my PC? by unity100 · · Score: 1

      all of the games you speak of, are available on pc directly or through emulators.

    2. Re:Full spectrum? In my PC? by Draek · · Score: 1

      Rayman Rabbids and the rest of the Rayman series cover, respectively, the Mario Party and Mario Galaxy niches. I've never played Tetris Party, but if it's a simple multiplayer version of Tetris there's hundreds of freeware titles doing it, even some Free Software ones. SSB however, I've never heard of such a thing, I'd be interested in it too, in case somebody is aware of one.

      --
      No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
  16. Re:So PC gamers are better... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    No, they just have the controllers more suited to first person shooter games.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  17. Tied to a television, which is a computer monitor by tepples · · Score: 1

    Consoles have to be tied to a television

    In the era of LCD HDTV, when gaming PCs have HDMI or DVI-D out and Best Buy's sales floor is littered with 720p and 1080p monitors that take composite, component, VGA, and HDMI in, what's the difference between a "television" and a "computer monitor" anymore?

    It's much easier to concentrate if you're all alone in your parent's basement.

    Consoles are easy to pick up and move down to the TV monitor in the basement, a lot easier than a typical minitower PC in my experience.

  18. Re:So PC gamers are better... by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 1

    Are racecar drivers better at going fast than kids on tricycles?

    --
    "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
  19. It is a superior control system by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not just easier to learn, but better. The reason is because a mouse can be both fast and precise. You can easily make quick movements, but can dial that back and be extremely precise too. This is the reason it works so well as an input device. You can get the cursor across the screen fast, but then easily zero in on a small button. Joysticks can't do that. They can be fast or precise, but not both at once. You either have to turn up the sensitivity/acceleration for fast moves, meaning precise aiming is very hard, or you have to turn it down to allow precision, but sacrifice quick movement.

    So for FPSes the mouse is by far a superior control system. That is part of the reason for next to no cross platform shooters. Xbox Live makes that possible, Windows and the 360 can play against each other, however in play testing the PC users just slaughter the console users. This is also why in the exceedingly rare cross platform play titles the console users have auto aim and the PC users do not.

    Not all games benefit from a mouse. I'd say platformers are easier with a controller, but FPSes do in a big way.

    1. Re:It is a superior control system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Keyboard and mouse may be more accurate, but better?

      Try playing on a console. It feels much more natural, and realistic (yes, that seems funny to say, but it's true).
      The rate of turning and aiming is closer to real world mechanics, and it helps with game immersion.

      You want fast twitch scoring? You want to watch a counter go up, and get a buzz from the numbers? Sure, play a PC.

      You want to feel like you're part of the action? Play a console game.

    2. Re:It is a superior control system by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      In any competitive game (such as, well, a multiplayer FPS), "better" means "more efficient".

    3. Re:It is a superior control system by Seumas · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Actions rewarded here in this story aren't about "precise aiming and control". It's about hitting a button or a key to throw out a healing pack, ammo pack, or blow torch to point at a tank (about a foot in front of you, so no aiming necessary). Kills and other actions that are non-support are not counted in this statistic, making the input method irrelevant.

      It seems obvious to me that there is less fragmentation on the PC right now, so everyone rushes to the new gaming experience that is finally available. On the consoles, people are spread across a number of pretty good recent games. For example, there seem to be an average of 1,000,000 playing the newest COD at any given moment on just the 360, alone.

      It may also simply be that Bad Company is bigger on the PC than consoles (I'm not sure if it is or not, though it seems odd if it is, since Bad Company is essentially the round-edged console version of a Battlefield game). If that's the case, then it's an even less meaningful statistic. It's like saying that PC gaming is the biggest thing going, merely because so many people play WoW.

      Don't get me wrong. I've been a PC gamer my entire life and I used to talk trash about consoles. I've just come to grips with the fact that we're charity cases, taking what developers pick and choose to actually give us and often as poor ports from games focused on console development and dropped on the PC as an afterthought. Telling myself that "PC gaming is bigger than ever!" isn't going to make it so.

      The one benefit I would say PC gaming still has is the community of gamers. I was getting really addicted to Black Ops on the console (I finally got over the "I need WASD+M" hurdle), but I recently woke up one morning and said "I'm done. Not playing another minute of that, ever.". People on PCs are assholes, but I've never experienced anything like Black Ops on the console. Not even Modern Warfare 2 on the console was this bad of an experience. In one evening's gaming session, I would say the average person must hear about 500 racial slurs, just as many homophobic slurs, and a couple hundred death threats. And that doesn't even count the constant five year olds squealing into their microphones, assholes playing their shitty fucking rap music or country music over the mics, randomly screaming into the mics just to disturb people, or carrying on phone conversations or in-person conversations while their fucking mics are hot.

      PC gaming seems to still have just enough of a hurdle to get into that it filters out a big chunk of these dipshits.

    4. Re:It is a superior control system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What sad and incorrect little excuses you have, console-boy.

    5. Re:It is a superior control system by morari · · Score: 1

      I remember always feeling sorry for the Dreamcast players on the mixed Quake III Arena servers. As great of a console as the Dreamcast was, no gamepad can keep up with a mouse and keyboard in that kind of environment.

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    6. Re:It is a superior control system by guruevi · · Score: 1

      Actually with analog controls you can be quite precise as well. The problem is that people that grew up on consoles (the 16 year olds these days) have gotten used to consoles dumbing down the controls to the point that many don't know they can be more precise. There's many times I play with my younger brother-in-law and beat him in FPS I haven't played before and when I look at his screen he doesn't even bother aiming before shooting. I have seen the same from a number of gamers even those that are ranked pretty high.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    7. Re:It is a superior control system by nedlohs · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Better obviously means more precise and accurate control.

      And I really can't see how moving a couple of joysticks and clicking buttons is more natural or realistic than a mouse and a keyboard. Neither of them are anything like ducking for cover in a jungle while trying to return fire with an M16.

    8. Re:It is a superior control system by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      Dreamcast had 1st party official KB and mouse and you could use it in Q3.

      --
      Good-bye
    9. Re:It is a superior control system by ToasterMonkey · · Score: 0

      Joysticks can't do that. They can be fast or precise, but not both at once. You either have to turn up the sensitivity/acceleration for fast moves, meaning precise aiming is very hard, or you have to turn it down to allow precision, but sacrifice quick movement.

      So for FPSes the mouse is by far a superior control system.

      IF and only IF one feels the need to make a virtual weapons as fast and accurate as the mouse, which is absolutely _ludicrous_, and gives an advantage to players with different types of mice (wired/wireless). The notion of a tethered mouse being "better" for a PC FPS is totally unnecessary horse shit. Don't get me wrong, a mouse's relative input does work very well in a FPS, but there are _plenty_ of situations in a FPS even where constant input is better, and whole genres where constant input works better overall like driving/flying sims. You acknowledge that much I know, but it still has to be said for others.

      I have an experiment. Tape a laser pointer to a toy rifle and a toy pistol. Acquire some targets at various ranges. Tie a five pound weight to the toy rifle and try again. Hell, try the laser pointer by itself. Is any of this easier than point & shoot on a mouse? This is why I roll my eyes at "mice are superior for FPS". They are when the virtual weapons involved are stupidly accurate, and players have big gliding balls for feet that can rapidly do 180's.

      THAT is not by any means "better" than what an FPS could be. Weapon accuracy should be dialed down a lot, and a little aim assist once in a while isn;t going to hurt anyone. I think we can all universally agree that melee attacks for example with any current input device are pretty horrendous without assistance.. one hit kill, short range aim assist, etc. BTW, yes, melee one-hit is assistance, it's not "real" when one stab always kills but a bullet to the chest is _always_ a flesh wound.

    10. Re:It is a superior control system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Keyboard and mouse may be more accurate, but better?

      Try playing on a console. It feels much more natural, and realistic (yes, that seems funny to say, but it's true).

      If I wanted realistic turning I'd wear some shoes and go outside. If I spend some time on the computer, chances are I've either just been outside or will be going later - I just want something different.

    11. Re:It is a superior control system by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      Try playing on a console. It feels much more natural, and realistic

      No, that is just because you are more familiar with consoles. I come from a PC background and find that the exact opposite is true. I find the controller to be an artificial barrier to immersion. If I want to look at something in real life I don't think of turning my head at a particular speed. I just whip it around and immediately lock on to what I want to see, just like using a mouse.

    12. Re:It is a superior control system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any keyboard/mouse FPS player can easily kill any gamepad FPS player. Sorry, but that's a fact.

    13. Re:It is a superior control system by morari · · Score: 1

      I don't remember it having a mouse. I did get a keyboard with Phantasy Star Online however. :)

      I don't think that the Dreamcast version of Unreal Tournament was cross compatible.

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    14. Re:It is a superior control system by CTU · · Score: 1

      Try playing on a console. It feels much more natural, and realistic

      No, that is just because you are more familiar with consoles. I come from a PC background and find that the exact opposite is true. I find the controller to be an artificial barrier to immersion. If I want to look at something in real life I don't think of turning my head at a particular speed. I just whip it around and immediately lock on to what I want to see, just like using a mouse.

      I had a console background, but I had no problem to using a computers keyboard/mouse to play games. Heck I'd go for the computer over a controller anytime now.

    15. Re:It is a superior control system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your masturbation pad is closer to real world mechanics than a mouse? Bullshit console-noob.

    16. Re:It is a superior control system by epyT-R · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually with analog controls you can be quite precise as well. The problem is that people that grew up on consoles (the 16 year olds these days) have gotten used to consoles dumbing down the controls to the point that many don't know they can be more precise. There's many times I play with my younger brother-in-law and beat him in FPS I haven't played before and when I look at his screen he doesn't even bother aiming before shooting. I have seen the same from a number of gamers even those that are ranked pretty high.

      This conflicts.. They dumb the controls down precisely because they know the analog stick is a poor substitute for a mouse. It's not just the controls either, but the whole gameplay mechanic: hitbox size, movement speeds, weapon damage etc.. There's a reason consoles had that 'kiddie' rep in the first place, it's just that the current crop of gamers never played any of the oldschool pc shooters, so they say that pc gamers are whiners who can't adapt. They can adapt just fine, it's that they don't want to use something that's inferior to what they've been playing on for the last 15 years.

    17. Re:It is a superior control system by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      I have an experiment. Tape a laser pointer to a toy rifle and a toy pistol. Acquire some targets at various ranges. Tie a five pound weight to the toy rifle and try again. Hell, try the laser pointer by itself. Is any of this easier than point & shoot on a mouse?

      No, actually it isn't. Different muscles have differing amounts of fine motor control in the brain.. Your wrist and fingers are MUCH more capable of fine movement than arms/shoulders. since the average motion is shorter with a mouse, reaction time is also a lot better.

      I roll my eyes at "mice are superior for FPS". They are when the virtual weapons involved are stupidly accurate, and players have big gliding balls for feet that can rapidly do 180's.

      in nearly ANY FPS gameplay config, a mouse will be easier to aim with than an analog stick or pad. Set up an fps with any amount of gimping you want, and assuming all else is equal, the mouse/kb players come out on top.

      THAT is not by any means "better" than what an FPS could be. Weapon accuracy should be dialed down a lot, and a little aim assist once in a while isn;t going to hurt anyone.

      Some of this is subjective, but many gamers can tell when they were hit by shoddy 'aim assist' and bitch vehemently about it...rightly so. It's just another example of using rand() as a crutch for 'realism' that gets around an inherently inferior input design.

    18. Re:It is a superior control system by hawk16zz · · Score: 1

      I own both the keyboard and mouse for my DC, only got it to play UT, I was never online with my DC though, and I always kicked my friends' asses when they came over.

      --
      Take me where I cannot stand...
    19. Re:It is a superior control system by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      I've grown up with both and can function fine with either a gamepad or mouse/keyboard.

      A lot of it has to do with what you're used to. Neither are completely intuitive. Place someone with zero experience of either in front of both and they'll fail with both.

      PC gamers would stomp all over console gamers in shooters but I think that's not strictly because their control are better. They get a much finer level of fine tuning and depending on the game can set up tons of commands because they have more keys. So it's the freedom within the operating system and game software on the PC that makes it better not the actual hardware.

      I think if you picked a game that limited both to a set of equal options and speed then the results would be more fair.

    20. Re:It is a superior control system by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      You could but most would not. They were happier with what they knew and to be honest that's good but they never had a chance.

      It's not even about the controls but the fact Quake 3 would be tuned loads more on the PC than the Dreamcast. Just about anyone who took Q3 somewhat seriously has edited their config file to some extent. Dreamcast users don't get that benefit.

    21. Re:It is a superior control system by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 0

      They can adapt just fine, it's that they don't want to use something that's inferior to what they've been playing on for the last 15 years.

      That is the dumbest thing I've heard.

      The mouse and keyboard are not superior in all circumstances. In fact outside of FPS and RTS games it's starts losing its edge really quickly.

      In fact I'd argue the hardware is no better. It's the fact the software in the OS and game generally allow a much finer level of configuration and yes console games do generally try to make their games more fair where as PC games don't. That may make you feel handicapped but to the guy the doesn't want to spend his weekend learning how to create binds and write the ultimate Quake config he feels handicapped.

      Console were only considered kiddie because of the cost. Someone who had to lay down months of savings compared to a guy laying down $200 has to justify it some how.

      PCs and consoles play the same sort of games except consoles were easily 100 times superior on platformers and fighters. PCs were better for FPS and RTS games. Everything else was pretty much a tie.

    22. Re:It is a superior control system by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Funny, in console games (and PC console ports that use the Xbox 360 controller, like Tron Evolution, Mirror's Edge, Just Cause 2) I usually crank the look sensitivity WAY up so it doesn't feel like my player's been hit with a tranquilizer dart.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    23. Re:It is a superior control system by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Another note: I find Mirror's Edge easier to play with a mouse and keyboard. I've been trying to make it through without using any guns (currently stuck at the fight in the server room) and I absolutely couldn't get through first part of the PK warehouse (after the elevator you're on falls) unless I switched to the keyboard and mouse. The gamepad just wasn't quick or accurate enough.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    24. Re:It is a superior control system by iainl · · Score: 1

      Better means 'more fun', or at least 'more interesting'. As long as a console game is designed with the console controller in mind, and a PC game designed with its controls in mind, either is fine.

      Your argument is fundamentally that mouse aiming is easier than joypad aiming (which is, obviously, the case). But by that logic, playing with an aimbot is better, because they'll give even easier aiming, and driving sims should never be played with manual gears unless the auto box is deliberately balanced against.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    25. Re:It is a superior control system by Moddington · · Score: 1

      So... you're saying that having lots of keys to press by having a keyboard is not a hardware advantage... but an OS one?

    26. Re:It is a superior control system by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      Not all games allow you to use as many keys as you want. Where as Quake for example will allow you to use more keys by modifying your config file compared to just setting up your controls via the in-game interface.

      So yes the keys are hardware but A) you only have so many keys because the system's software (OS) primary focus isn't gaming and B) because the software developer allowed it in their game.

      A game like Street fighter will have more like-for-like configurations and a keyboard / mouse combo would be absolutely awful for Street Fighter compared to a console and a gamepad. That might be different if Capcom allowed addition config modifications on the PC version.

    27. Re:It is a superior control system by innerweb · · Score: 1

      So, if I perceive this correctly, consoles are normally purchased as cheap *throw-away* units, by parents for their kids so that the parents do not have to deal with them, or by people who do not have the income to go the PC game route...

      What this leaves you with is an online society consisting mostly of un-parented children, ill-mannered dropouts, angry youths and socially challenged individuals. I can not prove it, but from my experiences, that sounds about right.

      --
      Freud might say that Intelligent Design is religion's ID.
    28. Re:It is a superior control system by seebs · · Score: 1

      Actually, uhm. No. I tried many times to get into shooters on consoles. I consistently found it stressful and unfun, because it didn't map well. Mouse+keyboard, I'm fine with.

      If you're used to console shooters, they'll feel natural to you, but that doesn't mean that they're objectively "more natural".

      Me? I got a Wii and suddenly loved console shooters, because I had a pointing device that was actually good at pointing.

      --
      My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
    29. Re:It is a superior control system by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

      ps3/xbox360 support usb keyboard/mice

      theres no excuse for those editions to not support them.

      --
      Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  20. Re:Tied to a television, which is a computer monit by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 1

    The difference is DPI. TVs are massive because they're meant to be viewed from a distance by several people at once, while monitors tend to much smaller, and more suitable for reading text at non-eye-straining distances.

    --
    "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
  21. Re:Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on by Gulthek · · Score: 2

    The sales numbers don't reflect it at all, because that simply isn't the case. See Halo series sales.

    But really we're all one big happy gaming geeky segment of the population.

  22. "Games made for PC" by tepples · · Score: 1

    Games made for PC don't necessarily cover the full spectrum of genres.

    or through emulators.

    Games that require emulators aren't "games made for PC", unless perhaps you count Flash, Java, .NET, and DOSBox as emulated environments. Besides, with Retrode sold out, how is one supposed to dump his own game cartridges to ROM files for use on a PC?

    1. Re:"Games made for PC" by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      Besides, with Retrode sold out, how is one supposed to dump his own game cartridges to ROM files for use on a PC?

      Make the dumper yourself? all it takes is a microcontroller some other minor parts like resistors etc (I have a sizable snes collection, and made one moreso for the programming eeprom side of things than dumping so I could write software for my snes).

    2. Re:"Games made for PC" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Games that require emulators aren't "games made for PC", unless perhaps you count Flash, Java, .NET, and DOSBox as emulated environments.

      A good emulator means that what are not "games made for PC" can still effectively be "games made for PC". That kind of versatility is one of the advantages of a PC. While it can be done, running an emulator on a console is generally a pain in the ass.

      Besides, with Retrode sold out, how is one supposed to dump his own game cartridges to ROM files for use on a PC?

      There could probably be a market in providing such a service. I hope this industry doesn't repeat the previous RIAA/MPAA mistake of stubbornly refusing to make a profit by providing a legal way to do something that the determined are going to do anyway. If they repeat that mistake, then the only people who will have easy access to the ROMs will be those who download them illegally.

  23. Uhh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also the massive steam sales over the last few days so the huge influx of players has probably helped. Core game for $6.80 + Expansion for $15 compared to $15 expansion for console + still $20-30 used core game.

  24. Rather extreme title... by supersloshy · · Score: 0

    So... PC gamers with better input devices for the style of game (FPS) beat console gamers at one specific task in one specific game, and it qualifies as "PC Gamers Crush Console Brethren"? Seriously? This is news to some people, sure, like those who had the experiment in the first place, but this isn't even close to /.-worthiness.

    --
    "Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded." -Archbishop Fulton Sheen
    1. Re:Rather extreme title... by black3d · · Score: 1

      Sounds like the whimpering bleatings of a CRUSHED CONSOLE PLAYER!

      But yeah, it's not much of a representation of, well - anything, besides one task in one specific game - as you say. It's probably just that a big deal was made about the competition (it being massively cross-platform and all) and PC gamers coming out ahead so very quickly. It's only a single button press for console gamers to drop a medkit as well! But it's cringe-worthy in the "news" despartment. :) If anything, it's just a nice reminder that PC gaming is still going strong and the community still cares. It's easy to miss that sometimes with all the fuss publishers make about consoles.

      --
      "The true measure of a person is how they act when they know they won't get caught." - DSRilk
    2. Re:Rather extreme title... by supersloshy · · Score: 1

      Sounds like the whimpering bleatings of a CRUSHED CONSOLE PLAYER!

      I play on both, you insensitive clod :P.

      --
      "Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded." -Archbishop Fulton Sheen
  25. Re:PC gamers in a rush to play another shit map by DragonTHC · · Score: 1

    RIGHT? Having visions of Stalingrad and the propaganda officer shouting pep talks to the cannon fodder.

    --
    They're using their grammar skills there.
  26. Re:Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on by hedwards · · Score: 3, Insightful

    More likely what it means is that console players don't know how to play real FPS games. The controllers just don't support any game made from Quake or so on. I remember prior to Quake pretty much everybody played with keyboard only, then quake came out and people started to use keyboard and mouse other wise they were going to get crushed by the competition.

    Comparatively speaking the controllers that these games are designed for on consoles fit midway between keyboard and keyboard/mouse combo. They require special tweaks and assistance to work which aren't necessary on PC.

    Doesn't mean that console FPS can't or aren't fun, but it does mean that they're the equivalent of arcade race games to the PC's race simulators.

  27. Enough with the fanboyism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Objectively, a mouse is always going to be superior for aiming than a traditional console controller. It's a pointing device - a thumbstick is not. Thumbsticks are direction-strength based - good for defining velocities; things like character movement/driving etc (much better than a PC keyboard). For FPS games, accurate aiming makes more of a difference than accurate character movement. It really is as simple as that.

  28. Holy cow Batman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People still buy PC games? I for one learned my lesson when I caught some publishers installing secret drivers on my system years ago. Now anything I buy is from the used market at rock-bottom prices. This way, even if a new game that comes out contains malware, I won't be funding them.

    Also, if I pay $50 for a game, the developer better stick around and patch it for at least a year or I will never buy from them again. Case in point: games from 2004 that don't behave properly on multi-core systems.

    1. Re:Holy cow Batman! by Cederic · · Score: 1

      10m people pay £8/month to play WoW alone. Many games are still released on PC only, and outsell games released on multiple platforms.

      Yes some publishers are absolute twats. At least MS and Sony don't control the entire device..

  29. Re:Who rules America? by Dr+Herbert+West · · Score: 2

    Can we have this guy and the nitwit who posts excerpts from "Turner Diaries" go fight it out on some deserted island somewhere?

    Somewhere without internet, of course.

  30. I has... by Endophage · · Score: 1

    Uber Micro!

  31. Re:So PC gamers are better... by dakameleon · · Score: 1

    No, not if you include all the externalities. If you're measuring a race car against a trike going from a standing start on the line, then yes, the racecar wins. If you measure it from "wake up in the morning", the trike gets going a whole lot quicker, for a whole lot cheaper.

    (note: please don't take this too seriously. it's just a thought exercise.)

    --
    Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
  32. Re:Tied to a television, which is a computer monit by tepples · · Score: 1

    TVs are massive because they're meant to be viewed from a distance by several people at once, while monitors tend to much smaller

    So "monitors" are better for single-player and "TVs" are better for multiplayer. Now all we have to do is figure out how to convince the less geeky crowd to connect "TVs" to PCs for use with Hulu and PC games. In fact, the networks appear to be making it easier by blocking Google TV.

    and more suitable for reading text at non-eye-straining distances.

    I figured out the formula for how to set a usable DPI for surfing the web from your couch, given the TV size, resolution, and seating distance.

  33. Can a developer make it worth bothering? by tepples · · Score: 1

    It's the same reason we don't get split-screen games on PC's. They can do it - but the developers just assume it won't get used, so don't bother implementing it.

    If a developer were to make a PC game supporting shared-screen play with multiple gamepads (or one keyboard and one or more gamepads), and then promote this game on home theater PC enthusiast sites, would it be worth it? Hairyfeet seems to think so.

  34. The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Whenever this tired argument breaks out I never hear mention of the REAL reasons why PC FPS gamers are better then consolers.

    Yes, it is true that the k/m combination is much better then an analog controller for FPS games, but this has wider implications then just simple accuracy and speed. The fact is the tactics used by PC gamers are more sophisticated because of the better controls. PC gamers an defend themselves from flank attacks much better because of the ability to turn quickly. If you cannot turn 90/180 degrees in a tenth of a second or faster with a mouse then you need to set your sensitivity higher and practice some more. A consoler has far fewer options when defending from such attacks. How long does it take for a consoler to turn around when being shot in the back? Since such limitations exist, the defensive skills to utilize turn speed are never developed in consolers.

    A large part of a master FPSer is superior situational awareness. Knowing where the enemy is at all times involves the ability to make quick visual checks at all times. You virtual 'eyes' should be darting around looking and checking every corner of your field of view AT ALL TIMES. This is what separates the proficient gamers from those with real talent. It is harder to get the element of surprise on a person who has the ability to see in all directions and uses it. This is achieved through the use of high mouse sensitivity. The distance a mouse should travel to turn 90 degrees should be much less then an inch. You should shoot for an eighth of an inch of physical space traveled to turn 90 degrees. If you can maintain accuracy at this speed, and I assure you this is very possible with practice, then your turning movements should be very near instant.

    The contribution of situational awareness to the skill-set of a gamer cannot be understated. The poor response of analog controllers ensures that console gamers will never develop proper situational awareness skills.

    The PC gamer has a much larger set of tools, so to speak, and so he or she learns to use these tools and becomes efficient with them. Console gamers don't have effective tools and so learn inferior tactics and are unable to capitalize on the awareness afforded by a better input device.

    1. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whenever this tired argument breaks out I never hear mention of the REAL reasons why PC FPS gamers are better then consolers.

      You've provided a great example of why: PC gamers are complete freaks, who treat playing a GAME like it's some kind of job.

    2. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by GF678 · · Score: 1

      Even though I'm a PC gamer I have to agree. I've played FPSes for probably about 15 years too, but I can't be arsed getting so damn obsessive over it. It's too much energy expended in something trivial.

    3. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whenever this tired argument breaks out I never hear mention of the REAL reasons why PC FPS gamers are better then consolers.

      You've provided a great example of why: PC gamers are complete freaks, who treat playing a GAME like it's some kind of job.

      Yes, because every single PC gamer thinks exactly the same thanks to the subliminal messages Microsoft put on DirectX since version 7. Besides, he doesn't sound like a freak - if he has been playing for 15 years he fucking better know a trick or two.

      I hate people like you who have this "us VS them" mentality in everything. Don't like consoles/PCs? Then play on the other fucking platform, and let those who prefer the other platform play on theirs. Live and let live.

    4. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by IICV · · Score: 1

      I don't understand how people can manage to play first person shooters on consoles. Whenever I try it's like taking a brisk jog through molasses.

      It's almost like the FPS devs decided that grace and speed are something to be shunned, and instead all a player really needs to do is move forward in a straight line.

    5. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude you don't know a thing about fps. Its all about the directional sound *not sight* in order to survive. You need to know who is attacking your team mates with what weapons around which corner while still picking out the pecking noise of a sniper shooting a rock near you. All sound. Seriously man you sound like you haven't played a game since back in the day when you had to manually program a mouse and thought it was 1337 you were the only one without a joystick. Here is a quote from you "A large part of a master FPSer is superior situational awareness" yes from hearing! I mean you don't have eyes in your butt do you? Your not upgraded/cheating to see through walls right? And as for flanks everyone on pc just macros that you can't ever go for back because they'll press the shoot out their ass button and instant head shot you.

      In short go sell your mice elsewhere my dedicated sound card and high quality headset will beat you any day and I'll sound sexier on voice chat too :P

    6. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should shoot for an eighth of an inch of physical space traveled to turn 90 degrees

      Bullshit. Counter-Strike players regularly use around 12 inches for 360 degrees. Quakers use faster sensitivities, but still not THAT fast.

    7. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Aceticon · · Score: 1

      It probably also helps that the community of FPS online gamers in the PC is made up of older players than on the consoles.

      When the speed of your reflexes cannot keep up with that of a teenager (i.e. all other conditions being equal, if you spot each other at the same time, the teenager shoots first) you have to relly on cunning (i.e. tactical and even strategical awareness) to come out on top of the boards and to help your team win.

      In games like the BF series (which I used to play a lot) that also means knowing the right tools and the right counters to use at the right time (in BF this includes vehicles) and to play with your team (lone wolves have limited success).

      It's thus not surprising to see that on a contest of who does more cooperative actions (team boosting actions like healing others or repairing their vehicles) PC gamers came out on top by a long-shot (it's a team-optimal option if some players take support roles like Medic and Engineer to help the team win).

    8. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by AntiDragon · · Score: 1

      Yes, but like many others here this misses the point of this particular "experiment" - this wasn't about which group of players had better twitch skills (where the keyboard/mouse combo does have an advantage) but simply about which platform had more team oriented players.

      The reward was for performing team actions. Like stand next to comrade, press one key or controller button to give them a medkit. There were nearly twice as many console players as PC players yet the PC players raked in the achievements so much faster.

      The implication has nothing to do with the FPS twitch skills of console gamers vs PC users but all to do with the difference in attitudes.

      My initial thoughts would be that a PC user is more likely to be older, possibly with a job that involves responsibility or teamwork since a gaming PC is usually a bigger investment than a console. This translates into players who are more used to working together to achieve long-term aims vs. the instant gratification approach of potentially more selfish console players. As ever, this is a gross generalisation of course.

      --
      "...So I hung back and lurked. For 18 months. Can't beat a good old-fashioned lurking."
    9. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This friend of mine introduced his girlfriend to FPS games on PC not so long ago. In around a month time she went from bumping into walls and falling off from unlikely edges to doing everything mentioned above. That is almost omniscient awareness and accuracy that can can rival an aimbot. (bitches be crazy). When she was given console FPS to try out she was like "what is this shit" and walked away within 5 minutes. My personal experience at playing FPS using console controller (and I tried for more than 5 minutes) made me feel as if I was part of special olympics. I think of it as a field full of what relatively to PC feels like partially deaf, retarded and blind soldiers with severe neurological disorder (except snipers). Simon says go mouse.

    10. Re:The real truth from a FPS gamer of 15 years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A large part of a master FPSer is superior situational awareness. Knowing where the enemy is at all times involves the ability to make quick visual checks at all times.

      Playing with headphones also greatly contributes to situational awareness.

  35. Consoles are for kids, real gamers use PCs! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are no consoles at Quakecon.

    Besides, to own a console is to be owned.

    Corporations are evil. Avoid them at all cost.

  36. This flow-chart should help explain by Stenchwarrior · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've used this before and I'm sure most of /. has seen this, but I believe it fits the conversation at hand.

    --
    Loading...
  37. 12 year olds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This probably has a lot to do with the fact that console gamers are little teenagers. They like to shout stupid things over and over (and over) again while us1n6 l0t5 of numbers and punctua!on in their 1337 names about being teh sn1p3rzzz and have very little desire to actually do ANYTHING team based beyond using their teammates as a distraction so they can employ their 1337 sn1p3rrr thug k11l4h skillz.
    God it's annoying.

  38. It's type of players by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    **This is all my experience, not fact**

    Having been both a console gamer and a PC gamer, IMHO this just reflects the type of gamers. Consoles have a naturally lower price point and therefore a lower barrier of entry. More parents are likely to buy their kids consoles than PCs that are capable of playing an FPS at a decent frame rate. It's been my experience that aside from clans, younger gamers tend to be more focused on their performance than the good of the team. On the other hand, PC gamers are likely to be a little bit older and tend to have a different style of play. Sure there are PC gamers who focus more on their own stats than those of their teams, but in my experience, most tend to be team players. Since the goals that need to be reached in order to be unlocked are related to the team experience, I think it's natural that the PC gamers reached the achievement first.

    1. Re:It's type of players by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      I play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Unreal Tournament 3, Team Fortress 2 and various other games on my netbook (Acer Aspire One). I'd play call of duty black ops on it if I actually owned the game, but as you can tell, it's playing current FPS games just fine, which is why I am rather sceptical of your claims.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  39. Re:So PC gamers are better... by interkin3tic · · Score: 2, Informative

    No they don't. Mouse and keyboard are better for aiming, true, and would give an advantage were the tasks based on that. They're not though, from TFA:

    ...perform 69 million collective team actions... Team actions, for those unfamiliar with the game, include spotting, performing repairs, and healing, reviving and resupplying your fellow soldiers

    Presumably because making the challenges things like "Get 10 headshots in a row" would give PC gamers the advantage. That it's team based stuff more likely represents real differences in the players themselves, not the tools. If you've ever dabbled on xbox live and then tried an online PC game, this may not come as a shock (depending on the games of course.) In general, I'd have expected console gamers would be younger, and more interested in shooting things rather than actually playing as a team and winning.

    Halo 3 for example. Didn't matter what the actual goal was, pretty much everyone went for "shoot the other team." Guard the flag? Well, sure, we'll do that by jumping in a warthog, driving to the opposite side of the map, and shooting the other team. If that doesn't work, shoot some more. If that doesn't work, quit in the middle of the round.

    You'll see that to some extent in any game, I've been frustrated in some TF2 matches on the PC where my team was more interested in trying to snipe the other side rather than accomplish the objective of pushing the cart, but it doesn't happen every single time, like it tends to on xbox live.

  40. Not surprising by Draeconix · · Score: 1

    I am by far much better on the console than on the PC. This is probably because my introduction to gaming was a NES and not a PC. I have been playing consoles since then. Don't get me wrong I play games on PC too just usually not FPSes. In fact until Halo came out for Xbox I was mostly a RTS on PC and console for everything else. Until recently, I could never get used to the speed of the mouse and my left fingers just could not hit WASD correctly so FPSes on PC were incredibly frustrating. My Logitech G11 Keyboard has programmable keys to the left. I set up the bottom 6 to be WASDQE and that seems to work for me but at the same time I have to concur with those who claim that the gamepad is much easier to use. When I started playing Halo, I had the game pad mastered in no time. It took me years and the right hardware to get used to the keyboard-mouse combo. I usually play games for enjoyment so if I had to choose a place to play a new FPS, I would choose console because it would be much easier for me to master than the PC. Alright that is my two cents on my console vs. pc gaming experience. As for the article, my response is that this is not at all surprising. It has to do with the target audience of each platform. PC gaming is marketed to those who spend their free time at a PC doing just about everything from email to gaming. PC gaming has always been about being the best and is far more competitive. Console gaming, while there are some out there that are more hardcore, is usually marketed for the casual gamer. These gamers aren't at their console all the time and maybe at their PC even less. Usually the console gamer will play several games and won't play the same game for long stretches of time. I have tons of games for my X360 and have played most of them at least a little. So thinking about casual vs hardcore, it is not surprising that the PC gamers accomplished the tasks faster. They are just more dedicated than console gamers. This is not a slight against console gamers it is just that they are not playing the game as often as PC gamers.

    1. Re:Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's just practice. I was terrible with the gamepad when I started playing consoles again. games tend to share similar control schemes but it isn't intuitive if you haven't been playing any of them. i'm pretty good at headshotting in uncharted 2 with a gamepad now after playing killzone 2, uncharted 2, halo 3 online

      dont need programmable keys or any goofy stuff like that by the way. i only use right and left click in bad company 2, no extra buttons, no mouse wheel etc. the only important thing is for it to have good enough tracking for games which is different from being a game mouse by the way - no one actually needs a game mouse, just an optical or laser mouse which isn't terrible

  41. Re:Who rules America? by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

    How will we webcast it for gambling purposes then? I got big bucks on the racist

    --
    Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
  42. Re:So PC gamers are better... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    I would suddenly love to see Left 4 Dead on a console. Not to play it, just to watch it.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  43. PC players are more clannish by khchung · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My take is that due to pervasiveness of cheaters in PC multiplayer games, most long time PC gamer have already joined some clan or another, or have long time in-game buddies. Otherwise, if you venture out alone, you will be playing against cheaters all day long.

    In BF2, it is common for PC clans to host their own servers, so they can ban any cheaters found.

    OTOH, the console don't have/need private servers. Hacks/aimbots/etc mods are not (yet) possible on PS3, so it is common for PS3 players to just join random multiplayer games without any clan or wait for buddies. Lots of BF2 games in PS3 are filled with players who don't know each other at all, you will find maybe 5-6 from clans out of 24 players in the game.

    With this background, is it any wonder that tasks needing team work will be done much much faster for PC gamers than console gamers?

    While some would say it is good news for PC gamers, as they logged only 1/2 of the hours played but "achieved" twice as much". I would think the opposite, as it indicates that PC sales is probably only 1/2 of either PS3 or XBox sales. I.e. combined console sales : PC sales would be about 4 : 1!

    Is it good news for PC when they only consist of 20% of the market share?

    --
    Oliver.
    1. Re:PC players are more clannish by ADRA · · Score: 1

      I've played TF2 totally alone for years and I could count less than 10 times that I've seen obvious cheaters gaming the servers. Note, this is hundreds of hours of in-game playing here. It may be true that PC gamers are more likely to form associations with one another (since the medium itself supports the ability to do so), but I do disagree that being an online solo seems to mean that you're swallowed up in a world of ass holes and cheaters.

      --
      Bye!
    2. Re:PC players are more clannish by smittyman · · Score: 1

      I have been online for 2 decades now.
      I like fragging clankids that shout too loud
      They start to scream to their buddies i use h3cks
      I don't use h3cks, i can aim well.

      It's no requirement to be part of clans to have fun in a shooter trust me:)

      It is sad that there are ppl that find it needfull to cheat in multiplayer games, there are some good counter systems but it's unfortunate that its needed

      No cheats on PS3? They legalised the biggest cheat: aimbot, little skill needed there.
      wasd + mouse, only thing you need

      btw, 32 players on PC games, more mayhem, more fun!

      Waaaaaagh!

      --
      Message from god, Please logoff, rebooting the Universe
    3. Re:PC players are more clannish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >>While some would say it is good news for PC gamers, as they logged only 1/2 of the hours played but "achieved" twice as much". I would think the opposite, as it >>indicates that PC sales is probably only 1/2 of either PS3 or XBox sales. I.e. combined console sales : PC sales would be about 4 : 1!

      >>Is it good news for PC when they only consist of 20% of the market share?

      Your logic is flawed. The number of hours played between PC and console gamers is not indicative of sales for any of the platforms.
      Apples & Oranges...

    4. Re:PC players are more clannish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your take doesn't follow what anyone can observe by joining servers (vast majority are not in a clan)

      also cheaters are pervasive only on servers without punkbuster - I've run into only a few in playing BC2 over 300 hours

      what is pervasive is people who die claiming the other player is a cheater especially in the last few weeks as there are a lot of new players in the game who suck i.e. don't know the levels, dont know the guns, don't understand the concept of bullet drop yet

    5. Re:PC players are more clannish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is it good news for PC when they only consist of 20% of the market share?

      20% of a market that is now larger then the film industry is a large slice of pie.

    6. Re:PC players are more clannish by khchung · · Score: 1

      No cheats on PS3? They legalised the biggest cheat: aimbot, little skill needed there.

      I don't know why there are PC players saying that there are aimbot or aim-assist in PS3.

      I have never seen my PS3 help me aim at anything in all my hundreds of hours of BF2. Every shot I have to aim manually with the right stick and pull the trigger myself.

      Have you ever played a game on the PS3 before accusing us of having aimbot?

      What's more, since our turning speed is limited, playing FPS in PS3 you have to consider your facing when you run, a bit more realistic than being able do a 180 flip and shoot in less than 1/4 sec.

      OTOH, funny thing is even playing on the PS3 there are losers who accused me of hacking after losing...

      --
      Oliver.
  44. Games Machine by JoeCommodore · · Score: 1

    I can remember a time when the Microsoft OS users scoffed users other systems because they were "Games Machines" now the MS machines ARE the games machines....

    --
    "Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
    1. Re:Games Machine by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Yeah I can remember computer magazines like Family Computing, which was once a general audience all-platform magazine turning into Family & Home Office computing and then entrepreneur/business related Home Office Computing and telling everyone not to buy Amiga's or ST's because they were game machines and you needed Microsoft/Intel because you might need to bring work home from the office.

  45. Re:Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on by eddy · · Score: 1

    But that's NOT how publishers see it nowadays. XBox360 is considered the premier FPS/3PS platform, vastly outselling (the important metric to pubs) PCs and getting games that never even hit the PC (such as the latest Halos)

    What this shows, assuming the numbers haven't been fudged somehow, is what we all knew; PC players are more mature.

    (I'm with the rest of the sane world, FPSes on Consoles make no sense whatsoever as long as they reject the mouse, which they do because they're ASSHOLES)

    --
    Belief is the currency of delusion.
  46. Re:PC gamers in a rush to play another shit map by bhcompy · · Score: 1

    Needs more El Alamein

  47. Re:Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on by Bigjeff5 · · Score: 1

    They show the exact opposite, in fact.

    So far there have been four times as many hours played on BF2:Vietnam for consoles than on the PC. PS3 and Xbox each almost double the number of hours played on the PC.

    Bear in mind, four times as many people playing yet they are half way through when PC gamers have finished.

    In other words, all the awkward thumbstick lovers are living in backwards land, where fewer players means it's far more like they'll finish the game first.

    Unless you just meant to say console gamers suck at gaming. I'm sure you don't want to say that (and I wouldn't believe it even if you did).

    --
    Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
  48. It's the mouse, stupid. by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1

    Basically, what it comes down to is a number of things, but IMO, one thing comes to the surface (from my experience):

    * PCs allow for more seamless 'teaming' of groups. You can chat with the people in and prior/after the game on MSN, AIM, whatever while looking at porn or something.
    * PCs have higher resolution capabilities, meaning an easier ability to distinguish what's actually in front of your eyes.
    * PCs have better input. N-axis input + keyboard or 2x8 axis input + 6-12 buttons? I know which is more adaptable, to be sure. This one is key: while a gamepad may be leveraged to similar awesomeness by some, a mouse is still far superior for the average person. Not every 'team' can be universally awesome, so the result is that the average is brought down by joypads.

    --
    ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    1. Re:It's the mouse, stupid. by kevinNCSU · · Score: 1

      Out of curiosity what are you referring to when you say n-axis input? A mouse has only 2 axis still (unless you count scroll wheel as a third), it's just more precise right?

  49. PC Gamers Crush Console Brethren by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "PC gamers" may "crush console brethren", but both groups remain pathetic virgin faggots.

    1. Re:PC Gamers Crush Console Brethren by Tukz · · Score: 1

      Awww, someone can't afford a console or a decent gaming rig.

      --
      - Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
  50. I've demonstrated it's not a HW problem by tepples · · Score: 1

    The USB hub in question is self-powered (that is, it plugs into wall power through an AC adapter), and various DirectInput test programs read all gamepads fine. An emulator running a homebrew game also reads all gamepads fine. And it continues to work even when I yank the AC adapter and make it bus-powered. It's just that far too many native PC games have deficient implementations of multiplayer, allowing only one player per PC.

    1. Re:I've demonstrated it's not a HW problem by kainino · · Score: 1

      Aah. Oh well. Worth a shot. :\

      --
      Please disregard any grammatical errors in the above message. I normally perfectly English just well!
  51. Boop, boop, boop. by tepples · · Score: 1

    [Control in New Super Mario Bros. Wii would map to] five or six buttons. WASD, two mouse buttons, and the mouse itself take care of all of it.

    But once you get someone on Luigi, Yvan, and Wolley, you end up with twenty-four buttons. Boop, boop, boop. It's uncommon to see a PC platformer designed for two to four USB gamepads; platformers are "for consoles." And it's even more rare to see a game designed for multiple keyboards or multiple mice connected to one home theater PC; the Raw Input API is too obscure.

  52. Re:Who rules America? by uolamer · · Score: 2

    Turner Diaries was a reasonable book, yes very racist, but I felt it was well written.. I tried to read his other book called Hunter and could not make it past a few chapters, too much racist ramblings... As far as an On Topic post: I always wondered how much better PC gamers would score on games like these, I really cant see, at least on average, console gamers competing on anywhere near the same level.

    --
    s/©//g
  53. The advantage of native by tepples · · Score: 1

    A good emulator means that what are not "games made for PC" can still effectively be "games made for PC".

    Native games run more efficiently on low-end hardware, such as the netbook that you hooked up to the HDTV, or low-end nettops built and marketed more for H.264 playback than for real-time gaming. True, the 2D consoles are emulated "well enough" on netbooks, but a game with direct access to the system's 3D API (even if it's on Intel's Graphics My A* GPU) can offer far more sophisticated graphics and physics than a game made for a 1990 console and will therefore be more desirable to certain segments of the market. It's like the difference between a Wii by Nintendo and a Vii by KenSingTon.

    There could probably be a market in providing such a [ROM dumping] service.

    If the copyright owner provides ROM dumping with a bundled emulator as a service, it's a "classics compilation", like Namco Museum or Midway Arcade Treasures. But not all games are available this way, such as Mother series. Even those that are are often single-console exclusives, such as Nintendo's releases of its own past games in Virtual Console in Wii Shop Channel, or multi-console releases excluding the PC. If anyone else does it, it's copyright infringement. UMG v. MP3.com.

  54. PC gamers and their complexes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    PC gamers took this challenge far too seriously, like they HAD to finish first because they are PC gamers, they can't lose to console gamers. Your average PC gamer knew about this challenge a long way off simply because they tend spend such a huge amount of their time reading shit on the 'net. PC gamers have been talking about this challenge for a while now, I've seen it on every PC related BFBC2 related forum. So when Vietnam released they were on the ball, spamming 'Team Actions' non-stop in an attempt to show the gaming world that they are the kings.

    Your average console gamer never knew about this. They come home, plop down on the couch, crack a beer and blast away at some fools for a few hours. No internet forums, no research, no need to prove anything to the gaming community, just some good old fashioned fun.

    I bet in thirty years we start to see PC gamers dying of coronary artery disease due to the sheer amount of stress they put on themselves. Sheesh.

    Also, trigger pull > mouse click & left thumbsick > wasd for body movement

    1. Re:PC gamers and their complexes by Skidborg · · Score: 1

      Also, trigger pull > mouse click & left thumbsick > wasd for body movement

      Except that mouse move > thumbstick for aiming, which is where the speed really counts. No point in pulling the trigger unless you're actually locked onto somebody's head.

      --
      Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
    2. Re:PC gamers and their complexes by Narishma · · Score: 1

      It's also irrelevant because this isn't about accuracy or speed but about team actions.

      --
      Mada mada dane.
    3. Re:PC gamers and their complexes by Skidborg · · Score: 1

      True. But since when was it Slashdot tradition to argue about anything actually related to the article?

      --
      Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
  55. DIY dumpers won't scale by tepples · · Score: 1

    Make the dumper yourself?

    It won't scale. The majority of gamers probably don't know what a "microcontroller" or a "resistor" is. Many think "transistor" means "battery powered", as it did with the first transistor radio receivers. And it can often be a female dog to find the right female connector to take a cartridge's edge connector, especially for the NES's non-standard 98.4 mil (2.50 mm) pin spacing.

    1. Re:DIY dumpers won't scale by jack2000 · · Score: 1

      That's the beauty of Roms. You don't need everyone to dump everything themselves. You only need one person to dump stuff for you. Then you can use Mess(for generic platform emulation)

    2. Re:DIY dumpers won't scale by tepples · · Score: 1

      You only need one person to dump stuff for you.

      Dumping as a service is illegal in the United States. See UMG v. MP3.com.

    3. Re:DIY dumpers won't scale by jack2000 · · Score: 1

      Is it still illegal if you do it for free though.

    4. Re:DIY dumpers won't scale by tepples · · Score: 1

      Some case I can't recall at the moment states that the representation of a mask ROM in a ROM image file is an adaptation, not an exact copy. 17 USC 117 states that adaptations of a computer program can be distributed to other people, such as the client of a dumping service, only with the consent of the copyright owner.

  56. Single player, online, or piracy by tepples · · Score: 1

    (bla bla piracy i dont care, bla)

    If I were building and installing home theater PCs for customers, then my lawyer would probably strongly advise me not to take such an attitude. There's a conception that PC gaming is either single player, online, or illegal, and I don't understand why it has to be this way.

    1. Re:Single player, online, or piracy by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      There's a conception that PC gaming is either single player, online, or illegal, and I don't understand why it has to be this way.

      Some things are "just the way they are". It's how gaming developed. Your interest in same screen multiplayer on PC games is not really anyone elses's interest.

    2. Re:Single player, online, or piracy by tepples · · Score: 1

      To skip what has been discussed to death: What beginner's guide to starting a business do you recommend?

  57. This only serves to re-inforce....... by moodel · · Score: 1

    ............ in my mind that console gamers lack the ability to work as a team/squad.

  58. This is news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This just shows that the real hardcore FPS gamers play on a computer. consoles will have more casual players. And yes its known fact a hardcore player with a PC and Mouse has an advantage over a hardcore player on a console with a controller.

  59. Re:Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on by Carewolf · · Score: 1

    The first game I ever saw with classic keyboard+mouse configuration was Descent 3D. It wasn't the default control configuration though, it was just the one everyone recommended. It made sense as a combination of FPS and flight simulator, and the mouse was really needed for full 3D navigation.

  60. Re:So PC gamers are better... by MysteriousPreacher · · Score: 2

    Pretty much what happened in WoW battlegrounds. If you were lucky you'd find a small group of people who knew what they were doing. Could only be three or four people out of a group of 40, but they'd be winning the fight while the headless chickens went running off to fight anything that moved.

    The thing that really killed strategy was the system that provided pretty decent rewards to everyone - including people who just bounced on the spot. Another problem was that rushing became far too viable. Defence went out the window. People just raced to see who could be the first to reach a pretty much undefended base.

    Shame that the game didn't issue assignments to people and punish them if they spend too long playing out of position or otherwise not doing the job they were assigned.

    --
    -- Using the preview button since 2005
  61. Re:So PC gamers are better... by MysteriousPreacher · · Score: 1

    I'd expect to see a lot of one-man army action, with chat dominated by the phrase "rez plz"

    --
    -- Using the preview button since 2005
  62. Ignoring the elephant in the room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is everyone ignoring the very real possibility that the PC gamers simply ran a bunch of bots? Set up a server, run bots 24/7, and it's EASY to outperform console players who have to do everything manually.

    This seems even more apparent when you look at actual kills and such - with the PC gamers having about equal per capita as the consoles do.

    1. Re:Ignoring the elephant in the room by TonFTP · · Score: 1

      I don't know this for a fact, but most games will not let a game running bots/mods be a 'ranked' server therefore it would not contribute to the stats. Some games even require cheats to be on to run bots (TF2 is this way I believe) and that will also makes the server unranked. Also ranked servers in this game are Punk Buster enabled, so this eliminates some, dare I say most of these sorts of issues.

  63. Re:PC gamers in a rush to play another shit map by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i) the last 5 maps they released for bc2 all are a lot more wide open
    ii) play conquest mode
    iii) size of maps from previous battlefield games is no good with the destruction

  64. Retrode is sold out by tepples · · Score: 1

    If you aren't willing to put in the tiny amount of effort it requires

    If everyone had to put the tiny effort to solder together a PC, would PCs have become popular?

    and you aren't willing to buy a console copier

    Console copiers are sold out according to Retrode.com.

    and you aren't willing to have someone else do it for you

    I'm willing to have someone else do it for me, but the only someone else who has the legal right to do it often isn't willing at any price short of half its market cap. If anyone other than the game's copyright owner does it for me, it's copyright infringement.

  65. metrix007 gets pwned? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1925236&cid=34675566

  66. Re:Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's... That's---! Total bullshit! FPS games aren't a PC exclusive even though they started on the PC, ever heard of this little game called Halo? Last I heard it's a FPS, and very popular on consoles.

  67. loading... by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

    All the PC versions load instantly thanks to cache/hds.

    All ps3 versions load... slowly between battles, adding probably 2mins per 20mins play of zero time.

    I still see 100x more people on BC, than Killzone which is sometimes empty but can get dull boring too.

    Resistance2 has heaps of players but is just insanely wild and crazy, its pure mayhem all against all.

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  68. Re:So PC gamers are better... by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

    Well, racecar drivers have a racecar, which is the controller more suited to going fast.

    --
    I am not devoid of humor.
  69. Graph in TFA is broken by Feinu · · Score: 1

    36.6 million of 69 million actions on Xbox is about 53%. The graph shows less than 25% completion. Same applies for the PS3 graph, where 40% completion is represented by aproximately 20% on the graph.

  70. Re:Breaking news! PC-spawned genre played more on by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 1

    Quake required you to hold a button to use mouselook, unless you made some tweaks. That alone would make keyboard+mouse very annoying to use.