The Still New What Did You Last Do Thread

[Enjay]

I solved that problem by getting my parents addicted to Mario Kart.

I think that Mario Kart is probably the game that gets most use on my Wii too. However, as I mentioned in another thread, I hate the plumber.

[Kostov]

I'm just amused that a group referring to themselves as the PC master race would publish a fairly complex document for trouble shooting potential problems.
It's like "PCs are superior in every way, unless you're experiencing one of these problems", and then this document is presented.

That's ironic, and a little funny? Right? Or am I just crazy?

You're right, it's a silly term, and r/pcmasterrace has its share of rather uneducated people. Though, I'm for the fact that consoles as they are now should go down. PCs have the capability to do everything good a console can do, the only thing that's holding that back is the insufficent amount of support it gets from companies and consumers. We already have wireless capability and Steam Big Picture for couch gaming and living room-sized PCs, such as the ASUS GR8-R020R and the Alpha & X51 by Alienware (Alienware could be much better, but they've got to get credit where it's due), and any ITX PC, things that are quite unpresented to audiences. Emulation for games is also a strong point, but everything and everyone would benefit if future content and perhaps old content was developed for the PC natively. The amount of peripherals that is presented to any PC consumer is stunning, too. And who doesn't love how easy to use and sleek modern hardware can be, if you're into building? If everyone would use a PC, such hardware could be so much cheaper. Speaking of cheap, Steam sales. There's so much choice.

But, as I said, choice can be a courier of problems. And that's fine - experiencing problems is getting you more familiar with your software and hardware. Experience is delightful. Not to mention such experience can land you in a career.

If you really need to know more...

[GooberMan]

Except PCs are declining in sales, and it's not because of gaming consoles.

Sent from my iPad.

[Kostov]

Yeah, plus, parts of Europe have a harder time gathering hardware than, say the US. Hardware over there can be quite a lot cheaper than hardware in Sweden.

[GooberMan]

One thing I miss about Australia is cheap parts from Asia.

Don't want to move back there any time soon though.

[Trance]

Which part of PC sales are declining? Is it all of it, or just the prebuilt market? Because I can understand it being simply the prebuilts.

[Kostov]

I'd guess prebuilds. I'm happy at the fact that some retailers offer to build you a PC from parts that you choose for a fee.

[GooberMan]

This is the most recent article I can find about PC sales trends. Still declining, still blamed on post-PC devices such as smart phones and tablets.

[Trance]

Yeah, that looks like they're measuring prebuilt sales. Not really worried.

[Siggi]

The strength that consoles (tablets and phones also) have is simplicity and accessibility. It's just easier for average Joe to buy an Xbox One and start gaming than it is for him to get a decent PC.

Recently I've been pretty excited about the direction Steam is going as well as prefab machines like some of the Alienware machines (I actually have an X51 at work). Specifically I really like the streaming features, and things like what Razer's ForgeTV is going for. I like it because I think it addresses the accessibility issue.

[Kostov]

The strength that consoles (tablets and phones also) have is simplicity and accessibility. It's just easier for average Joe to buy an Xbox One and start gaming than it is for him to get a decent PC.

Today, that is true, and I hope companies will take a better look at the simplicity aspects of the PC.

However, I don't understand what you mean by accessibility? This is probably my English faltering.

[Siggi]

However, I don't understand what you mean by accessibility?

The steps you take from actually spending money on a game and playing it are fewer with a console. This makes games more available to average Joes. That's the accessibility I'm referring to.

The issue here is that platforms like Steam, Origin and Battle.Net are third party applications, whereas Playstations and Xboxes have built in market places.

[Kostov]

However, I don't understand what you mean by accessibility?

The steps you take from actually spending money on a game and playing it are fewer with a console. This makes games more available to average Joes. That's the accessibility I'm referring to.

The issue here is that platforms like Steam, Origin and Battle.Net are third party applications, whereas Playstations and Xboxes have built in market places.

Ah, I get what it means now. In my opinion, the third party application thing could be argued as part of the choice that PC offers, but it can get inconsistent very quickly. PC fanboys can argue for service vs service and hardware vs hardware as much as console fanboys can argue for console vs console etc.

[Siggi]

PCs having lots of options and customizations is a solid plus.

For me personally, I look at what games are available for the platform. I'm fortunate in that I can afford to buy into whatever platform has the games I'm interested in. I realize that this is not the case for everyone, but if someone were to ask me about what platform they should get I'd ask "What games do you plan on playing?". What's the point in having the superior system if you don't get to play the games you want right?

[xenoxols]

If you ask me people buy consoles for simplicity.(or not knowing that PC gaming exists, thus not making any choice whatsoever) You don't have to deal with going through large amounts of menu or games not working properly and having to fix them, or driver updates, etc..
EDIT: I like doing all of that "annoying" stuff though.