[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot graphics is rarely an important factor for me personally. Sure, there are games where it is important, particularly open-world RPGs that are often crafted to be visually impressive, like Ghost of Tsushima or Witcher 3. But in many cases, games do not need or have advanced graphics. Look at Game Awards, for example, Balatro is making it up there with no graphics to speak of. Another example, NEVA is drawn by hand, and while it is very visually impressive because of that, it did not use demanding graphics to achieve that effect.

As for the rest, I don't really know. Loading time, for example, even that Stalker video I shared in an earlier comment shows that PC loads it twice as fast as consoles do. But maybe it's just this game, I am not sure. Plug-and-play and driver compatibility may have merit, but you trade off utility for those, it is easier to upgrade and modify the PC than the console, as you mentioned.

The point of multiple players is an interesting one, I can definitely see the benefits of the option of playing with your friend in the same room, but I am thinking about how often this situation would arise. In both consoles and PCs, it is more common to play online with your friends who join in from different locations, and that can be arranged easily enough these days. Though maybe gaming with multiple people in one location and using one system is more common than I give it credit for.

Ah, yes, I personally choose to opt out of games that demand online connection all the time. Too much hassle. Thankfully, I do not particularly like any game that demands it right now, not a Diablo fan at all, and while I played most AC games, I am not a fan of that series either, and if I can't play it offline, so be it, no loss. If the situation changes in the future, well, then I may become concerned...

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch I know of quite a few people who lose their marbles because they are unable to max out their rigs to play on the Ultra settings and will spend an enormous amount of money per year upgrading.

I also do not care about all the fancy stuff. If I'm able to play the game and enjoy it, nothing is stopping me.

I have seen some titles on consoles loading much faster and when it comes to framerates there is a huge improvement, especially in an open-world environment.

People have become so used to plug-and-play devices and are not keen to struggle with upgrades these days. They rather spend more on a console and plug it in and play.

I think playing games in one room with a friend is the most controversial point on the list, but an important one: consoles connect people—in person—better than any other gaming system. Yes, smartphones and PCs bring a greater volume of players together, and both deserve credit for the impressive gaming networks they’ve assembled. But when was the last time you physically visited a friend’s house to play Words With Friends? Or lugged your PC to a buddy’s place for drinks, cigars and a session of World of Warcraft? Only the console consistently brings people into the same room. If smartphones and PCs are social networks, the console is the digital equivalent of Monopoly or Risk—a 2015 version of the board game night.

Most games I find entertaining are online based and it's so frustrating. I hate it when games are released on a console with an offline single player and it's not available on PC. I feel discriminated against. 😂

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Whatever floats your boat, you do you. I can see how graphics can be important. Not to me, but who am I to judge?

Perhaps some are faster, but once it is loaded, there is no major difference, I'd say. I can wait.

Not sure, I mostly know people who are into upgrading hardware and tinkering, but that's my circle. Maybe the popular opinion is different., I can see the appeal of plug-and-play, but I always valued flexibility in components over easiness of access.

True, but as we mentioned elsewhere, I do not like to impose on the private spaces of others all that much 😅 I can see the appeal of that in principle, but it is like going to a cinema: I understand why people do it, on occasion there are films (games) that are preferable to be watched (played) this way, but as a general rule, no thank you. And cigars are bad for you anyway, unless you are Tropico's El Prezidente.

What are the examples of some of those games?

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch I'm not judging either. I just feel somewhere people must draw the line and calm down. There's is no need to show off so much or try to always have better than someone else.

Waiting for a game to load also doesn't bother me unless some errors occur during the loading process.



Well, there's Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Diablo 3, Baldurs Gate 3, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Sunset Overdrive, Hogwards Legacy and a few others.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Hey now, if people didn't do that, then new graphics cards would not be so popular 😅

Ah, that meme reminded me of a similar joke, when translated it goes something like this:

-Well, I got fired from my job as a submarine sailor...
-Why?
-Utter nonsense. They didn't like my habit of falling asleep near an open window.

Gosh, all those games? I didn't realise there were so many. And even Sunset Overdrive, that's a surprise, when it first came out I am not sure if "connection to play" was a thing yet. And Hogwarts Legacy too, I thought you could play it offline, you just can't get patches and updates this way.

But as far as I can see, this is not about the games requiring you to have a connection, it is that they have that Denuvo protection system that needs you to be connected to check your license at time intervals. Once Denuvo's contract with the game expires and it is removed, you no longer need to be connected to play, I think.

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch But still, why buy a top-of-a-range graphics card for an arm and a leg and a few months later buy a new one because the other one is all of a sudden not good enough because new game releases must be played on the highest frame rates and there's no excuse. Dropping from 60 to 50 frames isn't that bad, but if you have the moola, it is not a problem it seems.

There are a lot of games out there that are playable offline on the console. I do not understand why single-player missions can't be played offline on PC.

I do understand the Denuvo protection thing to check licences but the console versions on a fresh install are playable without an online connection so basically there is no need for console players to be verified but PC players are on the short end. 😂

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Ah, well, such is the march of progress. I guess? But hey, arguably there may be an eventual technology cap, a situation where a graphic card becomes so complete it is not feasible to make it better. Not sure how long it would take us to get there, though.

That is a mystery. I am guessing it is an anti-piracy measure, but I am not sure. Maybe @j7schultz or @SKYTRiXSHA may know more.

My guess is that it may be easier to pirate PC games than consoles, that could be the reason why.

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch Maybe we already reached that point. Releasing a graphics card which has everything and is suited for every game engine out there and won't fold under pressure will not see the light. It will kill the market completely. Business 101.

Who knows. There will always be a battle between the console and the PC manufacturers. It's like Apple and Samsung.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Not really, I mean, the demand for the product does not disappear just because it's peaked. People will still need devices, but without the need for innovation, production can be streamlined. Take salt, for example: nothing new can be done about it (save for little mix variations but those do not count), but people will continue to buy salt indefinitely, probably.

Or, more to technology, take the Rubik's Cube. There are varieties of it, of course, but the classic 3x3 side cube is a pinnacle of that idea, and this is how it remained for a while now, and is still popular.

Though I do not think we are technologically at the graphics pinnacle yet and won't be for a while yet. Too much is interconnected for that technology to advance, I mean, VR is still in its infancy at this point, and that is a whole new venue for graphics to develop. But we may get there eventually.

I honestly would not mind the battle or otherwise, if consoles did not have exclusive releases. You need to wait ages sometimes to play games on PC that have been on consoles for years already, and sometimes you never get that chance.

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch Yeah, I guess people will still buy stuff even if it has peaked but sales may drop drastically. People who already have the latest tech won't purchase something else if there is nothing new available and those who haven't will be the only ones left and after they have the same peaked product, what happens then? I know it's going to take ages before we reach that point but I always wonder how advanced and to what extremes are developers prepared to go, especially with games. How will the PCs and consoles of the future look like and how will you interact with them? Will everything go beyond virtual reality?

One of the reasons people do prefer consoles over PC. Waiting ages for a game to be released or never on PC is a bit of a letdown.