As a PC gamer, I love my platform of choice. I love that I can customize my machine, that I can mod my games, that I can download a mod from another user, that my games have the potential to look better than on any other platform… However, I also recognize the PC’s many shortcomings, a few of which I’ll examine in more detail here.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
One of the biggest downsides of such a customizable platform is that games are incredibly easy to pirate. Whereas with a console a gamer might need a “chipped” console to play pirated games, on the PC, all a gamer needs is an internet connection. Hence why PC gamers are continually assaulted by progressively more inhibitive DRM (or digital rights management). One particular offender at the moment is Ubisoft, whose DRM requires the player to be connected to the internet and signed into authentication servers at all times. A little draconian, perhaps, but the biggest issue here is that said servers are notoriously unreliable, meaning players are frequently not allowed to play their game, which they paid for. Of course, plenty of people are able to player their game with no problems at all, but my point here is that the presence of DRM is enough to put many people off of playing PC games.
Competing Platforms
The lack of a single unifying platform is, in many ways, an advantage for the PC, giving players something which console players lack: choice. Sometimes, however, it would be nice for all your games to be in the same place, using the same account for multiplayer, so that you don’t have to remember two dozen passwords for different clients. Platforms like Steam and Games for Windows Live have begun to combine different utilities (matchmaking, friends, communication, online stores, etc), but there’s still competition between the two. Perhaps that’s for the best? It can still be a little overwhelming for newcomers, however.
Lack Of Killer App
The Xbox 360 has Halo, Gears of War and Forza. The Playstation 3 has Killzone, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo and Uncharted. The Wii has Mario, Metroid and Zelda. What does the PC have? It had Crysis, but that’s gone multiplatform. Games such as Total War, Dawn of War and StarCraft remain PC only, but only because strategy games are generally rubbish on consoles. It could be argued that strategy games represent all that is great about PC games: complex and epic. But what about shooters, drivers and adventures? Admittedly more indie games are becoming available, and the quality is frequently high, but what the PC truly needs is a AAA, must own, have to upgrade to even install, title.
Hardware
Definitely one of the bigger issues dissuading people from taking up PC gaming is the perceived cost. You’ll regularly read about gamers rigs which cost upwards of $1400, and many far beyond that. However, even mid-range graphics cards are powerful enough these days to give a more than acceptable performance, meaning you can get decent performance for less than $700. Of course, that’s still far more expensive than a console, but bearing in mind virtually everyone has a PC anyway, and upgrading is easier than ever. This leads neatly into another issue: the nature of upgrading hardware can be very off-putting to those uninitiated (it certainly was for me). No-one wants to slip up and fry their new graphics card, or worse their entire computer. The only way to gain this confidence is experience. A catch-22 if ever there was one.
Lack Of Split-screen
Personally, my biggest pet peeve with the PC is the lack of split-screen multiplayer. I fondly remember the days of racing against my cousin in the original Need For Speed, so why can’t we do that now? The consoles have taken PC’s original advantage (online gaming), and the PC has taken nothing back. This needs to change, and soon. Online games are great; you can meet new friends and keep in touch with old ones who have moved on. But there’s nothing like being able to trash talk your opponent who’s sat right next to you, then have a pint with them afterward.
