Have consoles held back PC gaming?

[Pooky]

Seeing the announcement and release of 'next gen' games has got me thinking. Surely consoles have held back PC gaming quite a bit, as many games are developed on consoles first, and thus PC gaming has had to lag behind waiting for 'next-gen' consoles to be released.

Of course they do update the PC versions often with better graphics features, and there are games developed specifically for PC, but I reckon quite a lot of games could have been made far better on PC had they not been held back by consoles.

[Cicero]

Seeing the announcement and release of 'next gen' games has got me thinking. Surely consoles have held back PC gaming quite a bit, as many games are developed on consoles first, and thus PC gaming has had to lag behind waiting for 'next-gen' consoles to be released.

Of course they do update the PC versions often with better graphics features, and there are games developed specifically for PC, but I reckon quite a lot of games could have been made far better on PC had they not been held back by consoles.

Definitely man. And I think once the uptake of next gen consoles has improved, and game devs start making purely next gen and PC only games, we'll see a huge jump in quality.

[Pooky]

Definitely man. And I think once the uptake of next gen consoles has improved, and game devs start making purely next gen and PC only games, we'll see a huge jump in quality.

Yeah but then the 'next-gen' consoles will still be behind PC if not now already, then in a few years.

On a side note, I'm amazed at how they can develop amazing graphics on such old hardware such as PS3 and Xbox 360 as they know exactly what they are developing for.

[blaaislaai]

After the release of the PS4 and Xbone, I believe the consoles are actually catching up to the PC. However consoles will never ever surpass the PC in any way as our desktops will always be a few steps ahead.

[AlienTaker]

Well consoles have kept pc gaming back but it's a strat i think to sell more units first on consoles to prevent losses to piracy on Pc.

I got the new metal gear but haven't played it yet will compare it on pc to the PS

[Iam3G]

Seeing the announcement and release of 'next gen' games has got me thinking. Surely consoles have held back PC gaming quite a bit, as many games are developed on consoles first, and thus PC gaming has had to lag behind waiting for 'next-gen' consoles to be released.

Of course they do update the PC versions often with better graphics features, and there are games developed specifically for PC, but I reckon quite a lot of games could have been made far better on PC had they not been held back by consoles.

When you talk about "held back by consoles", are you specifically talking about visual quality of the games?

[Pooky]

When you talk about "held back by consoles", are you specifically talking about visual quality of the games?

Yes mostly, but also with game mechanics/engine etc.

I'm no game dev, but surely PC processing power allows for more complex engine design and features, and this will also be held back.

Not to mention PC input is not limited by the buttons on the console controller. We already see how this blatantly puts PC users at a disadvantage with examples like Skyrim and Oblivion, which had crappy inventory management, solved somewhat by mods on PC, while Morrowind's inventory still is way ahead.

[Iam3G]

Yes mostly, but also with game mechanics/engine etc.

I'm no game dev, but surely PC processing power allows for more complex engine design and features, and this will also be held back.

Not to mention PC input is not limited by the buttons on the console controller. We already see how this blatantly puts PC users at a disadvantage with examples like Skyrim and Oblivion, which had crappy inventory management, solved somewhat by mods on PC, while Morrowind's inventory still is way ahead.

And I'm guessing it would take too much time for them to just make 2 different versions, one specifically designed for console and 1 specifically designed for PC?

Like for example have 2 different teams designing the same game but for different platforms to to the best that they can get out of each.

[Pooky]

And I'm guessing it would take too much time for them to just make 2 different versions, one specifically designed for console and 1 specifically designed for PC?

Like for example have 2 different teams designing the same game but for different platforms to to the best that they can get out of each.

Yeah I think most of the money lies in consoles so they would rather port the console version to PC.

[Iam3G]

Yeah I think most of the money lies in consoles so they would rather port the console version to PC.

Well, consoles are preferred (IMO) for convenience (especially by me), which is why I moved away from PC gaming. And for the fact that I could never own a decent graphics card.