# PC Gaming. Is it dying? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 9, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986 "2010-11-09T02:05:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/61 "2010-11-10T23:59:59Z")
A few things. First, you’re probably not playing with the settings as low as the xbox runs them. If you want to simulate how the xbox runs things, turn the resolution down to like 960x600, turn off any AA or AF, turn most of the detail settings down to low, etc. The x1600 actually isn’t too hot even by 2006 standards - the xbox 360 GPU is better. The x1xxx series is pretty badly regarded. And the source engine isn’t old - it’s been updated over the years to be more and more advanced, so that even the older games using source typically are using the newest version of the source engine, which is much more capable than it was in 2004. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/62 "2010-11-11T00:12:16Z")
> [@mske](#): > > Yeah - I’m not sure how much of an advantage the PC has here. Consoles have sleep modes as well. The xbox doesn’t. > [@](#): > > And to fire up a small, downloaded game from XBL or PSN (or Wii equivalent - I believe they have one) is only a few pushes of an anolog stick away. Unless you have a shortcut to **every** program you own on your desktop, PCs have got menus to navigate too. Double click Steam, double click game from game library. I guarantee it’s quicker. I have owned a PS3 and xbox 360, I’m not completely ignorant on the subject. > [@](#): > > There are no loading screens in PC games? Really? :dubious: I guess I’m playing the wrong games on my PC, because they all have them. Do you play PC games? The keyword I used was “Long”. As in lasting a long time. Loading screens on consoles are anywhere from 3x or longer than a PC game loading screen. Usually longer. There are plenty of youtube vids showing the difference, if you don’t believe me. > [@](#): > > Granted if you have every game installed via Steam directly to your hard drive, you do not have to mess around with putting a DVD into the tray. But do not make this step seem as difficult or onerous as an infomercial makes a routine, mundane, everyday task without the latest $19.95 (plus processing and handling) gadget. This makes a difference. Oh no, little suzie sat on the game disc again. The wife cleaned up and now where the hell is my Halo DVD? Oh, someone knocked down the xbox when it was reading the disc… sucks to be you. Wait guys I want to join you in left 4 dead! I gotta exit my game… wait…wait…wait… ok remove disc…wait…wait.. insert disc…wait…wait..load game…wait…wait…wati..wait…wait…wait…join server…wait..wait. If you play PC games at all, you know that loading times on our platform in most cases are truly negligible, and are MUCH shorter than on the consoles. And of course after all that nonsense you’re greeted by low rez, muddy textures and sluggish gameplay at a blistering 25 fps. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/63 "2010-11-11T00:21:42Z")
> [@TheFifthYear](#): > > This might be a hijack, but here’s something I don’t really understand: how is it that my Xbox 360, which is apparently 2004 technology, can easily play modern games like Fallout, Left 4 Dead, etc, but my 2006 iMac, which as I understand it has a relatively decent processor/GPU/ram for the time, struggles to play even stuff running on the old Source engine, which Wikipedia tells me was released in 2004? > > FTR, since someone is bound to ask: the system specs are 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo, 2gigs ram, ATI x1600. I know it wasn’t designed to be a cutting edge gaming machine, and I’m not expecting it to play anything recent on high settings, but I’m surprised it can’t keep up with stuff that is older than it is. Especially when the 360 can, apparently with lower specs. To add to what Beef says: Are you running on OSX or booting into windows? OSX GPU drivers are not anywhere near as optimized for games as the windows drivers are. This is changing, I understand, but since your GPU is so old, that might be another issue. The drivers are just not allowing the full hardware performance to come through. Try booting into windows. I believe that your Steam account will allow you to download the windows versions of your Mac games… at least for Valve. Make sure you have the latest ATI drivers and see if you see a difference. ---
**Author:** ![mil0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mil0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mil0)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/64 "2010-11-11T00:25:31Z")
While PC gaming might not be dead, or dying, it certainly is ill to the point where funeral arrangements are par for the course. And I think that’s mainly because certain genres are dying for the PC, even if PC gaming as a whole remains somewhat healthy. Take for example, the recent Call of Duty: Black Ops (or CODBLOPS), I’ve been told that there were three million players on Xbox Live, vs. about 80,000 on PC at last night’s prime time. Those numbers are highly discouraging to me as a PC gamer. There will never be the type of MW1 competitive community involved in this game on the PC, even if it was a true successor to the series. Not only that, but those naive enough to be fooled a second time by empty promises about the CoD franchise’s respect for PC gamers were given what can only be described as a steaming pile of poop in exchange for their loyalty. The game is such a buggy mess on the PC that it makes MW2’s multi-player look good (if that’s not damning, I don’t know what is). As someone who was out witnessing to friends about the glorious nature of PC gaming, and how Treyarch would succeed where IW failed with regards to our humble community I feel utterly let down. And really, I feel like that’s basically where FPS/Adventure/RPG PC gaming is these days. We, as a community, are the red-headed foster child of gaming. We get the hand-me-downs, the unfulfilled promises, and a serious lack of attention and consideration. As for RTSs and MMOs – where the mouse/keyboard configuration is so obviously superior that even a console gamer understands their platform’s deficiencies – PC’s seem to have a future. I don’t think PC gaming is going anywhere for these two genres, at least not anytime soon. Not only do we have a wealth of these games out right now, but there are titles being developed at this very moment that are slated for release as far away as 2016 (and maybe even further). Imagine that for a second, while you’re flying around in your Jetson’s car, there will be some fat nerd eating cheetos and pissing in soda bottles playing World of Farmvillebejewelledcraft 3 complaining about how back in the day he had to work for his welfare epics. And I’m sure, somewhere in the vast reaches of the intercloud (that’s what it’ll be called by then) there will be a post about how PC gaming is drawing its last breaths. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/65 "2010-11-11T00:33:35Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Are these things that much better than, say, Oblivion and the other stuff that was coming out in 2005? Yes, yes they are, at least in the case of _FarCry 2_ and the new _Fallout_ games. _Penny Arcade_ described _Mafia II_ as being “An Interactive Norman Rockwell Painting” and I think that’s actually a very apt description. Have you played any of them? They really are very impressive. FWIW, I see computer games as a storytelling medium that has the potential to far surpass the cinema. And when you think about it, movie “technology” (for want of a better term) didn’t change a great deal from the 1939 (_The Wizard of Oz_) to, say, 1999 (with _The Matrix_. Sure, most films prior to the 1960s were in Black & White, but look what Welles did with _Citizen Kane_. _Lawrence of Arabia_ would still be an awesome movie if it was a New Release today. Point is, just because movies spent most of the 20th century without functional 3D or realistic CGI doesn’t mean the medium “suffered”, any more than Western Civilisation isn’t “suffering” because we don’t have those Flying Cars and Robot Butlers we were all promised. I agree it would be nice to have some advancement in graphics technology, but given the current economic state of affairs in most places where people have the disposable income to buy Big Pimpin’ Gaming Rigs, I for one am not especially upset that the latest release PC games run just fine on my far from new computer. > [@](#): > > See, I don’t approach this subject as some sort of Chevy vs Ford debate or something where people get riled up but ultimately who cares. It’s not a recreational argument. It’s not me trying to prove my preference is better. It’s the fact that consoles are now negatively impacting my favorite hobby by codevelopment forcing the dumbing down of my games that pisses me off. I only care about consoles, and people who use consoles, in as far as they actively harm my hobby. This I do agree with you on. > [@](#): > > Yeah, if they buy a $200 best buy computer that barely functions, that’s true. But a lot of people own PCs for general PC tasks that have decent core 2 or i5 processors in them, 4gb of ram, etc. In those cases you only really need to stick a $150 video card in there and suddenly it’s massively better than any console. That’s true of systems at the moment- as long as that HP/Acer/Dell “box” you got has a PCI Express slot in it (and I suspect most of them don’t) then yeah, put in a graphics card and there’s an entry-level gaming system. But I’m talking about people who already have computers, and have had for a few years. The average age of “home” computers in Australia appears to be surprisingly old, judging from the number of customers I have coming in looking for legitimate Windows XP discs to recover from a failed hard-drive or whatever. People running computers from the Windows XP era need upgrades more comprehensive than a new 3D card, and that costs money most of them simply don’t have. ---
**Author:** ![TheFifthYear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/66 "2010-11-11T00:43:56Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > A few things. First, you’re probably not playing with the settings as low as the xbox runs them. If you want to simulate how the xbox runs things, turn the resolution down to like 960x600, turn off any AA or AF, turn most of the detail settings down to low, etc. The x1600 actually isn’t too hot even by 2006 standards - the xbox 360 GPU is better. The x1xxx series is pretty badly regarded. And the source engine isn’t old - it’s been updated over the years to be more and more advanced, so that even the older games using source typically are using the newest version of the source engine, which is much more capable than it was in 2004. > [@Kinthalis](#): > > To add to what Beef says: Are you running on OSX or booting into windows? OSX GPU drivers are not anywhere near as optimized for games as the windows drivers are. This is changing, I understand, but since your GPU is so old, that might be another issue. The drivers are just not allowing the full hardware performance to come through. > > Try booting into windows. I believe that your Steam account will allow you to download the windows versions of your Mac games… at least for Valve. Make sure you have the latest ATI drivers and see if you see a difference. Thanks to both of you. That explains things a lot better. I’m going to put in a Windows partition and give that a try, but it sounds like the bottom line is I really need to upgrade to a newer computer. As soon as I have some cash lying around I don’t know what to do with… ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/67 "2010-11-11T00:50:08Z")
I love command and conquer and I love EA sports’ NFL and NHL franchises. Sports games do not port well to the PC. Red Alert does NOT port well to consoles. I do not see these two genres changing. EA apparently agrees with me since, as best I can tell, they no longer make sports games for the PC. For an RTS game, it would be KILLER if the PS3 or 360 let you use a bluetooth headset and mouse. As a dedicated system that doesn’t have background programs running or the invariable compatibility issues, it would be a nice way to port them, and still have the Quality Control that you have with console games. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/68 "2010-11-11T01:00:06Z")
Why do sports games not port well to the PC? Is there something different about sitting there with a gamepad in your hands in front of a monitor? Console fan misconception #158212852. You aren’t limited to keyboard/mouse controls on the PC. Control shit with a gamepad. Control it with a steering wheel. Control it with a joystick. Control it with rudder pedals. Control it with TrackIR. Control it with your fucking rock band drum set. Use whatever the hell controls you want to. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/69 "2010-11-11T01:17:18Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > I love command and conquer and I love EA sports’ NFL and NHL franchises. Sports games do not port well to the PC. Red Alert does NOT port well to consoles. I do not see these two genres changing. EA apparently agrees with me since, as best I can tell, they no longer make sports games for the PC. FIFA 2011 is on PC, as is the latest NBA game. Outside of EA there’s a bunch of racing, soccer games. Don’t think there are any football or hockey though. Baseball is represented as well, but not as well as on the consoles.. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/70 "2010-11-11T01:19:26Z")
> [@mil0](#): > > Take for example, the recent Call of Duty: Black Ops (or CODBLOPS), I’ve been told that there were three million players on Xbox Live, vs. about 80,000 on PC at last I wouldn’t worry too much. I’m not convinced the number are all that accurate yet. I’m waiting to see. And it’s just one game. SCII also had over a million people playing it on release. > [@](#): > > Imagine that for a second, while you’re flying around in your Jetson’s car, there will be some fat nerd eating cheetos and pissing in soda bottles playing World of Farmvillebejewelledcraft 3 complaining about how back in the day he had to work for his welfare epics. And I’m sure, somewhere in the vast reaches of the intercloud (that’s what it’ll be called by then) there will be a post about how PC gaming is drawing its last breaths. I’m not sure if you’re trying to be insulting. I hate this silly stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/71 "2010-11-11T01:53:54Z")
> [@mil0](#): > > While PC gaming might not be dead, or dying, it certainly is ill to the point where funeral arrangements are par for the course. And I think that’s mainly because certain genres are dying for the PC, even if PC gaming as a whole remains somewhat healthy. > > Take for example, the recent Call of Duty: Black Ops (or CODBLOPS), I’ve been told that there were three million players on Xbox Live, vs. about 80,000 on PC at last night’s prime time. Those numbers are highly discouraging to me as a PC gamer. There will never be the type of MW1 competitive community involved in this game on the PC, even if it was a true successor to the series. Not only that, but those naive enough to be fooled a second time by empty promises about the CoD franchise’s respect for PC gamers were given what can only be described as a steaming pile of poop in exchange for their loyalty. The game is such a buggy mess on the PC that it makes MW2’s multi-player look good (if that’s not damning, I don’t know what is). > > As someone who was out witnessing to friends about the glorious nature of PC gaming, and how Treyarch would succeed where IW failed with regards to our humble community I feel utterly let down. > > And really, I feel like that’s basically where FPS/Adventure/RPG PC gaming is these days. We, as a community, are the red-headed foster child of gaming. We get the hand-me-downs, the unfulfilled promises, and a serious lack of attention and consideration. > > As for RTSs and MMOs – where the mouse/keyboard configuration is so obviously superior that even a console gamer understands their platform’s deficiencies – PC’s seem to have a future. I don’t think PC gaming is going anywhere for these two genres, at least not anytime soon. Not only do we have a wealth of these games out right now, but there are titles being developed at this very moment that are slated for release as far away as 2016 (and maybe even further). > > Imagine that for a second, while you’re flying around in your Jetson’s car, there will be some fat nerd eating cheetos and pissing in soda bottles playing World of Farmvillebejewelledcraft 3 complaining about how back in the day he had to work for his welfare epics. And I’m sure, somewhere in the vast reaches of the intercloud (that’s what it’ll be called by then) there will be a post about how PC gaming is drawing its last breaths. Yeah I guess what bugs me is my favourite genres are dying or getting watered down. (single player) RPG’s seem pretty rare these days.. I’m just not a big fan of MMO style game, which seems to be mostly what people are making these days. ---
**Author:** ![mil0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mil0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mil0)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/72 "2010-11-11T01:58:28Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > I wouldn’t worry too much. I’m not convinced the number are all that accurate yet. I’m waiting to see. And it’s just one game. SCII also had over a million people playing it on release. Well, those are the numbers that I pulled from my friend’s Xbox 360 and my own PC version. Of course they’re only somewhat representative of actual sales, but I thought it warranted mentioning. [http://i51.tinypic.com/14mb4sy.jpg](http://i51.tinypic.com/14mb4sy.jpg) Only 40,000 on at this moment. (Note the neat bug where you can’t even see a tenth of servers regardless) > [@](#): > > I’m not sure if you’re trying to be insulting. I hate this silly stereotype. Eh, I’m not trying to insult anyone. It was a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/73 "2010-11-11T02:19:10Z")
I think the format’s looking pretty tired. The best PC games are games that come out on all formats. And such games are increasingly designed around the input devices of consoles, with the PC version an afterthought. Games that are primarily targeted at PCs are looking increasingly derivative. Every RTS game seems to just be a re-skinning of the same basic engine. They could be expansion packs of each other. And considering the vast unexplored concept space of MMOs, it’s frustrating that so many MMO designers assume MMORPG stands for World of Warcraft Clone. Yes, I understand the thinking behind making such clones. But the point is, whenever I see the latest crop of PC games I feel like I’ve seen it all before. It’s console games where I seem to see fresh ideas. \ ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/74 "2010-11-11T02:35:47Z")
> [@BrianJ4](#): > > Yeah I guess what bugs me is my favourite genres are dying or getting watered down. (single player) RPG’s seem pretty rare these days.. > > I’m just not a big fan of MMO style game, which seems to be mostly what people are making these days. I’d be a big fan of MMO’s, if they made any which had any real meat to them. Instead everything’s watered down for the lowest common denominator. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/75 "2010-11-11T02:41:27Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Yes, I understand the thinking behind making such clones. But the point is, whenever I see the latest crop of PC games I feel like I’ve seen it all before. It’s console games where I seem to see fresh ideas. > > \ Lol, you’re kidding me right? What exactly is fresh about consoles? HALO? Madden? COD? What? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/76 "2010-11-11T03:56:12Z")
> [@BrianJ4](#): > > Yeah I guess what bugs me is my favourite genres are dying or getting watered down. (single player) RPG’s seem pretty rare these days… What do you call _Fallout 3_ and _Fallout: New Vegas_? It’s a bit of a stretch to call _Bioshock 1 & 2_ RPGs but I’ve seen it done. What sort of RPGs are you looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/77 "2010-11-11T04:14:17Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > What do you call _Fallout 3_ and _Fallout: New Vegas_? It’s a bit of a stretch to call _Bioshock 1 & 2_ RPGs but I’ve seen it done. What sort of RPGs are you looking for? I wouldn’t presume to answer for him, but I have the same problem when it comes to PC RPGs, and my answer would be “the kind that BioWare is the only company still even trying to make”. I’d go towards Neverwinter Nights, Baldur’s Gate 2, and, further back, even Might and Magic VI as examples of What I Want. The Bioshocks were “good games that didn’t really scratch my RPG itch”, and the new Fallouts are “games in the Bethesda style, which I just don’t really like that much”. YMM (of course, since this is all just opinion!) V. And thank god for Katauri Interactive, because as long as they keep kicking out King’s Bounty games, I’m going to keep buying them. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/78 "2010-11-11T04:17:05Z")
> [@Kiros](#): > > I wouldn’t presume to answer for him, but I have the same problem when it comes to PC RPGs, and my answer would be “the kind that BioWare is the only company still even trying to make”. I’d go towards Neverwinter Nights, Baldur’s Gate 2, and, further back, even Might and Magic VI as examples of What I Want. The Bioshocks were “good games that didn’t really scratch my RPG itch”, and the new Fallouts are “games in the Bethesda style, which I just don’t really like that much”. YMM (of course, since this is all just opinion!) V. There’s also _Mass Effect 2_ which has recently come out to some acclaim as well, although I haven’t played it. In short, I’m just not seeing a “lack of RPGs on PC”, but my tastes run at polar opposites to obscure JRPGs, Sword & Sorcery stuff, and the like, to be fair. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/79 "2010-11-11T06:19:46Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > FWIW, I see computer games as a storytelling medium that has the potential to far surpass the cinema. Maybe as, like, a sandbox, Choose-Your-Own-Adventure type thing. But if you’re talking about storytelling, as in, one guy’s telling the story, video games will always be inferior. In a video game, you can choose to ignore the story, or screw with it, or flat-out destroy it, depending on how many options you have, and there’s just no way for that to not hurt the story in question. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986/80 "2010-11-11T06:25:46Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Maybe as, like, a sandbox, Choose-Your-Own-Adventure type thing. But if you’re talking about storytelling, as in, one guy’s telling the story, video games will always be inferior. In a video game, you can choose to ignore the story, or screw with it, or flat-out destroy it, depending on how many options you have, and there’s just no way for that to not hurt the story in question. Have you played any of the _Half-Life_ or _Bioshock_ games, or _Mafia II_? They’re pretty darn close to “interactive movies”, IMHO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gaming-is-it-dying/559986.md?page=5)