Rockstar Responds to GTA IV PC Issues

[Gabb]

not everybody has stability issues. sorry if you do.

uh what? I never said I had stability issues?

Concerning GTA, I'm calling that one. The forums are full of people who exceed minimum requirements and can't play the game on low. It's why steam is offering refunds on a case by case basis. But this is just one example. You can look at games like Crysis as well.

TV... again, that's an option and it depends on where you play. When I'm back home, I play PS3 in my room with a 20 inch HDTV on my bed. It's more than fine and cost me about 200 dollars. No one is forcing you to buy an HDTV when you jump into the realm of consoles.

Concerning GTA, well I don't know what to say, of course everything is a computer by computer basis, but I've seen it run on my friends low end system and although it ran pretty badly, it ran. People on the forums whos system can't run GTA4 is most likely due to other issues ( like that whole ATI incompatability thing ) and not system requirements. Every professional review I read only hinted at a few minor issues besides the fact the game is demanding, and virtually all of them called GTA4 "the best version" due to the enhancements. As Rockstar themselves put it:
"Most users using current PC hardware as of December 2008 are advised to use medium graphics settings. Higher settings are provided for future generations of PCs with higher specifications than are currently widely available. "

Concerning your TV, if you make the argument that you don't have to buy an HDTV to get into console gaming, well then I of course can make the argument that PC games will then have like a 10x resolution advantage on you

 

[Trotter]

The native platform is usually the most stable. After all, the game was written for it.

On a whole, consoles are more stable. Why? There are no variables in them. All of them are identical... same CPU, same GPU, same OS, same drivers. I much prefer the PC game environment, but a game written for the 360 or PS3 will be much more stable.

Common sense will tell you this, especially if you have dealt with PCs much. Unless you are dealing with cookie-cutter Dells or HPs, no two are the same. Different user = different setup... one updates, the other doesn't bother.

 

[CrazeD]

The native platform is usually the most stable. After all, the game was written for it.

On a whole, consoles are more stable. Why? There are no variables in them. All of them are identical... same CPU, same GPU, same OS, same drivers. I much prefer the PC game environment, but a game written for the 360 or PS3 will be much more stable.

Common sense will tell you this, especially if you have dealt with PCs much. Unless you are dealing with cookie-cutter Dells or HPs, no two are the same. Different user = different setup... one updates, the other doesn't bother.

Exactly. It is far more difficult to develop a game to be compatible with thousands of different hardware combination's, than it is to develop for a single hardware combination. Plus, usually there is a entirely different company that develops the PC version (not sure if that's true in this case, but it's usually how ports work).

Games are more consistent on console. You win that one. However, games are vastly superior in lots of other ways for PC; such as modding communities, better graphics, use a keyboard and mouse (had to throw that one in there ), etc etc. Consoles can pretty much only play the game the way it was meant to be played, along with maybe some official DLC. PC's can do whatever they want to the game.

 

[Gabb]

I usually like to use this metaphor with my friends:

A console is like a honda civic
A PC is like a sports car

The honda civic offers a lot of reliability ( stability ) as well as cheaper costs ( although I think the price differences are more closer now then before ) and basically gets you from point A to point B ( does the job of playing games ). There are many more honda civics in the world then sports cars. Honda civis are perfect for people who don't want any hassles and just want to get places.

A sports car is obviously more faster ( better performance ) and has superior controls ( mouse and keyboard but this comes at a price since the sports car is more pricey and usually runs into some reliability issues and can't be considered as reliable as your good ole economic class car. Oh and a sports car can be modded up with a whole bunch of ricer like stuff and customized ( game mods and componenets ). Sports cars are perfect for people who want the next level of driving performance and are enthusaistic enough to deal with higher prices and more problems encountered.

 

[CrazeD]

I usually like to use this metaphor with my friends:

A console is like a honda civic
A PC is like a sports car

The honda civic offers a lot of reliability ( stability ) as well as cheaper costs ( although I think the price differences are more closer now then before ) and basically gets you from point A to point B ( does the job of playing games ). There are many more honda civics in the world then sports cars. Honda civis are perfect for people who don't want any hassles and just want to get places.

A sports car is obviously more faster ( better performance ) and has superior controls ( mouse and keyboard but this comes at a price since the sports car is more pricey and usually runs into some reliability issues and can't be considered as reliable as your good ole economic class car. Oh and a sports car can be modded up with a whole bunch of ricer like stuff and customized ( game mods and componenets ). Sports cars are perfect for people who want the next level of driving performance and are enthusaistic enough to deal with higher prices and more problems encountered.

So where does overpriced body kits, neon lights, and paint-can exhausts tie into your analogy?

 

[objecterror]

So where does overpriced body kits, neon lights, and paint-can exhausts tie into your analogy?

I think those are Mac's.

Reliability , stability and a lot of overpriced stuff that a user doesn't need and won't improve the performance in anyway.

 

[Gabb]

So where does overpriced body kits, neon lights, and paint-can exhausts tie into your analogy?

the overpriced body kids would be...say...WD raptor hard drives, very expensive and not offering that much performance boost ( I don't care what you all say! I still got one! )

The neon lights would be...neon lights people put in computers, haha I actually considered this at one time and then realized I probably spent a total of 5 minutes actually looking at the exterior of my computer case per month

The paint-can exhausts would be these ridiculous gundam cases they had a while back, forgot which company made them

 

[dhgunit]

You have to figure that some people use a PC for other things besides gaming. So you aren't spending $600 or $1000 for a "gaming console". You are spending it on a PC. You can get on tech-forums and talk to adults, instead of 13 year old boys that sound like girls.

And don't forget pRon.

 

[zedman3d]

What was the last big release that was specifically for PC? It seems everything is turning multi-platform now days.

Crysis Warhead.

 

[CrazeD]

I think those are Mac's.

Reliability , stability and a lot of overpriced stuff that a user doesn't need and won't improve the performance in anyway.

Hahaha, I lol'ed.