I love this idea and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

PsycheDiver

ahhhh, no it's pretty much dead, SORRY.

slappyMCslappy

HOORAY for PC gaming! WOOO

xlyesterdaylx

I think it's a pretty good idea. Unlike consoles, the PC has never had a company that can focus efforts on improving the quality of a system.

If this works out, then the companies can sit down and talk about what needs to be done on the PC to turn it back into a successful gaming giant. Then the companies can work together to fix these problems. Since this alliance features not only hardware developers, but software developers as well, I think this has potential to help out.

Personally, I think that software developers need to take the focus off top-line graphics and focus on graphics that can work on a wide variety of systems. Hardware developers need to work on making gaming systems more user-friendly.

But most importantly of all, they need to work to remove the long prevailing stigma that you need a super-duper $3000 computer to run and enjoy the latest games.

JoeshieB7

@dowingba:
Yes who wants great graphics.

FtGF

I just want more STALKER and deus ex type of games for the PC. Hopefully this will motivate people to make more PC games where it doesnt feel like it was dumbed down so it could be playable with a gamepad first over mouse & keyboard.

BryanGuitarDude

Why are the Super Friends pissed?

Robin, did you screw up again?

Herodito

I like how the hardware companies want to "save" PC gaming.

KEELr

Epic are just trying very hard to look like complete ********* and they are very successiful at that, even more than UT3 was.

mizeriq

Epic are part of this group?

What happened to [kotaku.com]

brooza

My problem with this is that they are trying to make the PC a console, where they can sit back and collect royalties, thats what it is about, first they destroy then come in as heroes to "fix it". I don't want this one bit and I'm a PC gamer and PC gaming is not going to ever die, not now not later, but this alliance might hurt it a lot.

Irenicus-the one and only

A voice?

Bah, I say, the PC market not having a voice is not the problem. Sure, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have their own, "voices," but they all also have a long history of tripping over their own words WHENEVER they open their mouth.

It's not, "voices," that make consoles successful. It's standardized platforming.

You grab an X-box 360 game, and it's pretty much a certainty that it'll work without any major hitch. There isn't a hardware compatibility issue, nor trouble with frame rates, or ANYTHING like that. It just works, which leads to a streamlined, simplified gaming experience for consumers. This same standardization also makes like a whole lot easier for developers, as it reduces the amount of debugging and hardware compatibility testing they have to do before a release.

You cannot do that with PC's. You've got competing chip designers putting out competing designs. You've got different operating systems and huge variations in configuration of single OS's. You've got keyboards and mice with differing designs, you can't even get these companies to really settle on the exact shape of the box!

All that being said, there are one or two things they can do. Namely, they can make certain that all their little pet projects works on competing hardware. You know, stuff like PhyX working on AMD cards as well as Nvidia ones.

Other than that, this Alliance is pretty much just a PR move, and if they don't really do anything, it won't be a very effective one at that.

WolvenOne

Valve, where are you?!

Dopeski

Lol, PC is about multiple voices!.. And Microsoft has strong interest on the console market. Has nothing to do inside a pro-PC aliance.

Maybe this thing is to make the suits feel happy, but I doubt will deliver something.

tei

Wow, sounds about as promising Windows Live Gaming. Then again, Dell/Acer/AMD-ATI/Alienware doesn't count.

One company sells laptop to mass consumers cheap using low quality parts, one company is proficient in new egg, one company died with the 9800pro and FX-53, and the other company sells rigs to mass comsumers at ridiculously marked-up prices.

If all those big companies can slash GPU/CPU price by at least 50% i.e., be able to purchase both Duo 2+ghz and 8800gt at 200 dollars. It will take pc gaming by the fucking artery in the neck.

Fyren

Having graphics card makers whose very business relies on us buying their graphics cards every year on this alliance has me thinking this is going to burn miraculously. There's too many differing interests here.

And as someone here said, if you don't have Valve, you don't have anything.

RawSteelUT

@Iron_Dragon_2.0:
Eh I didn't think it was bad. Not UT championship bad anyway. Graphics are better, action's just as fast paced and the sucky vehicles from 2k4 got a major overhaul. Aside from them gutting out my favourite mode (assault) I don't have any huge complaints.

Odin

Oh balls I forgot to make my point... One of the biggest things a PC Gaming Alliance can do to make PC gaming more appealing to the average meatbag is ADOPT SOME SOLID STANDARDS FOR FUTURE UPGRADES.

Perhaps you don't understand the problem, so I will elaborate. My PC is old. The best part in it is my Radeon 9800 Pro which cost me 300 when it came out. It's good enough that only now has it become an actual problem in any way. Previously it was my ram (512) and processor (Athlon XP 1500) that held thigns back, and you might ask yourself why I didn't upgrade them. The answer is simply because I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY AN ENTIRE SET OF NEW PARTS WHEN I WANT TO "UPGRADE".

I don't believe upgrading a PC is a realistic concept anymore. If I want to upgrade my processor, I have to buy a brand new motherboard with the right number of pins because they won't stop increasing the pin count. If I do that, I may as well throw my ram off a highway because they refuse to make a backwards comapatible DIMM slot and continue to move the notches around to insure no crazy company tries to build one of their own against standard.

I've accepted this for a while. I accepted that I would have to buy a few parts at once, and that was fine because it would improve my performance a good bit until the day I decided/needed to buy a new graphics card. Oh wait...

THE MAN DECIDES TO KILL OFF AGP, THE STANDARD FOR EVERY VIDEO CARD MADE SINCE WHO KNOWS WIN, MAKING ANY AGP CARD USELESS.

This is why I have not upgraded in years, and why I doubt after my system becoems entirely obsolete I will be getting new games.I can NOT be the only person who hates the idea of buying an entire new set of aprts every upgrade, finding it a mockery of the entire IDEA of upgrading. Assuming I DID manage to upgrade a part before it became obsolete, why would I even want to risk my money on it when the odds state that they'll arbitrarily change formats 5 seconds after I buy some new RAM?

I used to be way into PC. I still love the game, but the love I had for upgrading systems died when I realized I loved a non existent ideal. Now I am depressed as my only solid option is to buy consoles, and every generation they get more desperate to beat the other guy to making a new one, so soon it will fall to the same death...

If the PC Gaming Alliance addressed these concerns I would have restored faith in humanity. Seriously. I might actually feel like my life has purpose again. Please heroes of PC Gaming, you're my only hope.

BobbyMcPresscott

@Samos42: Double Fine is Deadpool. They'll teleport in abruptly, beat everyone half to death, then work on their dance routine. And in case you wanna be picky, no it does not matter that the Justice League is a DC proeprty. Deadpool does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants it.

BobbyMcPresscott

@Samos42: QFT.

Karlott

@SnakeCL:

Did you even read the thread? Or did you just selectively highlight what you wanted to focus on?

Here's some tidbits for you - some of this may be *gasp* shocking, but it's all true:

- Do you neglect the HDTV for your console? You do know that you can hook up the PC to an HDTV via HDMI with that GAF Crysis PC (the Radeon 3850 comes with two HDMI ports)?

- Even if you add up the cost of Windows, keyboard and mouse, it would still cost less than US$600.00, which was the launch price of the PS3.

- You honestly don't believe that there isn't any fps slowdown in consoles, do you? The only difference is that on a PC you can view the frame rates via Fraps, and you can't do that with consoles (unless you're a developer and debugging) but that doesn't mean consoles don't suffer slowdowns. However, with a PC you can simply tone down the resolution or the graphic detail if you must play at 30fps or over. Just don't pretend that consoles are immune to slowdowns because they aren't.

laputaquelepario

This is by far the most exciting thing I've read all day. I love the picture above. It just fits so well.

yjaved1

*looks at picture*

Ugh... Batman is so out of place in the Justice League.

Anyway, the GAF PC runs Crysis rather... unplayably. (15fps in big shootouts, ugh.) It also tosses in a "free" XP and HDD, which adds to the price. KB/M were left out as well. Monitor was neglected as well. I can scrape together a PC that will run Crysis for considerably less than $400, but it won't be any fun playing it on a 15inch CRT monitor.

I'm actually going to be needing to do some work on my rig soon. The only thing I ever play on PC anymore is LotRO, so I just need to up the specs enough to run it maxed, preferably via HDMI on my nice big HDTV.

SnakeCL

@Quilt:

"You're right about the cost being in the eye of the beholder. The problem though, stems from the idea that most people cannot afford that cost."

The PS3 launched at $600.00, which is more than the cost of buying a PC capable of running Crysis.

"Consoles offer a very stable platform in which to play games. No matter what, you can expect a game to play at the highest graphics setting."

Call of Duty and Halo3 were upscaled 600p graphics. So much for native 720p output. Besides, very few console games can run at 1080p today, whereas PC gamers have been able to run at even higher resolutions since the previous generation of consoles.

"There are no issues with hardware upgrades, non-compatible hardware or drivers, etc."

What firmware update is the PS3 on right now?

"I don't have install the game either."

Lost Planet and Devil May Cry 4 for the PS3 just stopped by to say hello...

"Plus if something breaks on a console, you know where to turn immediately. There's only one place to turn. It's all just simple."

I'll tell you what is simpler: Microsoft should just change the Xbox360 packaging so that it is the return box/coffin for your inevitable console RRoD. It would also be more environmentally friendly. At least I've never had to return a graphics card, cpu or mainboard due to shoddy engineering.

"Screw mid-range graphics."

Then may I ask why you are playing on consoles?

I agree that *currently* PC gaming is more of a hassle than console gaming, but you never know. Maybe this PC Gaming Alliance can remedy these hassles.

Then again, if the current trend of console gaming is any indication, it is quickly becoming the poor man's PC - complete with installs, firmware updates, and hassles.

laputaquelepario

@FtGF: But I don't play pixel-counts, I play games.

dowingba

THQ should be a part of this too. They've been one of the better PC publishers in recent years. Their CEO understands the PC market and knows which genres to target.

Inglix

This only helps if they are willing to come up w/a standard that lets people play any PC game they want at decent settings for a reasonable price for 4 to 5 years at a time w/out upgrades. Being that some of the main members are hardware makers, that won't happen. That's the way they could gain marketshare. They make too much money selling new $500-$700 cards every 6 months. Yeah, you can run Crysis by building a $400 computer today, but will that run new games at the top tier in 2 years? Probably not. That's the problem.

Spartan1308

Oh yeah, that image is very fitting.

slickchris7777

As others have said, some games suck for a PC, others suck for a console. That aside, i would imagine PC gaming gets a bit of a boost near the end of each console cycle, when the existing hardware is considered outdated.

Either way, this is good news. I've been PC gaming ever since my Commie 64 (if you will allow me to lump that in with the "pc" group), and using consoles since the Atari 2600. Both methods have had their good and bad points. Now a days, the distinctions are becoming non-existent. The RTS genre has been making moves towards consoles (though i cannot imagine this ever feeling more natural than on a pc), and older, PC only genre's like the adventure game simply die (though, being one who loved Dreamfall, i am very much looking forward to Dreamfall Chronicles. and i picked up Sam & Max Season One as well).

My main hope is that this movement will eventually give us more than new subscription service games (ie, MMO's or some new scheme they dream up) and 360 ports. The PC should NOT play second fiddle to consoles. Each has their strengths, hopefully these companies will play towards them.

Tramz

@maximatron: Hey man it has been said ten times already but you should check all your drivers and make sure everything is good to go. You should be getting more juice out of that machine.

@Ken: Yes PC gaming is where it's at!

@Zeuxis: Man that is so not true. You don't have to buy new cards every six months. New cards are never really maxed out for a while. Look at the 8800s which came out in Nov 2006 the only game that gives it trouble is Crysis and it's still very playable at 30+FPS on max settings. And not to mention it absolutely destroys consoles and alway will even if new cards come out!

@Strangelove: Yes Sins is amazing! I recommend people pick this one up.

While I do agree PC gaming takes more effort then consoles it is not with out its rewards. When "Next Gen" consoles were being touted as hi-def at 720P PC gamers where scratching their heads thinking ya that was cool about a decade ago. There is nothing like gaming on a high-end machine. Don't get me wrong I own all the new consoles and they are sweet but PC gaming is in a different league.

Long live PC gaming!

FtGF

Most people forget that 1280x1024 is a higher resolution that most big screen TVs can handle.
720p is a joke.
1080p is the next best thing but then PC's resolution of 1920x1200 beats it again.

Archavious

@Ken: You're right about the cost being in the eye of the beholder. The problem though, stems from the idea that most people cannot afford that cost. Consoles offer a very stable platform in which to play games. No matter what, you can expect a game to play at the highest graphics setting. There are no issues with hardware upgrades, non-compatible hardware or drivers, etc. I don't have install the game either. Plus if something breaks on a console, you know where to turn immediately. There's only one place to turn. It's all just simple.

Compare this to PC gaming. Every step of the way there's just more hassle involved. It's generally more expensive, there's a far bigger chance for errors (through your own fault or someone elses), and there's generally just more involved and far more personal investment. There are companies which keep this in mind (Blizzard and Valve), but it's companies like Crytek which really do the PC gaming market a disservice (don't get me wrong, their innovation is amazing.) I want to play their games, but why bother if my computer can't play the game the way it's MEANT to be played? Screw mid-range graphics.

Most people don't have the time or the interest to get involved with PC gaming. Consoles are streamlined and simple.

KISS. Keep it simple stupid.

Of course, until console makers smarten up and start hooking up keyboards and mice to their consoles, I'll always have my PC ready for a good RTS. Starcraft 2 can't come soon enough.

Quilt

MS, Intel and Nvidia! Monopoly near you soon:tm

dell, acer and activision, biggest players.

This gaming alliance is more like Reservoir dogs.

+ Watch video

I wonder who is Mr. Pink

(go go Steam, this alliance is bad.)

Irenicus-the one and only

@Odin: Hey! I buy AMD/ATI products! Never did like Intel >_<

Shijirou

@Odin: UT3 sucks on PC as well as consoles. It plays like one of the unreal championship games.

Fair enough on the GoW PC port sucking but Epic won't even respond to people with major crashing issues. There's been 1 half assed patch so far.

Iron_Dragon_2.0

This PC Gaming Alliance isn't excluding Steam (Valve); Valve can hop on the bandwagon as well.

Speaking of bandwagons, what this alliance aims to accomplish is to become a unified voice; first, to dispel the myth that PC gaming is dead (far from it, and it never has been close to dying), and second, to provide a unified voice within the industry, mainly with respect to the hardware - what performance targets to aim for. In that sense there's no reason why Valve's online distribution method and Games for Windows Live cannot coexist perfectly (it's not like the x86 platform is restricted to only run Windows).

Those who constantly complain about the "exorbitant" cost of PC gaming, this is another myth I hope this PC Gaming Alliance can dispel, post-haste ([www.neogaf.com]). PC gaming haters, all you've ever wanted to know about PC gaming (but were afraid to ask) can be found within this thread, where a US$400.00 PC runs Crysis (which means, by extension, any other PC game).

Regarding PCs and upgrading, it isn't something forced onto the end user. If that US$400.00 PC can run Crysis, that means your games have the potential to look at least that good five years down the line (I wouldn't complain). Sure, in five years' time there will be games that make Crysis look dog-ugly - but demand the best cutting-edge hardware. That's fine; you do have the option to turn down the visuals to Crysis levels (which, last time I checked, weren't too shabby).

The difference between a PC and consoles is, with a PC you at least have the option to upgrade your hardware. Having seen Gears of War on both the Xbox360 at 720p vs my PC at 1080p, there's simply no contest. Having seen Uncharted: Drake's Fortune compared to Crysis, again, there's no contest. Three years from now, when the PC has gone through another three generations of graphics cards while consoles are still stuck with graphic chipsets that are already two generations behind at the time of writing, I like to at least have the option to either not upgrade and keep my gaming at Crysis-level graphics, or upgrade my GPU for @ USD200 and get graphics that make Crysis look like, well, what your average console game looks like today.

laputaquelepario

@Diesel_Power:
hope you enjoy your crashes and bsod XD

i <3 MS!(seriously i do)

Truepatriot

@Odin: Thing is UT3 sucks on PC as well, cause it's been butchered and simplified to console fuck :( I waited 2 years for that game, and i rather play ut2k4

Lokku

@Diesel_Power: The RROD is totally heinous, though personally I find the framerate issues on several 360 games more heinous (Blue Dragon? Seriously?), and there IS no excuse for it, but my falcon has yet to have an issue. We will see if these are just as badly defective as the last batch. Go testing methodologies.

HAGE

EA, MS, and Epic can go make "We keep PC gaming alive for money from suckers" group

Lokku

@Diesel_Power:
I got both, what does that mean?

O___O

Ken

I'll enjoy my PC while you console boys enjoy your RROD.

You get what you pay for.

Diesel_Power

íf they put EA and Valve in. Nothing in the world can stop them.

carbonelli

@Luke Plunkett:

Damn Straight!

FLYBOY611

@BryanGuitarDude: True but upgrading a PC is alot more hassle and a bit more expensive.

For example,a few years back the OMG need upgrade game, was Doom 3. Bought a new rig for it, around 3 years down the line i did an upgrade from my 6800 gfx card, for a slightly better one. Then Crysis came out, my system struggled. But just a gfx upgrade wasn't an option. Dual core was in, and therefore new mobo was needed in affect, and therefore new ram etc etc.

But to be fair if i didnt shell out for Crysis I bet my old rig would of lasted another year easy. But i couldn't help myself :(

However, to make myself feel better i remind myself my PC is not just a gaming system, is a magical box full of everythin, used for pretty much everything.

I think alot of people forget that when they compare consoles to pcs

Lokku

@mva5580: Touche. ;)

HAGE

I find it quite humorous that people are actually using the Xbox 360 as an example of a system that you can just put the game in and play, without expecting any problems.

That is very, very funny.

mva5580

@Iron_Dragon_2.0:
Meh I wouldn't say that.
For one:
UT3 sucks on consoles.
For two:
Gears sucks on a PC.

UT is made for a mouse, it's there for split second reactions and frantic looking around for enemies. It's for adrenaline junkies, ESPECIALLY with instagib on. You cannot get that same level of response on a console.

Gears was made for consoles though, and it SHOWS. There's a delay for aiming which doesn't feel natural when playing with a mouse, it's fine on a gamepad but on a mouse you expect a quicker response time. It's the same say if you've ever tried to play Dirge of Cerberus with a mouse on the PS2, it's tuned for the thumbstick so it just doesn't feel right.

Finally to some up, UT is probably the most mod friendly game out there which just doesn't translate as well from PC's to consoles.

Odin

@Quilt:
I bought into the PC world fully expecting this, but then realized that with the right GFX card purchase, this can really be avoided. A new card every few years is all that's really needed with people like QC8472 still playing modern games on his PC with a P4!

People want to think PC gaming is all about the "Oblivion"s and "Crysis"s, the biannual or so major PC releases that CRUSH machines and are fully intended to do so just because the developers can whilst failing to realize great games slide by (I will use the reference seen earlier to Sins of the Solar Empire) that aren't demanding at all and are fantastic titles that won't strain hardware.

I just threw Vista on my gaming rig (a curse or touch of death by some), but with the power I designed into it for gaming makes vista float like a breeze (Vista score of 5.4!) and have seen no real loss in games like Bioshock or Crysis.

Again, the cost of PC gaming is the eye of the beholder. I have a PC that will last me years as a computing device and will last as a good gaming rig for 2~3 if I choose not to upgrade the GFX card. All for $997 (no Keyboard, mouse, or Monitor included, but if you added those, that's like factoring in the cost of the couch and TV for console gaming :P)

Ken

I have had an on-again-off-again relationship with PC gaming for a long time now, there are plenty of things that I like about it, but I'm afraid the enthusiast wing has hijacked the scene to the point of annoyance beyond what I can stand.

The last straw was trying to play Bioshock last year relatively soon after release, on a brand new system with a 2600XT, and being unable to even make it anywhere good without crashola jamboree. I tried heading to the support forums only to find reassuring threads like "finally made it through the whole game without crashing!"

Yeah, life is WAY too short to bother with this if a perfectly functional 360 version is right in front of you, just pop in and go. Got my 360 for $180, compared to the money that you can blow on PC gaming, there's just no comparison to me, at this point. Sure, I have my mac around for stuff that only the PC can provide, but that's MUCH less and less in the polygon-heavy arena anymore.

HAGE

Why the fuck is epic in this little group? They've clearly moved on and left PC gaming to die.

Just look at GoW PC and UT 3 for proof.

Iron_Dragon_2.0

Well, we now have the Intel Dual Core processors and the 8800GT graphics cards - there now seems to be a trend to return the PC to being a more affordable platform without the need to frequently upgrade so many components.

Although there were many frustrated moments when I wished that the PC platform would just die, I think that improved organisation of the PC market might just save the platform.

mcderek3000

^ To maximatron.

.endejas.

$1400 and you couldn't get a widescreen monitor?

.endejas.

This sounds like a bit of a desperation move on the PC gaming front. Though hopefully this means SOMEONE will come to the conclusion that it's a bad idea to keep expecting PC gamers to continually upgrade their systems for mad amounts of cash.

Quilt

This group just needs to get behind Steam, Valve has this stuff down pat.

IMO Steam is one of the greatest innovations in gaming today.

Callidux

@Lokku: arent we moving on from one console to the next gen in about 5ish years anyways? except that Pc's have a much better "backwards compatbility" of course vista had to come and screw things up abit. but its still relativetly new

BryanGuitarDude

@maximatron:
Generally it's better to build it yourself, it's not too difficult and you can often get a much better deal. Granted prebuilts are a good option sometimes when you can pick one up for a nice price due to some special offer but most of the time custom assembly will get you more for less. Second advantage to building it yourself is that normally you'll have all the overclocking options unlocked (a lot of prebuilt machines come with overclocking options locked out, to prevent untrained users from breaking it and then complaining about it). Overclocking lets you get more out of your hardware than you paid for normally, of course your mileage may vary as you can get parts that'll barely clock higher at all and some you can extract awesome performance from. My CPU was originally an Intel Core2Duo E6600, with each core running at 2.4GHz. After a little tinkering I got it up to 3.6GHz. Also pushed up the factory overclocked GeForce 8800 GTS (320MB) a bit and tightened the timings on my 2GB of RAM to 4-4-4-12. Motherboard is an ASUS Commando and I even managed to squeeze in a Zalman CPU cooler and a 500GB HDD for the cost.

Only thing my PC doesn't have is a DVD writer since the case came with a built in CD/DVD drive (looks awesome though).

Either way, DIY is your friend.

Odin

@Zeuxis: I love PC gaming to bits and i think i have to agree with you. It is a hassle and annoying to upgrade in less than 5 years. Bit exaggerated about upgrading every six months, we would be lucky to get crysis caliber games that often ;)

Lokku

@Zeuxis:

You say as devs intended, but then again, the limitations of game machines means the end user loses, as well. For a graphics card the cost of a Wii, I have a PC that will last me around 2 years in top gaming performance for titles (you don't need the newest card every 6 months to make a game look or run well) and can last longer or I can bide my time on my new purchase.

I'm getting 1680x1050 on my games with high textures, the 360, whilst I do love it, barely squeeks 720p sometimes and has to up convert the rest of the way and still have lower textures due to hardware limitations.

With the PC world, you're investment is only equaled to how anal one decides to be in keeping "up to date". Buying in can be expensive, but slowly rolling upgrades into a machine doesn't cost much and you can keep a PC running for 5 or more years with excellent gameplay,... and remember, really... what you are spending on the graphics card is the true cost of your gaming. Everything else exists as it would if you were just owning a PC.

My PC would have been $750 w/o a GFX card and if I cut back on the premium case and SLI mobo, I could have gotten that down to $650 or less. That's pretty standard for a new PC. A Wii, with low graphics quality is $250. An 8800GT can make sweet music (IE visuals) for around the same price and can be readily placed into a machine.

Again, the cost of PC gaming is in the eye of the beholder. If you choose to see it as expensive, than you can. You can look at consoles and realize they are bum raping you for new accessories everytime when I can use a mouse and keyboard (and one of my own liking) at any point in time.

It's give and take, but if PC gaming died, you would lose a lot of your innovation in terms of graphics cards and console gaming would be hurt by this. Graphics cards used for visual design and rendering are different than those for gaming, by the way.

Ken

@Zeuxis:
True, but there's something so impersonal about a console. Don't get me wrong I love them too but there's just something so satisfying about using a machine you lashed together yourself.

Of course it helps when it's beautiful and has a god like CPU cooler.

Odin

@Zeuxis:
NEVER!!!!!!!

YOU WILL NEVER HAVE OUR POINT&CLICK ADVENTURE AND JAP HENTAI GAMES!

AND WE'LL BE PLAYIN THESE IN FULL HD++!!!!

wow-wh0re

@Odin: Built it myself (well I chose the parts, and they built it for me)-- Got everything from Asus (board, video card). Maybe I should get a new video card... Like those GeForce 8, I guess mine is overdated. I tried Portal back since you guyz made me doubt, but with like eveything to recommended (you know with little stars in the graphic option of Portal), I barely run like 20 FPS at 1650x1080.

maximatron

@Lokku:
Hehe. My bad =/

wow-wh0re

@7th_Ronin: my thought exactly :(

if only microsoft would return to windows games only, I could like them as I did at the time of age of empires 1.

QC8472

Long live PC!

Also, Sins of a Solar Empire is awesome.

Strangelove

@wow-wh0re: haha so true, but noticed i said " slight little bit of hope" Sadly there's not many other big names to rely on. :(

Lokku

Is this the right approach? While the PC will likely always be better than a console in terms of straight-up graphical fidelity, the cost of achieving that is too high for it to be reached in anything other than a niche market. Tossing stacks of money into the mix so that expensive high-end games are produced to appeal to such a market is a failing strategy. The emphasis should instead be on finding ways to support smaller, more nimble developers who make lower-cost games and achieve quality through commitment rather than enormous outlays. Due to the massive installed base even a niche game can be highly profitable as long as the costs and system demands are kept down. The challenge then becomes developing a way to deliver (and publicize) the games to the niche that wants them. In this regard MS could play a critical role; partnership with Valve would also be helpful. A "unified direction" for the PC games ignores that market's most obvious characteristic: diversity.

mwclarkson

I know I probably get flamed but I hate PC gaming now, and I played most of the biggest PC games out there, spend thousands of dollars on upgrades.

Reason I hate PC gaming is because it became too expensive and inconvenient, its crazy, every 6 months to play a PC game to its best (as developer intended) you have to sell your soul to buy a new GFX card etc etc.

Long live consoles, I buy a PS3 or Xbox360, have it for 5 years and know any game I buy for that platform will work, no driver issues, no compatibility issues, gets patched as soon as there is an update, no worry about HDD space, no online cheating/hackers etc etc. Love it. I hope the next gen consoles (PS4 etc) will kill off PC gaming for good, there, I said it! :)

Zeuxis

as long as the xbox will exist, pc gaming's death will slowy keep on...

ms wont do marketing for both platform... they already made their mind, hypocrites

7th_Ronin

@Odin: well maybe ill have to go back and take a second look at it, i do know at the time that i was trying to get it to work they were having problems with the live server crap. but either way i do think games for windows is crappy stuff, i much prefer the steam community

stryker1800

@Odin: thanks for the precision, I was really afraid of what microsoft is doing to the game industry in general with this, and other things...

QC8472

@maximatron:
Sounds like you got a raw deal. I paid about £800 (Roughly $1600) for my PC last summer and it runs pretty much everything awesomely, even Crysis runs good (albeit not at max, but seriously what CAN run it at max). If you factor in the fact I paid VAT on my parts which boosts up the cost a bit then I probably spent about the same as you. By any chance did you buy your PC prebuilt or did you build it yourself?

Odin

@Lokku:
BlizzaVision givin us hope? More like
'MOAR ANNUALIZED SEQUALS RawR!'

After so many year(s) Blizz have yet announce an ORIGINAL IP in a ORIGINAL setting!

wow-wh0re

Ignore my last comment, lol. Delete please

ddrmacintosh

@maximatron: strange... I've got a 7950GT (AGP8x), intel Pentium 4 2.4ghz, 2gb of ram and run portal at maximum settings, in 1152x864 and I'm on win XP.

My processor is SERIOUSLY lacking. it's over 5year old now, and it's at the minimum specs of most games.
Still, I play all games at maximum settings without lag, except those who use unreal 3 engine; they probably use the processor way more thaqn the other engines.

QC8472

@maximatron:
There's something wrong with your PC, then... drivers issue, bad card, something. There is NO WAY you can be chugging that bad with that card. Hell, my buddy has a P4, 1.5Gb of RAM and an X1600 (?) or equivalent and Portal looks great on it. He has a Dell Laptop that he uses for WoW and law school and he can play Portal on it at a solid clip and this is an ~$800 laptop from last year.

There is seriously something wrong with your computer.

Ken

Hmm, hasn't the Mac Pro supported 8 cores for HOW long now? It's also using high end Xeon processors too...

ddrmacintosh

@stryker1800:
You do NOT have to pay to play the PC version of Gears online, merely have an Live silver account (which is free). If you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription you get access to a few extra features (which aren't really worth it but if you already have one then what the hey) including cross-platform play on some games (but not gears). It may look like they tried to push Live on to PC users, but I think even Microsoft aren't so dumb as to try and charge PC gamers for something we've had for free for yonks now.

Odin

@BryanGuitarDude: /agree

They're two seperate companies; the artist previously known as Activision (Activision Blizzard), and Blizzard. Not the same thing!

Karmond

O and to combating piracy is doing what steam is doing. And hopefully in the future, the prices of the games will be lower since the devs don't have to shell out to publishers and can make pure profit.

Lokku

@maximatron: $1400,... and your PC struggles with current releases? I spent $1000 last October and I can slap Crysis on High (granted lowered shaders) and get framerates in the averages of 45FPS with Vista, even.

What did you buy?!

Ken

@BryanGuitarDude: Well I've got like a NVidia 7950GT, Core2Duo 2.7... 2 Gig of RAM... I bought Portal recently (great game BTW), but I must put the resolution down to 1024x768 (native is 1650x1080) and lower like graphics to medium and turn off about everything else to get a descent framerate, and even with that, I get screen tearing like MAD.

maximatron

@maximatron: sounds like you need some tips about how to build, optimize, and maintain your pc.. But i see exactly where you are coming from. For PC gaming to become better hardware really needs to get cheaper, and become less of a hassle when it comes to upgrades. Nvidia are not helping PC gaming at all when they are saying "Lawl, come buy 4 cards for quad SLI!"

Lokku

As long as Blizzard and Will Wright are around, we'll be okay.

R0bster

I'm rapidly turning into a PC convert with my purchases of borderlands and Fallout3 jumping from the 360 to my new PC... There are games I can only get on consoles, and I love my 360 and PSP for what they do as a gamer,... but if I want the best experience, it seems it comes from the PC.

PC, ftw. I really wish they would make the stand together with Valve. Steam used to BLOW (no pun intended), but except for some discrepancies I had with Dark Messiah, Steam has really flourished and is pretty secure in the idea of keeping all of your purchases in one spot and guaranteeing that you can readily move your old games onto your new PC with ease!

I like the PC Gaming Alliance. ... oh and I liked Games for Windows because I'm picky with my boxes on my shelf and I would have loved for my PC games to all have nice and neat little white tags on the book ends instead of the weird mismatch of PCDVD logos or nothing at all.

Ken

@okenny :): Exactly. Steam stands apart from this (it's neither hardware nor software), and Valve, for all their class, aren't a major PUBLISHER in terms of their sales volume.

If anything, you should be asking where EA are, not where Valve are.

Luke Plunkett

@maximatron: pc gaming isnt doomed because of piracy, sure its a big problem but calling it doomed is kinda going overboard. what kind of rig did you get last year?

BryanGuitarDude

@maximatron: i put 1500 down on my computer last year and can play every game on the market at its higher graphical levels, what kinda computer did you buy. lol

stryker1800

This sounds all very well and all, but MS hasnt done fuck all for PC gaming for ages(games for windows!? lawl), Epic for the past few years only have gears and UT3 to show. One being a port, the other being consolefied, bland, and not living up to true pc UT standards.

Activision Blizzard, gives a slight bit hope hope though.

But like everyone else is saying, Valve is the true Saviour.

Lokku

Why do people keep saying steam, steam, steam?! Valve has nothing to do with this. It benefits Valve too by growing the industry. Geez, people are always looking for a war... this is why fanboys suck!

okenny :)

I thought PC gaming was d00med because of piracy? What this group will do about it? Anyways, for me PC gaming will always be crap; I cashed like 1400$ for my rig last year, and I know I can't run like half of the games on the shelf. Sure I could, like put the graphics down, resolution down, and multisampling down and so on and so forth... But I don't want that, I'd like to play a game like the devs wanted me to; look at the graphics they wanted me to see. And that's what the consoles are ALL about. I cashed like 400$ for my PS3, I don't see that as buying a simple "hardware", I'm buying a warenty that I'll be able to play every game, in the next 4-5 years, A1. No worries, even after 5 years I buy that game, pop it in and b00m, it plays perfect. Thats priceless.

maximatron

@Brackynews: If there's anyone who would make a good Mac Gaming Alliance team it would be Hoagie from DOTT (I could see him as a mac guy), Steve the ex-Dell guy (jumps ship to Apple) and Jim Breuer.

Proz

Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are always calling their market share - we're going to call our market through this group.

True, Microsoft is calling their part of the [console] market share, but wouldn't they be calling the PC market share theirs too, since they are a part of the PC Gaming Alliance too?

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

DirectX did a lot to push PC gaming ahead with a standardized software API to access games. Now what the PC needs is a push from the hardware section to make $300-$600 PCs that can play 90% of the games out there and look good. The other push from the marketing side that allows for brand recondition of PC titles. The more aspects of the PC gaming industry that can be standardized, the more the market will grow.

The GFW initiative was to insular to work though it really had the right idea to deal with the market; it was to bound to MS's agenda and suffered from to much misunderstanding. The PC industry shot itself in the foot when it said no to GFW but hopefully this "more open" approach will quail the cynical nature of the PC development space.

okenny :)

why do people keep thinking blizzard and activision are merged into one company? Vivendi owns both blizzard and activision but they are still seperate companies not merged.

BryanGuitarDude

@EnigmaNemesis:
"Heard this for 10 years now ... and they just came of a fantastic year last year."

LOL. Dead Man Walking it is.

DigitalHero

Why does looking an Aqua Man make my eye twitch when I look at him?

I really hope PC gaming doesn't get totally eaten up by the consoles. That would be a sad day indeed.

TheDollHouse

@KirbyMorph: i do believe the pc market share constantly fluctuates simply because of the nature of pcs being non-standardized. of course i have no actual proof of this just a theory but sounds good to me.

stryker1800

Ha, no more GAMES FOR WINDOWS? lol

DigitalHero

@EnigmaNemesis: You do know their market share shrank last year, right? I suppose as long as inflation keeps their numbers up, then it's a win in some books.

KirbyMorph

Microsoft, AMD , Nvidia and Intel working together to bring back the Golden Age of PC gaming in an attempt to show developers the path of console gaming isn't justice, but sheer, brutal, vigilantism in the wake of the Modern Age of gaming. Time to read Kingdom Come again.

KeroseneClimax

@stryker1800: what? gears multiplayer on PC requires you to pay? NEVER will I do that.

QC8472

@redfoxx: I doubt it, That is what console Gamers have been saying forever. Read what you just wrote that's total fanboy talk.

Sinnbox

@redfoxx:

Heard this for 10 years now ... and they just came of a fantastic year last year.

EnigmaNemesis

4 of 5 people agree: The Justice League/Guild/Friends/Axis is inferior to other, similar super hero groups.
Although, this gaming alliance rules.
The Toyman is creating an army of crappy PC games. Can the Gaming League stop the endless Sudoku discs? The deceptive "15000" game collections? Or the dreaded "Girl Games"?
Tune in next week to find out!

Erwin

I can show you where PC gaming is going...

*...points to toilet, sewer, garbage-can, the dogs...*

redfoxx

Meh PC won't die unless consoles start supporting keyboards widespread, but with the price and constant updates to PC hardware, making AAA+ titles, especially shooters, on the PC will be alot harder.

haracas

One war ends (Blu-Ray vs HD-DvD) and another one starts (this and Steam). :( Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me they'll be competing with Vale on this one.

Voteforme2020

@LittleBigPlaneteer: if this turned out to be a ploy to put so many games on live for windows i would be so jaded, the fact that i cant play gears online because i refuse to pay subscription fees is bad enough, if other games follow suit ill have to leave the pc gaming community as a sad sad human.

stryker1800

I'm not really sure this is as great as it sounds.

Microsoft will still publish the new games on the 360 first, as will activision which will not help the releases or the quality of them on the PC.

For microsoft, it's because they *need* to sell 360s and that's the way to do it.

As for Activision, beside COD4 (which, I'll say I only played on consoles) I cannot remember one of their game in recent times, on the PC, that didn't feel ackward because it was only a port from consoles.

I want to believe... but it's hard.

QC8472

Market Share? Really?

So they're going to triumphantly announce how many copies of Peggle sold and then gloat about how awesome they are?

Moonshadow101

@SchoolBusDriver: Can you read the shole post before replying?

P.S. Unless you have been living on mars with the recently discovered bigfoot up there Activision and Blizzard are now one company.

Sinnbox

Cautiously optimistic is the term that springs to mind. While on the one hand, I'm pleased to see this many companies backing a single offering; hopefully this will help end hardware discrepancies (like HL2 and its ilk running better on ATI cards, etc) while at the same time establishing the PC as a real, tangible gaming "platform." But then there's that other hand, the one that says "Let's face it: they're trying to turn the PC into a console." This may or may not be good news (the reasons I prefer PC gaming to console gaming are numerous, and I won't enumerate them here). To make it pithy, I'm afraid that all those things I like about PC gaming will vanish as the system becomes standardized. Standardization a good thing? Maybe. But if I wanted it I would game on a console.

Cogito

Damn, now I've got to buy myself a new PC...

Though, I was going to anyways.

HomerSapien

Isn't this sort of being done to compete with Steam? If so, then that's the reason Valve isn't there.

LittleBigPlaneteer

Sah-weet!

ShirtGuyDom

Where's valve? Out of all PC developers, they have definitely done the most to keep the platform from stagnating. Oh, and their games are okay too.

shadydentist

I guess this'd interest me if PC gaming had more genres than FPS, MMO, and RTS...eh.

I'll stick to consoles and watch this from the sidelines, as always.

Archaotic

@Stormrider: Valve is Batman. They'll come in to help whenever it suits them.

Samos42

@PATSCRU: Vision is not in that picture you big dummy. It's Martian Man Hunter

TinyLightning

@Luke Plunkett:
Bah I'm still in shock over Blizzavision ...

SchoolBusDriver

I totally saw this coming. PC's are an integral part of life. almost EVERYONE has a PC. thus, gaming on the PC makes sense, or something like that. Okay, i dont know. All i DO know is that i've been jaded by the consoles and i've found more ingenuity on the PC. Audiosurf anyone?

TinyLightning

There's something about using the term "grassroots movement" when referring to billion dollar companies that doesn't sit right with me.

I still believe this is being orchestrated to get all games to become standardized and use Microsoft's Live for Windows online gaming system.

LittleBigPlaneteer

ok, so the flash is ATI, the green lantern is microsoft, activision is Vision (useless) and epic is Aquaman (keeping awesome by staying below the major publisher surface)...

all that aside, i'm glad pc is gonna come back and show everyone where games came from. PC all the way...

PATSCRU

Seems a little reactionary to me.

PaulHunter

Yes!!!

As someone with a Kickass PC Gaming rig, this brings a needed breath of fresh air to a stale air area.

Magnum1024k

@Stormrider:
i came here to say the same thing.a pc alliance with out valve wont be as good.im not a huge pc gamer but if any company is trying to keep pc gaming strong and unified its valve

Truepatriot

@SchoolBusDriver:
Blizzard is owned by/merged into Activision or something like that now. Also ATI/AMD? People are actually buying their products right now?

Odin

This could very well mean the destruction of the Rebel Gaming Alliance. God let the force be with them.

Balmung576

@SchoolBusDriver: You mean Activision? See above.

Luke Plunkett

Alex Ross for the win.

onidavin

Without Valve, does it really have all the big names?

Stormrider

If they can inspire some traction in moving PC standards to a more contemporary position, it can be a good thing. This has the potential to be really big, but if they don't make some clear cut decisions, it'll just be another 'Games for Windows' push.

FightingChance

What no blizzard?

SchoolBusDriver

Tomorrow's news: the Mac Gaming Alliance consisting of...
a dude named Stan.

Brackynews

I just like that Batman is in the middle. Batman is the man :p

goldwings

After hearing a lot of comments from users questioning the "non-profit" status of the PCGA, I did some research and then wrote a short article about it. If my skepticism is correct, then the PCGA may just be a cleverly orchestrated scam.

To read the article, go here:

i came across this article which seems to say that the PC Gaming Alliance is nothing more than a cleverly orcestrated scam:

[www.levlive.com]

UncleLev

Why compete with Valve's Steam. They should join in and reap the benefits of an already massive user base.

Old-Noz