After my own voyage of meditation, self-discovery and becoming one with nature, I have come to some conclusions that will change my life forever. Conclusions like ALL HAIL THE PC MASTER RACE, Console gaming is severely lagging, the WiiU is a fantastic piece of equipment, and buying physical copies of games is pointless That is a lot of bold claims and statements to throw out willy-nilly. So, let’s break them down.
I used to be a die-hard console gamer and I still am. I love my Xbox One and now my Wii U. I think the PS4 is great and eventually I will buy one. But the consoles are severely behind in both games and quality. Over winter break, I logged onto Steam (Valve’s major digital game distributor) and saw the Winter Sale and the I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of dollar bills suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I bought games left and right and fell in love with PC gaming.
Everything PC offers is just so much more appealing to me than consoles. Especially the business model Valve has going with Steam. They have hit the nail on the head when it comes to their business. It puts Microsoft and Sony’s markets to shame. (Pro tip: if you offer things like flash and monthly sales, you can both make money and keep your customers happy.) PS+ has started down the right path but they’re still not quite there. PC gaming looks better; plain and simple. Not saying the Xbox One and PS4 don’t look great, but the PC looks better. Granted you need a decent PC to get decent quality, but with the release of the Steam machines, we’re gonna start seeing PC quality games at console prices and we might start to see a shift in where allegiances lie.
PC gaming also fosters a perfect environment for start up and indie developers as opsed to the AAA-only developers found in the console market. Games like DayZ, Starbound, Papers Please, and FTL are all games only found on the PC because Steam actually supports indie developers unlike Microsoft and Sony. Also, a major plus to PC gaming is modding. Modding has given some of my favorite games a new breath of life. Games like Fallout 3 and Skyrim have found their way back into my heart through mods and it is amazing to see what a community can do with some code and a three year old game.
But don’t let my qualms with consoles lead you to believe I hate the Xbox and Playstation. I love them all but I am starting to prefer PC gaming. Would I call myself a PC gamer? No. At least not yet.
I bought a Wii U over break as a Christmas present to myself. Some may call it bold, others would say daring. Most, however, would say it is a waste of money and to them I say suck my Wii remote! The Wii U definitely and misunderstood and underrated console of this new generation of consoles. It is everything people loved about the Wii with update generations of the famous characters we know and love. Not to mention the Gamepad is probably one of the coolest features of the three new consoles. Before you pass judgement on the console, go find a friend with one and check it out. Every one I have shown it to has instantly reversed their opinion of the console. Alos, the Wii U has rekindled my love form Mario, Zelda and has given me a way to play all the classic games I missed as a child. With the purchase of my Wii U and my new found love for PC gaming, I have now found that I do not like physical discs anymore. For years, I inspected my game cases for cracks, dents and other pointless blemishes, I had to get limited editions, and I needed to a physical copy. But after buying games on Steam, the Nintendo eShop and even the Xbox Marketplace, I prefer digitally obtaining games now. It’s simple, easy, and perfect to accompany my laziness (trekking to GameStop is such a hassle in college).
With all of these new feelings, I am excited to see how my gaming career shifts as I move further into the year. Will I completely abandon physical copies of games? Will the Wii U hold my attention through the year? Will my new love for the PC strengthen or is it just a phase? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
– Malik Rahili