Future of the gaming biz....??? What to buy now? | FerrariChat

Future of the gaming biz....??? What to buy now?

Discussion in 'Technology' started by TheBigEasy, Jun 18, 2017.

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  1. TheBigEasy

    TheBigEasy F1 World Champ
    Consultant

    Jun 21, 2005
    16,862
    California
    Full Name:
    Ethan Hunt
    I'd like to buy a new gaming rig.

    I've always been a casual gamer. When I was a kid I did PC gaming + Nintendo 64... In college I had a PlayStation 2... then didn't get back into I think until 2011ish when I bought an XBox 360... and then an XBox One when it came out.

    Since I got married, I gave away my Xbox One and all the games to a kid in my office. Wife wasn't a fan of me gaming in the living room. I have a bit more free-time now, and the wife has relaxed. So I want to get a new rig.

    Option 1 - Easy way out... just wait for the new XBox One X that's coming out later this year. Supposed to cost about $500.

    Option 2 - Get a gaming PC. I'm actually leaning towards a gaming laptop that I can plug into my tv via hdmi when I want, and still play with an XBox controller. Gives me more portability too in that I can just play on the laptop screen when the wife is watching the tv, or I could take it to my office.

    Obviously a PC is much more expensive. I'd want something like this @ $3500:
    Digital Storm Harker Custom Gaming Laptop

    Most games I'd play are on Xbox, but not all. I'm particularly following the development of Star Citizen... that looks amazing... and will be PC only.

    I still worry though that a $3500 PC is overkill for what I'd use it for vs a $500 XBox.... I'd use it ONLY as a gaming console. (I use a MacBook Pro all day for work + personal computing)

    ...

    All that said, as a side bar, I wonder where the gaming biz is going in general. It seems like the next gen stuff will be a lot more VR type experiences.

    I really like the new Nintendo's approach with the switch. It basically merges an iPad with a console. It would be exactly the experience I want in terms of casual couch gaming without always needing to use the TV... but it wouldn't have all the games I like to play on it. I'm more of a GTA 5 and Forza Horizon 3 kinda player... not Mario Kart.

    I'm actually REALLY surprised that Apple hasn't bought Nintendo. To me that would be a perfect marriage. They could integrate the "Switch" gaming and content into all future iPad's and Apple TV's... that's the perfect audience for them.

    For Microsoft. I'm surprised that they haven't done more to merge the XBox world with PC gaming. For example, why can't you just pop an XBox disk into a Windows 10 pc and play it with an XBox controller? I just feel like those should work together much better than they do. They would own the market of PC gamers if the Xbox was more of a seamless extension rather than a separate experience.

    For Sony and the PlayStation. They are doing great as they are... but what is the future for them?? If Apple bought Nintendo and Microsoft fully merged the Windows and XBox worlds.... I could see PlayStation being an acquisition target for Google. (or even Facebook since they have expressed gaming interest with buying Oculus Rift)
     
  2. Bas

    Bas Four Time F1 World Champ

    Mar 24, 2008
    41,300
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    Bas
    Since you want to play star citizen, you'll need a very strong computer.

    My buddy just finished his PC and came in at €2200 I believe (excluding his new monitor).

    16GB DDR4 ram
    i7 7700K
    1080TI graphics card
    new case
    watercooling
    Z270 motherboard
    etc etc

    Building yourself is a lot cheaper than buying a pre-build system. Putting it together is pretty easy, too. If you don't want to put it together, some college kid will easily do it and earn him some money.
     
  3. TheBigEasy

    TheBigEasy F1 World Champ
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    Jun 21, 2005
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    Ethan Hunt
    Yea... it basically seems to me that for 99% of what I really want/need is just a new XBox.

    To play Star Citizen... you need a new mega-PC. And I don't know if it's worth it to spend that kinda money for a rig to play 1 game... since I really wouldn't need it for anything else. I'll just wait until next year when Star Citizen is actually finished (hopefully), and decide then if I want to buy a PC for it (and by then, there will be newer PC hardware out anyway).
     
  4. Bas

    Bas Four Time F1 World Champ

    Mar 24, 2008
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    Bas
    If it's just for Star Citizen then you might as well wait. My buddy's pc will be able to play it for years on his PC though.

    I think a lot of Xbox exclusive titles are becoming available on PC also these days due to crossplay or whatever. Forza Horizon works well on my PC (shame the playability is very low of the game itself, fun for 20 mins then I'm bored), and many other titles coming I think.

    My PC was around a grand, only thing that needs upgrading is a new GPU and I'll be able to play games properly. At the time the difference in GPU's wasn't big enough to buy a new one so I stuck with the AMD I got for very cheap. Pascal GPU's have moved the game on significantly, if I buy a 1070GTX now my PC (removing my old GPU cost) would have been around 1200, and play everything on ultra settings in 2560x1600 easily, some games such as GTA5 (because it's very well optimized) in 4K on ultra even...
     
  5. SPEEDCORE

    SPEEDCORE Four Time F1 World Champ

    Jul 11, 2005
    45,906
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    Toe Knee
    All the new Xbox games announced @ E3 will be available to PC so really it comes down to putting down $500 for an xboxX or putting that money down towards a new PC.

    Those expensive laptops are really for showing off at LAN parties they are too big n bulky to carry around with some compromises in performance.

    The Corsair One is a decent pre-made small factor computer you could look at :eek: around $2600 and it comes with a 1080TI.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELG55Hzbt9g[/ame]
    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdtZEcppLQY[/ame]
     
  6. ryalex

    ryalex Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Aug 6, 2003
    24,957
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    Ryan Alexander
    I thought about getting a Switch but am not really convinced yet. Frankly I'm disappointed that the display is relatively low-res compared to my phone and tablet. Yes, yes, I know I paid $600 for those rather than $299.

    What I did instead was bought one of these Bluetooth SNES controllers for $34 at Fry's and put an SNES emulator on my phone.
    SNES30 and SFC30 Controllers | 8Bitdo
     
  7. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
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    Atlanta
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    Tom Spiro
    I want to do I racing, so what is the best computer at the moment to buy... & where?

    I'm not a techie guy, nor do I want to become one... I use X box assetto corsa, love it but its limited in tracks etc... love I racing but hate the thought of all the computer crap you have to learn and do to use it... what are the easiest solutions for a non tech guy???
     
  8. TheBigEasy

    TheBigEasy F1 World Champ
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    Jun 21, 2005
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    Ethan Hunt
    I like the idea of the laptop for portability. If you get a PC tower or an XBox... you're pretty much locked into the TV that you connect it to. A laptop I can bring to my office, or play at home on it's own screen without pissing off my wife when she wants to watch TV.

    What would REALLY be nice in the future.... is to just have an iPad with the power/playability of a new XBox/Playstation. I'm sure they'll figure out how to reduce the graphics cards at some point.... or at least a cloud-based GPU service that works well.

    Agree.. the idea of having an entire computer just to play a few games is overkill. I already have a computer that I use for work/email/web/etc.... and don't want superpowered gaming rig to do that stuff.

    Just get an XBox or PlayStation with a steering wheel. The newest Forza Motorsport or Grand Turismo games are incredible.
     
  9. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Six Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 2, 2004
    68,825
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    Jason
    I don't really game anymore, have a PS4 and keep looking for games to buy but I haven't turned it on in a really long time. But I do watch quite a few game discussion YouTubers.

    Perhaps look for Craigslist or garage sales and see if an Xbox one pops up that you can grab for "cheap". Then you can grab the laptop if you decide to.

    I think VR will always be a niche market. Perhaps it's growing, but it's a long way before it becomes normal.

    Congrats on the marriage BTW. Are you still living in Italy?
     
  10. TheBigEasy

    TheBigEasy F1 World Champ
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    Jun 21, 2005
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    Ethan Hunt
    I'll PM ya
     

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