Merge Console and PC games forums?

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

The same game played the same way should be covered in the same thread, methinks. Talk of gameplay and story and tactics and whatnot are platform neutral. However, things like PC mods would need to be managed (no point muddling a thread about something half the readers can't use), so there'd have to be a ruling that only the cross-platform content is talked about in the cross-platform thread.

It sounds like you are suggesting a console thread, a PC thread, and then a cross platform thread. That doesn't sound like an improvement to me.

Personally, I'm quite happy to drop into the console thread for a game and make comments about gameplay and other non-platform specific stuff if that's where all the conversation is. Any PC specific stuff can go in the same thread in the PC forum.

There'd also have to be STRICT rules to prevent console vs. PC discussions breaking out, which seems likely.

What happens when someone says "skip this game, the mouse control is rubbish", "it's a lazy console port", "it's got an awful console POV"? A big mess I suspect.

I think busy console moderators would have their work tripled overnight - and we'd still need the PC forums to post those things into.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

What happens when someone says "skip this game, the mouse control is rubbish", "it's a lazy console port", "it's got an awful console POV"? A big mess I suspect.

I think busy console moderators would have their work tripled overnight - and we'd still need the PC forums to post those things into.

This. I find that I sometimes (not always) use the console gaming forum to discuss my gameplay experiences with the PC version because either there isn't a PC thread for it, or it doesn't have much activity.

But I try to always make sure my PC specific complaints about a title are in the PC gaming forum (not always successful. )

I just see a huge mess if it were to be merged. There aren't many differences between console versions of a game (controls, graphics, gameplay). But there can be massive differences between console and PC (controls, graphics).

At the start of this next console generation the graphics will likely be similar such that only controls differ significantly. But later in the generation?

I just feel that would make conversations potentially quite chaotic and volatile even when people manage to stay on topic.

Right now if you complain about controls in the console thread it's likely going to be the same for both PS3 and X360, so there's a common discussion reference point. Throw in PC and things can rapidly deviate. Likewise, when you start to talk about how good X game looks, it'd be even harder to not post about how much better it looks on PC and oh look what you are missing out on if you are using consoles (happens occasionally now, would happen almost all the time if we merge). Again that last might not be relevant at the start of the next generation of consoles, but in 2 years?

Merging is one of those things that sounds good, but isn't likely to turn out nearly as well as it sounds. Especially for the poor mods.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It sounds like you are suggesting a console thread, a PC thread, and then a cross platform thread. That doesn't sound like an improvement to me.

No, a game thread, and a modding thread for the PC version of a game if comes with mods.

What happens when someone says "skip this game, the mouse control is rubbish", "it's a lazy console port", "it's got an awful console POV"? A big mess I suspect.

Some of those comments would be moot, because you can use XB controllers on PC as standard (I believe). But certainly talk about different play styles would have to be banned. It would make discussion of things like what the game looks like all the more awkward though, because different people will be experiencing different results.

I think busy console moderators would have their work tripled overnight - and we'd still need the PC forums to post those things into.

Yep. Doesn't sound pleasant if the populace can't effectively self-moderate. But if PC gamers are already ducking into the console section to get more action, it shows a degree of separation from the local experience and the general game discussion which alludes to the natural order. The fact we have cross-platform titles already merged means we're already dealing with cross-game issues and are handling them okay (until someone likens a game to Killzone or whatever and it collapses into a graphical pissing match and reiteration of how only 1st party devs truly use the hardware and all other devs are lazy...).

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Yep. Doesn't sound pleasant if the populace can't effectively self-moderate. But if PC gamers are already ducking into the console section to get more action, it shows a degree of separation from the local experience and the general game discussion which alludes to the natural order. The fact we have cross-platform titles already merged means we're already dealing with cross-game issues and are handling them okay (until someone likens a game to Killzone or whatever and it collapses into a graphical pissing match and reiteration of how only 1st party devs truly use the hardware and all other devs are lazy...).

That only works because the console and PC gaming forums are separate. Those that want to dip in and out can do so, and you will find they are the most reasonable forum members. Force the consoles and PC gamers together, and it will be a disaster because a lot of people do not cross over between the two areas and will not treat the "other side" kindly.

As a PC gamer, when I post in a console thread I'm quite aware that I am in someone else's home, and moderate myself quite strictly. If it's all one big group, why should I? When someone says the PS4 graphics are better than the XBOne, why shouldn't I say the PC is even better? That is a reasonable discussion, but that way lies madness, because we've seen it happen all before as a thread descends into pointless bickering. It happens between the two consoles, throwing the Platform of the Gaming Gods in there as well will just make things worse. And we've already got Intel vs AMD vs Nvidia.

Really it would be making the same mistakes of the past once we've had enough time to forget them and think we know better.