Question Is PC Gamer doing too much?

[Scaramouche]

I don't want to do a rant or write a big wall of text, but I feel like it's worth bringing up some concerns about my favorite gaming magazine / website.

PC Gamer is the site I visit to get the latest on games I play with mouse and keyboard. Usually RPG's and Strategy games. I read about why my current system is even more outdated than a week before and why I should really click some affiliated links. But mainly it's a place for PC exclusives. A site that pays extra attention to MMO's, modding, indie games on Steam, things like that.

But PC Gamer is making their scope bigger and bigger. For example, there are often stories about:

- PlayStation exclusives that are expected to come to PC somewhere in the future (but are still PS exclusives at the moment)
- Console controllers
- The Witcher new mobile app
- Everything else that's slightly Witcher related
- Twitch culture
- VR
- Steam Deck
- Crypto mining
- The new Windows 11
- Pen and paper tabletop RPG's

Usually there's valid reason for someone to say "well yes, that is also of interest to me as a PC gamer". But overall I feel PC Gamer is losing it's idenitity and focus. When you visit the homepage of PC Gamer it's sometimes not much different from a website like Kotaku. Again, you don't have to see a problem with that. But I already notice myself visiting less because of it.

 

[Brian Boru]

I don't want to do a rant or write a big wall of text

No worries, good post well expressed and nicely formatted

I guess the main question is:
Is PCG missing coverage on topics for gaming on PC?

If it's not, then I'm not bothered about extra topics and articles here—eg console-aimed ones could help bring console players here and expose some to PC gaming.

If it is, then there's a problem.

Personally I feel modding is a core strength of PC gaming, and would like a much bigger focus on it. Another strength is the thousands of PC-exclusive games, mostly from Indie devs—I'd like more coverage to help me pick out some gems, I don't have time to trawl thru the large inventory on Steam etc.

 

[Colif]

i moved thread into forum feedback as admin might see it here, and reply.

- PlayStation exclusives that are expected to come to PC somewhere in the future (but are still PS exclusives at the moment)
- Console controllers
- Pen and paper tabletop RPG's

These do seem a stretch but rest of topics do have something to do with gaming or your ability to keep playing them. Crypto stopped many people being able to get the cards to play the games. Win 11 is just news I guess - We don't have any info yet on what features it has that help gaming,

 

[Brian Boru]

Win 11 is just news I guess - We don't have any info yet on what features it has that help gaming,

Here are a couple of pointers:

W11 f Gamers


Best f Gaming

 

[Colif]

Direct Storage is also in Win 10, as it DX 12 Ultimate. And if your monitor doesn't do HDR, that isn't going to help. So the "features" aren't that great. Given Win 11 is just 10 in makeup, what do you expect?

 

[CParsons]

Given Win 11 is just 10 in makeup, what do you expect?

 

[Colif]

They did slightly more, they also charging you for rearranging all the settings screens and putting a new theme on it. 20 years ago you could get themes for free, now they worked out how to get people to pay for one new one per version of windows.

I have an iso of win 11 but its so exciting I haven't even set the VM up for it yet. You can only use win 11 the first time, once, so what is rush? People installing beta versions of win 11 on new PC and wondering why it doesn't work as well as their dreams. The video presentation conned a lot of people into thinking that what they were seeing was real and not just scripted. The current beta doesn't have any of the Amazon integration or Android features yet.

 

[Colif]

just 20 minutes after writing this I got a feature update for windows... I can't call it win 10

Its not out yet, I think I know what happened and I am curious how I fix it. I play with it for now, since it seems stable so far.

 

[Zloth]

Given Win 11 is just 10 in makeup, what do you expect?

Win 7 is just Windows Vista in makeup. Win 8 is just Win 7 in rather bad makeup. Win 10 is Win 8 in good makeup again.

There haven't been any BIG changes to the OS that users can see in a very long time. If all you knew was Windows 95 and we plopped you down in front of a Windows 11 box, you would do just fine. If all you knew was Windows 11 and we plopped you down in front of Win95, the OS wouldn't be too hard to use, except maybe getting your internet working right. You might mutter about the weak icons, only one item in the clipboard, and the old programs you have to run, but all the basic OS functionality you use is there.

 

[Colif]

no, you might be missing a few colours or am I thinking of 3.1

you might notice PC is a little slower.

win 11 now i played with it for about 2 hours feels like win 10. I can only tell its not if I move off desktop
its not that big a change. I haven't really done anything in start menu. Okay, I justn uninstalled 2 programs I will never use - twitter & instagram

Had to search to see if it turned on some settings I have off, seems it used all my old settings which is good.

 

[Brian Boru]

Had to search to see if it turned on some settings I have off

Ah, ShutUp10 hasn't been updated yet I see—hopefully won't be long.

Windows versions have usually been more about the hardware—support for larger disks, more RAM, and of course the moves to 32bit and 64bit.

There have also been various moves towards better security in versions, after the outcry about it in the 90s & 00s. I see that as probably 11's main feature, the move towards more secure hardware with TPM 2, recent CPUs, and Secure Boot. The advances in DX across versions have also been good.

Jumplists, Pinning and Libraries have been the software advances which made a big difference to me, all came in 7 if I recall correctly.