why do people play games on computers?

[()]

I never quite understood why people play gams on computers, I remember when computer made their way into the family homes as an educational tool and for learning things, typing, doing school work, but all i see and hear about people and computers is what games are available for their systems.

Why don't people just get a Playstation, Xbox or the great Nintendo Gamecube and play games?

My neighbor just got a computer and I was excited for him, but all he does is play games on the darn thing, he hasn't done anything else with it like editing, photo prints, use programs that came with it and learn that there is more to a computer than just games.

Am I weird or what?

What is it with computers and games that i am missing?

I always find better things to do than to play games on a computer.

Oh my GOD, what's wrong with me?

[Reiddm]

This is what I ask of my PCcccccc friends, especially when they ask:
"Why would you buy a Mac?"
I tell them I bought a work computer, not a toy to play games on! Your friend, did he buy a IBM?
I know that games are available for Mac's, but I agree, for games I still have my old Atari!

[Jay]

I bought my mac primarily as a work computer, however, I do have some games on it which I ocassionally play such as Black and White, and the free games that apple was giving to .Mac members.  I also just downloaded a new Pac Man clone that came out a few days back, but I don't like it.  I also have Unreal Tournament, but I really only played that in college on the network with my roomates when we should have been studying.  

Games are a good way to get distracted from your work.  Thats why some people have them.  I know thats why I have them!

[Spartacus]

You can get lots of interesting game titles (a lot more than on the game consoles) for the PC. You also have a better performance (at least on new computers) and hence better looks of the in-game graphics. While console games are pretty expensive, the price for PC titles is usually reduced shortly after introduction (because of the competition and the pace of new releases).
And although e.g. the PS2 is a great console, it is limited to gaming (and in this case watching DVDs). The PCs can be used for lots of different tasks.

There are some game gernes which don't belong to a console. 3D-Shooters for instance, don't play well with a game pad. Or click-adventures.
On the other hand there are also game gernes I prefer to play on a console (e.g. jump'n'run games, soccer or racing games).

Gaming has always been part of the personal computer.

I don't play games on my Mac frequently (I used to), but I can understand people who do. It's fun.  
 
 [ 03-26-2003, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: Spartacus ]

[Gregg]

Tonye, I've asked myself why people use their computers to make prints of digital photos. The staying power of the paper and ink used just isn't as reliable as good old fashioned film developing technology. Even if you really know what you're doing (and most don't) those prints are gonna fade away much sooner. You can buy paper with a fancy reassuring label that just won't stand the test of time. I'm sticking with film for now.

[kelly]

Because they can?

[tacit]

"Why don't people just get a Playstation, Xbox or the great Nintendo Gamecube and play games?"

Consoles are fine for simpler games, such as racing games or fighting games. For more sophisticated games, such as real-time strategy games, it's better to haver a full-fledged computer keyboard and a mouse; using a sophisticated game with a console controller is quite awkward.

Consoles offer better graphics performance, but inferior capabilities with respect to memory, storage, input devices, networking, Internet connectivity, and so on.

Ultimately, for people like me who like real-time strategy games, console systems are a poor choice. I have a couple of PC systems that I have built strictly for games, and that's the only thing I use them for.

[iGuy]

quote:Tonye, I've asked myself why people use their computers to make prints of digital photos. The staying power of the paper and ink used just isn't as reliable as good old fashioned film developing technology. Even if you really know what you're doing (and most don't) those prints are gonna fade away much sooner. You can buy paper with a fancy reassuring label that just won't stand the test of time. I'm sticking with film for now.

Gregg,  you can put those digital pictures on a CD or Zip disk and take them to your local Sam's club or Walmart and have them made with the same paper your would get your film photos made on.  Sam's does them for 20cents a photo and ready in an hour.

I have digital photo prints I made with my printer 2 years ago in a photo album and they still look good.  If they begin to fade 10 years from now I can alway print them out again.

Ryan
 
 [ 03-26-2003, 07:59 PM: Message edited by: iGuy ]

[hingyfan]

because if they killed people in real life they would go to jail, or at least have to pay a lawyer a lot of money.

[gmann]

I have a Mac and an Xbox.  The Mac is far more accurate and controlable using a GOOD mouse and key board than a game pad where you depend on short thumbsticks for most of your action.  I play both when the work is done and I want to relax.  I am currently suffering tendinitis of the wrist from the Xbox pad.

[krissel]

I was of the same opinion about playing games on the computer...I'd rather use it for real life work.

Well, times change and exposure to a few games have softened my thinking. No, I couldn't see myself becoming a hard-core gamer, but a little fun here and there...    

I recently installed a few games for my Dad to play and found some of them very involving. The Formula 1 racing game (which is now working again!) is one of those high intensity action players that can work up a sweat.

Only problem is when I leave my folks' house I travel on the interstate to get home and I have to keep reminding myself it isn't the race track.

[LR827]

I don't play any computer games.  Am I weird?  Why is that, do you suppose?  I enjoy manipulating photographs, though, but for the purpose of uploading them onto a website which, I hope, will stand the test of time better than even Kodak.

tacit explained in strings past that uploading photos does not "keep" the same as printed photos, because you lose a lot in the translation.  However, even if my entire household disappears, I'll always be able to go on the internet again and look at my photos.  Unless I disappear, too.  And the freebie websites disappear.  Oh, well, we hedge against time as best we can!

Jay, I love your avatar!

What is an avatar, by the way?  Funny I never heard of that word before, and I thought I at least heard most every word before, even if I didn't know the meaning, off-hand.  So I looked it up:

One entry found for avatar.

Main Entry: av·a·tar
Pronunciation: 'a-v&-"tär
Function: noun
Etymology: Sanskrit avatAra descent, from avatarati he descends, from ava- away + tarati he crosses over -- more at UKASE, THROUGH
Date: 1784
1 : the incarnation of a Hindu deity (as Vishnu)
2 a : an incarnation in human form b : an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person
3 : a variant phase or version of a continuing basic entity

[Gregg]

quote:Originally posted by iGuy:

I have digital photo prints I made with my printer 2 years ago in a photo album and they still look good.  If they begin to fade 10 years from now I can alway print them out again.

Ryan[/QB]

Ryan, 10 years ago, you would have stored your photos on a floppy disk, which is fast becoming a dinosaur. Then, there was no such thing as a DVD anything. Ten years from now, you may not find it easy to find the hardware or the software to reproduce your fading prints. Only if you're on top of it, planning ahead, will you be able to compete with the longevity of the old fashioned film developing technology.

[tacit]

What is an avatar, by the way?

An avatar is a representation of something in another form. In the case of computers, it's a representation of a person in cyberspace.

In Hindu mythology, an avatar was a representation, in physical form, of a god on earth; the avatar was not the actual god, but was a manifestation of the god here in the physical world. More generally, it's any representation of some thing in a place where that thing does not exist.

[Smokin78]

I bought my Mac primarily for work but I do have a couple vices like DiabloII, Warcraft and Starcraft.  

I guess people play more games on computers is because you would have to buy about 4 different Game Consoles just to play all the games out there when they make 85% of them for computer.  So I have a PS2 but, I like a certain game on the X-Box, well, I know it will probably be made for Computer as well.