The Quest to Be a PC Gamer

One of IGN’s editors has penned an interesting piece about his “quest” to become a PC gamer, thanks in part to his desire to spend hundreds of hours on Blizzard’s Diablo III. Considering that he bought the parts to build a new PC after realizing that his iMac wasn’t powerful enough, I’d say that his quest is ultimately to become a Windows gamer:

One nervous car ride later and my new PC sat in my apartment. Following some last-minute monitor troubleshooting and a quick RAM adjustment I finally arrived in the PC gaming space I spent years fearing to tread. Now the world of Windows, drivers, Steam, and install wizards was my playground; the keyboard and mouse my tools for a seemingly infinite spectrum of experiences.

It amazed me how often my console sensibilities prevented me from recognizing the ways PCs make gaming easier. When I stumbled over controls I disliked I scowled in disapproval before realizing I could remap every key on the keyboard. When framerate started to dip I could make a quick stop in the options menu and influence a game’s raw performance — an absurd notion for a console gamer. And to those of you that have spent your entire lives preaching the superiority of a mouse and keyboard in first-person shooters: I see your point.

While I built a PC out of anticipation for Diablo III, the benefit of a new platform far exceeded my expectations. I no longer have to dismiss a promising new game because “it’s only for PC.” This alone is difficult to swallow. Imagine spending your entire life with an allergy to peanuts and then one day having that long aversion reversed. All those foods you once avoided now pop on the menu.

Welcome to the best gaming console ever created, friend.