Has PC gaming lost it's way?

Even if I my Linux netbook is my main machine nowadays, there is one thing for which it can't replace my trusty Windows XP desktop: gaming. I have long been a fan of playing on the PC rather than on consoles because in my opinion a mouse is required for the type of games that I like (FPS, RTS, RPG) and there are many more quality games available on the PC in those genres, some of which are even free. The problem is that my recent PC gaming experience has been less than stellar, making me consider consoles more and more as an alternative. Here are some of the main issues with modern PC gaming:

It takes forever before I can play

I haven't played Battlefield 2 for a few months, but 3 weeks ago I wanted to have a quick game online, only to find that no servers were available. After investigation it turns out that a 1.5 Gb patch was released, and that I have to download it before I can play online. Granted, the patch adds many maps so it is not all negative, but there was no hope of a quick game: the soonest I would be able to play would be tomorrow. I had a similar issue with Runes of Magic, a free MMORPG inspired by World of Warcraft. I had not played for some time, and when I wanted to have a look there again, it started by several hours of patch downloads and installation (and I am on a 6 Mbps ADSL connection). Although I do like that game publishers add new free content to their games, the update mechanism clearly needs improvement. Either there needs to be a way for that patching to be brought to my attention before I want to play the game (because when I want to play the game, I want to play the game, not patch it!), or the publisher needs to ensure that the game can start while the client is being updated, for example by keeping some servers compatible with older versions of the client.

Selling half finished software.

Recently I started playing League of Legends, a very good free online RTS / RPG crossover that plays a bit like Demigod. The game was officially out of beta earlier this month. The game is great except for a few things: there are only 2 maps to play on (and one of those is still in beta), the rest of the maps have not been released yet. The in game store that allows you to get "Runes" will only open Monday 23 November, so that part of the game doesn't work yet. If this was a free game still in beta that would not be much of a problem, but not only is the game officially released for a few weeks, but the League of Legends Collector Pack that cost about $30 is already selling on Amazon. It is clear here that people are asked to pay for a game that is only half finished and that is simply not acceptable.

I needs an internet connection to play a single player game

I recently purchased BioShock, which is an excellent single player game. I was surprised however to notice that to play the game you required an internet connection. It is not a problem for me, but there are still people without a broadband connection in many areas of the world. Why don't the publisher give the option to use the internet or the DVD to prove that you actually own the game? It is not as if these "protections" will prevent pirates to copy the game anyway, so why cause a problem for those of your customers that don't have an easy access to the internet?

It's not all bad

Now there are still a lot of advantages to PC gaming. As mentioned a lot of games are free or cheap, extra content can easily be added, the mouse and keyboard interface is a must for some games and online play is often free, but publishers active in the PC gaming market should not fall asleep at the wheel: if the issues mentioned above are not fixed PC gaming will stop to be the platform of choice for a lot of gamers.