A Debate on PC vs Console

[RedDeadFred]

Why do we have to have this topic (or at least a very similar one) at least once a week? Everything that could possible said from either side has already been said a thousand times.

 

[MHR]

Consoles are becoming PCs. The answer is obvious. PCs have won and the consoles are now being assimilated.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I'm going to stick to consoles. Not only are they cheaper, but they're easier to use. Yes, I understand in the long run a PC can be cheaper, but if you don't have the money to hand over $800-$200, then a $400 console with one game a month at $60 is a more viable option. As for graphics, does that even matter? To me a game is not made on its graphics. So long as it doesn't look like it came of the PS1 or early PS2 then I'm happy with it. As for mods, I don't need them. Yeah, they could be nifty, but I would probably never use them since they are more trouble than they are worth. Lastly, frame rate. PC gamers tend to complain if a game is not running at 60 FPS. Me, I never notice. I feel that most games 30 FPS is enough.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

My personal take:

Consoles will always be prefered for me because of the following simple reasons:

1. My friends all have consoles and 90% of my online time I play with them
2. Games are built to the console, with PCs if you want to keep pretty games you've got to keep upgrading. With a console I'll never have to gut it and add new things
3. Once I put a disk into the console I might be asked to click 'download now'. On a PC I could end up spending hours in menus making sure bloody game will even run.

Really the reason many of us have consoles is because they are simply easier to work with. Yes PCs are better, but I can't be arsed with the extra hassle that can bring just to see if the game I've just got will even run on the bastard thing.

Have you ever gamed on a PC? I mean one actually made for gaming, not a home PC with at best an entry level dedicated graphics card?

I picked up a rig for about 600 bucks. I can buy Farcry 3 right now and run it on mid to high settings and I'll get 40 FPS out of it. Cram everything to max and I'd just have to lower the resolution a bit, which I don't mind so much. I won't have to worry about if a game will run for at least 3 or 4 years, or the next console generation if it doesn't behave like the last one did. In the least, I'll be playing at console level even then.

The only thing I might have to wait for is Steam(or my other retailer) to download the game. Also, I get the added benefit of negligible loading times. This may change with the new console generation.

The real shit you spend hours in menus over is the other extra shit that comes with PC, namely mods. Seriously, getting a mod to work properly can occasionally take an act of god.

Finally, use consoles, that's absolutely fine. The reason I went to PC was because none of the new consoles struck my fancy and there are numerous series that are exclusive to PC that I really like, along with many free-to-play games. Also, I enjoy the almost maintaining your own car level of care you have to take. It's fun hunting down a problem or developing your own bypass when the OS doesn't want to behave and do what you tell it. I make this fucker dance when I want it to.

 

[DefunctTheory]

I'm going to stick to consoles. Not only are they cheaper, but they're easier to use. Yes, I understand in the long run a PC can be cheaper, but if you don't have the money to hand over $800-$200, then a $400 console with one game a month at $60 is a more viable option. As for graphics, does that even matter? To me a game is not made on its graphics. So long as it doesn't look like it came of the PS1 or early PS2 then I'm happy with it. As for mods, I don't need them. Yeah, they could be nifty, but I would probably never use them since they are more trouble than they are worth. Lastly, frame rate. PC gamers tend to complain if a game is not running at 60 FPS. Me, I never notice. I feel that most games 30 FPS is enough.

It has to do with the display medium. FPS sensitivity is more noticeably on monitors 2 feet away then TVs that are 6-10 feet away. If you hook a PC up to a TV, the FPS issue magically goes away.

Just a helpful explanation, not an argument for PC.

Also, as far as I know, both PS3 and XBox 360s run at 60 FPS (When capable).

 

[arinor]

Consoles are becoming PCs. The answer is obvious. PCs have won and the consoles are now being assimilated.

I wouldn't say that much has changed because they now share PC architecture.. They still have all the same benefits compared to PC as before. Therefore the same type of gamers who preferred consoles before will still prefer them now.
But the situation did improve for the PC gamer. Hopefully such thing as "console exclusives" will now become a thing in the past. Because now there really are no objective reasons for it.