Jimquisition: Xbox 360 and PS3 Are Just Very Crap PCs

[Sight Unseen]

Look, I enjoy PC gaming from time to time, but to say you can't think of anything that makes consoles better than PCs in any way? How about the fact that when I install a $50 game on my PC, it more often then not requires me to spend 1-3 hours getting the damn thing to run on my stupid PC because whatever they used doesn't conform to my sound/video/processor of choice.

Because of the boring conformity, at least I know my games will be compatible with my 360 or PS3. And yes, I love mods, but I can at least see this as being a benefit to boring old console gaming.

While I usually agree with Jim here I must respectfully disagree, at least on the surface. The thing is the negatives that consoles have gotten from pc gaming are really just the problems with the games industry that we've all been over before. Since consoles are static and extremely brand controlled they're easier to control though. None of the problems here are inherent in consoles, the games industry simply doesn't know when to cut the shit.

Another thing is that despite how convoluted they've gotten I still say they're much easier to work with than a pc. Yes MGS4 may have taken forever to install but all I had to do to install it was press a preselected button. PCs despite their growing convenience are still very do it yourself. While pc enthusiasts might be all for it, maintaining and updating and editing plenty of people are not. I recently downloaded Morrowind and it took me four hours to get running because of a massive amount of compatibility issues that I had to search online for multiple answers for. While I could plug in my ps3 controller it's all for nought because my pc doesn't recognise it and I have to go searching for obscure programs and youtube tutorials to make it even work. Then there's the fact that controllers simply don't have enough buttons or some pc games, and after that the fact that while I could use a ps3 controller while playing tf2 it would be stupid to do so because mice are infinitely better for shooters and I'd get royally screwed. Consoles are getting pretty shitty and inefficient, but they still aren't the most inefficient.

Also Monster Energy is clearly superior to that pathetic milk and juice and water garbage everybody keeps pestering me about.

Compatibility issues and lack of controller support really only become an issue with older games that were built for older hardware. Like Morrowind (or the original Thief for me)in your example. Even still, there are pretty easy ways to get them working. For instance you could use this site http://morrowindoverhaul.rpgitalia.net/ download the mod package and it's nearly idiot proof. It will give you a fully functioning Morrowind game as well as stunning graphics for it.... Seriously it almost looks as good as Skyrim and it's 10 years older.

Spoiler

Also if you use steam, that pretty much idiot-proofs almost everything.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

And everyone who owns a console is going to be able to find a PC at even a fraction of that value? Just a year ago I spent a couple of weeks looking on Newegg for a computer that could run most PC games and I could not find one that could run a Skyrim level game on lower settings for under $1200. Which, including warranty, taxes and everything else probably costs at least $1400. And that's on LOWER settings.

ಠ_ಠ not this myth again. Seriously folks. This shit gets OLD. I can run Skyrim on custom high (some settings tweaked/modded) on a PC from early 2009 that cost me £600. Not being able to find something for under $1500 (£1000) is just pain baffling.

I could knock you up a system for £300-£400 that would beat the pants of Skyrim on med/high. Infact Scan (UK supplier but still an example) is selling a system that has 100% of bits you would need (including HDDs, Disk Drives etc etc) for £500 that is actually very high end. So if you bought a £100 GPU that's a full high end system for £600. That took me all of 30 seconds.

Spoiler

Either you are exaggerating or you are just stupid with computers. My old computer with an Athlon X2 250 and 5770 can run Skyrim on mid-high with good FPS. And that computer is now worth about 200$.

I have no idea where to find a $200 computer that can do that, if you do please tell me.

If anything, it would be stupid with computers. To be fair, I should have specified I was looking for laptops, not desktops. So, it was probably a fair bit more expensive, plus it would be more difficult for me to customize.

Scrumpmonkey, the computer you linked to still cost over $1000. I bought my PS3, with two games for $300. I could buy a PS3 and just about every game I'd want on it for less than that computer. No matter what the difference is, it's still significantly more economical to buy a PS3. Just out of curiosity, why did you bold "warranty"?

 

[JET1971]

I stopped staying up to date on PC gaming after my motherboard crapped out and left me at square 1 with nothing to show for it. I basically needed a whole new computer after dumping thousands into the one I had. If that's not a drawback you don't have to worry about with consoles, I don't know what is.

It's not really a drawback for PC's either, any electronic product can shit the bed and become a paperweight. Hell a brand new car can have a blown motor the first day you have it off the lot. A new house can have faulty wiring and burn down the first week you live there. saying thats a PC only thing because it happened to you is like saying every black guy is a thief because you were mugged by one. neither is true and to lay claim that it is is wrong itself.

As for the upgrades you were doing I think that was probably 1 of 2 things. you were in enthusiast mode where good enough to run it wasnt good enough for you and just had to have the best or you were buying outdated hardware. Either way it's not a PC gaming problem but the player.

 

[Sight Unseen]

And everyone who owns a console is going to be able to find a PC at even a fraction of that value? Just a year ago I spent a couple of weeks looking on Newegg for a computer that could run most PC games and I could not find one that could run a Skyrim level game on lower settings for under $1200. Which, including warranty, taxes and everything else probably costs at least $1400. And that's on LOWER settings.

ಠ_ಠ not this myth again. Seriously folks. This shit gets OLD. I can run Skyrim on custom high (some settings tweaked/modded) on a PC from early 2009 that cost me £600. Not being able to find something for under $1500 (£1000) is just pain baffling.

I could knock you up a system for £300-£400 that would beat the pants of Skyrim on med/high. Infact Scan (UK supplier but still an example) is selling a system that has 100% of bits you would need (including HDDs, Disk Drives etc etc) for £500 that is actually very high end. So if you bought a £100 GPU that's a full high end system for £600. That took me all of 30 seconds.

Spoiler

Either you are exaggerating or you are just stupid with computers. My old computer with an Athlon X2 250 and 5770 can run Skyrim on mid-high with good FPS. And that computer is now worth about 200$.

I have no idea where to find a $200 computer that can do that, if you do please tell me.

If anything, it would be stupid with computers. To be fair, I should have specified I was looking for laptops, not desktops. So, it was probably a fair bit more expensive, plus it would be more difficult for me to customize.

Scrumpmonkey, the computer you linked to still cost over $1000. I bought my PS3, with two games for $300. I could buy a PS3 and just about every game I'd want on it for less than that computer. No matter what the difference is, it's still significantly more economical to buy a PS3. Just out of curiosity, why did you bold "warranty"?

I could run skyrim on my laptop that's a year or so old and cost $500. It got a bit laggy when I overloaded it with mods but it was still playable.

I recently bought a gaming PC that cost me about $1100 and it can play almost every game on high. I could have spent half as much and still gotten a competant rig that could play most modern games on modest settings.

 

[The_Darkness]

Anyone know what game the final scenes of this episode came from? The ones with the army/navy dudes, the space ship etc. It looks pretty cool.

Thanks

That would be the live action trailer for Halo 4. Otherwise known as Microsoft showing off how much money it has...
And yes, I know Master Chief didn't even appear once


OT: This has probably been brought up already, but: with a console, I know, without a doubt, that the game will run on it (with the minor exception of sometimes requiring a specific accessory). With a PC, there is always the risk that the specs for the game are just too high. I don't like having to upgrade my computer for EVERY new game that comes out!

 

[Vkmies]

Look, I enjoy PC gaming from time to time, but to say you can't think of anything that makes consoles better than PCs in any way? How about the fact that when I install a $50 game on my PC, it more often then not requires me to spend 1-3 hours getting the damn thing to run on my stupid PC because whatever they used doesn't conform to my sound/video/processor of choice.

Because of the boring conformity, at least I know my games will be compatible with my 360 or PS3. And yes, I love mods, but I can at least see this as being a benefit to boring old console gaming.

I honestly, honestly, have not had a "Your blahdiblah is not supported" problem in 10+ years, ever since XP came out. It might have something to do that I only got into massive PC gaming a few years ago and I use http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/intro.aspx
It's pretty sweet actually. Just write in the game and it tells you if you can run it or not. Perfect. Not saying you are wrong, just saying that I have managed to dodge said problem stupidly easily.

 

[Krion_Vark]

Xbox 360 and PS3 Are Just Very Crap PCs

They were cheaper, easier to use, more convenient.

Last I checked, consoles were still cheaper than gaming PC's.

But then take into account the $10 price difference on most games for the PC. The fact that you can get some really good cheap indie games. And the Online is free and you pay more for the Console over time than for the PC. If something breaks on the PC you also only have to replace that part. WHile if something breaks on the console you either have to get a new one or just stop using it if its out of warrenty.

 

[GAunderrated]

There is ONE benefit to gaming on consoles.

ONE and ONE alone.

Consoles are cheaper.

Oh, the games aren't no sure, but consoles now are very cheap, it isn't hard to find a 360 that costs less than $100, while you will be hard press to find any computer that will play modern games at all for anything less than $400.

Besides that... yeah, nothing wrong with being a PC gamer.

Only on the hardware are consoles cheaper. But after you buy a 200 dollar console and several games through the years you will easily pay 50% more with a console than on a PC with steam sales.

 

[Sight Unseen]

Anyone know what game the final scenes of this episode came from? The ones with the army/navy dudes, the space ship etc. It looks pretty cool.

Thanks

That would be the live action trailer for Halo 4. Otherwise known as Microsoft showing off how much money it has...
And yes, I know Master Chief didn't even appear once


OT: This has probably been brought up already, but: with a console, I know, without a doubt, that the game will run on it (with the minor exception of sometimes requiring a specific accessory). With a PC, there is always the risk that the specs for the game are just too high. I don't like having to upgrade my computer for EVERY new game that comes out!

PC tech doesn't advance so quickly right now that you have to update your hardware every few months... The gaming rig I have right now I expect to last me at least 3-5 years and still be able to play most new gameswith decent settings, and when the time comes to upgrade I can just replace the graphics card or some other part with new ones and it would be similar to buying into a new console generation and for a similar (or smaller) pricetag.

 

[Undeadpool]

Jim Sterling, may I present you with your "Luckiest Motherfalcon on Earth" award, because you have apparently never had a situation where your PC wasn't recognizing that your monitor existed, your motherboard had gone wrong and was corrupting your other devices without you knowing it, or a game you paid full price to pay simply wasn't compatible with one or more of your devices and, of course, NO REFUNDS.

Yeah, the PS3's patching/install speeds have become (deservedly so) the butt of a million internet memes, but after spending $250 on parts to fix my PC, I'm having a hard time meeting you halfway on this. The points you bring up are, as always, good ones, but to sit there and pretend that all PCs function as they should to a greater percentage of consoles is just plain disingenuous. This doesn't have to be a binary decision, we don't live in some weirdass, dystopic civilization where we MUST choose sides, the "conflict" between PC and console is 100% manufactured, and this time we have only ourselves to blame.

 

[hooksashands]

Fact: Current-generation graphics cards (256 bit) for PCs still cost a shit-ton just by themselves. Sorry, but I'm not spending $250-$600 on one component. Custom PCs are great, yea. The cost to build them, not so much.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Didn't much care for this episode, Jim.......

A couple of points:

1) The PS3 is the only console that isn't convenient. With my 360, I can pop in a game and be playing within seconds.

2) Consoles (at least in my experience) are far more reliable. No dicking around with settings. VERY few crashes. Will always run the game.

3) Exclusives. I quite like Halo and the MANY other games that are only available on console. You may not care, but I sure as hell do.

4) Price. And before someone jumps on this with the classic "I CAN RUN CRYSIS AT HIGH AND I ONLY SPENT 300 DOLLARS SO YOU'RE WRONG" statement that ALWAYS seems to come up, let me explain. One personal issue I have is that I need my computer to be very portable. Thus, whenever I upgrade my PC, I always get a laptop, which not only is difficult to use for gaming, but also VERY hard to find a decent one that is under 1100 dollars.
And finally...... I already HAVE a PC! So unless someone feels like straight up buying me a computer, all talk of computers being cheaper can be thrown out the window.

5) This may be a very personal reason to like consoles more, but I really don't care for Steam and other digital distribution. I admit, it does have some AMAZING deals, but I will never stop enjoying having a physical disk with a case and an instruction manual. Furthermore, I have never seen Steam be very reliable. It frequently refuses to start offline, preventing me from playing any games when I don't have an internet connection.

I play games on my Xbox over my computer any day. I know this isn't true for everyone. I know that objectively, PCs are probably better overall. And I know that despite this being purely experience and opinion, I'm still going to get flak and corrections for it.
No matter. I will stand by my consoles till death or Red Ring do us part.

 

[Poisoned Al]

Also people seems to forget that a Gaming PC is, well, a PC. You get all that shit a PC does too. You have a machine you can edit photos and movies on, write email, waste hours of your life on Twitter/YouTube/Reddit/4Chan/Facebook. Consoles can do some of that now too of course... Just really, really badly.

(Seriously, a gibbon with down syndrome could have coded the 360 YouTube client better.)

 

[JET1971]

Um...pcs are expensive and require upgrades to the pc itself to play new games. They are still a bigger hassle. That outweighs anything a pc can do as most gamers wont spend 15000 dollars to have higher definition graphics that add fuck all to the game itself.

snip

And everyone who owns a console is going to be able to find a PC at even a fraction of that value? Just a year ago I spent a couple of weeks looking on Newegg for a computer that could run most PC games and I could not find one that could run a Skyrim level game on lower settings for under $1200.

snip.

Sorry i didnt want to scroll up but I am backing you here...

less than 30 seconds at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883108938

less than 2 minutes: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883203766

Someones argument holds water like a bucket made out of window screen.

You honestly think that the AMD Radeon HD 6320 and 6530D are valid gaming graphics cards? Maybe if you use photoshop for gaming.

They can run Skyrim though. Plus i never said they were great. Also i am still under the $1200 mark... should i post a top of the line graphics card? Or a few cheap ones that wont blink at skyrim?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121475
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150586

Still his 2 weeks nothing under $1200 is bullshit and a complete exageration.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

I don't argue anymore. I love my console, simple. If I could game on a PC then I would but I just can't be bothered. Xbox 360 has my favourite exclusives and I love RPGs which i prefer on consoles. Probably the main reason is the fact that no one I know plays PC, all my friends are on 360. I knew one person who converted to PC. He stopped talking to everyone and I never saw him since. PCs are better though, just can't be bothered or end up leaving my friends.

 

[Poisoned Al]

1) The PS3 is the only console that isn't convenient. With my 360, I can pop in a game and be playing within seconds.

2) Consoles (at least in my experience) are far more reliable. No dicking around with settings. VERY few crashes. Will always run the game.

> 360, doesn't crash.

SEEMS LEGIT!

I have a 360. It's a crash happy pile of crap you lying fanboy scum!

 

[Brad Gardner]

I was going to say a positive to consoles was price, but a PC can easily be updated and can last longer of course that cost money. However, since use games are being hunted down. PC games are often time cheaper longer at Digital Distrubtion. I'd guess we have to do the math really.

As publishers make all game shit or an ass rape. and as TVs have become big computer monitors. Might as well get a wireless mouse, wireless keyboard and a wireless PC controller then get a tv tray for mouse and keyboard and set up you computer in the living room and never pay for cable or satellite cause basically any decent tv show will be on blue ray.

Well that's my plan when I get my first place.

 

[Slayer_2]

Love how he went from talking about muscles and fitness, to a shot from the Crysis intro, where it flies through Nomad's muscular man-boobs.

PC gamers care more about graphics and physics than the actual game....these things are not important. Making the graphics better with a mod dont make the game better.

Not entirely true. Graphics effect our ability to be drawn into a world and immersed. Also, I'd tie more detailed level designs in with superior graphic technology. So as a wannabe game developer, I'd say yes, graphics do matter to most players (except maybe blind ones).

Also your generalization of PC gamers is almost as bad as the "dirty peasant console gamer" stereotype. I don't know when people decided that you either have to have a good game or good graphics, today not having both is just laziness and an un-willingness to move forward with the gigantic leaps in hardware power (looking at you Valve).

 

[Simonoly]

It really does come down to taste. A lot of people just want to hook up a dedicated gaming appliance to their tv in the same way they might a dvd/blu-ray player. That's exactly what consoles are for. They are more convenient. And that massively long updating thing is specific to the playstation 3 (it's probably why my PS3 is gathering dust). It takes around 1-2 minutes for an xbox game to update.

Personally, as much as I love gaming on my PC, I mostly prefer to sit on my couch playing on my 360 which is hooked up to my 54" wall-mounted-plasma TV. I'd love to hook my PC up to it, but there's simply not enough room for anything as big as a computer tower around the TV, so that's sat underneath a desk hooked up to a 26" monitor. I thought about getting a smaller PC but there's simply nothing around that's both small enough and not hugely overpriced to warrant a purchase, plus that's extra hassle when all I want to do is play the games I love. I'm more of a part-time PC gamer because of it, as I really do not enjoy being sat at a desk playing video games when I spend most of my working day doing the very same thing (sans the gaming obviously). I just don't find it fun or comfortable, so at present consoles are just more convenient for me.

 

[SirSodit]

Yes PCs are better, but that doesn't mean I can afford a good one.