Archangel357 said:
Not the SAME things. Let's be honest here. Saying that compatibility issues just come with the territory is basically just proving my point - due to the fact that console hardware is set in stone, certain problems simply do not occur. That, no matter how you cut it, is a point in the consoles' favour - yes, a mandatory software update is annoying, but at least, you know that afterwards, the game will run properly. With PC games, that can be a crapshoot.
To be entirely honest, Consoles, especially this generation, have had their own sets of problems along those lines that an experienced PC user won't have.
As an example, the Red Ring of Death on early Xboxs. Not something PC has to worry about. Skyrim not working well on the PS3, and because of this no DLC for the PS3, Not something PC has to worry about. System failure after firmware update is something both PCs and Consoles have to worry about, but with a PC you have slightly more control over it - you can be smart in what you buy whilst assembling the PC, and up/downgrade drivers relatively easily. Worst case, a complete reload is simple to do, whilst with a console if something goes very bad you have to pay Sony/Microsoft to fix it for you.
A lot of people do have problems with consoles. Maybe not as many as on PC, but I don't have statistics to back that up. Hell, on these forums I've had discussions with people who've gone through 3 or more consoles thanks to them dying. You might not have had such problems with yours, but I've also never had such problems with my PC - everything for me has always just worked - and it probably ends up evening itself out.
It is fair because of how the machines are used. VERY few people have the kind of money where they can use a PC just for gaming. My PC is used as a media platform, a work instrument, and a storage device - like most people's are, I would assume. It's as though one was comparing the benefits of a light truck to those of a sports saloon, and one would call it unfair to add the price of a trailer to that of the truck. Well, maybe, but you do need one to get the full use out of it.
I believe he's talking about the cost of making a PC as a dedicated gaming platform, like you'd use your console for. $300-$400 on hardware, and no need for MSOffice. If you buy 10 or more games, you'll make up the difference in cost between a console and PC thanks to PC games generally being $10 cheaper in retail than console games.
Whilst you site very few people having the kind of money to make a PC just for gaming, I find that unlikely. If you can buy a console just for gaming, you can buy a PC just for gaming. Its just that the majority of people will tend to spend more on non-gaming programs on the PC as PCs are useful both as gaming platforms and utilities, and these days its hard to live without the utility side of it.
The idea of adding the price of one's TV to that of the console is silly. The TV is not a console peripheral: it serves its own purpose, after all. At that point, I could add the cost of a desk to that of the PC.
I'd equate it more to having to buy Windows for the PC. Both are required to use said item, and both have other functions. Buying Microsoft Office is more akin to paying for cable TV. Its an extra use for the thing your gaming platform is dependent on, that costs more but is in no way necessary.
No, it isn't, but it can only happen on a PC. See the difference? If you are discussing the pros and cons of, say, taking a bus to your destination or riding a dirtbike cross-country to it, you cannot dismiss the notion that one might fall off the latter by saying that the rider should have been more careful. The entire point is that with a bus, you CANNOT fall off it, but with a dirtbike, you CAN. It's not about who is at fault, it is about the presence of a risk.
And on consoles there is the very real risk that their network will be hacked and your personal data stolen. Yes this can happen on the PC too, but unless you're careless its rare.
I'm not going to deny that PCs have problems, but consoles have their fair share these days too, and even in the PS2 era my PS2 would constantly overheat and crash for no reason. Both PCs and consoles have a fair capacity to fail for their user, but with a PC you're more in control, and if something goes wrong its likely your fault.