PC Gaming is Cool And All... But...

[BoredRolePlayer]

Want to play with a controller? Fine, plug in a controller.

...and then find out that your game doesn't support it.

Want to use motion controls? Fine, it'll take some rigging, but you can do it.

...and it will work like crap, as no game is designed with that in mind.

The only advantage a console has over a PC, is the price.

No, the main advantage a console has over a PC is that it simply works. Plug in, boot up, insert game and you are playing within minutes. No driver updates, no OS updates, no game install, no fumbling with XPadder, no fumbling with keyboard bindings, no fumbling to find a graphic setting that is smooth and looks good, no worrying about required specs before buying a game, no forum browsing for bugs and issues, no nasty background processes that bring your game to a halt and so on.

Consoles certainly are doing their best to make the experience as shitty as it is on the PC with regular game and system updates and introductions of bugs and crashes previously unknown on consoles. But even with all those issues, a console still beats a PC by a mile when it comes to "just work".

T_T I remember trying to set up my steam games on my new desktop and it was such a pain to figure out why X game wouldn't run. And don't get me started on building my machine, spend a day trying to get it to boot and the problem was I grabbed the wrong power cord.

 

[Booze Zombie]

The simple fact of the matter is that if I didn't buy all of my consoles I could buy a perfectly functional PC for their combined price, now you can choose to buy a load of consoles, a PC or all of them. It doesn't effect me.

 

[theultimateend]

Want to play with a controller? Fine, plug in a controller.

...and then find out that your game doesn't support it.

Want to use motion controls? Fine, it'll take some rigging, but you can do it.

...and it will work like crap, as no game is designed with that in mind.

The only advantage a console has over a PC, is the price.

No, the main advantage a console has over a PC is that it simply works. Plug in, boot up, insert game and you are playing within minutes. No driver updates, no OS updates, no game install, no fumbling with XPadder, no fumbling with keyboard bindings, no fumbling to find a graphic setting that is smooth and looks good, no worrying about required specs before buying a game, no forum browsing for bugs and issues, no nasty background processes that bring your game to a halt and so on.

Consoles certainly are doing their best to make the experience as shitty as it is on the PC with regular game and system updates and introductions of bugs and crashes previously unknown on consoles. But even with all those issues, a console still beats a PC by a mile when it comes to "just work".

T_T I remember trying to set up my steam games on my new desktop and it was such a pain to figure out why X game wouldn't run. And don't get me started on building my machine, spend a day trying to get it to boot and the problem was I grabbed the wrong power cord.

With steam?

Wow...I've just purchased my 117th game on steam and the only one I've had any problems with was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

I've kinda fallen in love with steam for how plug and play the experience is.

 

[Prof. Monkeypox]

See, if PC gamers want to claim that PCs > Consoles, then fine.

My problem is when they shout it in your face or when they start whole threads about how they are somehow "superior" to the rest of the gaming community.

You chose to play a video game on your PC rather than play it on a video game system. Good God, you're a shining beacon of human achievement.

It's always annoying to hear that argument (because it shouldn't need to be said), but you're completely right.
Fanboys (of anything) need to realize that the fact that they prefer one thing over another is not cause for celebration.

Choosing to kick a drug habit and go to habit over wasting away in front of your loved ones- that is cause to celebrate.

Choosing to play Crysis 2 on your $6000 custom machine over an Xbox is not. (Or vice versa)

Glad you said it out loud- people need to hear it.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Want to play with a controller? Fine, plug in a controller.

...and then find out that your game doesn't support it.

Want to use motion controls? Fine, it'll take some rigging, but you can do it.

...and it will work like crap, as no game is designed with that in mind.

The only advantage a console has over a PC, is the price.

No, the main advantage a console has over a PC is that it simply works. Plug in, boot up, insert game and you are playing within minutes. No driver updates, no OS updates, no game install, no fumbling with XPadder, no fumbling with keyboard bindings, no fumbling to find a graphic setting that is smooth and looks good, no worrying about required specs before buying a game, no forum browsing for bugs and issues, no nasty background processes that bring your game to a halt and so on.

Consoles certainly are doing their best to make the experience as shitty as it is on the PC with regular game and system updates and introductions of bugs and crashes previously unknown on consoles. But even with all those issues, a console still beats a PC by a mile when it comes to "just work".

T_T I remember trying to set up my steam games on my new desktop and it was such a pain to figure out why X game wouldn't run. And don't get me started on building my machine, spend a day trying to get it to boot and the problem was I grabbed the wrong power cord.

With steam?

Wow...I've just purchased my 117th game on steam and the only one I've had any problems with was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

I've kinda fallen in love with steam for how plug and play the experience is.

Bioshock, Bioshock 2, KoToR, Jade Empire (Just won't work), H.A.W.X., Sacred 2, Sims 3; theses were all on steam. And I'm not gonna mention the games I have to find the latest patch hoping the site didn't go down or take down said patch (Thankfully I only play Never Winter Night that needs to be patched). I love steam though, for DRM it's the best there is.

 

[JET1971]

without the need to buy some new high performance parts every couple of years.

Consoles (to me) are preferred because they tend to be cheaper to start, and don't need to be upgraded constantly. It takes about 6 years, give or take, before a new generation of consoles is released and takes over the current gen.

Sorry but that is utter bullshit. Complete and total. You do not need to upgrade every couple years. You do not need to upgrade constantly. If you have to upgrade every couple years then you are buying the wrong part. I have 5 years on my current system and I wont need to upgrade for another 3 at the rate things are going. And when i do upgrade it will most likely be a $200 vid card only. yes another 2-3 years easy.

Dont repeat propaganda.

Oh and the controller argument? dont be dumb PC's can use controlers. Thats more propaganda.

 

[theultimateend]

Want to play with a controller? Fine, plug in a controller.

...and then find out that your game doesn't support it.

Want to use motion controls? Fine, it'll take some rigging, but you can do it.

...and it will work like crap, as no game is designed with that in mind.

The only advantage a console has over a PC, is the price.

No, the main advantage a console has over a PC is that it simply works. Plug in, boot up, insert game and you are playing within minutes. No driver updates, no OS updates, no game install, no fumbling with XPadder, no fumbling with keyboard bindings, no fumbling to find a graphic setting that is smooth and looks good, no worrying about required specs before buying a game, no forum browsing for bugs and issues, no nasty background processes that bring your game to a halt and so on.

Consoles certainly are doing their best to make the experience as shitty as it is on the PC with regular game and system updates and introductions of bugs and crashes previously unknown on consoles. But even with all those issues, a console still beats a PC by a mile when it comes to "just work".

T_T I remember trying to set up my steam games on my new desktop and it was such a pain to figure out why X game wouldn't run. And don't get me started on building my machine, spend a day trying to get it to boot and the problem was I grabbed the wrong power cord.

With steam?

Wow...I've just purchased my 117th game on steam and the only one I've had any problems with was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

I've kinda fallen in love with steam for how plug and play the experience is.

Bioshock, Bioshock 2, KoToR, Jade Empire (Just won't work), H.A.W.X., Sacred 2, Sims 3; theses were all on steam. And I'm not gonna mention the games I have to find the latest patch hoping the site didn't go down or take down said patch (Thankfully I only play Never Winter Night that needs to be patched). I love steam though, for DRM it's the best there is.

Steam has the latest patch automatically downloaded for all the games they sell (I think).

I've played through B and B2 without issue, same with Sims 3.

But PC's are like snowflakes, my experience means nothing for yours. I'm just somewhat surprised folks have issues. Cause as I mentioned earlier, I almost never update any driver or software that doesn't basically force me to.

 

[OdyCay]

i use both platforms, and like them just as much but consoles feel more natural and dont need all the fuss

 

[scott91575]

I think the "constant upgrading" is not as much a problem as upgrading the OS(thankfully it doesn't happen often) and hoping for someone to make a patch/steps to go through for a game who's creators no longer exist so it works with your system so you can play them again.

To my knowledge, no console firmware(I know it's not the same) update will stop you from playing older titles. Although, you may find your alternative operating system may not work after you accepted the terms/conditions that came with the firmware update with or without reading them...

So you can put Nintendo 64 games in a Wii and it plays great? That is essentially what we are talking about. Only pre XP titles have major issues, and even then many of them work. Plus, if for some reason you have an issue with a XP game, you can emulate XP in Windows 7. The only current console that can be that backwards compatible is the PS3. Even then that is not a complete list of all the games from the PS1 and PS2. I don't know of a single PC game launched in the same time frame of the current consoles that has been ruined by newer operating systems.

BTW...a computer can emulate everything from atari up to last generations console games. So in essence, it's better for playing older console games than consoles.

Oh, and to the people saying you have to update computers....Umm, I seem to recall about 50 or so updates and all kinds of things on my XBox. Perhaps I imagined all that time I waited for them to download and install. Updating drivers on a PC is no different. Heck, Windows update does it automatically.

 

[Conza]

And these games that go multi-platform to the PC community, typically look as good, or almost as good as PC games, without the need to buy some new high performance parts every couple of years.

Hi, nice OP, but I would have to disagree with you on this point.

I think the statement would hold true for possible 1 year, maximum 2 years post a console being released, after that though, PCs are just so far in front, if games are developed properly fully utilizing the graphics cards of the generation, consoles can't possibly compete.

Check out Battlefield 3 once its released, that should be a good supporter for PC graphics over console.

Consoles (to me) are preferred because they tend to be cheaper to start, and don't need to be upgraded constantly. It takes about 6 years, give or take, before a new generation of consoles is released and takes over the current gen.

Also, and this is where I'll probably lose most people, I think controllers are more natural feeling than a mouse an keyboard.

It's probably because I grew up with controllers as opposed to mouse and keyboard, but still.

At the end of the day, though, we're all gamers doing what we love, so does it matter which console is your preference? I personally think that cross-platform multiplayer would be pretty cool. But it won't happen if we keep bickering about whose machine does what better.

Good question, I would say both. On a personal scale no, anyone should be feel free to be a hardcore Wii gamer, or a casual PC gamer, it doesn't matter individually, but I think on a larger scale it very much matters, as you want to be using something that much of the market is devoted to, for example, I have a Gaming PC and a PS3, which I find covers me for pretty much any game that's released, but I still miss out on the Xbox and Wii exclusives, but I weigh them not to mean too much. So it does still matter I find.

Okay, I'm done spewing my scattered thoughts on the subject, feel free to discuss. That's what these threads are for.

Mmm, again, good OP.

Controllers vs. Mouse and Keyboard is an interestign discussion within itself, I mean, for driving games, platform games and possibly others, I could not feel any mroe at home than with the traditional PlayStation controller. However, when it comes to shooters, or RTS, mouse and keyboard just blow controllers away (I know shooters is contentious, but I stand by that a mouse is far more responsive and hence a superior aiming impliment than a right joystick).

Also, when you talk about an advantage of consoles over the PC being that they don't need to be upgraded, I would ask you to consider how it could also be a disadvantage.

Example, I have a 285GTX graphics card in my computer, in late 2009, it was argueably the second or third best single card on the market, but now? It's obselete, it only supports DX10.2 or something, for full graphics on some games, I need the next gen cards.

A Console? Well, that came out when DX10 was brand new, granted, but unlike with my PC where I can spend another 300 bucks, and I'm up to date, the console is stuck with the processing and rendering power it had at launch. I've said this before, but I would love consoles so much more, if they were just PCs, exclusively manufactured by Sony, Microsoft, ect, but the cards could be swapped when they got dated, but as they are, I have to folk out 600-800 dollars every 6 years just to have something I can't upgrade later.

True, that it will play every playstation 3 game that will ever be released, but it does lag when I play GT5 in some circumstances (fellow GT5 players, try it on 2-player, and have one guy pit, see how jittery the car still driving gets), so my choice is choose one of both, a console and a computer with a good video card, its really the only way to enjoy every genre... unless you only like genres available to one (sports and driving buy console, shooter and rts buy PC for example).

EDIT: stuffed up the quotes, fixed now

 

[I Hate Consoles and Mondays]

To list more pros for PC:
Much Larger game selection
Easiest 3rd party development
(Usually) cheaper games, even including AAA titles
More controller options (Keyboard and Mouse, Wired XBox Controller, USB controllers)
Disks are virtually non-existant
System updates are painless compared to consoles
MMOs
Everything else listed

Now, I am not saying that PC is the best for EVERYBODY, but it deserves a bigger spot in the marketplace

 

[teebeeohh]

No, the main advantage a console has over a PC is that it simply works. Plug in, boot up, insert game and you are playing within minutes. No driver updates, no OS updates, no game install, no fumbling with XPadder, no fumbling with keyboard bindings, no fumbling to find a graphic setting that is smooth and looks good, no worrying about required specs before buying a game, no forum browsing for bugs and issues, no nasty background processes that bring your game to a halt and so on.

Consoles certainly are doing their best to make the experience as shitty as it is on the PC with regular game and system updates and introductions of bugs and crashes previously unknown on consoles. But even with all those issues, a console still beats a PC by a mile when it comes to "just work".

so i own a PS3 and before i buy a game i have to make sure that it is
a) uncut
b) have both English and German as a language(or at least German subs)
c) if i buy games from outside Germany that i can buy DLC from the German PSN and play multiplayer
when i have the game before starting i usually have to update at least once and/or install stuff to bring loading times to a level i ca live with.
then i have to hope i can switch the functions for the shoulder buttons because for some reason most ps3 games put shooting and aiming on the L1 and R1 which sucks.
then i have to get used a control scheme that i can't change, just sometimes fine-tune. Why is that? shouldn't i be able to use the x-button to fire if i want to?

so yeah, consoles lost the "jump in and play" bonus about a generation ago. It still might be easier but i grew up with PCs so tweaking stuff before actually playing the game is like foreplay for me.

 

[JeanLuc761]

The machines are superior, the people aren't.
It doesn't matter that my graphics card is a 6970, if I start moaning about console gamers lack of anti-aliasing, I'm still a dick.

I don't, I'm just saying.

To be fair, you aren't really being insulting if you tell someone that the Xbox 360 doesn't have the processing power to handle anti-aliasing as well as a mid-range or high-end PC can. Presenting the facts does not make anyone an asshole. It's all in how you present them.

At any rate, PC's and consoles do have their pros and cons. PC has a longer list of pros, so far as I can tell, but consoles have always done fighting games and racing games better in my experience. I also don't see games like Uncharted or Infamous 2 working nearly as well on PC as they do on PS3.

 

[scott91575]

A Console? Well, that came out when DX10 was brand new, granted, but unlike with my PC where I can spend another 300 bucks, and I'm up to date, the console is stuck with the processing and rendering power it had at launch. I've said this before, but I would love consoles so much more, if they were just PCs, exclusively manufactured by Sony, Microsoft, ect, but the cards could be swapped when they got dated, but as they are, I have to folk out 600-800 dollars every 6 years just to have something I can't upgrade later.

Consoles are DX9. They were launched during the last generation of DX9 cards (they are special made cards, but they are essentially the last generation of ATI and NVidia DX9 cards).

Not that DX10 is anything special.

 

[Jaffinnegan]

Just so you know, you can plug a Pad / Controller into a PC, and it works with almost every game now. As for the "Consoles are cheaper" argument, think of all that money you save buying games on a PC; over 1 year of buying games, you probably save around £100-£300 ($130-$380 around) than if you had bought them on console, and lets not forget about the countless free Indie games you can get, and the 50%-95% deals on steam you get almost every weekend, and those major 2 week long deals you get every big holiday (Easter, Christmas, Holloween), and lets not forget that PC's are not only for games, they are also a multimedia thing.

So lets say when you first buy a PC, it costs around £800 ($1000 about) for a high-end computer, with a maximum cost of £100 every 2 years to keep it top-notch, within 4 years, the PC has payed for its self and more, depending on how much you play games that is. If you are a "One game every Month" guy, i can see why you woundnt wont to play on PC, but if you play games normally, then you have no excuse to not be gaming on PC now, and thats that, its just fear of something new keeping people on consoles, and that it.

 

[Conza]

A Console? Well, that came out when DX10 was brand new, granted, but unlike with my PC where I can spend another 300 bucks, and I'm up to date, the console is stuck with the processing and rendering power it had at launch. I've said this before, but I would love consoles so much more, if they were just PCs, exclusively manufactured by Sony, Microsoft, ect, but the cards could be swapped when they got dated, but as they are, I have to folk out 600-800 dollars every 6 years just to have something I can't upgrade later.

Consoles are DX9. They were launched during the last generation of DX9 cards (they are special made cards, but they are essentially the last generation of ATI and NVidia DX9 cards).

Not that DX10 is anything special.

Ah, cheers! Got confused because Vista was 2006 as well, and it had DX10, so, anyway, I believe you're correct, thanks for letting me know.

 

[JeanLuc761]

It's always annoying to hear that argument (because it shouldn't need to be said), but you're completely right.
Fanboys (of anything) need to realize that the fact that they prefer one thing over another is not cause for celebration.

Choosing to kick a drug habit and go to habit over wasting away in front of your loved ones- that is cause to celebrate.

Choosing to play Crysis 2 on your $6000 custom machine over an Xbox is not. (Or vice versa)

Glad you said it out loud- people need to hear it.

I think you're exaggerating to prove a point, but for the sake of those who take it seriously, a PC will not cost you $6000.

 

[AugustFall]

For starters, they're machines designed to play all sorts of games and whatnot. And these games that go multi-platform to the PC community, typically look as good, or almost as good as PC games, without the need to buy some new high performance parts every couple of years.

Consoles (to me) are preferred because they tend to be cheaper to start, and don't need to be upgraded constantly. It takes about 6 years, give or take, before a new generation of consoles is released and takes over the current gen.

Okidok, so I would disagree with this. My desktop cost me $450 to build and it can play Crysis 2. Although an xbox is cheaper a PS3 is only slightly so. Also I don't have to pay for xbox live so I would call it even for cost considering:

xBox owner: xBox, xBox Live and has a PC/laptop
PS3: PS3 and a PC/laptop
PC: PC

Now as for the constant upgrading if your PC can run multi platform games at the start of a console generation you probably will be able to run them at the end. Also RAM is cheap, a Phenom quad core is 100 bucks and you don't need a 400 dollar graphics card to run most games. Mine cost 120 bucks. If you're smart about it PC gaming isn't that expensive. Plus we have steam sales and indie games.

 

[Hungry Donner]

I got my current computer not long after Crysis was released. It cost about $1500 and was able to max out all of Crysis' DX9 graphical features at 1280X960 resolution.

The last console I owned was an NES. I don't have anything inherently against consoles, but I prefer the freedom of PCs. I also can't stand gamepads - some people love them and I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a problem with consoles not allowing keyboard+mouse input. If MS or Sony would require this OPTION I'd more than likely get a console. Really isn't giving consumers more options a good thing?