Poll: PC vs Console reasons

[loc978]

The real reason for this one is convenience. You can get a PC working on a TV with a gamepad, if you know what you're doing. The console comes pre-packaged to work like that, the PC requires setup and a little bit of knowhow to work at all (same for a standard keyboard/mouse/monitor/desk setup as the TV/gamepad thing, though).
That's the thing about PC gaming... it's rarely easy or convenient, it just gives you far more options. This coming from a guy who has been building gaming PCs since the early 90s. I tend to prefer options over ease or convenience, but I'm weird, and I often wear

Spoiler: this shirt

Huh. How very appropriate. My 4000th post was in one of these threads. I think I'll be beating the corpse of this horse until there's no such thing as "a console" or "a PC".

 

[jezcentral]

If that is what matters to you, of course it's a good reason. Choosing your game platform is your own personal decision, and therefore subjective.

One of the many reasons I got a PC is that I wouldn't be hogging the main TV, which meant I could play more. I had many other reasons, some important, some not so much.

Choose, buy, enjoy.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

You do...know what splitscreen is, don't you?

No. No I don't think that I have ever experience this thing called split screen. I just decided to come on to a forum and bash it for no reason other than to troll people and look like an idiot. It isn't like if you don't have the right aspect ratio the screen is fucked up due to split and trying to find working controllers and batteries and then only having a limited amount of people to play aren't problems with it. Not to mention people being dicks and screen looking. Yes split screen really was the epitome of multiplayer gaming.

My point is you don't have to move anything around except maybe a controller.

No your point was I was an idiot.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

I'm sorry what? I don't understand this thread...

Both my PC and my console are hooked up to my TV, have controller ports and are within distance of my bed/seats.

What am I being asked here exactly?

 

[Buizel91]

I. Hate. These. Threads! -.-

Seriously does it really matter who uses what? At the end of the day, at least 95% of us on the escapist play games, if someone prefers a system to another, good for them. The community should not be divided by the PC and Console gamers.

I think quite a few people here need to grow up. Some people need to face it that not everyone can build there own PC no matter how easy it is, some people just don't like mucking about inside a computer tower to upgrade it, and prefer just to use what they bought. And some other people need to stop fuelling the fire and going against other peoples opinions. if someone prefers steam, good for them, no one should tell them otherwise.

PC gaming has it's pro's and cons.

Console gaming has it pro's and cons.

Anyone who says anything different is an idiot.

 

[ph0b0s123]

The PC game pad has also been a very poor experience in general. I seldom have a PC game where the game pad will immediately function half as well as a console controller without calibrations or troubleshooting. Perhaps it's because my PC gamepad was old or not the 'right' one at the time.

Well my 360 controller works exactly the same way on the 360 as it does on my PC, no difference in experience at all. You do have to make sure you don't buy a rubbish controller. But if you want a console experience, why would you not use one from a console?

I would say that yes a preferring a controller and couch is a perfectly valid reason. Sure you can use a controller with PC games but very few actually have native support. When using third party programs to do it they are never anywhere are smooth as on a console. Hell even the few that I have tried that had native support didnt run as well.

Well that's odd as I have hardly ever found a game that did not have native support for my 360 controller. The only major title not to have this recently was ME3 for PC which was bad by bioware. You want to back up your supposition that native support is rare, because the facts I think are otherwise.

 

[Xifel]

Never understood that "PC or Console". I have a PC connected to my TV, I also have 3 consoles connected to it to. The PC is also connected to a normal screen which I can work at. I have an Xbox-controller to my PC, so for me the lines is pretty blurred between the PC and consoles...

 

[vxicepickxv]

Why bother with splitscreen when everything is on-line anyway? The only reason people use splitscreen was because internet access wasn't universal. However, 20 years later, internet is widely used.

No. Just no. Online is NOT a replacement for splitscreen. Can you really say that playing aginst some faceless guy who may or may not even be on a mic is equal to playing against someone sitting next to you? Not all gamers are antisocial enough to not have any friends they can bear to be in the same room as.

it has nothing to do with being anti social - I just like all 1080 pixels to be MINE!

1080p doesn't stand for 1080 pixels. The P stands for progressive scan.


As for the original topic, why not both? I can hook my PC or console up to the main TV set to do whatever I feel like. Hulu, netflix, escapist HD videos, and gaming.

I can hook controllers up to the PC, or the PS3, and do pretty much whatever. They both have good uses, so, why even ask this question?

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

You do...know what splitscreen is, don't you?

No. No I don't think that I have ever experience this thing called split screen. I just decided to come on to a forum and bash it for no reason other than to troll people and look like an idiot. It isn't like if you don't have the right aspect ratio the screen is fucked up due to split and trying to find working controllers and batteries and then only having a limited amount of people to play aren't problems with it. Not to mention people being dicks and screen looking. Yes split screen really was the epitome of multiplayer gaming.

My point is you don't have to move anything around except maybe a controller.

No your point was I was an idiot.

If you say so.

 

[DSK-]

I suppose it is. At the end of the day, it's nice to be doing something comfortably. I can't say playing downstairs on the settee wasn't a bad experience.

However then again, the control schemes of PC's and consoles differ a great deal, at least in the majority of usage, and thus require different ergonomics. Unless you're using a laptop, but sometimes touchpads can be a pain in the arse :S

 

[Qitz]

Well this dissolved into the standard "YOU SUCK ELITIST!" "NO YOU SUCK FAIL-GAMER!" argument now didn't it?

They both have their pros and their cons.

Want to be able to get newer technology, with a lot of range of use and ability to customize? PC.

Want something that requires zero fuss, tech know-how and, most importantly, the reliability that any game you buy for it WILL RUN. PERIOD? Console.

Those are the only real reasons for me, anything else tends to be personal preference. Some people like having every game work on their controller, some like being able to swap between controller and mouse + keyboard.

Egg on, apply directly to the forehead! Thank you for that thought captcha.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

Your argument is invalid. People can easily us a tv instead of a moniter for their pc and many pc games support the use of a 'gamepad'.

PC can do everything a console can and many more things that a console cannot do due to it's limitations as a platform. There's no question that PC is better, it's just more expensive and perhaps more complicated for the less tech minded people out there.

I'm relatively tech minded and believe I could put a good PC together. I could also afford one. I just prefer console gaming, its how I've been gaming since the 90s granted acknowledgement that obviously a PC is a more powerful system which I do play occasionally but only on strategy games like DoW 2. Its not that people "can't" build a PC its normally because they don't want to. Saying that every person who doesn't play PC is poor and has no knowledge of how a PC works is just plain ignorant.

If you want to make it a matter of personal opinion then someone else might say they prefer gaming on a DS, or playing on iPad apps. A debate like that will lead nowhere since you're essentially just going in circles. What I'm saying is that from a technical standpoint the pc is capable of everything that a console is and more. Fantastic games like the TW series are not put onto the console because it simply can't handle it and is limited by not having a keyboard and mouse.
At a logical point of view, the pc is better and most likely always will be simply because of what it's capable of. But we will always have personal preference and theres nothing wrong with that, some people like pepsi and some like coca cola.

I'm just stating my position. Total War would work on consoles, if you could use a keyboard and mouse on consoles anyway. Thats the only limitation for RTS the lack of a controller to be able to perform as a mouse does. Halo Wars did work on consoles and it controlled well, it lacked depth however and was pretty much a 'my first RTS'. I would love to see kinect implemented in a way in an RTS as if it was done well then it would be pretty awesome. One thing I will openly debate however is the comparison between games on both consoles and PC but that is not the focus of this thread.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Read below before answering poll

You guys do know you can use a controller on PC and plug your computer into the T.V and play on the couch.

The problem is that only about 10% of PC games actually do support using a controller though.

 

[Smeatza]

You can't really get fast paced arcadey games on PC. A la Dynasty Warriors. The only reason I still own and use consoles.

 

[lord.jeff]

I play on both, and use a controller on both, so it's not a very good excuse, though the only excuse you need to play on one over the other is it's what you prefer. I think a more important question is will computer ever have same system multiplayer as good as a console, or even try to?

 

[viranimus]

Wait... Is that it or is it that people dont say exactly what they mean and in this case have basically said it backwards.



There not really saying Couch and controller is better, as much as they are insinuating that for long term gaming sessions, keyboard/mouse and desk is far less comfortable, which that is essentially true but that hinges on the configuration of the PCs location.

Much like others have suggested, I too have an operational HTPC that allowed me to play from my couch the Old republic or any games in my gog or steam libraries and minecraft. I run xpad on the PC so I can use a controller on any game I wish, Or if I wish I can use the gamepad as a mouse replacement complete with more keyboard shortcuts than what is programable into a mouse. I can use a standard keyboard and mouse if the game I wish to play dictates, and I can even use a remote like mini keyboard and trackpad if the game warrants it. All from the comfort of the 10 foot GUI layout of a living room setting.

I have had a chair at a desk that rendered the concept of playing in a living room moot because the chair allowed me to comfortably rest long enough to give myself deep vein thrombosis it was so comfortable.

So yeah, the notion of not using a PC because of comfort is questionable any more and is clearly on the way out. However things like ease of operation, Ease of setting up Local multiplayer is more where it is favorable, but that distinction is going the way of the dinosaur too.

There are advantages to each. Hell in my home entertainment center I have a 360, PS3, AND the HTPC for limited gaming and honestly, that doesnt even account for my actual gaming PC. Id say within the next 10 years this sort of configuration will be much more common as HDTVs continue to become more standardized and as people start to realize how cheaply you can get things like refurbished desktops or secondary PCs these days.

 

[Noswad]

Why bother with splitscreen when everything is on-line anyway? The only reason people use splitscreen was because internet access wasn't universal. However, 20 years later, internet is widely used.

Not to mention splitscreen relies on a very specific TV specs or else it looks terrible.

Not just picking on you here but you just happened to say it, but why to people have this quite ridiculous idea that no one using splitscreen. In my house, both university and home, splitscreen is still used, in fact it's often a make or break factor if the game gets brought. Oh and please don't say the only reason for splitscreen is the lack of the internet, please don't.

Seriously do your self a favour find 4 friends several bottles of something very intoxicating, a splitscreen games, smash bros or black ops work well and a night without something important in the morning, devise some rules, more silly the better and have your self a drinking game. Then you will see the point in splitscreen and no doing this online is not the same thing..... no do not even think it.

That's if your old enough of course, I was *cough *cough.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I don't see why it wouldn't be a valid issue. Most people already have their consoles connected to their TVs in front of couches and their PCs located on desks in offices, bedrooms, etc. It's easy enough to say "hey, you don't have to do it that way. Just do this or buy that and it can work!" but it's still unnecessary trouble and/or expense that not everyone wants to deal with. Much like with the rest of the PC VS Console debate, convenience and cost are probably two of the most common reasons why people choose to game on a console.

But wouldn't that an argument be for convenience and price, the point is it is possible, and the way many people talk about it they make it out as if it is impossible (without mention it's impossible). It feels like it comes back to conveinance, moving a desktop only requires 3 cables, power, video and audio, so I find it easy to move a desktop. Even though I have a 360, but if theres a game on PC for a $1 and it's $12 on console than I would rather buy the PC version and spend 5mins moving my desktop.

Perhaps I should have added an "only for T.V" or "only for Controller" in the poll, I am hearing good points for T.V debate but have yet to hear any good reasons why one cannot use there controller on a computer

It's not an argument for it simply because it means extra work and/or cost. It's not a huge cost or a huge amount of extra work for most people with modern PCs and modern TVs, but it's something extra that has to be done/purchased. It's extra effort not required if you already have your console connected to your TV, as most do, and your PC somewhere else connected to a monitor, as most do.

And the "cheapness" of consoles is entirely false due to the price of games, peripherals and for some people, online.

I agree with your continuous pushing of PC not being as expensive as some people say it is, but you're not quite correct here and you're also missing my point. My point is that, if someone already has both a console and a PC, and have them set up as the vast majority of people do, it's extra cost and effort to change the way they are set up. I'm not talking about day 1 costs (which are still less for console than PC though not by the multiplier too many give), I'm talking costs right now to go from current set up to playing PC in the living room.

 

[spartan231490]

Read below before answering poll

Something that I have been noticing a lot (well I have always noticed it), is that whenever a pc vs console debate comes up people usually use a reason for preferring Console over PC is that they prefer to sit on a couch and use a controller. I have even seen people say this on the escapist, and it really annoys me. You guys do know you can use a controller on PC and plug your computer into the T.V and play on the couch. Now this is not a debate over whether or not console or PC is better. consoles are great for convenience, they're cheap and easy to use, and they have many great exclusives but the excuse "I prefer a controller" or "I prefer to be on the couch" should not fly because you can do both those on a computer, just plug it into the T.V and plug a controller in (now I know it works both ways, you can use a mouse and keyboard on console using 3rd party hardware if you choose and plug your console into a monitor).

So my question is do you think controller or T.V should be reason for playing on console or pc

Personally my answer is no. it should not be a reason for debate in what you prefer, I know everyone is entitled to there own opinion (I mean this in it's self is an opinion) but saying "I prefer console because of a controller" just feels narrow minded (in my opinion). what do you guys think, am I being arrogant and narrow-minded myself, am I overacting. Are they're any other excuses that annoy you when someone ses they're preferred hardware to play games on. I apologize if I have offended anyone, (Keep in mind that I think both console and Pc are good to game on).

Edit: for example you could use this card to transmit a wireless signal to T.V, I don't know about other options. You don't have to move your computer
http://www.guru3d.com/news/galaxy-outs-slick-nvidia-gtx460-with-wireless-tv-connectivity/

Edit 2: Aright there some good points for not wanting to move your computer to a T.V but what about using a controller debate

Edit 3: ok, so this seems to have gotten a lot of attention, and A few (alright a lot) seem upset about the forum name. I apologise if the word excuses came accross as a bit strong, I should have said reasons, I will change it.

Why would I use my computer to imitate a console when I can just buy the console? I like the division myself. I do my schoolwork on my computer and it's tough for me to relax when using it, no matter what I use for a moniter. With the console though, it's all about having fun, so it's easier for me to chill.

 

[loc978]

Why bother with splitscreen when everything is on-line anyway? The only reason people use splitscreen was because internet access wasn't universal. However, 20 years later, internet is widely used.

No. Just no. Online is NOT a replacement for splitscreen. Can you really say that playing aginst some faceless guy who may or may not even be on a mic is equal to playing against someone sitting next to you? Not all gamers are antisocial enough to not have any friends they can bear to be in the same room as.

it has nothing to do with being anti social - I just like all 1080 pixels to be MINE!

1080p doesn't stand for 1080 pixels. The P stands for progressive scan.


As for the original topic, why not both? I can hook my PC or console up to the main TV set to do whatever I feel like. Hulu, netflix, escapist HD videos, and gaming.

I can hook controllers up to the PC, or the PS3, and do pretty much whatever. They both have good uses, so, why even ask this question?

did I say 1080p? Oh that's right, I didn't. 1080 PIXELS are on one side of a television while 1920 PIXELS are on the other side.
I suppose in all technicality, I could have said, "2,073,600 Pixels" but that just seemed excessive and I figured people would understand what I'm saying...

And then a troll had to come a long and om nom my post.

...and this is why I hate new standard HD terminology. 1080x1920 is 1080x1920, and progressive scan was standard long before HD was even a thing. Anyone using an interlaced scan since LCDs became standard would get a funny look. 1080? Inaccurate. p? Unnecessary. I'd put an on-topic qualifier here, but I'm pretty sure this conversation has been dead for years.