So what is the advantage of a console?

[blackdwarf]

you buy it and you won't have to upgrade it for the coming years. which makes it a cheaper device. you won't have to be afraid that a new game won't work on it because of your console limitations.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Cheap, instant play, dedicated platform.

Like if I wanted to play games on my PC, it would have to be on my laptop, which would take up big old chunks of the memory on it. So my choice is to either only play old games, turn off the enhanced graphics that supposedly make PC gaming worth it, or install new memory, which costs me extra money and requires the technical know-how to upgrade the memory in the first place. I definitely don't have the money to buy a whole other PC just for playing games on.

To make a dedicated gaming PC of good quality will cost at minimum about £300. And that would be the sort of rig that wears out quickly and doesn't give a very good game besides. So right away with a PC you're looking at perhaps £500 as the starting block. Then there's the additional (admittedly minor) cost of a monitor, keyboard and mouse (maybe up to £150?) and the game itself at £40. Then I have to install the game onto the PC (potentially this could take hours) and fiddle with the settings for a bit to make it work with my PC because the best gaming PCs use bits from all different makers which have to be configured right

Or I can buy an XBox 360 basic for £150, a 250gb harddrive for £35 and a controller for £20, a game for £40, hook it up to the tv I already have and start playing literally out of the box. So that's the full console experience for £245 in the two hours it takes me to get to the shop and get home again and if I'm being completely honest I've never noticed enough of a difference in graphics/gameplay to actually bother me. Vs the full PC gaming experience for upwards of £600 (the very best gaming rigs can be £3000) and it takes at least a day to actually put everything together so I can start playing it.

Yeah I think I know which one I'll stick with.

 

[Arina Love]

i can play J-RPGs and all AAA tittles + exclusives. So for me advantages are clear and i doubt this situation will change any time soon.

 

[Growley]

I don't know where people are getting this idea that you have to fiddle with a PC to get games to work. In years of being a PC gamer the only time I've ever had issues was with Metro 2033, and that was mostly because of a physx driver I didn't have.

Also, I know people who have only just updated their 5 year old PCs to play the latest games, with a graphics card worth £200; so their PC has had around the lifespan of a console, was updated for less than the cost of a new console and continues to play games to a higher standard (FPS/visuals/keyboard and mouse controls) - so the idea that PC gaming is cost prohibitive and requires constant upgrades is tosh.

As for the advantages of a console:

• Lower initial investment
• Convenience for people who are unwilling to learn the extremely basic way to build a computer
• Some exclusives, although imo the only one worth a damn is Metal Gear Solid

That's pretty much it. However, there are some very good reasons for using consoles; these are (for example):

• personal preference
• unable/unwilling to spend the initial investment
• unable/unwilling to learn how to put a PC together
• friends use consoles (multiplayer)

Objectively, consoles aren't better than a PC, they're just not; but that doesn't mean there aren't some great reasons to use them, personal preference in particular being a completely unarguable and subjective reason.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

As someone who loves games, and loves to settle down with his gmaes in the evening, but is also in the military, and moves constantly, and doesn't have the internet, console gaming is perfect!

I don't need the internet to play my games... I just take my TV and Xbox, and I have all of the latest games at the push of a button...

It is also so much cheaper than trying to get a laptop to do the same thing, a desktop is too much hassle to move, and I can't deal with all the installing/uninstalling of games!

Also, there is possibly a growing up aspect to this as well! I have always had a console growing up, because PC's didn't have as good games, they were more expensive, and damn more difficult to use, so if your parents wern't good at them, you wouldn't use them that much!

I have always just gone on from there... and have just replaced consoles over the years with new better ones... and kept my laptop for work!

I also don't like using the device I work on for playing on... I like to completely disattach myself!

 

[Bostur]

The most obvious advantage of any platform is the games that are available. If the prefered games are only released on one platform, thats the best platform. This has been true for as long as platform wars have raged. Speccy or Commodore? Atari or Amiga? Sega or Nintendo? Mac or IBM-Compatible? 'PC' or 'Console'? It all depends on what games you want to play.

The saddest thing about platform wars is that for the last 10 years the concept of different platforms has not been a technical necessity. These are artificial boundaries that companies like Sony and Microsoft has created to try to corner the market. For me the distinction between console and PC makes no sense, because they are the same machines. I would love for someone like Valve to make an open console platform without the implied DRM that current consoles have.

Wouldn't it be cool to have a small or large box that could run all games? With different pricing depending on performance. With the option to choose the OS and software of your choice, and the option not to make any choices at all? The only hurdle is marketing not tech.

 

[Entitled]

Like if I wanted to play games on my PC, it would have to be on my laptop, which would take up big old chunks of the memory on it. So my choice is to either only play old games, turn off the enhanced graphics that supposedly make PC gaming worth it...

Bull. Shit.

Threads like this are pretty much the only place where graphics are argued so regularly. The idea that PC gaming is all about the graphics, is mostly an invention of the mentality that "graphics are dumb, just like people who care about that", as part of the whole "PC gamers are ignorant elitists who don't realize that all platforms are equal" meme.

The only reason why graphics are even brought up in threads like this, because it's a practical, quick, tangible demonstration of how much more flexible PC games are than consoles. That you CAN either buy console-quality graphics for $300, or a personal supercomputer for $2000 if that happens to be your thing, and you can decide how long you allow it to degrade without upgrading, while with consoles, you are stuck with default.

If you happen to be a retro gamer, then the PC has a bunch of emulators, and that's what makes PC gaming worth it. If you are a history buff, we have mods to make your favorite niche strategy game even more historically accurate, and that's what makes PC gaming worth it. If it's porn games that float your boat, we have those.

The point is, that what makes PC gaming worth it is the freedom, to indulge in whatever specific interests you have, and modify and bend it to your even more specific interests, instead of just accepting whatever Microsoft is coming at you with.

To make a dedicated gaming PC of good quality will cost at minimum about £300. And that would be the sort of rig that wears out quickly and doesn't give a very good game besides. So right away with a PC you're looking at perhaps £500 as the starting block.

Actually, a £500 PC would wear out quicker. Buying a stronger system that will last longer is a myth. My PC was mid-range 5 years ago, and it's still lower-mid range, while if I would have bought a $1000 beast at the same time, it would also be a mid-range system by now. The only reason to pay anything more beyond the current system requirements, is if you are a hardware hobbyist and want to build strong systems for the sake of building strong system. Established mid-range systems will be the focus of developer interest, and they will be catered to as long as most gamers are having them.

Then there's the additional (admittedly minor) cost of a monitor, keyboard and mouse (maybe up to £150?) and the game itself at £40.

Or I can buy an XBox 360 basic for £150, a 250gb harddrive for £35 and a controller for £20, a game for £40, hook it up to the tv I already have...

Hey, you already have a TV, but you don't have a monitor, mouse, and keyboard? Or, for that matter, a basic desktop PC that only needs to be upgraded? Well, that's possible, but it doesn't necesserily work as a general example. A PC is worth investing in even for more comfortable internet usage alone, even if you are not a gamer. Those laptop touchpads are fucking retarded, the keyboards barely have any feedback, and the monitors are dim and tiny.

For example, I don't even have any TV, because I'm watching my movies on my PC monitor, from the recliner at my desk, so for me, upgrading my PC next year to be ready for the new generation, (by buying a RAM/video card/processor combo, would cost significantly less than buying whatever the consoles wil be, plus a TV. Plus a couch, for that matter.

Then I have to install the game onto the PC (potentially this could take hours) and fiddle with the settings for a bit to make it work with my PC because the best gaming PCs use bits from all different makers which have to be configured right

Have you even SEEN a PC game ever? Installatios don't take more than five minutes. If yours takes hours, you are doing it horribly wrong. And The second sentence makes so little sense, that you might have as well said "you have to fiddle with the microchips that are reversing the polarity of the cyberspace simulation".

 

[The_Lost_King]

Cheaper (To a good extent)
Split-screen (I love gaming with my cousin next to me)
Less hassle, no need to install them (optional) and no disc swapping (a lot of old PC games did this) Just pick up and play.
Exclusives (Big point)

There are more, but I'll leave it at that.

I would use a PC for gaming, but slightly improved graphics and mods are not enough to make me buy a gaming rig, especially since I game very little on my console these days (3DS is sucking up my time at the moment) Haven't turned on my 360 in 2 weeks. That will change when Persona 4 Arena gets released (whenever that is) and Assassins Creed III.

No disc swapping? I never have to swap discs on my PC because they are installed on my pc. I always have to swap when I am playing one of my mass effect games even though I installed them on my X-box.

 

[mysecondlife]

Consoles are generally easier to carry around during travel (if you feel really compelled to bring it with you). Console, controller, games, and HDMI cable is all you need these days. Realistically, its lighter than carrying your PC hardware around.

Assuming we're not talking about gaming laptops.

 

[ElPatron]

I also heard it's physically impossible to sit back and relax on a sofa whilst gaming on a PC.

>2012
>not having some form of computer plugged in your main TV in the living room

ISHYGDDT

It's called Accessibility.

1. Buy a 360/PS3/Wii
2. Buy 360/PS3/Wii Games

That's all you need to know.

Didn't really happen with the whole PSP Go, Nintendo DS, DSi, Lites, XLs, 3DSes, etc. Anyone who wasn't big on the industry could have been fooled into wasting money just a couple of years ago.

And I still don't know what the hell is the Wii U and how it related to the Wii. Along with probably 90% of the world.

Oh and affordability.

You mean the 500? launch price for the PS3? Or 70-60? for every game? Even the difference between 60 bucks and 50 bucks in the US is significant. Don't forget Steam sales.

No having to be connected to servers, no having to wait for patches to download for hours

Not true. My xbox is a pain in the ass anytime I connect to Live, patches take forever to download and they take a load of time to install. My experience with the PSN is even worse when it comes to patches and updates.

Meanwhile, in a PC I can download a patch while I'm doing other things, not that it takes too long because the downloads are much faster from FTP/torrent than trough Live's service. I still haven't figured out how to do anything on the xbox without cancelling the download.

Another pc vs console topic where i can post this and be amazing

console = Kia
PC = Ferrari

One is cheap and chearful. Other is about high performance and optional extras

But you know what the interesting thing is? I never hear of a "Ferrari Master Race" out there, even among the big time motorheads and car fanciers. Interesting, neh?

That's because it's a awful analogy. Ferraris are by far the best cars ever made, with all due respect to their engineers.

Obviously there is the Rolls Royce Master Race. Still wouldn't make an analogy with cars.

3. No steam. No online required to play.

No Steam is actually a drawback. Their deals are awesome and the pricing is much more fair than retail. Here games take months to drop prices. Duke Nukem is still at 50? for some reason.

Anyway, when I'm playing on a PC not all games are installed trough Steam. Go to any store and actually check how many require online connectivity to Steam or Origin?

Also, even if I have Steam games I can play Singleplayer without internet connection. I don't think you can enter the MP but if you don't have internet you don't need it.

 

[8a88leph1sh]

I'm a console gamer in huge part because I hate Microsoft's OS...but I love my xbox. I'm a backwards person OK?! GOD!!

Mac4lief!! <33
(and also xbox)

 

[The White Hunter]

As for something I do have experience in: Hand-held consoles. I've got a couple of those and they are quite invaluable when you're out and about for a longer amount of time.

The advantage of those is the digital crack known as Pokemon.

A console is cheaper, easy to set up, easier to get into, exclusive titles, simpler for must end users to navigate. Cheaper. Power to cost ration is much better on a console in general, though the current gen may be pushing it in another year in that regard.

Now I own a lot of consoles, though I only own a PS3 and Wii this gen. I'm also investing £900 of my pounds in a pretty swanky gaming rig in the next few months to build myself.

I'd say to learn to build your PC is easy, whats challenging is choosing components. Took me ages to choose a GPU because the market is so saturated with things differentiated by a few FPS difference and £15 difference in price.