Console Gaming Vs PC Gaming

[Hanyou]

Better exclusives...

Civilization series, Age of Empires series, Command & Conquer series, StarCraft series, Diablo series, SimCity series, Flight Simulator series, Counter-Strike series, ARMA series, Fallout 1 & 2, Spore, League of Legends (currently the most played game of all time), World of Warcraft, EverQuest, etc.

I don't think any of those are objectively better than the best console games. Though I do concede that the Myst series, which I'd label as PC titles, can stand up to the best consoles have to offer.

In any case, that wasn't my point. My point was that you can't get a comprehensive experience from PC games alone--and certain gamers, like myself, prefer Japanese titles.

AGAIN, unless you're talking indie games, visual novels, or some other exceptions, there's not a huge Japanese market on PCs.

Crysis, Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Quake II, Quake III Arena, Deus Ex, etc.

Don't really care about any of those, but yeah, sure, there's no point to playing the console versions if the superior versions are on PC, which they almost invariably are. That's why I have Skyrim, Morrowind, Portal 2, Fallout, Bioshock, etc. on Steam or I've downloaded them from Gog. It still doesn't convince me that the PC is inherently superior to all consoles.

It does make the Xbox 360 absolutely pointless, though. You won't find any argument from me there.

And we must not forget about emulators... (ROMs are legal if you rip them yourself from a physical copy of the game which you legally own and only use it for personal purposes. After all, if you paid for the game, shouldn't you deserve to be able to play it any way you wish?)

I'm very cautious about discussing emulators, since I don't want to break the rules here.

Suffice to say, these are console games that are, well, emulated on PC. They aren't PC games. So that's still a point towards consoles. Furthermore, even some older platforms aren't emulated well. I'd rather not dive too much more into it.

 

[Ventus]

And we must not forget about emulators...

That's if coders can make what amounts to "Advanced" [insert system here] emulators. I'd argue that the likes of VBA, for example, is far superior to the GameBoy Advance. But, the likes of JPCSP doesn't hold a candle to the PlayStation Portable. Why is it so sketchy? Code of course! Even a supercomputer couldn't make KHBBS run if the emulator being used simply isn't built great.

 

[Pokemon]

I would tell you guys that you are idiots and be mad that this thread was made simply to start an argument. BUT I WON'T. Because that is untrue. PC gaming has (I'm talking NOT the 90s) and pretty much always will have the upper hand in these types of things. PC gaming does almost everything just as good or even better than console for the past 5 years or so. BUT not to say console does do things better than PC. I'll leave it at that, because if I didn't you guys would see the biggest wall of text in the history of the internet.

 

[ShadowDiety]

PC undeniably is better than any console out there. The service on Steam and modding is amazing. I like both PC and consoles, but prefer consoles because I like console exclusives more. Plus, I really don't like emulating.

 

[NESpowerhouse]

I'm always looking for the best experience possible out of my games, so the graphics on the PC being superior to consoles is very advantageous to me. Also, PC gaming, aside from the actual rig itself, is way cheaper than consoles. On top of that, steam is having sales on games all the time where you can find games for only about $15, where you would still have to pay around $60 for the game on consoles. However, you can't deny that consoles have tons of interesting exclusives. PCs are mainly ideal to multiplats. So, if you wallet can handle it, get a PC rig that will last you at least another generation of game consoles, as well as consoles so you can get the best of both worlds.

 

[DarkestLink]

Too expensive and not enough good software. The only redeeming thing is its hardware--just like the PS3.

 

[Hanyou]

Too expensive and not enough good software. The only redeeming thing is its hardware--just like the PS3.

I've vouched for consoles in this thread, but I disagree with every word of this post. The PC probably has as much quality exclusive over a single console generation as all of the consoles combined, and almost always has the best versions ofmultiplat titles. PC gaming isn't much more expensive than console gaming if you know what you're doing. And the PS3 has lots of great exclusive games.

Almost every argument I've seen leveled against pcs in this thread is moot. You can use plenty of controllers with PCs, you can connect them to TVs, it's not too expensive if you play your cards right, etc. I just don't think the quality of the PC counts against consoles in general.

 

[Random Person]

I prefer console gaming, but PC gaming is definitely the better choice. Others have stated a good amount of what I had to say, so here are some basic points. A PC built for gaming, while more expensive than a console, pays off more in the long run in terms of price. PC's have overall better hardware support. The main reason PC's are just generally better for gaming is that PC's are more adaptable than consoles. A PC can play virtually any game, and if there is something the player does not like, it is much easier to change such an aspect on the PC than it is on the console. I still prefer consoles as that's what I've become accustom to and I prefer to experience certain games in ways the creators wanted me to.

 

[Hanyou]

PC gaming is not too expensive. If you know what you're doing and build your own rig, a Crysis 2 capable system only costs about $600. In you're really on a budget, skip the case and you can have that same system about $550.

With the cost of proprietary accessories and increased cost of games, console gaming isn't much cheaper.

Actually, considering Steam discounts and the like, console gaming is probably more expensive.

Since most people own computers anyway, shelling out a few hundred dollars more for a gaming rig (or simply building one yourself) probably only costs a bit more than a new console during a console's release, and is definitely cheaper in the long run. The problem is that people count the cost of a computer against PC gaming, when they'd likely be spending money on a computer regardless.

 

[Ventus]

PC gaming is not too expensive. If you know what you're doing and build your own rig, a Crysis 2 capable system only costs about $600. In you're really on a budget, skip the case and you can have that same system about $550.

With the cost of proprietary accessories and increased cost of games, console gaming isn't much cheaper.

"about $550" for just the computer, right? The price makes sense - you're not paying for a gaming console when you purchase a gaming PC - but it truly is more expensive than a console would be. Check it out:
$400 - $700 (I cap it at 700 because not many people are willing to spend that much on a PC) for the base PC
Let's use a $60 for Call of Duty. Of course you'll be buying far more games than CoD, but the current price for BO2 on Steam is $60.
~$50 for keyboard/mouse

That is about, hmm...let's go with $660 using the $550 you put as a figure. Comparatively, a console that does pretty much the same stuff regarding gaming, with a minor drop in graphical quality (I say minor because the difference between an HD console and a gaming PC isn't as drastic as an HD console and an SD console), costs...
~$300 for console + controller
$60 for CoD
$10-$50 for mic

Which caps off at $410. Really gonna say $660 is less than $410? I wouldn't.