Consoles vs PC - what do you think?

[SymphonicX]

Personally I choose consoles!

Before I go any further, I have a pretty decent PC, here's the specs:

AMD Dual core 2.0ghz (soon to be upgraded)
Nvidia 8600gts DX10
2gb ram
case is MSI MegaPC 51PV

Now I hear all this stuff about consoles vs pcs - been reading up on it since the other thread about native resolutions. For instance I can run COD2 at native 1920x1080 with a fairly decent framerate on all highest settings...looks fantastic

But I prefered playing this game on the 360....Why? I can't quite figure out...every time I think about PC gaming I get this little pang of...well, its too much effort, energy, and cost at the end of the day...my PC cost me £500 and that's only because its built by a friend from the surplus stuff he's got in his web based computer company...but the way I see it, when I buy an xbox or ps3 game, I'm looking at this game running at its best...there's no tweaking, no installing, no bullsh*t around it, and that's what really gets me...when i buy a PC game I've got to install, register, configure and then fiddle around with that HORRIBLE keyboard and mouse combination or purchase a program that allows me to use my xbox controller before I even start to enjoy it! Its just such a faff....and one thing I really hate is faffing. Sure at the end of the day the Xbox may be what has been called an "inferior PC in a box" but at least you know what you're getting with it...no downloading graphics drivers to run the damn thing, no dodgy framerates....

Now I have a friend who's an avid PC gamer, playing Crysis around my house I was just destroyed by how crap it looked on my computer (not surprising considering the specs required for that game) so I put on COD4 and showed it to him...his jaw dropped and he said "It runs like an arcade"...I said "yeah, at a fraction of the cost of your PC and always this good"...he's almost convinced into buying an xbox now...and considering his PC is SICK that's quite an achievement...his problem is that he loves his keyboard and mouse combinations, but I think he's just bought a 360 controller to play Crysis on...but personally,. being a console guy I cannot stand having my two hands separate, plus you can't really sit on a sofa and play PC games and all that...very uncomfortable for me...

So its really a matter of opinion i guess.....what do you guys think?

[CoinReturn]

Short and sweet: consoles. I enjoy the comfort of a couch and an HDTV, the fact that EVERYBODY uses the same control scheme for online gaming (levels the playing field), and most of all, because its where all the games are. There are maybe 2 or 3 games on PC worth buying a year, where there are dozens on consoles.

[Danny]

consoles, definatley- at least for me.
i like sitting at a desk when surfing the net or hammering away at a script but for gameing i prefer leaning way back on my bigass sofa, to the point of being lamost horizontal and having the screen at least a metre away. sitting against a hard chair with a plasma inches from your face cant be the healthier of the two options were your backand eyes are concerned.
Plus my 360 and my freinds wii's and ps3's all update themselves and patch ect. automatically, so no fiddling is needed.
plus i dont care for keyboard and mouse control, give me a controller, a lightgun, or on a firday night a guitar and im happy as a clam.

[capncnut]

It's okay when someone has two grands worth of rig that can play games like Crysis but for most people with modest PC's it's a laggy, stuttery bastard. What want's to pay two grand for a game? :rolleyes:

Even when you fork out (throw away) the dollar for a top rig it still don't change the fact that keyboards are darn fiddly to play games on. And mouse aiming is over simplistic too. Put three tiny black dots on a white screen and I'll hit 'em every time with a mouse, where's the challenge in that? I like controllers because they fit nicely in your hand and sometimes they can compliment the game by the way you use the controls.

I say consoles all the way!

[3pidemiC]

No question, PC.

If you want innovation first, go with the computer. It has been the first to deliver the best games that have changed the way we play. From the graphics, to the controls, to the ability to play people over the internet.

Graphics: PCs are unmatched. No question. Developers are not held back by the limitations of a consoles hardware to produce a game that looks great.

Controls: Controlling a game with a mouse and keyboard is again unmatched. The ability to be complete precise in aiming with the mouse makes it horribly superior to a consoles controller. Show me anyone that can outplay a person on a PC with a consoles controller, and I will show you a dirty liar.

Modding: Probably the biggest advantage right now. The ability to take the game that you purchase and completely customize it to you own liking is yet another advantage. Many people (or teams) go as far as totally convert a game to make a completely new game from an existing one (i.e. Counter-Strike). This ability makes a game's lifespan endless so long as people are still interested in modding it. I mean, people are still modding Doom!

Multiplayer: No accounts, no fees. PC has been doing this way before consoles jumped on it. As long as you have an internet connection you can play the games online (with exceptions of MMO's). Also, people can rent dedicated servers to have them running 24/7 without the need of a person to host the game. The connections are also far more reliable with considerably less lag than a console.

Patches: If a game in on a console and on a PC, the developer of the game can release patches to fix bugs much more rapidly to the PC owner. Take Team Fortress 2 for example. I just played it on the PS3 and it's amazing how none of the original bugs have been patched yet. While on the PC, they were fixed in the first week.

Multitasking: The ability to be able to listen to music, chat, browse the internet, and game at the same time makes your computer an all-in-one station.

Scalability: Just because you don't have the newest system, does not always mean that you can not play the game. There are always options to tone down the graphics and effects to run better on your machine. Of course, there are always times where you can't play it at all. But in the case of the console, if you do not have the system, you can't play the game. At least the PC gives you a chance.


Boom! PC > Consoles. Any day.

But I do enjoy playing consoles too. ;)

[MinionZombie]

It's too simple a question for too complicated an answer I say.

I'm both a player of PC games and console games.

With my 360 I play games in a generally more relaxed environment, or at a more relaxed pace. I don't have to worry about system specifications and I just buy a game and off I go.

However, consoles are nowhere near as good for FPS games when you compare them to their PC counterparts - it's just a simple fact.

Much like fighting/sports games are better on consoles.

Sandbox games like GTA work on both, as do racing games.

3rd Person Shooters are tricky, the aiming is definitely better on PC - without aiming assistance/lock on as well.

PC's just are better for shooters, the keyboard/mouse combo just is better for such games, especially aiming with a mouse, rather than two analogue sticks. Having played FPS games on both a PC and a console, I can say without a doubt that the PC is ideally suited to shooters.

Shooters in turn are where graphical amazingness is first tested and where the first bold strides are made into new territory. A console can be powerful, but a PC can be upgraded, so will always outstrip consoles in the end - even though consoles level the playing field for a year or two when a new generation comes along.

It also depends on what games you want to play on a PC, and you can get a decent gaming rig for less than £2000, so that's an unfair comment I feel. You can get an absolute beast for 2 grand...and you can do a lot more with a PC over-all, than you can with a console.

Consoles should really just stick to being games machines, whereas with PCs - gaming is one of the many things you can do on them.

Again, it's down to which games you want to play on the PC.

The boundaries are truly pushed on the PC, which is how console games are made anyway, lol...oh the irony. Just look at Alan Wake - now there's a boundary pushing game. Crysis - that's a boundary pushing game, and yes it's ahead of it's time, but shouldn't that be admired?

In a year or two it'll be easier to buy a PC that can handle it.

Anyway, I like both - but as I say, they both do different things from each other and the choice depends on a whole bunch of variables, so I really can't choose - I like both.

See what I meant about a simple question for a complicated answer? :)

[3pidemiC]

Nice post.

/agreed

Platformers, Fighting, and Sports games are better on consoles.

Also, I don't see how people can say that aiming with a mouse and keyboard is too easy when the console shooters mostly have auto-aim on them.

Ah well. Let the brawl continue. ;)

[SymphonicX]

Controls: Controlling a game with a mouse and keyboard is again unmatched. The ability to be complete precise in aiming with the mouse makes it horribly superior to a consoles controller. Show me anyone that can outplay a person on a PC with a consoles controller, and I will show you a dirty liar.
;)

I am that "liar"

here's my story.

I bought Halo 2 PC for Vista and played it online against 20 or so other people, however many it can hold anyway....I plugged my xbox controller in whilst everyone else had the keyboard mouse combo...

my score at the end: 45 kills, 4 deaths, a bezerker and countless sprees.

Next highest score: 23 ikills.

That trend continued through every game...you have speed of aiming, I have agility - I used it to my advantage, never keeping still and completely destroying everyone in this free for all match....!!

I will see if I get time to go to bungie and pull the stat if its listed...


No question, PC.

Scalability: Just because you don't have the newest system, does not always mean that you can not play the game. There are always options to tone down the graphics and effects to run better on your machine. Of course, there are always times where you can't play it at all. But in the case of the console, if you do not have the system, you can't play the game. At least the PC gives you a chance.

But I do enjoy playing consoles too. ;)

That last point is a bit moot I say....if you don't own a PC then you dont' have a chance!!! I don't see what you're getting at here drawing paralells between people who own crap Pcs and people who DON'T own an xbiox or whatever. At least with an xbox you're guaranteed to never BOTHER toning down the graphics, if you have an xbox you have the "highest" settings it will allow, guaranteed - that's more attactive than owning a crap PC and toning it down - £300 will get u a crap PC, £300 will also get you an xbox..!!!

:)


It's too simple a question for too complicated an answer I say.

I'm both a player of PC games and console games.

With my 360 I play games in a generally more relaxed environment, or at a more relaxed pace. I don't have to worry about system specifications and I just buy a game and off I go.

However, consoles are nowhere near as good for FPS games when you compare them to their PC counterparts - it's just a simple fact.

Much like fighting/sports games are better on consoles.

Sandbox games like GTA work on both, as do racing games.

3rd Person Shooters are tricky, the aiming is definitely better on PC - without aiming assistance/lock on as well.

PC's just are better for shooters, the keyboard/mouse combo just is better for such games, especially aiming with a mouse, rather than two analogue sticks. Having played FPS games on both a PC and a console, I can say without a doubt that the PC is ideally suited to shooters.

Shooters in turn are where graphical amazingness is first tested and where the first bold strides are made into new territory. A console can be powerful, but a PC can be upgraded, so will always outstrip consoles in the end - even though consoles level the playing field for a year or two when a new generation comes along.

It also depends on what games you want to play on a PC, and you can get a decent gaming rig for less than £2000, so that's an unfair comment I feel. You can get an absolute beast for 2 grand...and you can do a lot more with a PC over-all, than you can with a console.

Consoles should really just stick to being games machines, whereas with PCs - gaming is one of the many things you can do on them.

Again, it's down to which games you want to play on the PC.

The boundaries are truly pushed on the PC, which is how console games are made anyway, lol...oh the irony. Just look at Alan Wake - now there's a boundary pushing game. Crysis - that's a boundary pushing game, and yes it's ahead of it's time, but shouldn't that be admired?

In a year or two it'll be easier to buy a PC that can handle it.

Anyway, I like both - but as I say, they both do different things from each other and the choice depends on a whole bunch of variables, so I really can't choose - I like both.

See what I meant about a simple question for a complicated answer? :)


but if you had to have only one - the 2k gaming rig or the 300 wuid console?

Interesting post though, nice one! :)

[3pidemiC]

I am that "liar"

here's my story.

I bought Halo 2 PC for Vista and played it online against 20 or so other people, however many it can hold anyway....I plugged my xbox controller in whilst everyone else had the keyboard mouse combo...

my score at the end: 45 kills, 4 deaths, a bezerker and countless sprees.

Next highest score: 23 ikills.

That trend continued through every game...you have speed of aiming, I have agility - I used it to my advantage, never keeping still and completely destroying everyone in this free for all match....!!

I will see if I get time to go to bungie and pull the stat if its listed...


Of course there will always be exceptions. But in almost every case this is true. This is really unable to be completely tested because there are no games right now that allow you to play against people on consoles. This is actually the reason give for not allowing Gear of War to do that. They knew that it would be unfair to the XBOX players.

[SymphonicX]

Shadowrun has both doesn't it?

Anyway I reckon Halo 2 pc is the perfect way to test this theory...!! anyway for me it proved to me, at least, that I much prefer controllers and am actually quite good with them...at least in comparison...

I would love some geeky scientist to do a study on it

[CoinReturn]

The only area of game control where PC has consoles beat is first person shooters. You can't beat the precision of WSAD+Mouse. The thing that keeps it back is the fact that there is no controller variation for PC. It's been mouse and keyboard for 20 years. No force feedback, no analog sticks, nothing. Genres such as fighting, adventure, sports, 3D role playing games and 3rd person shooters like Gears of War all handle with superiority thanks to the help of a controller. The keyboard was never meant to play videogames with, and it shows.

[Tricky]

PC,partly because the graphics are usually better if your PC is up to spec,but mostly because of games like company of heroes,medieval 2,silent hunter etc!as fun as console games are,you just dont get that level of depth from them!and also the ability to download patches to PC games which fixes bugs & even adds quite a lot of extra content more often than not :)
Im going to get a PS3 at some point this year,for the blu-ray & also GTA4,but other than that il still be bumming my PC

[CoinReturn]

No question, PC.

Multiplayer: No accounts, no fees. PC has been doing this way before consoles jumped on it. As long as you have an internet connection you can play the games online (with exceptions of MMO's). Also, people can rent dedicated servers to have them running 24/7 without the need of a person to host the game. The connections are also far more reliable with considerably less lag than a console.


That last sentence is complete bull. Where did you pull that factoid from? Sure, there may not be as many dedicated servers, but in no way is the lag worse on a console than it is on a PC.

[SymphonicX]

I agree mostly CoinReturn...(nice name btw)
Although I think....well....WSAD is a bit hit and miss, like u don't really get too much precision in ur moviements, u hit the W key quickly and it always moves that distance if you get my drift...with analogue stick u push up just a tinsy bit and can move really slowly etc...


That last sentence is complete bull. Where did you pull that factoid from? Sure, there may not be as many dedicated servers, but in no way is the lag worse on a console than it is on a PC.

actually i've experienced much mroe lag on PC games online than I ever have with the xbox....

[Craig]

For First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategy and Point and Click adventures then I prefer the PC. The maneuverability of the mouse makes these genres so much easier to play.

The good thing (for me) is most shiny new FPS games don't interest me so my PC which is nothing special still serves me fine. Plus almost every fairly popular PC has it's die hard fanbase and modding community which is great. Most (not all) games I buy for PC are for the multiplayer aspect.

However, console games are much more laid back for me and I'm much more likely to complete the singleplayer mode on a console game. Plus not much beats playing with friends in the same room (especially for Halo 3). However I find my skill with console games deteriorates much worse if I don't play them for a while.

[Andy]

I Firmly beleive that it is not possible to compare the 2, its like trying to say do you prefer coke or a cheese burger? their just not on the same level.

Without opening up a whole new debate and putting it as simply as possible, a console will never replace what a PC does and a PC will never replace what a console does.

[3pidemiC]

That last sentence is complete bull. Where did you pull that factoid from? Sure, there may not be as many dedicated servers, but in no way is the lag worse on a console than it is on a PC.

I have an XBOX 360, PS3, and a Wii. I've played games on all of them. Although it is not that common, I do experience more lag. This comes from the fact the actual people are hosting their own servers from their in home internet connections as opposed to a T1 or T3 connection that a PC server provider will give you.


I agree mostly CoinReturn...(nice name btw)
Although I think....well....WSAD is a bit hit and miss, like u don't really get too much precision in ur moviements, u hit the W key quickly and it always moves that distance if you get my drift...with analogue stick u push up just a tinsy bit and can move really slowly etc...actually i've experienced much mroe lag on PC games online than I ever have with the xbox....

It's the same on a PC. The precision in your movements in just a good. You may have experience more lag on a PC because you joined a server that was far away from your own home such as across the US or in another country. But it is fact that PC games will give you a faster and more reliable connection because of the reasons listed in the reply I gave above.

[Khardis]

Consoles all the way. I spent a number of years spending LOADS of cash upgrading my PCs to run the newest best thing, big waste of money to spend. Now I just play awesome games like CoD4 on my 50+ inch HD television sitting in my couch, instead of cramped up in front of my 20 inch computer screen with carpal tunnel wrists.

[3pidemiC]

I also want to add that if you ever read reviews of different games, the reviews often use a term called "consolitis" as a negative term for a game. What this term means is that the game is "dumbed down" and linear so that it can appeal to a "console audience", which is usually the case with console games. PC games on the other hand are almost always more open-ended and required a deeper though process and understanding of the game.

[DeadJonas190]

For FPS games and RTS games PC all the way. I am very good at FPS on the PC and not nearly as good on the consoles even though I generally play on consoles.

Every other type of game I prefer on a console.

So for me, my answer depends on the game.

[Danny]

i dont care for fps games on pc's ,they were alrightin the soldier of fortune era but with modern ones like half life 2 moving with a mous makes you feel like your playing, wich you technically are, as a floating camera. wereas on the console version it just feels a little realistic, like your actually playing asa person, 2 other examples are the darkness and condemned.

[CoinReturn]

I also want to add that if you ever read reviews of different games, the reviews often use a term called "consolitis" as a negative term for a game. What this term means is that the game is "dumbed down" and linear so that it can appeal to a "console audience", which is usually the case with console games. PC games on the other hand are almost always more open-ended and required a deeper though process and understanding of the game.
Are you calling us console guys dumb in some roundabout way?! :p As far as PC games requiring deeper thought process, I don't know about that. Games like Baulder's Gate and Company of Heroes have the advantage of a keyboard with dozens of buttons for commands, spells, and chat options.

But then again, the console version of Command and Conquer 3 had intuitive, streamlined controls on a gamepad with way less buttons. Its not the players fault that the two control schemes are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Halo Wars comes out for 360 this year, that should be a pretty big test of real-time strategy controls on a console. Also, games like Bioshock show that brilliance doesn't recognize the console/PC barrier, and can be enjoyed completely on both.

[3pidemiC]

I actually meant that console games are much more linear and streamlined when it comes to actual gameplay and how the environments are laid out.

[CoinReturn]

Examples?

[Danny]

I actually meant that console games are much more linear and streamlined when it comes to actual gameplay and how the environments are laid out.

so when i play vice city im only getting half the map on my ps2 or something?:p

[SymphonicX]

in terms of consoles being linear I really think it depends on the game....Cod4 is painfully linear and that was on both systems anyway...I guess games like Crysis have bigger maps overall but generally the sandbox genre works extremely well on consoles - playing Resistance: FAll of Man is extremely linear however....very annoying

[3pidemiC]

Most console-made FPSs are extremely linear.

[MinionZombie]

In terms of linear/non-linear FPS games...*ahem* STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, proper non-linear, damn-near sandbox even...and on the PC, ho-yeah. :)

Aye...I am playing it for a 4th time, could you tell? :cool:

Anyway, despite the linear nature of COD4, it really makes up for it with drama, great set-pieces and intensity.

I'm not entirely convinced that linear gaming is down to consoles...perhaps more of a mindset, or an air of laziness/unoriginality/inability to hammer a square peg into a round hole for certain games.

I mean, Rainbow Six Vegas - great game, but still quite linear. Point A to Point B pretty much.

Although I could also, on the other hand, understand why you might say that consoles might make for more linear games, if consoles are indeed more about relaxed and laid back gaming...but even still on consoles there are expansive games that can take a while, sandbox titles being the most obvious port of call.

[SymphonicX]

Rainbox Six Vegas was really anything but linear, with almost every scene you're given at least two or three different ways to do something - in most cases you're given up to ten ways of getting your team into a room. Couple that with the fact that you can choose to go all out assault or covertly take out enemies and you change the structure of the game entirely - sure there an A to B element but the way you get from A to B is purely down to your preference...shall i go silent and weapon's free or shall I go loud and dazzle my enemies with stun grenades? Shall I go silent and smoke out a room before clearing it or shall I grenade the hell out of it? How quickly can I kill the people in this room without alerting the bad guys who are about to storm into the room at any point? Where shall I put this C4, Breaching charge or smoke grenade to best help my team? Shall I be a sniper and cover my team-mates from afar or shall I go with them through one of the 10 doors available to enter? The possibilities for each room are ten fold - that's what makes it non-linear in some respects even with fairly linear level design. non-Linear means choices, and doesn't just apply to the lay out of a map.

[DjfunkmasterG]

I prefer PC games because of Graphics, but I still see the appeal of Consoles. I recently took my PS2 out of mothballs, and My XBOX has been getting some use lately as well.

[SRP76]

If I were starting off with neither one, I'd get console. Just plug-and-play. It's too much pain in the ass to hunt down and install all the things needed to outfit the computer for gaming.

[mista_mo]

i've allready stated my dislike for fps controls on the pc in a previous thread, it's a pain in the ass to use a keyboard, camepads are much easier to use. Mouse aiming is a hell of alot easier, thats a given, but i still hate using the keyboard to move around. It is much easier to interact with the enviroment and move using an analogue stick then to push a f'ing button.

[Danny]

i concur, keyboards should add a analogue stick for gameing.

[SoCalLoco]

PCs for FPS and RTS games.

Consoles for platformers and racing.

[MikePizzoff]

CONSOLES!!!

PC's are FAR too expensive to keep up with gaming. You can spend thousands on your machine in order to be playing flawlessly, then 6 months later you'll need to upgrade. 2-3 years later your machine won't even be able to play some of the newest games coming out and you'll need to put shloads more cash into it.

[3pidemiC]

Claiming that you have to spend "thousands" on a PC to game is really exaggerating. Honestly, $1,000 to $1,500 can get you a top of the line machine if you know where to buy from.

I bought my girl a gaming rig for under a thousand and it still plays all of the newest games a year later. You just need to have a little know-how on computer specs and get good stuff.

[CoinReturn]

Still, if you're in it for the games, spending $300 for a console that is guaranteed at least 5 years of support is a much better value than a $1500 PC which will only play the latest games at high settings for 2 years MAX. And like I said before, consoles are where all the games are at. Starcraft 2 is the only notable PC game coming out in 2008 that I can think of.

If PC games offered anything other than better graphics (like the Wii's motion sensing remote), I could see dropping the dough to upgrade, but it doesn't. There's nothing unique about PC games, other than the newest and best graphics.

[MikePizzoff]

Claiming that you have to spend "thousands" on a PC to game is really exaggerating. Honestly, $1,000 to $1,500 can get you a top of the line machine if you know where to buy from.

I bought my girl a gaming rig for under a thousand and it still plays all of the newest games a year later. You just need to have a little know-how on computer specs and get good stuff.

Right. $1,500 on a top-of-the-line machine that won't be top-of-the-line within 6-8 months. I dunno, I can hardly afford getting a new console every 4-6 years... PC gaming is just far too out of my price range.

[3pidemiC]

Still, if you're in it for the games, spending $300 for a console that is guaranteed at least 5 years of support is a much better value than a $1500 PC which will only play the latest games at high settings for 2 years MAX. And like I said before, consoles are where all the games are at. Starcraft 2 is the only notable PC game coming out in 2008 that I can think of.

If PC games offered anything other than better graphics (like the Wii's motion sensing remote), I could see dropping the dough to upgrade, but it doesn't. There's nothing unique about PC games, other than the newest and best graphics.

Actually in 2007 PC games had just about double the exclusive titles than any of the other consoles. But to each his own. Personally I can find tons of reasons to play on PCs. The ability to modify your game (custom skins, sounds, models, animations, etc.), Total conversations (stripping down the content of a game to create a totally new one for free), easier controls, way better multiplayer support (faster servers, dedicated servers, etc.), Scalable graphics, Exclusive titles, Innovative design (non-linear), etc.

I realize that PC gaming is something that is too expensive for some. To me, it's worth it. But if it's not your thing, then that's fine.

[SymphonicX]

I think the price issues resonates with a lot of people here....definitely a major factor for me.

Personally its also the installing, tweaking, and arsing about that I don't like also...plug and play not plug and pray!!