PC Gaming vs. Console Gaming

[Hubi]

It's a time old debate since the development of gaming consoles and the expansion of PC gaming.

In the red corner weighing in at roughly 20 kilo's we have the versatile PC, the only system to use a keyboard and mouse setup as well as offer a wide range of hand-held controllers and joysticks. Unfortunately it takes a long time to boot and requires a monitor to run (although TV play is possible it's not as good and requires specialist equipment).

In the blue corner weighing in at roughly 15 kilo's is the gaming console, often going by a number of names including "Playstation", "XBox" and "Gamecube". The console is a plug-and-play piece of genious that means you can get into your game much faster than the PC, and runs off a TV by default which often means larger screens and sitting on a couch!

Detail your pro's and con's for either PC or the console and explain why you prefer one over the other.

 

[WhiteZero]

PC Pros:
-MODs for games
-Large community content base
-Patches
-Usualy better graphics over console versions of the same game
-Quicker to get better graphics over consoles

PC Cons:
-Expensive
-Hardware and Software compatability issues with games
-Installs can take a little while
-Typically more bugs than console games

 

[jmjneary]

isnt 15 kilos like 35 lbs?

more pc cons:
you have to upgrade at least every 3 years and that will usually cost you upwards of 500 $

console pros:
price inexpensive
no viruses/spyware/worms/trojans
games usually ship almost glich free
no moniter needed
you can play multiplayer without having the internet
you can get patches to fix the game on xbl at least
no hax
no cheeting in online games
fast boot
no game installation
every console by the same company comes with the exact same chip set

console cons:
you cannot upgrade processors or gfx cards
you cannot mod a game
there are no free console sdk's other than commador 64

 

[WhiteZero]

price inexpensive
no moniter needed
every console by the same company comes with the exact same chip set

Ermmm... $300 - $400 is inexpensive? +memory cards +controllers
You still need a TV
Maybe the same hardware, but consoles update their firmware and BIOS all the time, which can hinder the use of a MOD Chip.

 

[Reaktor4]

you cannot mod a game

Yeah you can.

 

[Cole]

Yeah you can.

Oh so I can take just about any console game lets say... Halo and make it into a Game about Modern Infantry and flying all done on the console?
We could do that with Quake..(Airquake 1 anybody).
Hell today Airquake lives on with Military Forces.

I have yet to see one game gain a MOD(IFICATION), that you could do a TC on. Ever wonder why some people never called the early versions of Garrys Mod a real mod or anything that just altered settings a real mod? Because those were small little things that still can't even be done on consoles.
TC(Total Conversions)are like HL to CS, HL2 to PoA.

and runs off a TV by default which often means larger screens and sitting on a couch!

.... I do this all the time at my cousins house with there TV(Mine is extremely old and dosn't have S-video).
Amazingly as long as you turn the res down and alter a few settings it's easily readable. Shit I was playing Sc on there TV..which was fun .
Live for Speed on there TV, had the internet hooked up n all.

 

[Reaktor4]

Oh so I can take just about any console game lets say... Halo and make it into a Game about Modern Infantry and flying all done on the console?

I dont know. I doubt it.

 

[DigiQ8]

Next Gen console can access the internet and you can download demos , movies .. hell maybe even patches ..... the PC Gaming end is coming

 

[jmjneary]

what i really wanna see is the ability to rent movies on the new xbox live that would make xbox a true media center.

 

[ray_MAN]

I
Hate
Consoles
Period.

 

[Cole]

Next Gen console can access the internet and you can download demos , movies .. hell maybe even patches ..... the PC Gaming end is coming

Nope....
You must remember... Eventually Consoles will become Pc's. Once Consoles start having o replacable parts and upgradable stuff...trust me...at one point it will happen.

 

[ray_MAN]

With the more advanced technology, the consoles will become more expensive. Say goodbye to the $300 "cheapness"...

 

[Pesmerga]

Consoles suck, PCs rock.

 

[StardogChampion]

and runs off a TV by default which often means larger screens and sitting on a couch!

But then you can't watch your uber cool TV while playing games at the same time - PC wins.

 

[Ennui]

PCs win hands down.

 

[weskerQ8]

I think PCs win this debate

 

[Thadius Dean]

both are good for different genres

consoles are more casual gaming. If you have a computer that is able to handle current games then that is a little more hardcore.

 

[NickS]

PC>Console.

PC GFX>Console GFX

PC's Ability To Do Everything>Consoles Ability to do one Fixed Thing

 

[Sparta]

Consoles are better for sports games and split-screen MP games. Or inparticular party-games.

Why haven't they made You Dont Know Jack on a console yet? Why?

 

[Sulkdodds]

A Half-Life 2 forum. PC wins, obviously.

Except for PCs are far better. Even ignoring the versitality, modding, internet, art and typewriter utilities, the games are better. Sometimes less polished; often more unstable - but you don't see Half-Life 2, UT2004, World of Warcraft, Rome: Total War or Battlefield 2 on consoles. Plus, internet multiplayer. Come on.

That said, consoles are great too. There are a lot of good console games. Like GTA (yes, on the PC as well, but late) MGS, Mercenaries, Burnout, assorted mario stuff, Syphon Filter (I loved that game), Timesplitters (\o/). Since consoles are relatively cheap there's really no excuse not to own both a console and PC...unless you're poor, in which case fair enough.

very later edit: oh shit my post has become infested with green ad links.

 

[Jintor]

PC's win the day!

Although expensiveness pushes it back down. Hardware/Software compadibility is a major issue - according to several games magazines 'No-one has ever bought a PC game while being sure it will work straight out of the box'. And for good reason, too.

 

[Hubi]

Think about it, no pc - no porn!! how can us men survive!

 

[<RJMC>]

pure fanboysm here

console hav many pros that you dont acept just for fanboysm

 

[CptStern]

personally I prefer the pc ...games on consoles tend to be watered down versions of pc games ...while consoles are great for racing/sports/party games they're terrible for fps games

I purchased an xbox a few years back and I only ever play it when a buddy of mine comes over ..I'd rather play the pc versions of games

I'm not sold of any of the next gen consoles ...more of the same, prettier graphics

I'll wait till the ps3 goes down to $200

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Both have their respective pros and cons. Neither is better than the other.

Letting fanboyism get in your way is only going rob you of the awesome experiences both have to offer. Gamers don't get in pissing contests about which is better, they just play on both. The gaming world would be pretty sad if either format just disappeared one day.

 

[<RJMC>]

Both have their respective pros and cons. Neither is better than the other.

Letting fanboyism get in your way is only going rob you of the awesome experiences both have to offer. Gamers don't get in pissing contests about which is better, they just play on both. The gaming world would be pretty sad if either format just disappeared one day.

he speaks the true

 

[SidewinderX]

PC gaming will survive, if only for RTS games.

 

[Darkside55]

Agreed with RJMC and Lt. Drebin here; especially that you miss out playing exclusively either PC or console. It's ludicrous. I don't even know why people still bring up this stupid-ass topic; everyone knows it always degenerates into fanboyism, and being that (HELLO!) we're posting on an internet forum for a PC game, of course most people are going to say consoles suck and PCs rock, blah blah blah. They've both got their strengths and weaknesses.

For instance, I can't play an FPS game on console against someone else anymore. Not since Goldeneye have I been able to do split-screen MP because I just don't aim well with a controller. FPSes are just better on PCs and you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who says otherwise (I know of like, one person who does better with a controller than a mouse and keyboard).
On the other end of the spectrum you can't play fighting games on a PC. Unless you go out and buy a controller and get an emu or MUGEN or something, you just can't. And even then it's difficult, and you can't play two player. And last I checked you can't pick up an arcade stick with a USB plug.

PCs have FPS, RTS, and MMOs. Consoles have fighting games, sports games, and platformers. There are genres that work with one, and genres that work with the other. There are also situations where consoles are preferable and PCs are preferable. Case in point, I've got a friend crashed out in a chair next to me right now; we've been playing console and PC games all night. We were playing some Capcom vs. SNK 2 earlier, then we came upstairs and played some Battlefield 2 and HL2DM. With the console we could play at the same time; with the PC we had to switch off maps. Not too bad, of course, but PC gaming is more of a solitary thing. Console gaming is something you can do with two or more people. Different situations. If there'd been more than two people here, playing on the PC would've consisted of a bunch of people sitting around watching other people play for 30+ minutes at a time.

(BTW before anybody says, "PC gamers can LAN and then more people can play at once," that's very true...if you have friends with 1337 boxes. I'm the only one of my IRL friends that has a PC that can play games newer than Alien vs. Predator and the original Half-Life.)

tl;dr version: both platforms have their strengths, and nobody likes a fanboy.

 

[Spectre01]

I hate console because I need a decent TV to get good quality and playing console games on my TV would be the same as playing computer games on a 13" monitor. I could get a serious computer upgrade for the cost of getting a good TV.

 

[$kelet0r]

i cant play with a console controller - its horrible
mouse and keyboard forever - well until direct neural interface : D

 

[StardogChampion]

Both have their respective pros and cons. Neither is better than the other.

Letting fanboyism get in your way is only going rob you of the awesome experiences both have to offer. Gamers don't get in pissing contests about which is better, they just play on both. The gaming world would be pretty sad if either format just disappeared one day.

It's nothing to do with fanboyism. I have a PS2, a GC and most almost all big consoles that came before those.

The consoles are the ones sitting on my shelf gathering dust for over 6 months, not my PC or my PC games.

Be gone all you "ur all jus fnaboyz!!!11" preachers!

 

[jdufault]

PC's are awesome

Unfortunatly in about 20 years, I see there being no more PC's for people like us.

The Console will do everything we do on a pc today, but just engineered towards gaming.

 

[Absinthe]

They both have their respective flaws and advantages, particularly when it comes to certain genres. People will have their preferences.

Now, with that out of the way, I prefer PC's because the amount of expansion that is not possible on a console at this point in time.

Be gone all you "ur all jus fnaboyz!!!11" preachers!

Aye, I hate how the fence-sitters like to place themselves on a pedestal above the rest.

 

[$kelet0r]

console - child's plaything
pc - man's machine

 

[<RJMC>]

console - child's plaything
pc - man's machine

thats really the most stupid "reason" I hav heard

 

[$kelet0r]

its true
the pc is mainly a adult dominated area whereas children dominate the console
this isnt to say that adults cant respectably play and enjoy the console it is merely a reflection that the even the games on offer for pc gamers appeal more to older adolescents and adults
the pc is the haven of the mature gamer

fact

 

[<RJMC>]

its true
the pc is mainly a adult dominated area whereas children dominate the console
this isnt to say that adults cant respectably play and enjoy the console it is merely a reflection that the even the games on offer for pc gamers appeal more to older adolescents and adults
the pc is the haven of the mature gamer

fact

just cuz more adult play on PC dont mean that it was made to adult

and just cuz chidlrens play more on console dont means it was made for childrens

and just cuz are more child games in consoles it dont mean that all console games are for childrens

is like if a car manufacturer release a model and just cuz more womans buy the car that mens them that means the car is made for womans only?

 

[Unfocused]

just cuz more adult play on PC dont mean that it was made to adult

and just cuz chidlrens play more on console dont means it was made for childrens

and just cuz are more child games in consoles it dont mean that all console games are for childrens

is like if a car manufacturer release a model and just cuz more womans buy the car that mens them that means the car is made for womans only?

Dude, I can tell English is not your mothertongue

 

[$kelet0r]

is like if a car manufacturer release a model and just cuz more womans buy the car that mens them that means the car is made for womans only?

bingo
kudos

 

[<RJMC>]

bingo
kudos

that dont hav sense

if like is the manufacturer released a pick up truck used for carry cargo but more people buy it to use it in races them that mean that the pick up truck designed to carry cargo is made to be used in races?

so that means that how most people buy PC for work and not for gaming them that means PC are not made for gaming