QOTW: Is PC gaming really superior to console?

[abaxas]

Any long term gamer will tell you that all the real players are on console while the more casual ones tend to play on pc. (not always the case as this is a generalization)

This is due to the level playing field of consoles always makes for a better gaming experience than the pay to win/ cheat fest of PC gaming.

Ability not hardware, thanks.

[MrRockliffe]

They're different, and it comes down to personal preference. If the XBox One had better graphics and a UI that didn't remind me OF THE HORRIBLE WINDOWS 8 UI I'd have a much better time using it. As it is, games look like they're from the 1990's and the UI is a backwards step from 360 (doing most tasks takes an extra action or two).

[Saracen]

It's rather a "how long is a bit of string" question.

In asking about "gaming" rather than which is the superior platform, I take it to mean the experience of playing the game. And in that context, it very much depends on which games you play, and what you want from them.

For instance (IMHO) the PC platform clearly offers far superior resolutions (at an eye-watering price) BUT .... better graphics does not, IMHO, necessarily equate to a better gaming experience. The factors that go into making gaming fun include graphics quality, but go far, FAR beyond that. I'd much prefer a really good, playable game with mediocre graphics to a boring game with world-leading graphics, for instance.

So, superior "gaming" depends what you enjoy. An FPS shooter is very different to a Myst, to a strategy game, to a Lemmings-type game.

By my definitions, it's not possible to say which is superior because it so much depends on what you're looking to get out of either.

My solution is to have both, then I have horses for courses.

[kalniel]

:-)

[GuidoLS]

May as well ask which is better, a Windows PC or a Mac, or iPad vs Nexus.

They both serve a purpose. My personal opinion is the PC is the better option. It's more customizable, if something breaks, you aren't on the hook for a brand new system, and it's far more backwards compatible than any console, and contrary to some comments here, I've actually got PC's that are as old or older than pretty much every console ever made - and all of them are quite functional. I also use my PC for serious work - something that cannot be done on a console.

And then there is definition - technically, the Ouya is a console, and my gaming experience on that left a lot to be desired.

Consoles were superior up until they went from being specific gaming devices and tried to become all in one entertainment units - something none of them excel at.

[hesham1516]

I love how people magically forget about the cost of their home pc/laptop when talking about how cheap consoles are... Unless you need bleeding edge graphics and a surround gaming setup, the initial cost is not very different.

Consoles will be cheaper overall once they drop in price, but with console graphics already being far behind, they wouldn't even be comparable at that point.

We do not need dirty console peasants infecting our ranks though so let them think what they want.
GLORY TO THE PC GAMING MASTER RACE!!

[mojothejester]

There are games that are only for certain consoles, and as long as they release them, I'll keep buying the console (I'm looking at you, Nintendo, with your Zelda games). But other than that, I'd prefer to game on PC now I've got an half decent one :-)

[trog69]

Yes. Ignoring graphics and saleable discs... The big difference with a PC is the Modding community.

Plus the usual... FPS plays better with k&m, and there are no decent RTS's that can play on a console. Finally, most PC games are now compatible with a controller so PC gamers get the best of all worlds.

I have only gamed on PC, since the days of waiting for eight hours for the DOOM demo to download. But I know for sure that I'd enjoy playing on consoles just as much. The one thing holding me back is modding. I love playing the older titles, and at present I'm playing Morrowind with the Overhaul mod collection installed. My rig in fairly beefy, especially for an old, spazzy, retiree, and GTA V on this 1440p monitor is simply gorgeous-my son says that the images on this screen blow away his Xbox One. But, as I told him, I bet that once in the game with a console, the game would look just great.

/i detest the "PC Master Race" vs consoles fight. It's starting to take on a snobby attitude and running with it

[016ive]

Yes!

[ixo]

I do like being able to rent games. On pc the best option you have is a demo. But on console I can buy a game and resell it next week and be out like 5 dollars. I often "try out" more games on console than on pc for that reason.

[Satyapal]

yes it is. every game we play on PC it make it smthng larger, enjoyable.

[Stuen4y]

For the past 15 years it has been. This remains unchanged.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Mass Effect was originally a console gamer,and the series would probably never have been made if it were not for consoles. The Last of Us is another game I would love to come to PC to. So,whereas I think the PC is a superior gaming platform it bears no relation to how good or fun a game might be.

[Saracen]

I love how people magically forget about the cost of their home pc/laptop when talking about how cheap consoles are... Unless you need bleeding edge graphics and a surround gaming setup, the initial cost is not very different.

Consoles will be cheaper overall once they drop in price, but with console graphics already being far behind, they wouldn't even be comparable at that point.

....

When talking about comparative cost, I guess to be fair, we first need to establish if a given user has a need for a PC anyway. Which will depend what they use it for. In my case, it's a blend of work-related stuff, like WP and accounts, to a fairly high-end photo editing station, to audio and video editing, document imaging and archiving, and so on. So, the bulk of the guts of my PCs, over a couple of decades, haven't been driven by gaming.

The question then becomes what, if anything, a user spends to turn a general purpose PC into a gaming PC. And that depends, in large part, on how high up the resolution/FPS tree you want to climb. For avid gamers, that'll be as high as their budget allows, and we all know just how expensive truly top-end gaming cards can get. It makes an entire console system seem cheap.

But like so many things, the law of diminishing marginal returns applies. Apart from GPU bragging rights, of course. Is a £200 card going to give one fifth of the performance, or a fifth of the gaming pleasure, of a £1000 card?

So .... for a PC gaming platform, you really need to take GPU spec into account, and that means not just the performance difference but the perceived benefit the gamer gets from it, which necessarily involves a value judgement by EACH gamer about the extra £100, £500 or whatever, on higher end cards.

Personally, I might go to £200-300 on a gaming GPU, but £1000? Hell, no. No way. But I have spent £1000 or so, very recently, on RC helicopters, etc., and as I said in another thread, happily put a £3k sound system in a car a few years back, and an £800 flashgun specifically for macro photography.

But money isn't a bottomless resource. For me, the true price of a £1000 graphics card might be not having the flashgun, or the RC heli's. It's the opportunity cost, and my discretionary spend on such things is decent, but far from unlimited.

But a dedicated gamer may very well take the view that THEY get the most pleasure from the ultra high-end gaming card, and the hell with macro flash, etc.

Consoles are pretty much fixed items. A gaming PC, though .... well, my gaming PC has a spec that's fine for me, but would make a dedicated computer gamer laugh. Or cry. Or perhaps, snigger.

And if, as with some people I know, a £100 tablet or smartphone gives them all the computing capability they need (online shopping, online banking, a bit of web browsing and email) then buying a gaming PC means buying the entire PC, rather than just adding gaming hardware on top of other bits they already have/need for reasons nothing to do with gaming.

A "console" might be pretty well defined, but a gaming PC, and the cost of one, varies HUGELY.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

A lot of the general public would rather have a laptop instead of getting a desktop due to size and portability,so you need to consider how much a GAMING laptop would cost. Even then with plenty of people owning tablets and smartphones, an increasing amount of gaming is being doing on those devices.

If anything in terms of gaming time,I probably game more on my smartphone now as I am an active Ingress player:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingress_%28game%29

[Saracen]

Very true, Cat.

I'm not really a power laptop person, though. For me, my laptop priorities are battery life and minimal weight, because my primary usage is (or was, but not so much these days) on trains and planes, and typically generic stuff like WP. But my brother recently bought a high-end laptop largely for photo-editing on the move, and the spec on that was highly gamer-friendly. The price was far from wallet friendly.

I've reviewed a lot of laptops over the years, though, and ALWAYS the number 1 question was .... who is it aimed at? And then, do the review with that primarily in mind, and put it in context for other categories of user.

I guess for high-end gaming capable laptops, the question is whether for a given user, they'd buy a high end laptop anyway? My brother did, and it's highly gaming capable, but I doubt he ever plays games on it.

So .... for him, he was buying that laptop anyway, for reasons nothing to do with gaming, and therefore the incremenral cost, if he did want to game on it, was zero.

If I wanted a new laptop, I'd be looking at more like £400-£500, so a high end laptop for gaming might cost me £800-£1000 extra, even if I bought an identical laptop to my brother, for whom the gaming premium was £0.

It makes that incremental cost hard, if not impossible, to quantify.