QOTW: Is PC gaming really superior to console?

[Niijimasama]

Well, it depends on what you want for you ideal gaming experience.

Best graphics, sound, upgradeability, choice of control inputs, cheaper games, ability to use the hardware to double as a productivity tool, 60+ FPS!, stereoscopic displays, massive resolutions, choice of aesthetics....

It's pretty hard to argue IMO but I am sure some people will want:

Cheaper initial outlay, exclusive titles and reduced need to faff around.

I agree.
If you want best graphics, lots of mods... PC is the way to go.

If casual to semi serious gaming, get a console. current gen consoles have decent graphics.

I am a PC gamer mainly because I prefer best graphics especially if the game is cross platform e.g. I can never get round the inaccuracy of using thumbstick to play a shooter. FPS and simulation really benefit from the fidelity of a powerful PC..
But I don't mind turning on a console to play great exclusive titles like Last of Us

[Smudger]

The addition of a small person to the house mean that it's very rare for me to get gaming time, so when I do (wife out, child in bed) it tends to be console, because it's there in the lounge and ready to go. And also, the PC is buried under 3 tons of rubbish in the spare room. Since I don't get time to game, my PC is still on a Core 2 Duo 8500 with a 4890. It's just not worth me spending the money to bring it up to date so I can play newer games that I don't have time to play.
In the good old days, it used to be PC for FPS and point and click adventures, console for 'Platformers' and driving games. Horses for courses.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Lol!!!

[JGJones]

Apparently spending on gaming is higher for PC than it is for consoles overall.

Consoles was popular for ease of use. Steam changed that. I just pick a game, download it and it's ready. No faffing around needed.

The disadvantage of PC is that people haven't an idea if their PC is good enough for a game.

SteamBox will help to change that - now you just get a SteamBox and you're done - it'll play games. Dedicated gamers such as people in here that know their GPU's etc will still have their high end rigs.

Consoles are increasingly "PC-alike" - they both are now x86 based and common GPU (AMD in this generation). The only difference for them is primarily the OS and the dev kits that come with them that allow developers to maximise the performance on a dedicated set hardware.

PS4 is even usng a variant of BSD - a UNIX-like platform so it's not hard to imagine that porting games from PS4 to Linux might be a wee bit easier as as it is for XBOX One to Windows (although with PS4 outselling XBOX One by a lot - more linux devs maybe?)

The only trick Steam/Valve is to get people to actually buy Steambox when they are available. (and of course more AAA titles over to Linux - this is slowly growing but we still don't have games like GTAV for Linux (I'm on Windows a lot at moment just for two games - GTAV and Elite - everything else is Linux - Bioshock, Metro Last Light, Witcher 2 and Civ 5 for me).

I appear to be rambling. Ah well

[Ttaskmaster]

Most people and households already have TVs....for watching TV and films.

Yep and most people I know already own a PC at home too... However, not every TV out there is the large screen HD 1080p that console gamers advocate.

Seriously,mate consoles have existed almost as long as the home PC. Nintendo NES and the like. I mean arcade systems existed before the PC.

Doesn't make them better, though...

In fact until the mid to late 90s,consoles tended to have better graphics than the PC

I would have said early 90s, myself. But you still had to work for it and understand a little about what you were doing, whereas consoles have always just been Plug & Play.
Pride in learning and achieving something is what started the PCMR.

The whole PC master race thing is nothing but my platform is better than yours E-PEEN top trump card rubbish.

Consoles were marketed at young, single men with lots of disposable income.
Computers were just the domain of geeks.
Now the tables have turned and those who have taken the time to learn what they're doing can achieve great things, which is where the pride comes from.
The actual e-Peen over what kit people have is nothing new and occurs whether you're talking about computers, cars, fishing, stereos, mortgages or whatever.

Sometimes upfront costs can be a reason people go for consoles,simplicity or the fact just like people prefer PCs,others have always preferred consoles.

A McLaren P1 or an MTT Y2K is never going to be cheap. Performance costs.
But having the choice over such things instead of just sticking with the Mondeo or Yarris is what it's about.

But the thing is a lot of people don't want to know about computer hardware or even care - its a means to an end for plenty of people. Its not an indication of any lack of technical ability. Its about caring.

Strange how they only care when they see how far behind consoles are... and once they know how easy it actually is these days to build their own PC, quite a few do get into it. As for the end - One of the biggest complaints from my dev friends is over how they try to make an awesome game, but have to dumb it down and dial down the specs because the publisher wants it to run on consoles.

How many PC gamers even know about the tech bits they need - or just go to a retailer and buy a prebuilt PC?? Its no different from them going to Argos to buy a console.

Except that with PCs they still have a far greater choice than just between which one of two they like better.

The PC enthusiast crowd repeatedly don't get it.

No enthusiast crowd ever does.
I don't understand why someone would buy a crappy 26 year old motorcycle that is designed to, with just a few easy tweaks, outrun a 2014 Porsche 911 and yet not do those tweaks...
But that's what being an enthusiast is about, really.

So ultimately,of course we are biased and prefer the PC.

But it's WHY we prefer the PC that matters...

[DanceswithUnix]

I would have said early 90s, myself. But you still had to work for it and understand a little about what you were doing, whereas consoles have always just been Plug & Play.
Pride in learning and achieving something is what started the PCMR.

I would say very late 90's, but then I had a Dreamcast. I think that shows that even with consoles it isn't clear cut and you have to know what you are buying, the PS2 was technically superior according to Sony's specs but it took years for the graphics to catch up with the Dreamcast thanks to Sony and their signature bonkers hard to program architectures by which time the PC was pulling away from the two of them. Then the PS3 was released, and ISTR it was 6 months before the equivalent PC graphics card was released by Nvidia so I would say those few months were the last gasp of consoles being technically superior.

But then recently I fired up the old Dreamcast and started playing Metropolis Street Racer. The graphics are just about acceptable these days, but the gameplay still rocks and I couldn't put that steering wheel down

Gameplay is everything.

[kalniel]

Apparently spending on gaming is higher for PC than it is for consoles overall.

This is true - Peggle, Farmville etc. all revenue much higher than console games.

[cps1974]

my PC will play all titles @ 1080p (I don't have any monitors or TV's higher than 1080p) with all eye candy however since purchasing XB1 a few months back I have not gamed on the PC at all

[robredz]

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.

Have to agree with you up to the point consoles weree superior, that depends on what other uses you put the machine to. personally I prefer PC.

[Animus404]

The better graphics on a pc don't meaningfully change the gameplay in any way, and until that is the case then the only differentiation between the platforms is the input method.

It's the Human Interface Devices (haven't used that phrase for a while and it feels good) that give a pc the edge. If you want to play Quake, use a mouse. Want to scream 'chocks away' and bomb the germans then you can spend a fortune on a decent flight stick. These options aren't available to a console and for that reason the PC is the more flexible platform.

Right now, I play consoles. For the most part it's a level playing field online, and it's difficult to cheat. Consoles therefore have an advantage when it comes to a standard platform. Although it gets on my tits that I can't play Destiny/Battlefield/GTA or whatever with players on competing consoles...

[cowboysaif]

Can someone take the steam surveys, and provide the average raw power of pc users ( processor, ram , gpu ) ? That would really gives us a ground to know what really are we talking about. There's 300$ gaming pc and there's 6k$ gaming pc...

[shaithis]

The better graphics on a pc don't meaningfully change the gameplay in any way, and until that is the case then the only differentiation between the platforms is the input method.

For me, 30 vs 60 FPS is a massive change to the way the game plays.

Right now, I play consoles. For the most part it's a level playing field online, and it's difficult to cheat. Consoles therefore have an advantage when it comes to a standard platform. Although it gets on my tits that I can't play Destiny/Battlefield/GTA or whatever with players on competing consoles...

Cross-platform multi-player is something I have wanted for a LONG time. PC communities empty a lot faster due to a smaller number of people in the first place, which makes a lot of PC MP experiences rather short-lived

[Ttaskmaster]

The better graphics on a pc don't meaningfully change the gameplay in any way, and until that is the case then the only differentiation between the platforms is the input method.

I personally hate console controllers and have never been able to get on with them, despite having been trying since the NES first came along. But that's more anecdotal and you can still get a wide variety of 'PC' type peripherals for consoles now.

But I would add basic functions to your statement as well, though.

A PC will:
- Get me online and display all manner of web pages to their fullest.
- Store all my media as well as play it, manipulate it and even create it.
- Host and edit all my work documents and databases.
- Create programs and applications.
- Control a number of other devices that can be connected, from printers, telephones and manufacturing machinery to home security and maintenance systems.

So not only can it be doing a load of that all at the same time, it can still also be optimised for gaming and be doing this in the background while you're playing a game, which it handles to much higher standards than consoles.


A console can play games at lower standards, stream a bit of media and... what else?
What can a console do that a PC cannot?

[Heisuro]

The only way to play first person shooters is by using a keyboard and mouse. Trying to aim using a controller is such a pain.

[daveonmako]

Well, it depends on what you want for you ideal gaming experience.

Best graphics, sound, upgradeability, choice of control inputs, cheaper games, ability to use the hardware to double as a productivity tool, 60+ FPS!, stereoscopic displays, massive resolutions, choice of aesthetics....

It's pretty hard to argue IMO but I am sure some people will want:

Cheaper initial outlay, exclusive titles and reduced need to faff around.

I think you have just ended any need for argument, perfectly put.

I have been a console gamer who went to PC then back to consoles and now back with PC as I have grown up. Like all things in life, things change and what is good for one person it not necessarily good for another.

Some people will always prefer their Playstation or Xbox and not be worried by the hiked price they pay for their games to cover the hardware manufacturers loss on the console. They plug the machine in, switch it on and rarely need to worry about maintaining the PC or upgrading till the next version comes along and they are no longer able to buy the latest game as it's not made for their last gen machine.

PC gamers prefer their multi tasking device with high end grunt which allows us to play games at their best, better graphics,larger maps with more people on, more choice of settings and components and lower cost. PC gaming often comes with the pain of not only patching the games but also maintaining the machine but we don't normally mind that as we have a different mind set.

It's like asking someone who prefers HP sauce to Ketchup why they chose HP. The answer: Taste.

And for the record, PC gamers have better taste :-)

[DanceswithUnix]

What can a console do that a PC cannot?

During the winter I don't get much time cycling or walking, so I play a Zumba game on the Wii to avoid completely larding up. It needs a motion controller to work and plenty of space around the screen, stuff like that just doesn't happen on the PC. Casual/family/party games too. I spend most of my gaming time on the PC, and that can be network chatting to people but that isn't the same as being sat next to them on NintendoLand or Raving Rabbids.