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With how things stand, which do you believe to be the better choice, and why?
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With how things stand, which do you believe to be the better choice, and why?
Well done for opening this can of worms...
But yes, it is.
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.
How is this volatile ? Let's forget that you're asking the question on a website that is focused on the enthusiast PC hardware crowd, even most console users admit the PC is the better system. It's the convenience and consistency in compatibility that people turn to if they wanna talk pros, but I've noticed a great trend happening - less and less PC gamers are being obnoxious about it and more and more console gamers are being less hostile about it.
As people are growing up everyone realizes it's not like saying which is better the xbox or playstation or PC, because the PC is just a different class...not in a snobby way, but like in a definition way, you can't really compare them because they're on a different level, it's almost like comparing differennt generations of consoles, it's redundant because one is clearly superior so a comparison isn't fair
With all the Graphic's better blah blah blah... It's just a matter on if you can afford it or not. This is an argument of which is better a Ferrari or Toyota. A PC will cost twice than a games console to render equal graphics, also a console will last 10 years while a PC on the low end will be good for 2 years. Then there's the fact you cannot resell games on PC, but can get them a fraction of the price (steam sales). Also You can get 2 PC titles for the price of one Console on Launch prices. So which is better a Ferrari that costs 200k or a Toyota that costs 10k.
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.
If you are serious about games, then yes it is. There is so much more you can do on a PC, such as modding and changing the graphics quality.
However if you are a casual gamer, then consoles are more than adequate. You have the ease of just being able to buy a game and know that everyone else who owns a console will have the same experiance
It's quite silly to insinuate ones better than the other. It mainly comes down to a persons preferences tbh. Quite a lot of people game on consoles because they don't have put together a pc or trouble shoot issues and everything just works and there's nothing wrong with that.
Of course it is, in every way imaginable except convenience.
Until consoles start having full-on macro-laden keyboard & mouse setups, there will be certain games that only play well on PC, just as certain games work better with a controller... although PCs can use them too, if you need.
Cost of PC vs Console becomes less of an argument when you remember the price of the "decent TV" many Consoleers seem to require.
You then pit high end 1080p TVs against affordable 4k 144Hz Gsync monitors.
I game on a PC and that's the primary role, but I also use it for everything else... often several things at once. Consoles don't really match that.
Console game companies can sometimes be complete idiots - The games are actually made on PC, meaning they get all that dev for free, yet they steadfastly refuse to publish them for PC... Do they not want our money?
Consoles are one set standard. PCs are all about choice, both in basic composition and in modding the hell out of them!
TL;DR - It's all about preference... and I'm all about the PC!!
Console gaming is undeniably easier as the games are simply made to run on that console, unlike a PC where different hardware and software configurations can cause problems but gaming on the PC graphically is superior if you have the hardware to cope and PC games are also easily moddable. And your PC can double as a do-it-all device so I would take a PC any day. I have owned many games consoles and ended up selling them to go back to PC gaming...greater choice of games, easier to customise and I just prefer it.
Of course PC gaming is superior, but also much more expensive :) and much more fun :)
Bit of a lazy QOTW ;-)
Simple answer...Yes..... A more complete answer...I dare not bother prying open that can of worms any further.
jailbroken consoles aint bad
Although I exclusively play games on a PC I disagree with some points made. The client consistent hardware and controls makes for a much fairer environment in competitive play.
Also I prefer 3rd/FPS on pads. Not because I find it easy but because it makes it harder and in my opinion more realistic. You can't instantly spin around in real life. Just because something is easy doesn't make it more fun for me.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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!!
http://i.imgur.com/8X7uPPd.png
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 :-)
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
Yes!
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.
yes it is. every game we play on PC it make it smthng larger, enjoyable.
For the past 15 years it has been. This remains unchanged.
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.
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.
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
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.
I disagree, For some its a choice, they choose not to spend as much money, because they simply don't care enough. Some just want a console to play fifa or CoD or GTA with their friends. I couldn't afford the rig I have now outright, it's cost me around £4200. I've had to save month after month to buy different bits.
So, if done this way, I guess most people could afford it, it really that some people just ain't that bothered.
Yes!
All games are made on master race machines and then gimped to run on peasant boxs or stations. Remember who feeds you or our machines is stop making games for you!
Loving all the comments about PC gaming costing more than a console. It really doesn't unless you want high graphics. I game on a £300 laptop that plays most games at low. I also game on a PC that I've only spent £300 on it in 4 years (new CPU, ram and motherboard). Got a hand me down GPU and it still plays everything at high/medium at 1080p which is plenty good enough to enjoy yourself.
The biggest problem with PC gaming is the poor console ports dragging it down rather than pushing it (part of the reason I can spend so little). Hoping star citizen might change this as they just don't care about console compatibility...
AH yes, sometimes traitor machines make games only for peasant boxs. But we have to remember that the machines are not the traitors, the suits controlling them are. I imagine a machine making a wonderful game, then chewing it up and compressing it so it fits on a disk with a spit. A last gesture of defiance if you ask me.
No, It's different. For PC you need Time, on consoles Plug&Play :D
But PC is a computer not console that's diffrent :-)
I have both
So what if people don't build your own PCs,or don't want a desktop?? For enough people,consoles are something they can spend a few hundred quid and not worry about whether they have the hardware to run a game,or whether all their mates can run it or not.
Plus the whole consoles dragging PCs down is not really are true - I have been a PC gamer for over a decade and people look at PC game through rose tinted glasses. Plenty of games were bug ridden in the last 20 years and they didn't need consoles to help drag them down....!
The biggest dragging down,is because people simply don't have the hardware anymore to be pushing games which push technical boundaries. The rate at which graphics cards are improving has crashed when compared 10 years ago,and card prices are going up year on year for similar improvements. This is the effect of process node development slowing down,and card sales crashing,so ASP has been going up. All the cheap tricks used to improve visual fidelity have dried up,and further improvements need more and more processing to get the visual improvements needed. Games are getting more and more expensive to develop.
Consoles are lead platforms for many games,since they have a massive user base and it helps spread costs.
Even Crytek and DICE now target consoles first. Crytek never did financially well out of PCs despite being one of the most pro-PC developers out there.
Hence the most popular PC games now are things like LoL,DOTA 2 and Minecraft which are made to run on low spec PC hardware.
Even Blizzard,who are bastions of PC gaming,have ported D3 onto consoles and the last time that happened with a game they were involved with was the first Diablo.
OTH,there are fantastic game series like Mass Effect which originated on consoles.
The whole PC Master Race E-PEEN is stupid.
If anyone is a true gamer they would not care what platform a game is on,or whether its simple a game printed on pieces of card.
But maybe as I get older,I realise the most important aspect is fun not platform.
I had as much fun playing Time Crisis in the Arcade,as I had playing Crysis on PC and building a new PC so I could play it,Ingress on my phone when I am out or a board game with mates.
Cat, and others before him, speaks much sense.
I am lucky enough to have all the platforms I need. PS4,3,Vita, Xbox, 360, One, tablet, PC (several versions dating back 10 years, having owned PC's for pretty much bang on 20 years)
I play games to relax primarily (you wouldnt think it if you hear me on CoD), I love all sorts of game types and although some games are better played on PC than console, I would argue that the reverse is also true.
The fact is that a lot of gamers are not very technical people, and while some of us think nothing of installing steam/origin etc, others balk at it. Then theres the graphics options, should i turn on antialiasing and should it be 2x or 16x? Have I updated my drivers and is the resolution right? Its a multiplayer game, which of the 4000 servers should i play on, what do all the acronyms mean next to the server name? How do i chat to people in the game, console commands, teamspeak/ventrilo etc?
Theres a lot of great gamers out there that just want the plug and play experience and only a console will deliver this.
Funnily enough I dont think cost is actually the factor people think it is, but its not entirely obvious.
Gaming pc = circa £800
basing that on 24 inch monitor, i5, 8Gb or 16Gb RAM, good mobo and £250 graphics card. Nothing top of the line but altogether good value.
Console = circa £300 or less
Initial outlay, thats a big difference
however - New console game £40-45 , New PC game £30
I have a lot of games... not as much as certain mods...but a fair few. lets say around 150 for consoles. Thats an outlay of 10to15 x 150 more than the PC cost, which is on average around £1250, so that initial outlay of £500 more, is now actually £750 less over a machines lifetime.
Then theres peripherals. I went through a 360 pad once a year, PC version was cheaper to replace, by a fair amount, it adds up.
Then as Saracen says, the PC has more than just one or two uses, its got several.
And, theres humblebundle sales, which means my actual pc game outlay is significantly lower than previously stated, although its not always games of choice
and then theres free games
So no, theres no choice for me.
As stated earlier I game to relax, and depending entirely on what I want to play I load up that particular device.
If im playing with friends, its console, if its an RTS or similar type then it will probably be pc as its generally more suited, if not its console.
I've never owned (or even considered) a console because I've always felt a PC is superior, especially when it comes to the wide variety of components available.
i own one of console and play it maybe 3 times i year for a week PC i play ewry day.so this is my answer
PC is still king, Gradual updates to hardware allow for constant improvements to the gaming experience, With platforms like Steam the latest games can usually be found cheap ( I have over 300 games and only paid 60+ USD for 2 of them or so) Your games never expire, On one machine I can play GTA V and Half Life 1, Halo CE, or virtually any other pc game I have ever Bought, game mods are awesome too, even minecraft is better on pc because of this, dont even mention skyrim or GTA IV, PC "supports" 4K not just 720p or 1080p, but 2160p, and the oldest arg in the book is still true Keyboard and mouse Still Rule the input world (put cherry switches in a controller, it might stand a chance... not) Consoles are the restricting factor in gaming, the tight hardware specs of the consoles tend to limit the quality of games, those games get ported to pc and are **** quality because there console counterparts where ****, the newest revision of consoles has helped bridge the gap due to x86 hardware (terrible amd hardware, slightly outdated, but x86 none the less) however it screwed with us pc users, we had to make a rather sudden jump, from the 360, ps3 days when 1.5 to 2gb vram would handel anything, to all of the sudden needing 4-6 gb vram.. however my pc can still play any game I throw at it, at or above console settings, and im running a 5 year old amd 1090t rig with a mid range 760 sli setup I paid $300 for, so we now are in a time where you can have a gaming pc for arround the same price as a console, and outperform said console, just saying... I love PC
It depends, for example, I was a PC user, but now I will buy PS4, why? Becouse I started to live on my own, I'm working, and I can't afford PC to play smoothly in every game, with console I won't have this problem, and besides that I don't have time for PC, right now PC for me is a tool for work, and i need something to relax, and for this purpose I will use console, ofc. graphics will be worse, but I don't have to worry if game will work or not.
Consoles used to be a 99% guarantee that the game was bug free and complete, that's no longer true as publishers now think it's fine to ship an almost working game then patch it up as they go.
i use to play games on my PC until one major thing that turns me off - Driver issues. almost every game has issues. didnt help my cause for having two GPUs and surround monitor setup.
for me console suits me best. gaming on my $30k AUD Audio Visual setup is an awesome experience that im fortunately enough to use daily.
PC gaming superior to console? No. Is it different to console? Yes
Yes, I know there's the usual argument about the superiority of mouse v's controller and the "omg, my pc can 4K game at 120+fps". But does 4K graphics (etc) really make the game any better? Prettier yes, but it doesn't necessarily make it more enjoyable? A mouse IS a more precise device, problem is that while you've bought the "Deathstriker Rabid Hamster" mouse and are wiping the floor with the dumb console games, along comes Mr Nerdo with his "Deathdominator Rabid Hamster Plus" mouse and gets those fractions-of-a-millisecond better response than you. So it ends up being like an arms race... And personally, there's some games where the immediacy of a controller means it's just "better" than a mouse/keyboard combo.
Then there's the downside of PC's. Windows, Windows, and Windows. Roll on SteamOS because quite frankly Windows makes the best argument for doing all your gaming on a console. And don't get me started on device drivers...
Ever tried getting support for a misbehaving PC game - oh what fun... "Email us your configuration"; "Downgrade your drivers"; "Oh, you've got a GTX970, our game needs 4GB memory to work reliably"; etc, etc.
I've got Assassin's Creed:Black Flag on PC and console - why? Well because I've got inexplicable lock ups on the PC version, yet the console is rock solid. Okay, the XBox360 version also looks pretty naff compared to the glories of the PC version, but I want to play the game, not marvel at it's graphical splendor.
Can we have a voluntary moratorium against these "console v's PC" questions because frankly they're becoming very, very boring. :sleep:
Here's a QOTW for you: Are we any more at risk from malware now than we were ten years ago?
Besides, I thought the up-and-coming thing was tablet gaming... (ducks and runs before that starts a "iPad v's Android" debate)
Which one makes everything? Is it possible consoles and games exist without computer? The question was answered.
Add in the cost of a 'gaming' flatscreen TV - Something like 42" 1080p TV at £500, maybe?
You could argue that people already have TVs... But I don't have one myself and most of the consoleers I know and (don't) love went out and bought new tellies for their new PS4/XB1.
Used to be that's what you *had* to do if you wanted to play games, and/or along with getting proper geeky and learning "computer stuff"...
I think that's what the whole Master Race is about - You have to learn and earn to get the fancy toys!!
What is important to you? For me PC is superior... but has gotten a lot worse.
I like being able to play a game now, and then return to it years later and play it at insane resolutions and max detail. I like having access to more games than were released for all consoles from all generations combined. Not to mention that so many console games can be played on PC. e.g. I played Final Fantasy XII on my PC at full-HD resolution several years ago. Lastly is reliability - a well built PC should last decades. I also absolutely cherish the fact that if something breaks on my computer, I can fix it cheaply. Here's an example: What happens when your laser dies on your PS2? You can either buy a new PS2, or buy a replacement laser. If you can find a replacement laser, you need to make sure it's compatible with that specific revision of your console. You also may need to calibrate it. And with a PC? Oh, that's simple, just replace it with any one of a billion optical drives at next to no cost. Although, I've never had an optical drive die on me yet.
What about controllers? Aside from mouse, keyboard, joysticks, wheels, yolks, etc., my PC currently has connectivity for the following gamepads: SNES, N64, GameCube, Saturn, Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS1, and PS2. Don't remember if I have any others, but... you can use most console controllers with the PC.
When I said that PC has gotten a lot worse, I'm talking chiefly about DRM, but also about multiplayer, and fundamental changes to the OS (Windows, in particular, since gaming has largely been absent on other OSes). I refuse to buy any game that requires online validation. If I buy a game, I expect to be able to pop it in and still play 5, 10, 20, or more years from now. I don't want to deal with a server being down so I can't play it... that's just thievery. Related to that is the lack of LAN play for multiplayer in current games. Lastly, since Windows Vista, Microsoft has (necessarily) broken the compatibility that used to be their hallmark. What this means is that you can no longer play the vast majority of the PC's gaming library with your newest PC.
Obviously there are a lot of quirks. For those who aren't willing, or don't know how to deal with them, consoles are probably superior. For me, the gaming possibilities on PC are endless.
Both have their pros and cons but I think PC gaming edges it and it can be phenomenal value for money if you aren't bothered about being on the cutting edge.
I'm a mobile gamer these games, but yes, I'd say that PC is better than console thanks to variety. A lot of genres just don't get much console representation. So sure if action is your thing, consoles are great, but someone who likes point and click adventures or strategy games won't find much to play on console.
Most people and households already have TVs....for watching TV and films. Every person I know who has a console already had a TV and since they have crashed in price the £500 argument is all moot anyway. Even my parents had a flatscreen LCD TV nearly a decade ago and are not gamers.
I just think a lot of PC enthusiasts "need" to add the cost of the TV to make consoles seem more expensive,and almost every PC gamer I know has a TV already. It comes with renting or owning your own flat or house.
More and more people are into home cinema instead of going to actual cinermas,etc.
Even things like Apple TVs and Chromecasts have made streaming to TVs really easy and dirt cheap.
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.
In fact until the mid to late 90s,consoles tended to have better graphics than the PC - it was only the rise of 3D accelerators which started to give the PC technical superiority in graphics.
The whole PC master race thing is nothing but my platform is better than yours E-PEEN top trump card rubbish.
I know plenty of console owners who are doing decent jobs who can afford to even spend £5k on a PC,and probably if they could be bothered spec and build their own PCs.
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.
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.
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.
The PC enthusiast crowd repeatedly don't get it.
The fact that people post on tech forums about hardware makes them interested in it - its their hobby and their passion.
So ultimately,of course we are biased and prefer the PC.
Its like going on a Playstation site and asking whether the PS4 is better than the XBox One! :p
That's explicitly called out as not being the point of PCMR, assuming we're talking about the subreddit - rather they're focused on PC > console.
It's a whole different conversation about whether it's a positive force etc, but I think you're misrepresenting it with that statement.
Sorry,but it is. Just because a politician says they don't means something does not mean they are talking the truth.
You need to go on more tech forums,where console gamers are called the "peasant" race and so,and that meme is repeatedly used in a derogatory way.
Nothing but top trumps E-PEEN.
Like the following pic and its derivatives:
http://mygaming.co.za/news/wp-conten...aster-Race.jpg
http://mygaming.co.za/news/wp-conten...aster-Race.jpg
Its a meme which came out of the whole PCMR crap.
The fact its called "PCMR" is a way of putting down people using other means to games,since if you are not the "Master Race",you must be some "Inferior Race",right??
You can't have two "Master Races",right??
So that excludes:
Console gamers
Tablet gamers
Phone gamers
Board gamers
Tabletop gamers
Book gamers
Sports people
Pen and Paper gamers
Probably people who can't affor Uber gaming rigs too
If it were not,then PC gamers would not care which platform people game on.
They would be happy with what they are gaming on instead of saying mine is bigger than yours.
No,lets make use feel better about our platform by putting down some other gamers.
Then,it gets worse when PC gamers start putting down other PC gamers who can't afford good enough hardware and so on.
People who don't run at 4K and ultra uber settings.
People who play Indie games and not the latest BF20 or Witcher 5000 at 10K res in 3D VR.
Hexus,might be not too bad in that regard,but too many of the tech forums are full of E-PEEN,especially US ones.
There is way too much E-PEEN in the PC enthusiast sphere,and year by year,its getting worse and worse. Its no wonder when companies actively target E-PEENers as cash cows.
Its so childish and smacks of purchase justification and validation of platform choice.
Sadly,Kalniel you are a minority on tech forums- the amount of drivel which is said about console gamers is pathetic. I was on OcUK the other day and it one thread they were just ripping into console gamers calling them "peasant" gamers(its not the first time either). I have seen it on plenty of other more PC orientated forums.
The whole PCMR has just the effect of stoking more stupid E-PEEN.
I would say yes but a few things need to be considered.
Consoles are as simple as insert disk and play. Nice and simple. However you might be locked to 30fps and some textures might be reduced to balance GPU load and stability.
PC games can be a pain sometimes with crashing and may need GPU driver updates and general setting up. Also depend on your hardware setup. Some games also play better on team red or team green.
Yes. Next question please.
I think PC gaming is superior in every way except when console gaming is better and then it's not. ;)
Some of the most hardcore gamers I know only play on console, a few have all of the consoles and some even buy the same game for each, as far as they're concerned they have the best mix. It's possible to buy an XBone, PS4 and Wii U for less than the price paid for all of my PC's components at the time I got them. I game on a PC, I prefer it, but get frustrated when things aren't working as they should do, it's not really a console issue, I think consoles offer a true plug and play gaming experience but I still prefer PC, I think PCs offer a much broader range of activities than a console can cope with, I'd hate to be typing this response using a game controller.
On my ps3 i remember being able to hook up usb keyboards etc for internet browsing. On the ps4 you can get bluetooth keyboards but I don't bother as the predictive texting is very good.
Surely, every advantage people have mentioned above is actually a disadvantage to gaming.
A level playing field allows you to compare, anything else means you cannot.
All PCs are different so the playing field is always different.
I see where you are coming from with this, but I would say that the only gaming experience that matters to me when I build a gaming rig is mine, also having a technically superior rig to others in the game has not actually helped me become a better player. But I do like playing at a higher resolution, I like the enhanced eye candy, faster frame rates and smoother animation that I feel improves the level of immersion in a game. None of this makes PCs better than consoles, all it means to me is that these are some of the reasons that I prefer PC to console, I only game for a few a hours a month, but use my PC for so many other things over the rest of the month, if I wanted to, I could do those other tasks on a tablet and then stick to gaming on a console, but I don't want to.
Consoles are awful for casual gaming. Every time I fire up the PS3 it tells me I need to update, then the game says it needs an update, then it is time for bed.
I'm well aware that console gamers become the 'peasants' under the PCMR mantra.
The point of yours I disagreed with is that I have not seen other PC gamers denigrated by PCMR because they 'aren't playing at 4K' or because they 'only have a 5770'. And when it's hinted at, it's usually slapped down pretty quickly.
I can certainly see why some people dislike it, and even within the industry people are quite nervous, but I think you've picked the wrong angle there to attack it on.
Well I have. It even comes down to the fact when people have said £300+ is a lot for a graphics card,and they have been attacked as not wanting to spend enough on computer parts,or jealous since people can spend more than them.
Edit!!
This is on other forums,not Hexus,but you forget the effect E-PEEN and general showing off can have.
I've encountered many situations where:
I've been called all sorts of names for gaming at 1080p with an i3, such as 'poorf*g'.
I've been called names for using a controller on games like Skyrim. I enjoy sitting back and enjoying the game with a controller in my hand.
I've been called names for being a console gamer on PC.
Yet, other than the "little kids on call of duty" (which, by the way, is blown completely out of proportion), I've never had any hatred, other than by people literally spending their time messaging people to tell them how PC is superior (yes, there are people that have consoles just to tell other people how bad they are).
So, yes, PC may have better graphics, better modding, more freedom. But damn, are some of people on there absolute (insert word here).
I'm not saying all people on consoles are wonderful by the way, I personally encounter less of them.
I refuse to read through 5 pages of the same tired arguments over which is best, I have commented above and I'm not really certain that I actually added anything new to the conversation that's been going on for as long as it's been since I switched from my PS2 to my PC nor do I care.
What I will say is that I have some console only friends and as a PC gamer I will never get the chance to play online with them as there are very few games that support a cross platform online experience. I would also add that some of my fondest gaming memories were on my PS1 and PS2 consoles, so while games are technically better now that doesn't always make them more playable.
But really no different from the Android/apple discussions and the iSheep slur. All petty name calling, because at the end of the day, PC gaming and console gaming both have their pros and cons. A console is pretty much good to go out out of the box, a PC may need tweaking and configuring to get the best out of it.
And the same arguments get applied to proponents of Intel over AMD, and vice versa, or Nvidea over Radeon.
Yes it is.
BUT not if you opt for some of the so called Gaming pcs that really aren't.
However, if you build yourself a proper gaming pc it will blow the consoles away on all levels.
Consoles I believe are set at a 30fps limiter. That says it all.
I guess you should define gaming pc.
I think lines are becoming blurred when you have people with a Radeon 7750 and something like an intel G1620 then calling it a gaming pc. Yes you could play most stuff on a 1024 * 768 tv but I mean cmon.
On the other hand, if you have a 4770 4790 Xeon E3-1231 v3 FX 9590 etc and 2 to 4 r9290s and a 4k monitor or three then you will notice a huge difference between a proper gaming pc and a console.
I must point out though that to game many prefer multiplayer. Consoles you don't have problems getting people to play with you. The likes of origin have big problems with some games.
Not many people can afford to spend 5 to 10 times the price of a console to get a proper gaming rig.
I know I have opened a can of worms here and am sorry for that and fully expect a couple of posters to come on and tell me how their cheap build is a gaming pc but IMO it really isn't.
I don't deny it,but I think the problem is that companies have tapped into E-PEEN as a form for bigging their wares more and more now. £1000 special edition cards,GAMERZ branded stuff and so on,so you get people who have spent a lot due to it,needing to justify their big purchases and belittling people.
Regarding cross platform play - I believe the new DX12 Fable game from MS is going to have that,which should make things interesting.
Elite dangerous are looking at ways to do this in the future too though It will probably be at least a couple of years
That makes some sense for Elite, the HOTAS stick I use is console compatible USB so there wouldn't be any of the usual "but they have auto aim on consoles" stuff as controls would be the same.
Still, I wish they would spend the time writing a Linux client instead. Elite is currently the only reason this PC is booted into Windows.
I've seen it too, mostly on forums based in the states for some reason, I won't name any but they are quite well known and I've joined and then stopped posting on some of them after discovering the petty levels the members will stoop to. I prefer a forum where I don't regularly have to contend with trolling and abuse from all directions.
O my things have gotten out of hand... I was only bored :crazy:
Truly though, I prefer to game on PC, but the most fun I have ever had with a game was on the WiiU. So it is basically it depends on the game, and who you play with. :)
I just wish devs would stop removing multiplayer content from PC titles, the code is already there and can be ported. No reason to take out content just because PCs aren't traditionally used for local coop.
QotW: Are apples really superior to oranges?
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
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.
Lol!!!
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
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.
Doesn't make them better, though...
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.
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.
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.
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.
Except that with PCs they still have a far greater choice than just between which one of two they like better.
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.
But it's WHY we prefer the PC that matters...
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 :D
Gameplay is everything.
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
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...
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...
For me, 30 vs 60 FPS is a massive change to the way the game plays.
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 :(Quote:
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...
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?
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.
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 :-)
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.
Yeah, Raving Rabbids at 4am after a night out.. nothing on PC compares. :)
I keep seeing these full-on Virtual Reality suites for PC, with headsets and weird frames that hold you up by your waist while your feet slide along a concave base like some weird inverse rollerball-mouse thing. They often show these things using Call Of Dooty type games, to exhibit the running capability. It may look silly on initial inspection, but if it gets you running...
So it's very possible... but like everything on PC, that level of stuff costs a LOT of money!! :D
The Mrs bought a Wii, along with four controller nunchaku-things, a Fit board, steering wheels and a whole bunch of other weird things, along with something like 40-odd games... The discs got sold off cheap and the rest has been gathering dust for several years. No-one ever wanted to play... :(
I do keep meaning to check out the Rayman stuff, though!