| MDMAlliance said: PC gaming cannot do what handheld games do. Fit in your pocket. If they ever do, that isn't really much of a PC anymore. edit: what I mean is it becomes a mobile device, and by that time, handheld games will have moved further into its evolution. |
Of course not, that's why handheld consoles are a separate market from in-home consoles and desktop PC, but I don't think this thread was comparing things like 3DS/Vita to a PC gaming.
If you are going to argue portable consoles, that's an entirely different point. You can't take PS4/Xbox 720 with you on the go either. So this argument makes PS4/Xbox 720 redundant too. Many people play casual games on tablets/smarthones now to pass the time. I also don't think people understand the PC gaming culture. We don't just build PCs, it's the idea behind tinkering and building things and improving them. A lot of PC gamers also happen to be audiophiles and drop $$ on high-end headphones. Some people are happy with $30 headphones. It's also how much are you willing to invest and tinker to enhance your entertainment experience? Consoles is a good "Turn-key" style solution. As a person matures, they might want to take on new exciting challenges and try a hands-on approach of building something with their own hands. It's the whole mind-set behind some desktop PC gamers as well. They might spend $ just to enhance their experience from visuals to music to whatever. It's not just the cost perspective but an outlook on things. PC building becomes just as much of a hobby as gaming. The same person might also modify their car, their house, work on their landscaping in the backyard, etc. As I said, you can build a very cost conscious gaming PC without going overboard and connect it in your living room next to your TV. Not everyone needs to spend $5,000 on 30 inch 5-way Eyefinity to have a desktop gaming PC!
Some people go over the top but it's an entirely different experience than gaming on a console and that's why they pay extra. But even for those who don't own mid-range to high-end gaming rigs, there plenty of awesome indie titles are can be played on the cheapest PC and are a blast, like Limbo, Braid, Super Meatboy, Faster than Light, World of Goo, Botanicula, or games like Starcraft 2 can be enjoyed on laptops too. I don't think we need to make a distinction that it's either consoles or PCs. You can play some games on a PC and some games on consoles and enjoy both. There are plenty of cheap awesome games on the PC too, as well as great Humble bundle deals like the current 6 games going for under $6 posted above.
I also understand unique traits of consoles such as playing 4 player split screen in the same room and that can be a lot of fun too. Although with the online gaming revolution, most people now play over Xbox Live or PSN which to me is a step back to the social interactivity that consoles used to offer in the past.
