1 Alright so to the point of your post I agree that the comparisons are often biased in favor of whoever the poster favors. I am a console gamer AND a PC gamer and if what you are comparing is the "experience" then obviously it will be different for everyone and the comparison is pointless. 2 If you are trying to compare console gaming to PC gaming of similar or the same games (action, shooters and western RPGs) then this is where things get very interesting. However, it must be noted that your point about being the type of person who is willing to work a little on the PC side of things, that is completely true BUT it is worth it. 3 A price comparison of consoles and PCs just isn't fair. Consoles are always going to be much cheaper because they are MASS marketed and PCs are not (a plus for consoles). 4 Also working in consoles favor is the optimization factor. Games on consoles are optimized much more than on PCs which should be obvious to most people that it is because consoles are static hardware and PCs are extremely varied like you said price of hardware can go from a few hundred to thousands. This means that the PS4 with the AMD GPU in it (which is equivalent to the AMD 7850/7870) will most likely perform better than a PC with a AMD 7850/7870 unless the particular game is CPU heavy which would heavily favor the PC since the CPU in the PS4 (and XBOX1 for that matter) is much weaker (yes I know they have 8 cores but that is not all that matters) than current CPUs in PCs. 5 Also working in consoles favor (most of the time) is form factor. They are much smaller (not including laptops for obvious reasons concerning price) and are thus more portable which can be a plus for some people. 6 Another positive is that consoles use less energy so they tend to lower your energy bills when compared to PCs. 7 Local multiplayer is also a plus for consoles (especially Nintendo) but PCs are capable of local multiplayer but most PC gamers use monitors and are usually playing by themselves locally or online for multiplayer games.
So those are a lot of reasons why someone would want to or even prefer to game on consoles (a la my brother). Now on the PC side there are also a lot of benefits but like I said earlier you will most likely have to spend more to start in comparison to console gaming. For PC gaming you cannot or at least you should not just go into a local Best Buy completely blind and just buy the most expensive PC that they have. That would be a waste of money. Since you cannot do this you will have to either educate yourself or bring someone along who is educated in this area of gaming. My personal preference as it seems many PC gamers share also is to build your own rig but that is not for everyone and I wholly understand that.
1 PC gaming has the positives of customization (extreme customization for those who are well adept to PC gaming). 2 On PCs you do not have to pay monthly internet fees like on consoles (except Nintendo which is one of the reasons why I still have love for Nintendo). 3 In addition for many games on PC, there are tons of MODs that add to the experience and longevity of these games. 4 Also as far as PC game prices go it is very true that the prices are much lower for PCs however most PC gamers buy games digitally (Steam) and cannot take their game to GameStop to trade it or sell it (a la console gamers most often do) so it seems to evens out HOWEVER I still think the prices are so low that PC gamers 1 up their console counterparts. 5 Every platform be it PC or any variant of the consoles have their exclusives that can make or break the deal for any gamer BUT PC gamers also have the added benefit of having the best MMOs if you are into that sort of thing (I am not). 6 Obviously for those of you who are just looking for the best FPS and resolution PC gaming is the way to go but of course you'd have to be willing to spend upwards of 1K for really good performance. 7 PCs are much more powerful than consoles plain and simple. If anyone denies that then they are delusional to say the least. The downside to this for many PC gamers is a room that feels like the heater has been left on haha (unless you water cool your rig). 8 Another huge benefit for PC gamers that not too many mention is EMULATORS (not always necessarily legal). You can download emulators and play games (ROMs) from NES all the way up to the Wii. This is huge for people who are nostalgic gamers. 9 1 more benefit for those few of you who chose to go the route of PC gaming and have the knowhow is OVERCLOCKING. If you feel your hardware is no longer keeping up with the times you can and should (since you are feeling like spending money by now on something else) first attempt to over clock your PC. If you bought your PC in a store like Best Buy then sorry you are most likely out of luck but if you bought your PC in a PC boutique store or built it yourself then you most likely can over clock your PC considerably (educate yourself before attempting this as you take the risk of fudging up your whole rig).
Yes PC gaming tends to be more expensive than console gaming but in all honesty you get a lot more for your money in the long run (over 2 years). Both PCs and consoles have their benefits but for WOW factor you just can't beat the PC. PCs look so much cooler than consoles with their water cooled parts and lighting and even custom/modified casing. Also, the point of saying that it doesn't matter that the gaming PC can do more than just game is not a good point because most people have some sort of computer whether it be a laptop, a PC or something from Apple. So there is a good point to make to say that a PC can be great for gaming AND for other non gaming activities/tasks/work. So to end my giant post I will say that I love BOTH console gaming AND PC gaming for the points I listed above. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all have great exclusives and while PCs do have exclusives as well they may not compare well to those offered on consoles unless you like MMOs (I am not huge on MMOs). PC gamers get way more customization options in both aesthetics and performance and game MODs (if you don't know what MODs are then look it up cuz you are missing out). Really good PC gaming IS MORE EXPENSIVE than console gaming so if you are not the type to want spend the dough then stick with consoles (you get really good exclusives anyways) BUT if you are even just a little computer savvy then I guarantee you will not feel slighted when you spend a little more on your gaming rig. So I do see the point of the OP but this is my rebuttal (my way of saying yes true BUT...) of sorts I guess to the conclusion made. I am not a fanboy I am an enthusiast and love all gaming so everyone just be glad you have the great opportunity to be a gamer as this is seems to be the age of the gamers!
