You *have* to do regular maintenance on your system if you download a lot of files, access a lot of unsecured sites and want to save yourself the pain of losing data, whether due to corrupted HDD, virus, malware, etc. etc.

Good rule of thumb is to keep any files that you don't want to lose on a separate drive from your start up drive (preferably remote/external). Even if the OS takes a dump, you still have all your files, which are more important.

If my PC fell out of a 10 story window, it wouldn't mean anything since there aren't any files on it that aren't stored remotely. All it would mean is I get to build a new PC with better specs; woo hoo.

Anyway, don't blame the PC if you're not doing everything you can to minimize the odds of data loss.

It's like driving a car for over 10,000 miles without changing the oil or doing basic maintenance and being SHOCKED when the engine fails.

Seriously, did I say I only play on PC?! I play on PC, I play on consoles, but I love PC more. It's no rocket science!

And I'm not trying to convert anyone, I'm just giving them information that refute their statements. If some dude posted "Xbox 360 is the worst console", would the X360 gamers not try to debate it?

I'm also interested in the videogames market tendencies, so.

I was going to say parking your car in a bad neighborhood overnight and leaving the windows open and the doors unlocked, but that's good too.

Otherwise, you're spot on. While it's good to scan the whole computer every so often for viruses and spyware, it's more important to scan practically EVERYTHING that gets downloaded before it's run if somebody is going to be downloading tons of things.

Something I find sumpremely annoying whenever this debate comes up is that pcs gamers want to compare the absolute bare bones amount you could pay for a pc that runs new games to the most you could pay for a console. If you want to compare real numbers, you need to compare apples to apples.

Every hardcore pc gamer I know plunks down an average of $1000 a year or more. Every hardcore console gamer plunks down about $500 every five years (once you factor in extra controllers and such). While the hardest of the hard on consoles might spend three times that (multiple consoles), the sky really is the limit on pc gaming (and I've known a pc gamer who was spending $500 a month on hardware).

On the other end of things, the cheap end. Yes, you can start playing pc games for as little as $500, but that machine isn't going to last you long; probably in two years nothing new will run on your machine. On the other hand if you buy you consoles mid-way through generations you could easily be spending $200 or less every five years.

If you want to go to the real extreme - new hardware that won't necessarily run new games (but might run old ones), the consoles win yet again. You can get PS2s for $99, good luck finding a new pc for that.

Buying a PC gaming rig and then keeping it up to date for 6 years and making sure it can run anything I want is far to expensive for me...... It's like piracy temptation.....

I prefer to buy a console and play that for 6-7 years, then upgrade to a new console.

$1,000 a year? You don't need to spend that much every year to enjoy PC gaming, unless you're going to want to run it at the best settings possible at the largeest resolutions.

Why spend money on another computer to play older games? I've gone back and played Oregon Trail on my current computer. However, I'm not going to refute OS incompatibilities in this factor.

Obviously he doesn't know about the possibility of releasing PSN and XBL and WiiWare games.

Blah to all the console fanboys here, If you don't want to acknowledge you can get a pc for not much more with far better specs than the consoles fine, but don't label shio as a pc elitist who mustn't try to debate your false arguments and shouldn't be interested in console numbers. Has he ever attacked someone?? because Garcian you are doing it, he is actually on the good side of the line here. This is a forum where you should be able to express your opinion. He isn't calling consoles crap, uses good arguments and he hasn't done anything you should bitch about like you are all doing now.

I play both consoles and on PC. I have owned consoles since Atari 2600. I have only had been gaming on the PC about 8 years ago.

PC gaming is just as economic as consoles themselves. People like to act how you need every single brand new part for PCs. The fact is that most PC users upgrade their systems as they go along. So many parts that were used before are still used, And don't give me that "oh but it's all outdated it won't run anything new". PC gamers know what their rig can run and what will be needed. I bought my video card almost 2 and half years ago. for around 300 I can still play almost every game out at 1900X1080 with max settings. You can double performance in your rig with a 2 gig stick for less than 40 bucks. All this comes down to is that graphically you can't match the PC and even fiscally It's not that much more.

Games are better on the PC. They are supported better by far then console games, TF2 being a prime example. There are hundreds of communities for hundreds of games that make and distribute FREE content for the games you purchased(mods and whatnot). There are thousands of freeware and abandonware games on hundreds of sites that you can easily go to that don't cost a dime. PC games are usually always cheaper on PC and way more likely to receive price cuts. There is the biggest catalog of games period on the PC games that go back 10/15 years that to this day you can install and play. The setup of mouse and keyboard is better for almost all genres of games save platformers(of which you could plug in a 5 dollar gamepad). And if you want to get down to the dirty you don't even have to buy most games for the PC.

All the points of it's too difficult or too troublesome to install and manage a PC comes down to one thing, Your incompetence/ignorance. Either you do not properly understand how to maintain your computer or you are just bad at using computers. Don't blame the industry cause of basic skills you should have learned over the past 10 years. Almost every PC gamer I have come across keeps their rig in impeccable condition.

Now to address the whole comfort of tv and consoles. I never in my life ever played video games lying down. I don't play comfortably. If I play a console it's leaning forward towards the TV in an attentive position....sounds familiar? RIGHT!! exactly how I would at a computer desk, so between the comfort of tv/console to chair/desk it is exactly the same and I know many people who feel the same. Just to add a bonus, me standing in front of my 22 inch monitor is close to the same as you sitting 10-20 feet away from your 4x inch tv in terms of clarity and picture, guess which would cost alot more?.

Now I am not saying consoles are trash. I believe for a local group experience
(NON-LAN) they are the better bet, and for those less PC inclined they are great,but to say PC gaming is economically unsound or inferior to consoles is ludicrous. PCs are better avenues for gaming period, Just for the more mundane users consoles fill their need just fine.

tl;dr I like both, but PC is better.

So just to clarify: if you don't prefer gaming on a PC, you are a console fanboy. No.

You can build a cheap PC that will run any current PC game assuming DIY build or a current video card costing about $120. Maybe even less if you find a good deal. Yes.

Said PC will run any game the typical console user typically likes (platform exclusives). No.

High end PC costing $2000+ will run any game the typical console user typically likes. No.

Any PC, money considerations thrown aside will run any game the typical console user typically likes. No.

See a pattern yet?

This is why most console users stick with consoles. The games suit their tastes.

This is a console centric site. The gaming tastes of most users are reflected as such.

No point in listing MMORPGs or RTS games since these are why many people prefer PC gaming.