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Forums - Gaming - 16 Reasons Why PC Gaming is Better than Console Gaming

Khuutra on 28 November 2008

Who the devil would want to use digital movement instead of analog movement? I mean, really.

I can understand the mouse bit, but if you tell me that a keyboard is better for movement than a joystick then you, sir, are a liar.



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Pyro as Bill on 28 November 2008

360/PS3 aren't consoles, they're gaming-pc lites.

The Wii is the only console this generation because you can distinguish it from a PC.



Nov 2016 - NES outsells PS1 (JP)

Don't Play Stationary 4 ever. Switch!

mrstickball on 28 November 2008
shio said:
mrstickball said:
shio said:

16 Reasons Why PC Gaming is Better than Console Gaming

A few years ago it wasn't advisable to put a PC in the living room because of the SDTVs. Now with HD more and more people are putting PCs below the TV, because it's just awesome.

Still doesn't change the fact that I have yet to see a single household with a PC in the living room. TWestern seems to agree with me on this one too.

If you get viruses is your own fault - you got it in a site you shouldn't have entered. In all my 4 PCs I have NEVER formatted my HDD, I can't recall any registry conflict. Game crashes are seldom and if it's happening often in a game you have it's due to you using a pirated copy and not the original. I haven't had any problem with drivers for years. IF you're a PC gamer you would always keep your PC up to date.

And I could argue that many console failures are due to the console owners. I've been PC gaming for over 10 years, and installed 100's of games on the 5-6 PCs I've owned, costing anywhere from $500-$2000. I currently run a $3,000 gaming laptop as I write this. The fact is, that as you install more and more progams, your computer will run slower due to background apps or registry conflicts due to having more & more games on your computer. Consoles never have had that problem.

And FYI: I've never pirated a PC game. Never. That still doesn't mean that after installing a few dozen games, that your computer runs slower.

If you aren't able to understand why upgrades aren't needed as much as before, you seriously need to do some research. I pity you.

I didn't disagree that upgrades are becoming less needy, but that still doesn't change the fact that there's still a prequisite of upgrading your computer to stay remotely current. If you buy a computer today, in 4 years, you'll need upgrades. Could a 4 year old computer @ $1,000 run Crysis? Heck, my brother's laptop from 2 years ago can't even run Sins of a Solar Empire.

I spent €1000, and that includes monitor and speakers, otherwise it would've cost €800 or so in early 2006. I have bought atleast 50 games so far and the average was maybe around €25, so €1300. And that's without seperating the singled-box multiple-games like Sam & Max: Season One (6 games), Myst Collection (5 games), GTR Evolution (2 games), Orange Box(5 games) and some more. And $=€ for trading exchange purposes.

So what did how much did you spend on your Xbox 360? lol

Spent $200 USD on the system, and another $100 on controllers. Between BC-compat games and X360/XBLA games, I have about 40 games myself, and still paid well below what you did for your PC + Games.

Bethesda is the same asshole as always: Ruining AAA franchises into butchered streamlined crap. Yet Fallout 3 is selling better on PC and they are releasing G.E.C.K.. Bioware, on the other hand, is actually switching more and more to PC than in the past few years: Mass Effect 2 is their first console-RPG that was announced for PC from the beginning, Dragon Age is a PC-oriented RPG, and Star Wars: Old Republic is a PC exclusive RPG.

Both are actually giving PC more support than they used to few years back.

Name the first Bioware RPG ever made for a console. Then name the year that they did it. Then tell me how many PC games, and how many Console games they've made sense then.


Gamerankings would disagree with you. I love Metacritic, don't get me wrong, but it's biggest problem is that they don't have enough PC review sites listed, and because of that a huge amount of PC games don't even hae 4 reviews. For example, in 2007, 30% of all PC games listed on Metacritic don't have enough reviews... 30% !!! And ofcourse that's not even considering the hundreds of PC games that Metacritic DOES NOT list but gamerankings does.

And if I were to goto GameRankings.com, how many PC games would come up with 80% rankings on GameRankings.com that weren't expansion packs, but unique games?

No, but Audiosurf, Spirit Engine 2 and other awesome indie stuff are. Or Spore, Crysis, and other awesome big games are. Or Arma, Battlefield Heroes and other awesome F2P games are. Or Football Manager Live, Warhammer Online and other awesome subscriptions-based games are...

You can keep your PC-based subscription games, thank you very much.

I never had a problem with my WiC copy. But whatever problem it is, if it troubled you so much you would've fixed it already. Or you just don't keep your PC healthy.

Then why did thousands of people lobby complains about EA's Spore DRM just a few months back? I'm not the only person with DRM issues, and you know it. Go look at ANY PC-gaming forum, and it's very often you'll find users with very genuine DRM issues like mine. Thanks for attacking my knoweldge of PC gaming, BTW.

Braid is coming to PC. Guitar Hero franchise is on PC, but if we are talking about the original release then doesn't matter because it was a game from before this gen started. Rock Band and Lips are not innovative lol.

Mind telling me the last time you played Guitar Hero with more than 1 person near by? There's a reason that karaoke bars are replacing their entire rigs with Rock Band/Guitar Hero games for consoles, and not PCs.

Tell that to the people that keep playing with each other for years and start being mates. There's always those stories about some getting married and such. There is no mistake here.

Some guy recently did that with Viva Pinata, and another with Rainbow Six Vegas over Live. So your point is moot. What's next, throwing in E-Harmony citations as proving that social gaming on the PC is better?

Uh hunh. What was the last game that was primarily a PC-driven game that sold 5 million copies?

Call of Duty 4. From recently released games you can expect Spore, Warhammer Online, Wrath of the Lich King and CoD: World at Wat to reach 5 millions too.

Link to prove that CoD4 sold over 5m copies on PC alone, please. Spore, Warhammer online too.

And what else? See.

Your point was the PC was the only place for video game tournaments. I just proved you wrong.

Speaking of pro gaming, it's interesting to know that by going to Major League Gaming's website, and querying most popular online tournaments brings up the top-5 list...All of which are X360 games. They're also featuring a Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament worth $7,500.

14. Modding allowed
Mods, mods, mods. They enhance and give more bang for your money. Some even shape mediocre games into near greatness (Oblivion for example)

I certainly agree here. PC gaming is much better for this.

Dude, almost racing game on PC is wheel compatible. Any Flight Sim is joystick compatible. And even if a certain PC game is not originally gamepad compatible, you can use any of the several converters like xpadder that let's you use a gamepad on it.

Every Xbox 360 racing game is wheel comatible. Every flight sim is joystick compatible. Your argument goes out the window for versatility, since there are the same kinds of options for PC and console games.

 

 

 

 



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

Mendicate Bias on 28 November 2008

Other people have refuted your other points well enough not to mention it is more a matter of opinion than anything else but for the pro-gaming argument here you go mlgpro.com

Also can I play GoW2, Halo 3, R2, Ninja Gaiden 2, Fable 2, LBP, Mario Galaxy, Brawl, Lost Odyssey, Mario Kart or dozens of other titles on the PC?

Stop being a blind fanboy and realize that both systems have their advantages. Your elitism is annoying and childish to say the least.



                                           

                      The definitive evidence that video games turn people into mass murderers

shio on 28 November 2008
mrstickball said:
shio said:
mrstickball said:

16 Reasons Why PC Gaming is Better than Console Gaming

Still doesn't change the fact that I have yet to see a single household with a PC in the living room. TWestern seems to agree with me on this one too.

This is a very recent practice since HDTVs are quite new and they still haven't even reached mass market appeal. Second, you're living in the US, one of the least PC-centralized countries (out of "rich" countries). I myself only know 2 people that do that.

Vista definitely helps PCs with it's Media Center, great for making PC a Media Hub for TV.

And I could argue that many console failures are due to the console owners. I've been PC gaming for over 10 years, and installed 100's of games on the 5-6 PCs I've owned, costing anywhere from $500-$2000. I currently run a $3,000 gaming laptop as I write this. The fact is, that as you install more and more progams, your computer will run slower due to background apps or registry conflicts due to having more & more games on your computer. Consoles never have had that problem.

And FYI: I've never pirated a PC game. Never. That still doesn't mean that after installing a few dozen games, that your computer runs slower.

Unless the games themselves directly create those problems on the PC, it is ignorable. Since we are strictly talking about gaming it's not worth talking about non-game related programs/apps. If we were to talk about such things we would have to take into account PC's other functions when debating about games.

In every system you have to manage the HDD space. If you install dozens of PC games on your hard drive it's bound to slow down everything, however you have the luxury of doing that because PC's HDD is 10 times bigger than consoles'.

I didn't disagree that upgrades are becoming less needy, but that still doesn't change the fact that there's still a prequisite of upgrading your computer to stay remotely current. If you buy a computer today, in 4 years, you'll need upgrades. Could a 4 year old computer @ $1,000 run Crysis? Heck, my brother's laptop from 2 years ago can't even run Sins of a Solar Empire.

My brother's 5 year old PC runs Crysis, although in low settings. And yes, it also cost $1000 including Monitor, speakers, the whole shebang.

Your bro probably bought one of those really weak PCs that are not intended for gaming, because Sins has really low reqs...

Spent $200 USD on the system, and another $100 on controllers. Between BC-compat games and X360/XBLA games, I have about 40 games myself, and still paid well below what you did for your PC + Games.

Give me a number, you must also count what you pay for XBLG and DLC. Also I forgot to mention but I have played dozens of FREE PC games online, some being awesome enough to be paid (check Play Auditorium), you can't do that with consoles.

Name the first Bioware RPG ever made for a console. Then name the year that they did it. Then tell me how many PC games, and how many Console games they've made sense then.


History shows that they turned away from PC and showed love to consoles instead and stayed that way for the last 5 years. I won't even count the amount of fanboys that used that fact as a way to show that "PC is dead". Now Bioware are starting to show more for PC and not be console-focused.

And if I were to goto GameRankings.com, how many PC games would come up with 80% rankings on GameRankings.com that weren't expansion packs, but unique games?

expansions are unique titles, any PC gamer sees that way. Mask of the Betrayer, NWN2's 2007 expansion, had the best game story in the last 9 years and deserves to be treated as unique. Expansions are not like the crappy DLC that consoles get.

You can keep your PC-based subscription games, thank you very much.

Preferences.

Then why did thousands of people lobby complains about EA's Spore DRM just a few months back? I'm not the only person with DRM issues, and you know it. Go look at ANY PC-gaming forum, and it's very often you'll find users with very genuine DRM issues like mine. Thanks for attacking my knoweldge of PC gaming, BTW.

almost no one had DRM issues with Spore. People just did not like being limited on activations and caused an over-proportionate wave.

Mind telling me the last time you played Guitar Hero with more than 1 person near by? There's a reason that karaoke bars are replacing their entire rigs with Rock Band/Guitar Hero games for consoles, and not PCs.

Because consoles are accessible and karaoke bars don't need extra functions of PCs.

Some guy recently did that with Viva Pinata, and another with Rainbow Six Vegas over Live. So your point is moot. What's next, throwing in E-Harmony citations as proving that social gaming on the PC is better?

Do you seriously think console social gaming rivals PC social gaming? World of Warcraft has 11 millions people. There are true social games like Second Life, and MMOs big appeal is socializing. It's not just about playing with other people...

Also, PC games have bigger, more enduring communities like Oblivion's, where they still make mods for it.

Link to prove that CoD4 sold over 5m copies on PC alone, please. Spore, Warhammer online too.

It was an estimation, but COD4 was always among the Top 5 since it's release up to October. Include Digital Sales and you have a winner. Actually, as I have said before, I believe COD4 PC sales will in the end reach 10 millions if it hasnt already. As for Spore, it did better than The Sims 1 and 2 did in the beginning. And Warhammer Online had the best MMO launch ever since World of Warcraft.

Your point was the PC was the only place for video game tournaments. I just proved you wrong.

Speaking of pro gaming, it's interesting to know that by going to Major League Gaming's website, and querying most popular online tournaments brings up the top-5 list...All of which are X360 games. They're also featuring a Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament worth $7,500.

Sorry, I did phrase it wrong. Professional gaming is not unexistent on consoles, but it is very, very, very small.

But MLG is small potatoes - possibly due to it being american so it's very console-centric and has never grown anywhere near what other e-sports leagues have. The 3 BIG competitions are World Cyber Games (many PC games, some X360's), Electronic Sports World Cup (many PC games) and Starleague (Starcraft). A top Starleague Pro player wins like $200k yearly.

Every Xbox 360 racing game is wheel comatible. Every flight sim is joystick compatible. Your argument goes out the window for versatility, since there are the same kinds of options for PC and console games.

It doesn't because PC gamers can still use the mouse+keyboard with any game, while 360 gamers can't.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



http://i48.tinypic.com/120qaon.jpg
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Squilliam on 28 November 2008

Laptops have almost 50% market share, when it hits 60-70% its obviously not going to be good for PC gaming. You can't really game on a laptop, well you can but if it costs you $100 extra on a desktop for the capability it costs you $300+ on a laptop. You could make the argument that people do not want desktop PCs, which is where im guessing you propose the gaming is going to take place.

The needs of the average person, and the specifications required for gaming have gone in opposite directions. The average person would be happy with a 1.6ghz P4 with 1gb of ram and XP.



Tease.

PAINTRAINWooWoo on 28 November 2008

#13 ever heard of MLG?Even WCG has a few 360 games.

Was Fatal1ty ever on 180 million dr pepper bottles?No well T2 is(dont get me wrong I still think fatal1tys a beast).



S.T.A.G.E. on 28 November 2008

PC guys have to defend PC because they know that Consoles are becoming a threat.



Yakuzaice on 28 November 2008
mrstickball said:
shio said:

16 Reasons Why PC Gaming is Better than Console Gaming


1. Mouse + Keyboard is the best controller for games
Combined, they are easily the top pick for games that require skill, speed, management or accuracy. Both have been in constant evolution to adapt for more accessability and funcionality.

On the other hand, consoles are a bit more user-friendly. Rather than requiring mapping to 50 diffeent things, hotkeying everything, and re-maps for virtually every game, consoles are much more basic. You always know which button will shoot a gun, make a character jump, accellerate on a vehicle, ect.

Yeah, it isn't like practically every game uses mouse1 to shoot and space to jump.  Nope it is always like ctrl+shift+F7 in one game and alt+~ in another.  But seriously, how is being able to map controls a bad thing?  You'd reather just be stuck with the default controls like many console games?  Not to mention hotkeys make things easier. 

2. PC is the perfect setpiece for your living room
The coming of HDTVs provides the perfect reason for any PC user to move their PCs into the living room. By doing so, you can enjoy your movies, MP3s, games and still do your homework in comfort.

Odd, I've never once seen a PC as a centerpiece of any room in my life. I have, however, seen most living rooms have a TV in them - which is perfect for DVD playback, or console gaming.

I don't really see how that refutes his point.  Especially since he didn't say centerpiece, which I assume you are using that terminology so you can say you've never seen it.  I've never seen a console as the 'centerpiece' of a room either.  Guess they don't have a place in the living room.


3. PCs are more reliable than Consoles
PC manufacturers have historically made resiliant PCs and components. Consoles, on the other hand, always have some bad apples every now and then. This generation, we are looking at Xbox 360's abominable RROD catastrophe.

Except for viruses. Except for registry conflicts. Except for game-ending crashes that give you BSoD. Except for formatting your HDD every so often because every install can conflict with another. Except for compatability issues between your driver(s) and the game your playing. 

Never had problems with my PC's or consoles, so no comment.

4. PCs are becoming less and less needy of upgrades
Due to the fact that PC hardware is moving up much faster than games needs, the amount of upgrades done will be far less than ever before. There are already several PCs won't ever need to upgrade for the entirety of a console generation.

So are consoles. A Playstation 2 bought in 2000 for $299.99 had 100-odd games release in most every territory this year. A PC bought in 2000 for $499.99 can play how many new releases? I've heard it time and time again, but consoles are much more affordable, and need 0 upgrades.

Probably a lot more than you might think.  There are tons of low budget games that have extremely low specs that come out for PC.

5. PC gaming is cheaper
the greatest thing about PC gaming is that it is the cheapest home gaming system available. You'll sae hundreds of dollars from the thousnds of $20-$50 games that are just much cheaper than it's console counterparts. Add the high value of subscriptions, and the Free-2-Play games that should entertain you for atleast a bit.

How much did YOU spend on your PC? Don't make me laugh with the cheaper argument. The buy-in for PC gaming is exponetially higher than console gaming. For console gaming, you need a TV and a console...That's it.

I spent $1200 on my PC/Monitor.  I spent $2650 on my TV/Wii/PS3.

6. PC is becoming more and more the top platform of choice for development
Capcom and Squre-Enix have chosen PC as THE system to make games since it provides the easiness and cheap development that ensures a healthier business.
Indie gaming is flying on PC since it's cheap and big enough for the small developers to make a profit without the need to pay big checks to console manufacturers.

Except when you have the biggest PC studios such as Bethsada and Bioware jump ship. A few console games are going to the PC, but the rate of attrition is vastly in favor of console gaming.

Well Bethesda has been making console games for over 6 years.  Bioware for 5.

7. PC has always the best games lineup every year
Being the only system that has thousands of games coming out for it every year, it possesses the biggest amount of great games and surprising titles. Far more than any console.

Metacritic would disagree with you.

Considering how often the current review system is derided on this board, I'm not sure that is such a good thing.

8. PC has more exclusives than all consoles combined
The top platform has an unusual amount of exclusives, them being much more than actual multiplatform titles. Because of this you will see a much higher amount of excellent titles. Year 2007 proves this point.

Is 'Barbies Pony Ride 2008' really a worthwhile exclusive?

So I guess you just couldn't think of an intelligent response.

9. PC is getting more accessible, Consoles are not
With nice such as auto-patching, digital distribution and the lack of need to upgrade, PC is changing for the better and more efficient form of entertainment. But consoles are more clunky, more expensive, less accessible.

Except for DRM. I'm having a wonderful time getting SecuROM to allow me to play my newly bought copy of World in Conflict. With console gaming, I pop in the DVD and I'm playing in 10 second.....What was the last big PC game you played that did that?

After I've installed it?  Most of them.

10. PC is getting more innovative games than consoles
While Wii has a few valiant effort of innovative games, the truth is the vast majority just doesn't care about innovation. PC though, has gotten a few amazing and refreshing titles like SPORE and Audiosurf.

Braid. Rock Band/Guitar Hero. Lips. How many titles do you want?

Haven't played Braid, so I won't comment on that.  So some music games?  GH is on PC.  So Rock Band and lips.  Rock Band was pretty much taking several concepts already in arcades and wrapping them into an attractive package.  Lips?  I'm not really sure what is innovative about that.  Singstar (also console though) and Karaoke machines existed before it.  Maybe there is something I am missing about it.

11. PC is the top pick for Social Gaming
In the last few years we have seen the rise of social gaming. World of Warcraft, Second Life and other social games let you create an avatar and chat, play, socialize with your friends that unfortunately are on the other side of the world.
Another huge factor is LAN gaming, where you can join a group of DOZENS of buddies and make it a gaming party.

This is arguable. Last I checked, a good bit of what "social gaming" is, would be inviting friends over to play a game with you, rather than droning on a monitor with your 'friend' from accros the Atlantic.

I guess you just skipped over the part about LAN?  It is really quite fun getting a bunch of people together.  Even some games that only need one computer.  I remember playing a lot of Axis and Allies with a few other people.

12. Perception
PC gaming is by far the most popular gaming platform, with over 280 millions online players. In places where PC is the main man (Europe and Asia), PC is seen as the only real deal for social, online, casual, professional or quality gaming.

Uh hunh. What was the last game that was primarily a PC-driven game that sold 5 million copies?

Probably Burning Crusade, not really sure.  There isn't as much data on PC games.  Especially since so many sales come from outside the US.

13. Professional Gaming only with a computer
It's abnormal the unexistence of proffessional gaming on consoles. But PC covers all the fronts, letting the skill of players do the talk - in South Korea, Starcraft is the second most watched sport on TV, only behind football.

Halo 3. Ring any bells?

I highly doubt any U.S. 'professional gaming' compares to StarCraft in South Korea.  That goes for PC as well though.

14. Modding allowed
Mods, mods, mods. They enhance and give more bang for your money. Some even shape mediocre games into near greatness (Oblivion for example)

I certainly agree here. PC gaming is much better for this.

No complaints with this lol.

15. Best online experience
The best online is on PC. Digital Distribution has come and is showing strength with services like Steam. There's also several applications strictly for gamers like Xfire that makes gamers enjoy more of their experience. Also, higher player count, more and better servers, etc...

Possibly. I guess it depends on the user.

16. Versatility
If you don't like to play with Mouse + Keyboard then you're not forced to use them. You're able to chose from the hundreds of gamepads compatible for PC. If some setting is making your game go slower, no problem, just change a bit and you're good to go.
If your game isn't good enough, then you can try some mods, maybe it will help.

You can use various input devices for consoles too - Rock Band instruments, Flight Sticks, Race Wheels. And last I checked, very few PC games actually were developed for gamepads, racing wheels or fight sticks - just like Consoles.

Not sure if you are talking about fight or flight (heh) but I don't remember playing any PC flying game that didn't support a flight stick.  Don't really play racing games, but I assume it is similar there.

 

 

 

 



Judeophobia on 28 November 2008

2 Reasons Console gaming is better

1. Its all about personal preference. You can't just make a claim that everyone likes keyboard + mouse better. I prefer controller.

2. Wii: $250, 360: $200/$300, PS3: $400/$500, Computer: Upwards of $1000...for everything else theres mastercard


Come on man if you have a bucket full of cash go ahead and spend it on a gaming computer, but if not buy a cheaper console. Sure games are cheaper but the initial cost of the sytem is a ton.