Console Gaming Vs. Pc Gaming

[BloodOmen]

So I've read some pretty funny things the past few days on the subject (most of which end in raging arguments about how consoles are vastly superior to PCs when it comes to competitive gaming) now I will say before going any further I'm very biased and favour PC Gaming more, that's just how I grew up that's not to say I haven't tried both formats however so I do have a pretty fair idea of how it is on both sides of the fence.

So lets look at some of the basic pros and cons of Consoles Vs PCs

Console Pros

- Easily accessible/Cheaper to get up and running

- Don't have to worry about hardware upgrades (tho the way the console market is going I'm sure we'll have to buy graphics cards and what not eventually)

- Everything on a control pad as oppose to mouse + keyboard (which in all fairness is abit more convenient)

- A large majority of games these days are basically made for consoles so naturally a control pad may favour a specific game more than a mouse + keys, not to mention the fuck on we have with graphics/fps/controls sometimes on console ports

- No issues with software conflicts unlike PCs where windows will go fucking mental if a game says "You know, I really don't like how that anti-virus is looking at me over there /crash /close /bsod /burst into flames and explode in your face"

Console Cons

- Cant really customise anything or tweak configs to your liking

- Playing FPS games on a console is like watching a Vietnamese slow motion war movie (T-U-R-N-I-N-G I-S S-O S-L-O-O-O-O-O-W) compared to PC gaming where you can basically do 360 with amazing accuracy more or less instantly, the biggest problem I see with this is it will lead console gamers to an overwhelming yet false sense of skill when in actual fact the sad reality is you are basically killing people that are either A) turning slower than a cruise ship in a paddling pool B) aren't used to playing FPS games on a control pad or C) are so young they shouldn't have had the game in the first place (yes, your a nob if you let a 7-10 year old play 15-18 rated games with voice comms enabled)

- Game lobby's are generally smaller which is understandable given the limited hardware of consoles, this is shit IMO - part of the fun of FPS gaming is the size of the games (64player BF anyone? or 24player on a stupidly large map?)

- - - - -

PC Pros

- Alot more customisation options available via config tweaks

- More resources for larger player count within games ultimately resulting in more carnage/fun

- Faster loading times (varies based on PC specs but lets say for the sake of the argument we're using a maxed out PC as consoles are maxed out from the start)

- Wider variety of online games

- Alot easier to communicate with people/friends

- Higher resolutions/better FoV's

PC Cons

- Generally expensive to get a decent/good gaming rig up and running (normally £700 upwards)

- Software compatibility issues

- Hardware breakdowns

- Viruses

- We get stuck with alot of console ports

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Thoughts?

 

[ECA]

Console > PC for competitive gaming?

HAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

 

[ECA]

Wait is this a serious question? :d

 

[BloodOmen]

sadly yes, I shit you not I had someone who considers themselves a "pro" console gamer say console > pc for competitive gaming, I almost spat my pepsi out.

 

[Raven]

I prefer to play on the PC because you have exactly the same gameplay but with superior controls and graphics. I have a PS3 never gets used except as a media centre.

not that fussed about competitive gameplay.

 

[Zede]

Nothing console lead could ever come close to the Battlefield 2 Modding community, which sadly started to die when BF3 became a console game

 

[soze]

I recently decided to sell my gaming PC as i don't like to be sat in the corner playing on the thing. The 360 is just a more sociable option. While FPS games are easier and I don't suck on the PC but I hate the feeling of blanking everyone else when your sat in your own little world.

 

[Overdriven]

I fall into this category actually, have been a hardcore game player on both sides of the fence (Casual/competitive) - It's also down to the environment you play in too, PCs you're usually (*) in your own little world, doing your own little thing. Very much a 1-person, 1 game type of attitude. Consoles (*) however can be the latter, you can get a lot more competitive due to split screen etc. PC gaming can be fun if you've got skype/vent/TS, and know other people who also play the games with you, otherwise it can be lonely. It's the same for consoles too, but you're more likely to find somebody who plays Fifa on their xbox 360 than somebody who plays Guild Wars all day. (Socio-aspect is fun)

* - Not in a professional setting, talking about having your mates over etc.

If I were to go into the gaming world blindly (I prefer PC gaming, by the way.) I'd actually have to say consoles have it. It's just a bigger market and less faffing around really. Buy a console (PRE-BUILT), plug it in, put game in, play. <-- Good luck doing that with a PC as a true hardcore gamer.

 

[Ctuchik]

Well tekken/streetfighter/what have you, were quite popular in the console competitive scene as far as i know, but as PC's can use console controllers as well it's not console exclusive. But they are still bigger on console then PC's i think.

So when it comes to those kinds of games then consoles > PC's?

I fall into this category actually, have been a hardcore game player on both sides of the fence (Casual/competitive) - It's also down to the environment you play in too, PCs you're usually (*) in your own little world, doing your own little thing. Very much a 1-person, 1 game type of attitude. Consoles (*) however can be the latter, you can get a lot more competitive due to split screen etc. PC gaming can be fun if you've got skype/vent/TS, and know other people who also play the games with you, otherwise it can be lonely. It's the same for consoles too, but you're more likely to find somebody who plays Fifa on their xbox 360 than somebody who plays Guild Wars all day. (Socio-aspect is fun)

* - Not in a professional setting, talking about having your mates over etc.

If I were to go into the gaming world blindly (I prefer PC gaming, by the way.) I'd actually have to say consoles have it. It's just a bigger market and less faffing around really. Buy a console (PRE-BUILT), plug it in, put game in, play. <-- Good luck doing that with a PC as a true hardcore gamer.

Your taking cost into consideration, but that doesn't mean that console own PC's when it comes to competitive gaming...

 

[Aada]

Console gaming is for chilling out and having fun with friends on XBL and is very fun and casual, you buy your pre-built console set it up and that's until the next console arrives you don't have to fanny around with compatibility issues and worry about that next £250 graphics card upgrade.

PC gaming for me is generally for MMO's and like other's have said it's very much a case of you sat in a corner in your own world 2 inches away from the screen with not a thought as to what's happening in your house and that's fine for me when i go through my PC gaming phase.

 

[Litmus]

In terms of competitive on-line gaming community i would say consoles pretty much own that now due to the numbers and rewards.. But in terms of what type is best "skill" wise it will always be PC > console. Until they release a console that can use keyboard and mouse, then i cant see there being much difference apart from MMO's etc.


But as it stands, if they ever released a server where the best console gamers could play the best PC gamers on a game like mw3/bf2, the console gamers would be rage quitting with in 2mins of starting.

 

[Raven]

Yeah, I would probably use a console instead of a PC if it had mouse and keyboard support. Control pads are just awful for FPS games, RTS games and RPGs (my 3 favourite genres)

 

[ECA]

 

[Yaka]

ive more less got the same peeps on my firends lists on xbl/psn as i have on steam but ive pld mp games with peeps on pc, hardly anyone on the consoles, its coz im such a lazy git. for both ps3/360 id have digg out the game disc some one was playing on the consoles in order to join em. on steam its more or less a couple of clicks and your joining em


one thing i miss on pcs is are mods, over 13 years ago we had qwtf, followed by action quake,cs,insta gib etc alot of peeps were trying diff things and shit wheres all that gone?

 

[Overdriven]

ive more less got the same peeps on my firends lists on xbl/psn as i have on steam but ive pld mp games with peeps on pc, hardly anyone on the consoles, its coz im such a lazy git. for both ps3/360 id have digg out the game disc some one was playing on the consoles in order to join em. on steam its more or less a couple of clicks and your joining em

Waiting for the UK infrastructure to improve, then this won't be a problem. Can quite happily say we'll be streaming HD games when we can support it. Disk version or click to play sort of games.

 

[Aada]

In terms of competitive on-line gaming community i would say consoles pretty much own that now due to the numbers and rewards.. But in terms of what type is best "skill" wise it will always be PC > console. Until they release a console that can use keyboard and mouse, then i cant see there being much difference apart from MMO's etc.


But as it stands, if they ever released a server where the best console gamers could play the best PC gamers on a game like mw3/bf2, the console gamers would be rage quitting with in 2mins of starting.

But how would that server balance both sides? you can't have PC players spinning round on a dime that wouldn't be fair, shadowrun did a good pc/console war the PC players screen went blurry or something if they spun round too fast or something i can't remember but the console players generally would win on that game due to it being easier to strafe with a pad.

 

[Raven]

It would be nice if they gave you the option on the consoles to play with a mouse and keyboard while also allowing PC gamers to use game pads.

They could then have cross platform multiplayer servers based on your input choice rather than your hardware. Despite all the fanboyism, the core games are basically the same. Obviously these days they look much better on the PC than the consoles simply because its newer, more powerful tech but (for example) BF3 is still the same game. Draw distance, poly count, textures etc could be scaled back so that everyone is on a level playing field...it wouldn't make that much of a difference really.

 

[Litmus]

But how would that server balance both sides? you can't have PC players spinning round on a dime that wouldn't be fair, shadowrun did a good pc/console war the PC players screen went blurry or something if they spun round too fast or something i can't remember but the console players generally would win on that game due to it being easier to strafe with a pad.

I'm not saying it would be balanced, that's the while point I guess console players have a massive handicap vs pc gamers before they even start.

 

[ECA]

Btw my trololol thing was a mispost when a friend came round, I didn't have time to fix it.

You can mouse+keyboard on xbox/ps3:

 

[Raven]

"I'll just turn autoaim off"

lol

 

[Yaka]

nevermind just rea dup didnt realise it works on ps3 as well now

 

[kirennia]

I don't get the argument at all really, it seems rather simple to me. Consoles are cheaper and easier to move about (+ have occasional exclusives), that's it. As for sitting in a corner as a PC user, I don't entirely get that analogy either; you can get wireless keyboard+mouse and then a PC can easily be used on a large TV. We have a computer downstairs next to the PS3 and they both plug in in the same way...

Yes some games favour controllers but you can't use controller arguments as a positive because Xbox360 and PS3 controllers can also be used on a PC. I play skyrim using a controller because it's hardly a competitive game and controllers are just more relaxing...

The main issue with PC games is that the multiplayer is significantly more difficult and knowledge of computers for some people can be quite lacking but to me, it's only a few clicks of a button and you're pretty much sorted if you're only gaming.

 

[opticle]

Another advantage on PCs is that sometimes I don't *want* to speak to chat and communicate.

On a PC I can bash off chat sentences in 3 seconds and carry on gaming.. I miss that on consoles, some of the banter we had going on the old CS servers was hilarious. It wouldn't have been the same spoken aloud, and you look and sound like a twat shouting at your computer at 2am.

 

[Aada]

Advantage on the console is that you don't have to download a VOIP program that the group demands or your kicked it's all done for you over XBL/PSN.

 

[Litmus]

yea but to be fair the quality on xbox comms its shite

 

[Aada]

yea but to be fair the quality on xbox comms its shite

Must be your connection i don't have a problem.

 

[gmloki]

I dont buy into the idea you need upwards of £700.00 in one hit for a decent gaming PC. That's only if you want have a new PC Every single time. It's easier to go through a gradual upgrade path when necessary. Look around for used parts and you can build a decent rig. If you want new then go with one of the new AMD APU's that will do DX11 graphics adequately

 

[Aada]

I dont buy into the idea you need upwards of £700.00 in one hit for a decent gaming PC. That's only if you want have a new PC Every single time. It's easier to go through a gradual upgrade path when necessary. Look around for used parts and you can build a decent rig. If you want new then go with one of the new AMD APU's that will do DX11 graphics adequately

But you do need to spend anything from £150-£250 every 2 years at most if you want to keep your graphics card up to date.

 

[Raven]

Only if you are an enthusiast.

A £30 card will play pretty much anything around at the moment with equal or better graphics than a console.

 

[Yaka]

i pld the first arse creed game on ps3, enjoyed it but never got round to playing the sequels. and recently started p,laying arse creed 2 which i got during the steam sales. my pc specs aint bad i7 920, 16gb ddr3 tri chan mem gtx 580s sli intel ssd. should play the game no probs right? nope with everything maxed it looks bad, frame rate is shit at times and the kb/mouse controls are bad.

kinda wished i got it on ps3 or 360