Five Pros of Console Gaming

Eskimo Press: "PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gamers have been going at each other in a no holds barred battle of console gaming supremacy. The internet has been set ablaze with an abundant of rather disturbing remarks slandering both consoles and their users. Console gamers can rest easy for now and unite to celebrate the luxuries that PC gaming does not offer on a standard basis."

[FiLTHY ESKiMO]

I can't game on PC too long. I get restless.

[caseh]

ALT + TAB every 2 mins to track your pr0n downloads? :D

[ProjectVulcan]

I get tired of these articles. WHO KEEPS APPROVING THEM?

They are just full of the same old constant nonsense that has been long since debunked. Blah Blah:

PC GAMES ONLY LOOK A TEENY TINY BIT BETTER THAN CONSOLE VERSIONS

YOU CAN'T PLAY A PC EXCEPT FOR SAT ON A ROCK HARD TORTURE CHAIR USING A SMALL MONITOR

PC IS MEGA EXPENSIVE AND THE FACT THAT ITS GAMES ARE MUCH CHEAPER DOESN'T COUNT

EVERY PC GAMER IS A CHEAT AND YOU NEVER GET A FAIR GAME

PC GAMERS HAVE NO COMMUNITY AND LIVE IN BASEMENTS

Frankly I am sick and tired of debunking all this bullshit, because honestly it is bullshit.

All this crappy article does is reinforce the bad environment of uninformed, lazy, retarded articles approved by morons that makes N4G a much poorer place to be.

[DragonKnight]

Do you get tired of all the "why PC's are better than consoles" articles too or is it just anything pro console? When there is an article about IceEnhancer improving graphics on PC, are you going to be pissed off or go in their and talk about how consoles can't do it and it sucks to be console only gamers?

[MikeMyers]

There are a few reasons why many prefer consoles.

1. Price. Consoles pretty much have a fixed price and are ready to go out of the box.

2. Ease of use. You don't need to track down patches and updates for your PC parts. The games on consoles for the most part just work once you take the shrinkwrap off. I also get more issues from PC games that require an update right after they release as opposed to console games.

3. Family and friends. PC's are most notable for a solo experience within your environment. Of course you can play people online but how many PC games support co-op or split-screen with friends and family?

4. A unified system for friends and achievements that is universal across all games. Consoles do a much better job in this area. Steam does a great job but not all games run through Steam.

5. Physical copies. This is getting more and more rare on the PC.

I'm sure there may be more reasons but those are ones I can think of quickly. Of course there are many pros to PC gaming as well.

[iamgoatman]

@vulcanproject

Agreed.

No wonder people keep spouting misinformation when it comes to PC gaming when you have ignorant articles like this being approved.

Also judging by a number of the comments here, people are still eating up this nonsense instead of doing any research of their own. It's embarrassing.

Some facts that seem to be completely ignored should be basic knowledge if you have ANY interest in computers or technology at all. Seriously, how can you NOT know by now that you can connect any HDTV to a gaming PC with a HDMI cable? Welcome to 2012.

But this is N4G after all, where ignorance is bliss and it's somehow better to just stick your fingers in your ears and ignore anything that comes your way that doesn't perfectly blend with your current opinion.

[ProjectVulcan]

I don't mind a pro console article whatsoever, as long as it isn't filled with inaccuracies about PC gaming. Which this article is.

It is fairly obvious this article is mostly crap, just regurgitating and spouting useless plain old wrong information that attempts to make its point by misrepresenting PC gaming.

Every time an article says something like OH, YEW CAN ONLY PLAY DUH PC SAT AT A DESK AND SO I FIDGET DUHHHHH- that article should instantly be banished from this site for such an incredibly pathetic argument. You may as well say PC is better because consoles can only be played on TV's slouched on sofas and that ruins your posture.

Seriously, both statements are utter BS but amazingly the first one is accepted as gospel and the latter is dismissed and would never get an airing on here.

You would genuinely have to be a complete idiot to approve this because it isn't remotely worthwhile and adds nothing to the site.

As for articles about improved mods for PC graphics, that is something entirely different. If the article spends its entire time talking about how crap consoles are rather than just showing how excellent the mod is, then it is rubbish.

If however its just an article about a quality PC mod, then your point is retarded and exactly what is wrong with many submissions on this site, and the people who approve them.

DragonKnight if you have a problem with people's comments in the comments section that is NOTHING really to do with someone having a problem with a piss poor article such as this being approved.

Using your dislike of what people have said in comments sections on other valid N4G articles to defend low quality, utter crap submissions being approved is quite clearly ridiculous.

[Computersaysno]

"You may as well say PC is better because consoles can only be played on TV's slouched on sofas and that ruins your posture."

HAHA soooooo true. That claim about PC has been going ad infinitum as if most of the PC gamers I know can't play either on a monitor or a HDTV. It is 2012 peeps. PC gamers don't sit with their noses pressed to a 12 inch green and black TTL.

Classic article you see all the time here that makes me SMH people still eat this shit up.

[Bloodraid]

What a nonsensical bullshit article this is... Every single one of these 'arguments' or 'points' of his are ridiculous at best.

"5. The Price"
Comparing the price of a high-end PC to current generation consoles and concluding that gaming on PC is more expensive is flat out wrong. Most mid-range hardware that is more than capable of producing graphics on par with consoles.

Sure, building a rig from scratch is probably more costly than buying a console, but it's far cheaper to just upgrade individual parts in the long run.

It's also worth nothing that you're building a PC, not just a machine for playing games. If you're going to compare the price to that of a console, you should throw the price of your current PC into the equation as well and see how well that balances out.

One last point is that you can usually find games for far cheaper for PC than you can for Consoles. Right now, my Steam library consists of 85 games, and is worth around $1,100, yet I've only paid maybe ~$350 for everything I own.

"4. The Cheats"
This is far rarer than the author makes it out to be. I've logged well over 200 hours into CS:S and CS:GO, and have only encountered a legitimate hacker once. He was kicked from the game almost immediately, and was banned from Steam shortly after.

Sure, there are games that have legitimate problems with hackers, but I've never run into any major problems.

"3. The Balance"
Again, the author is blowing this way out of proportion. Sure, there are differences in the hardware, but these are largely mitigated by tweaking the game settings.

"2. Comfort"
This isn't even an argument, this is just a way for the author to make a "Top 5" list...

"1. The Community"
You've got to be joking. If anything, this is an argument in favor of PC gaming - at least, to anyone who has experienced both.

There are only a handful of console games that have any decent support for user generated content. Hell, you'll be lucky to find a console game that has a lobby system these days...

On the other hand, many PC games are released with an SDK which allows for users to mod them and even create completely new games in some cases. Hell, CS:S and CS:GO have over 2.1 Million mods available between them on Steam.

-----------

There's plenty more I could go on about (Steam Groups, Game Hubs, Community Servers, etc), but I really don't bother with it.

There are definitely things that console is better at, but you won't find them in this article.

[godmoney]

Next E3 would be VERY interesting for console gamers - or very disappointing

[SnakeCQC]

you can say that about anything lol ie that pizza is going to be awesome or bad i guess we'll see

[GreenRanger]

Pizza is never bad.

[SnakeCQC]

depends if your lactose intolerant like me then those bites of heaven turn to cursing moments later

[Solid_Malone]

http://thebackdoorsandwichs...

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really?

[Cam977]

•1) Grand theft auto V
•2) Red Dead Redemption
•3) Playstation Plus
•4) Blu-ray
•5) We don't have to install games - put the disc in and go (excluding game data which are not the full game - and patches)

On the other hand, PCs have: mods, better graphics and cheaper games.

[caseh]

Sounds about right, i miss the random mods that used to turn up for PC games. Think the original half-life spawned about 15, CS and TFC eventually became games in their own right. :)

[AD705]

You do realize pc has blu ray right? We have RDR and we're getting GTA5 so I don't understand that one.

Are you really putting up PS plus as a pro for consoles? It's a total ripoff! They practically hold your games for ransom and state you can't play them unless you keep on paying a monthly fee for them. It's just easier to buy the game and save yourself the trouble.

Don't have to install? Look at most recent ps3 game releases they mostly have mandatory installs and they take forever. On PC it's just less than 2 minutes to install.

[Cam977]

You've clearly never used PS+ as it's fantastic

[ShaunCameron]

Um. RDR is not available on PC. And Rockstar has so far only confirmed a PS3/XBox 360 release for GTAV.

[aquamala]

I would pay for ps+ just for cloud saves, but cloud saves are free on steam/origin though. And I never got much out of the "free" games, I already played infamous 2, lbp2, etc when are on ps+

[aquamala]

I haven't used a "disc" in my gaming pc in about 5years

[FunAndGun]

so you don't physically own any of your games over the last 5 years?

that sucks.

PC gaming is definitely not for me.

[aquamala]

Why would I want to have to put in a disc to play a game when I have 150+ games on Steam that I can just launch and play?

[FunAndGun]

I am not saying you would WANT to have to put a disc in every time you play something. Not having to do that is a nice perk.

Trading convenience for true ownership however is just something that doesn't seem fair to me.

Anything you can't sell you don't really own. It is just a license you paid for to play a game.

Selling, trading, lending to a friend, having something tangible far outweighs me having to get off the couch to put a disc in. EASILY!

I would much rather have Options over Convenience.

[Ducky]

^ You must be unaware of the fact that PC games have DRM. Even if you bought a physical disc, it will likely have a CD Key, and you will have to install it.

Digitally buying them just means you don't have to worry about managing the CD and/or it's key, because it's all tied to one account.

As long as a game doesn't have DRM, then it doesn't matter how it was obtained. GoG for example, allows you to burn your purchased games onto a disc or flashdrive, or whatever other media you please. Same goes for purchases from most indie developers, whereas on console, those are tied down to XBLA/PSN.

... and you don't exactly have "true" ownership of your console games either. Not with the onslaught of DLC and online passes. You own the disc, but not what's on it.

[FunAndGun]

@FatOldMan

well as I said, PC gaming is definitely not for me. I don't game on PC.

I was just responding to someone not using a disc for 5 years and to me, a console gamer, that seems weird. I would always prefer a physical disc.

Regardless of DLC or Online Passes I still do own the disc and the contents of the disc will always be useful in any PS3. I could sell my physical collection of discs and pay for the PS4. That is something someone who hasn't used a disc in 5 years can't do.

Maybe 40 years from now some games will be a collection item, even if the game doesn't work, just because it is a physical item.

Even if I don't know how PC gaming works. A physical console disc is more useful then a digital version.

[iamgoatman]

1. You'd have to do be very naive to think there won't be a PC version of GTA5.

2. Stalker, The Witcher, Starcraft.

3. You're essentially renting games using that service, and any "features" are easily outdone by things like mods and dedicated servers which PC gamers don't have to pay a monthly fee for.

4. PC's have Blu-ray... Plus most PC games are downloaded, and any disc based games are installed anyway and often doesn't require the disc afterwards anyway. Contrary to popular belief on this site, Blu-ray doesn't magically make a game longer or add extra content.

5. Yes you do. Just because it's not the full game isn't a positive, it's the opposite. You still have to put disc in each time and you don't get any of the benefits that come with a full install. You're basically listing a hardware limitation as a plus.

I understand why people use consoles, I've owned at least one from almost every generation, it's the exclusive games and convenience. But please people, stop spreading misinformation just to justify a purchase.

[BitbyDeath]

PC has it's own version of Playstation Plus except you don't pay upfront and sometimes you may have to do jail time... but the games are still FREE!!!!

[Ducky]

Well, that depends. If you want to pay a subscription and get access to 'free' games, then there's services like IGN-Prime, OnLive and Gamefly.

Aside from the game, the other features are free anyways such as cloud saving and automatic updates.

[BitbyDeath]

My post wasn't meant to be taken seriously. >_<

[AD705]

I know guys who have built pc's for just around 400 bucks and play them on their sofas or beds using their TV's. I dont get why console gamers go on using this stereotype that you can only use computer monitors to game on or that you need shitloads of money to make a decent gaming pc.

I get invited to steam groups all the time with people that I've met gaming online. I like how the guy forgets that people are much more mature and level headed on PC than on consoles. Don't believe? Just play a few rounds of halo and you'll know what I mean. I also like the fact that pc gamers have much better head sets to communicate with. Most ppl on PSN don't even have headsets and if they do they're the crappy bluetooths and xbl ppl mostly just use the cheap crappy ones they get for free with their 360's.

On pc if there's hackers we can get rid of them immediately on consoles you have to deal with them and there's nothing you can do about it. On consoles you can hack to your hearts content because you can never get kicked or banned from it. On PC you do that you're banned ASAP.

[The_Klank]

You should write your own article...

[EskimoPress]

Hi AD705. We appreciate the fact you took your time to read the article and we'd like to clarify a few things. First of all, the author states that these luxuries are not standard for PC gaming.

I think the majority of people here are very aware that, with the necessary upgrades, a gaming PC can outmatch any gaming console--but that's the point; gaming consoles are significantly cheaper and are designed for "couch-gaming".

We certainly appreciate your response and would like to offer you a chance to voice your opinion on our site.

The contact details are on the front page if you are interested.

Have a nice day.

[AD705]

define standard please? All you need is a HDMI cord and that's it. Personally I only know a small handful of pc gamers that still use pc monitors for gaming. Just because not every pc gamer is doing it doesn't make the point irrelevant. The point still stands is that you can use your tv to play pc games. The Op of the article makes it sound like you can't do that.

It's like when console gamers say "I like consoles because of controllers and I can't get use to mouse and keyboard" The pc can use both controllers and mouse/keyboard. it's not that hard to figure it out.

Sure consoles are easier but then again what makes the PC so complex? I'm not much of a computer geek but even I can figure out how to build a PC, plug it to my TV, and use controllers to play my games. It just takes maybe 1 or 2 google searches to do this.

[Somebody]

Couch gaming. Valve's Big Picture Mode for its Steam platform and the tiled look of Microsoft's own Windows 8. Both have interface designs for the ease of use on a wide screen HDTV with an X Box controller.

I do believe "couch gaming" won't be a console exclusive in the coming years. It's hardly worthy to be called that in this generation considering I've connected my laptop/desktop to the living room's HDTV and played PC games with a controller numerous times. The only reason I don't game there regularly is that some games have some pretty explicit scenes (thanks a lot, Witcher 2) and the fact that it's the only TV there - you know, the rest of the family wants to see actual TV shows on the TV, not watching me slay monsters after monsters in Dead Space 2 or Prototype 2.

As for the perfect getup...how hard is it to acquire? You are uncomfortable playing PC games on an office chair so instead of buying a better chair, you recommend buying a whole new gaming system and change your whole gaming style? All because of a chair?

Granted the PC is expensive in the beginning but its games have a tendency to go on sales quickly. I don't buy games on launch days anymore. I buy them after several months when they are on sale and the glitches/bugs are mostly squashed. I have a friend's husband who is a Sony fan and I wasn't surprised to hear from her about the prices of PS Vita games her husband bought (his PS3 died). Then she told me he finished Gravity Rush in mere hours-hardly worth the effort of looking for the store and the exorbitant price.

Really, saying that the PC games are not that good because they are bug ridden on launch days sounds like as if it's the end of the line for these games and the developers will never ever fix those problems. As if there's no modders out there that can give a fast fix if the developers have to wait for the console certification process first before they can release patches for all versions.

Oh, right. What about modders? That's also a community of some sort. An extremely helpful one from what I heard : making unofficial patches, making all sorts of mods, sharing ways to fix bugs, keeping old games alive, etc. PC community don't just talk about stuff, strategies or direly need VOIP. They go beyond that. They make and share stuff. Thanks to a Complex mod, I dug up my old copy of Homeworld 2 and played it again.

[MikeMyers]

$800 is a much more reasonable price tag for a gaming PC. The operating system alone is roughly $100. Also a $800 PC does so much more than just gaming but you'd be hard pressed to build a $400 PC that does much or has decent parts. People also often neglect other things like a case and a CD/DVD drive. That alone is about $80 too. A average video card is $120-$150. RAM is about $50 and up, a decent GPU is $100-$200. A power supply is $50-$150, pending on how much you want to spend. A motherboard that's going to last will be $120-$180. A hard drive that will matter is $80-$200, depending on a SSD.

So there's more to a PC than a GPU and CPU.

[GreenRanger]

Consoles are cheaper and if you get a game for your console, you know that it's going to work and be the same on all PS3/360's.
Some PC games are only made for the more powerful PC's, or you might need a new component to play newer games.

[Blastoise]

"if you get a game for your console, you know that it's going to work and be the same on all PS3/360's."

Tell that to the people who bought Skyrim lol, console players got a buggy mess without any mod support to fix it. The patches did nothing either, just made DIFFERENT problems

[ShaunCameron]

Here's two more pros.

1) Offline multiplayer

2) Legendary IP's such as Super Mario, The Legend Of Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc.

[Fateful_Knight]

I've never seen a PC hooked up to a 60 inch flatscreen. To me console gaming = luxury, convenience, and reliability. Not to mention the greatest IP's in the history of the industry at my fingertips. Can't beat it. Could care less about marginal improvements in graphics, or mods.

[GTRrocker666]

Both have pros and cons. The only reason why I play consoles is because of exclusive games and I am too lazy to have a proper pc built. With consoles everything comes in the box you just have to plug it in and go. Plus I dont feel like learning a bunch of computer stuff. I am not a computer guy besides the basics. I just want to play games. My computer is for burning cds and downloading songs on itunes to sync to my ipod. I use my kindle fire for browsing and reading books. I have no use for a computer really. Blasphemy, I know. But atleast I am being honest.

Once handheld gaming reaches the level of consoles I probably wont even need a console or TV anymore. I look forward to that day. So I dont blindly support consoles. I just want the most convinient gaming experience possible with good graphics and gameplay.

[Messor]

Despite what PC fans think, PC's do cost a crap load of money and they're just not worth it.

[Bloodraid]

Incorrect.

[Faelan]

I'm a PC gamer. A hardcore one at that.

I enjoy the luxury of being surrounded with multiple monitors, hardware displays, head tracking device, force-feedback racing wheel, HOTAS joystick, rudder pedals, gaming keyboard + keypad, 20 button MMO mouse and more. It's all set up like a little command center where I can sit in my comfy reclining chair and not be forced to share it with anyone.

That being said, I completely understand why so many prefer console over PC gaming. It's hard to argue against the ease of use and affordability of console gaming.

The thing is, being a hardcore PC gamer doesn't mean I belong to some mysterious master race destined to rule over the drooling console sub-species. It just means I'm a complete geek who spends way too much time and money on my hobby :)