Continuation - Console vs PC Debate

[quote name='bk187']In the end, I think that what makes or breaks a platform is the games and what your friends have.

Having been a diehard FPS/RTS computer gamer since I started playing games (Warcraft I, Doom, Duke Nukem, Starcraft I, etc) and not owning a console until I was given a PS2 in 2008 I am definitely biased towards PC gaming. I think that the mouse/keyboard combo is a godsend for those games and really don't understand how anybody could think a controller is superior for an FPS, but that is besides the point.

What you choose is a personal choice. If you want to play free/supercheap games/indie titles/FPS/RTS, get a PC. If you want to play God of War/Halo/Gears of War/Mario/Zelda/Gran Turismo/etc, then get the respective console for that. Does each platform have it's strengths and weaknesses? Sure it does, but in the end I think the final line is drawn by the games and one's friends.

The real hinge for me is what my friends use to play online. I want to play CS/Diablo/CoD/WC/SC/L4D/etc with my friends and they all play on the PC so it is a no brainer. If I had a ton of friends who played on a console then I probably would have bought a PS3 or 360 years ago, but I didn't because my friends are PC gamers.

This really is just a giant pissing contest. Any given platform could be the best construction ever made with huge strengths and no weaknesses but it would be moot if the games did not exist for it and I did not have friends who played on it.[/QUOTE]

I'm a gaming hermit. I'm around people all day long, playing games solo gives me a chance to unwind.
 
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[quote name='bk187']Having been a diehard FPS/RTS computer gamer since I started playing games (Warcraft I, Doom, Duke Nukem, Starcraft I, etc) and not owning a console until I was given a PS2 in 2008 I am definitely biased towards PC gaming. I think that the mouse/keyboard combo is a godsend for those games and really don't understand how anybody could think a controller is superior for an FPS, but that is besides the point.[/quote]

The only console FPS I've played is Metroid Prime on the Wii, and that's basically a similar idea to mouse/keybord (Except you are pointing the Wii controll at the TV. Not nearly as accurate as a mouse, but workable.)

I don't really understand how it works with a controller. I guess you move with the left stick and aim with the right, but I can't see how that can be nearly as good as a mouse/keyboard control.

[quote name='52club']I'm a gaming hermit. I'm around people all day long, playing games solo gives me a chance to rewind.[/QUOTE]

Same here, tho now that my son is getting old enough to play I do play a lot with him.
 
[quote name='52club']I'm a gaming hermit. I'm around people all day long, playing games solo gives me a chance to unwind.[/QUOTE]

Hehe I can understand that. Having been brought up primarily playing games online I have an affinity towards that much more than single player (I never touched the campaign modes of the RTS games I played despite playing them forever online). It was only a couple years ago that I actually started to play single player games, my first ones being Assassin's Creed 1/2 and Mass Effect 2.

[quote name='TheLongshot']The only console FPS I've played is Metroid Prime on the Wii, and that's basically a similar idea to mouse/keybord (Except you are pointing the Wii controll at the TV. Not nearly as accurate as a mouse, but workable.)

I don't really understand how it works with a controller. I guess you move with the left stick and aim with the right, but I can't see how that can be nearly as good as a mouse/keyboard control.[/QUOTE]

I actually just bought a Wii and I am starting with Metroid Prime Trilogy. I agree that the Wiichuk combo isn't as good as keyboard/mouse but it is a lot better than a regular controller. That is how FPS controllers work, left stick is WASD and right stick is mouse. I played a few on friends' consoles 5-10 years ago and it was horrid. I hear that they have auto-aiming now that makes it more manageable, but that just sounds like a dumb workaround to me.
 
[quote name='Megazell']

Consoles don't turn on and play anymore. They turn on...wait for update...if you are offline...inform you that you can not play this game offline...etc.[/QUOTE]

what console games inform you that you can't play offline? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just haven't heard of any besides the xbla community games and one sega game releaed on psn and xbla. (I can't remember what game. Some beat em up ...Final Fight maybe). I'm curious what they are
 
[quote name='ChestyMan']what console games inform you that you can't play offline? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just haven't heard of any besides the xbla community games and one sega game releaed on psn and xbla. (I can't remember what game. Some beat em up ...Final Fight maybe). I'm curious what they are[/QUOTE]

Besides the games you already mentioned, someone mention the exact name of the error or what not but in my store I have heard the wail of many consolers that came with their machines and games only to learn that they were not able to be played offline.

The biggest one that I remember because these guy threw a fit so big we had to escort them outside was the adventure game (the paper origami killer) on the PS3 during that day that no one's PS3 worked they thought could at least play that one because it was a single player game and they flipped when the game system prevented them from doing so.

360s have a special wall in my store of notches for each one that RROD on the premises...when we reached 239....no one ever brought their 360 back in there again.
 
Consoles are a somewhat painful force to co-exist with for many reasons. It would seem all of the consoles of this generation were sold at a loss, yet very expensive until recently. Games come out, end up being more limited than the PC versions, but usually cost around $20 more. A lot of PC games have pay to play subscriptions; such as WoW,AION, but xbox live exists sole on the fact you must pay to play online, and often for the same exact or less features; Modern warfare 2 comes into mind, as there were no dedicated servers for either the PC version or xbox 360 version; Both came with a slew of hackers of course. Another criticism of xbox live comes from the party chat system. You must pay the cost of xbox live to use party chat, weather or you play multiplayer games, where as PC gamers have the (free) choices of Ventrillo, teamspeak,Xfire, and so many more.

Console repairs are often costly, not hardly user serviceable.

Consoles have the upper hand in the ability to mange your friends in the sense you add them to a universal friends list, but is negated by the fact that all three consoles of this generation have terrible to no real ability to manage your friends list. Lets use AOL instant messenger for example, it's free and has the basic function of messaging other people over various formats (MIC,webcam, text) and allows it's users to categorize their friends to their hearts content. The play station network on the other hand, limits you to 100 people, and organize the list in one of two ways, by online status, or alpha numeric order. There are no groups and there are no custom names to easily identify friends. The wii has no such universal friends list, only wii code trading on a per game basis.

Another hardware issue plaguing consoles comes with the xbox 360; the proprietary hard drive set up for the original 360s, as well as the slim. You are only able to get the drives in select sizes, all of which are expensive. There are methods to get around this, but they are in the grey area.

PC gaming has modifications, while the only console game for this gen that supports mods, as well as mouse + keyboards is Unreal tournament III.

Console main points:

  • Extra hardware is limited by licenses.
  • Sub-par friends list execution.

Anywho, I haven't read the previous posts, just wanted to add my own 2C.
I edit this as I go.
 
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Just ordered some upgrades for the rig...

I've been intel/nvidia guy, but I recently purchased an ATI Radeon HD 5770 and when shopping around for processors thought AMD was worth looking into...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003G40Z66/ref=oss_product

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FVI2KQ/ref=oss_product

The cost of this upgrade came to 500+ dollars (I also bought some Gskill DDR3), which is definitely more expensive than consoles, but this should last me 4+ years depending on how much I desire to stay on the cutting edge.

Not to mention, the current transition is a big one with the introduction of DDR3 ram and multi-core processors both of which require new MoBos. So having to upgrade all this stuff isn't really typical of a PC upgrade.

EDIT: If you buy PC parts I definitely recommend checking out Amazon, but research the parts on another site. I didn't find a lot of pretty critical details listed in their product descriptions, but their price was right and I don't pay tax on top of free 2 day shipping! Newegg used to be legit, but now their deals suck and they charge for shipping. :whistle2:(
 
A year or so ago new egg offered free shipping on a lot of their stuff. They don't offer it anymore now though. What sucked about buying from them though even when shipping was free was that I live in Tennessee and they have a warehouse in Memphis so I got taxed.
 
From another board.

[YOUTUBE]hem1uT5Xdnk[/YOUTUBE]


[YOUTUBE]_r_WVpKHO14[/YOUTUBE]
 
It kind of boggles my mind that people take the time to make videos in order to defend their preference. How old are these ass clowns? Listening to them talk and defend their own stand point with their hoity-toity tone makes me LoL.
 
[quote name='RichMeisterMan']It kind of boggles my mind that people take the time to make videos in order to defend their preference. How old are these ass clowns? Listening to them talk and defend their own stand point with their hoity-toity tone makes me LoL.[/QUOTE]

True but it beats what Hollywood is producing these days. :D
 
[quote name='DeathDream']Someone touched on PCs getting viruses.

If you don't want a virus on your PC, don't go to porn sites.

nuff said.[/QUOTE]

I got a virus back in 1992. Never again.
 
this whole "debate" seems sort of pointless... anyone who loves PC gaming knows why and knows what they get out of it (most of us here)

anyone who has zero interest has the consoles and will almost certainly be more than happy with them.

i never understand why humans insist on creating "camps" and then focusing more on who is in what camp, and trying to badger people into switching camps, then actually enjoying what it is they claim to be defending. "religion" really is the right analogy for it.

a home computer will obviously always have FAR more capability than the latest console, but will also bring with it more complexity. It will be able to accomplish FAR more, even if the console vendors allowed you to essentially use your console as a general computer (something I thought we should be doing when I worked at MSFT), because of this advantage in capability. That said, not everyone needs, wants, or would benefit from that extra capability. This is why so many people are MORE than happy doing all of their computing work on a Netbook, or an iPad or even a smartphone.

Its not rocket science...

all of that said, as much as Ive always loved consoles, I find tweaking a full featured computer more fun as evidenced by some of my game vids. gaming across 3 screens in 3D at 5040x1050 or playing World of Warcraft on a ~2lb computer that fits in an envelope at Starbucks are two use cases where a console wouldnt cut it ;) they may not be "worth it" and they certainly dont apply to everyone, but they're definitely "computer only".

http://www.youtube.com/user/mlambert890?feature=mhum
 
^ That's great and you're right for most of what you said but I personally have noticed a sharp increase in misinformation from the consoler side of those that prefer that type of gaming.

PCs cost $5,000 or more to game properly.

PC games crash your system and you have to buy another one.

PC mods have viruses and steal identity.

Consoles games always run 100%.

Consoles games are never bugged.

and so and so on.

In the end it's about preference, which is a subjective argument, but then people believe and continue to put this topic into an empirical arena and this is where the conflict lies.
 
[quote name='Megazell']From another board.

[YOUTUBE]hem1uT5Xdnk[/YOUTUBE]


Those guys are unbelievable idiots in that video and I couldn't stand them.I saw they had a part 2 and I clicked on it fully expecting to hate them even more and tell them they are idiots again.. I gotta say
that second video surprisingly made me laugh a few times though, so I can't totally think they suck
 
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