When I typed the above headline all I could see was the potential carnage. The peasants gathering their pitchforks, the master race in their droves trying to repel the horde. I want to keep this little discussion as pleasant as possible. We all know PCs can be super powerful, this is a question of preference: how and where do you like to engage in video games?
Are you happy to sacrifice the overwhelming power of the PC for a couch and a controller? Do you prefer the precision of the mouse and keyboard over the clumsy controller? Where do you do most of your gaming?
Vote in the poll below and let us know your reasoning in the comments.
Comments
149 responses to “The Big Question: PC vs Console”
hahahahaha… PC hands down. Every time.
PC sacrifice nothing. PC’s have had controller since the birth of gaming. I have my wireless Xbox and Logitech controller hooked up and i can lay on the couch to play in 4k with something like steam big picture mode.
When i need precision i have my mouse and keyboard.
When i need to do anything that doesn’t involve gaming i have an entire PC at my disposal not just a baby’s toy with flashing lights on it.
I’m not down voting what you say, but the way you say it.
Agreed. It’s not the content, it’s the douche way it’s delivered.
I must’ve missed the downvote-oblivion-worthy hyperbole, because I only saw the relatively sane post-edit stuff. 😛
(With the potential exception of the baby-toy crack I guess, but c’mon, go-go tribalism! MAASTER RAAACE and all that junk!)
Nah, just that line. For the first comment off the bat, not a good way to start a respectful and pleasant discussion about personal preference when it comes to the activities we conduct on our leisure computers.
I like this corner of the internet because it doesn’t devolve into the rampant hostility that can be seen in other sites.
Oh, but yeah, MAAAAAAAASTER RACE!!!!
@rethilgore, down-voting everyone’s comments is hardly a mature response to everyone else’s well-reasoned discussion.
damn son I thought you were ok
I up voted because that was tame and there seems to be a bunch of knee-jerk jerks around.
If you were that comfortable in your opinion then you shouldn’t have to punish a comment like that.
That was my reasoning, too. I mean… it’d be like starting a two-answer poll, ‘which is best: Blues or the Maroons?’ and not expecting a little friendly slagging. I’m guessing the ‘friendliness’ didn’t come through on ‘baby toy’, but when I cry MASTER RACE! to the heavens, I do so with my tongue very firmly in my cheek.
I mean, I’ve picked my team, I’m totally on Team PC.
I just kinda haven’t been LIVING that way until I put together another grand for upgrades/repairs on my PC behemoth (psst, don’t tell the console heathens how much it cost), and in the meantime have been playing either of the two consoles I also have plugged in and perpetually powered on. (Don’t tell the master race HQ or I’ll get my card revoked for repeated offenses.)
ACTUALLY giving a shit and being serious about this whole biz would be a tiny bit… ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong – each side has valid complaints about the other. I’m talking about things like the significantly-sized console market causing major publishers to hamstring innovation by catering to prehistoric hardware.
And irresponsible PC pirates and MOBAs/MMOs driving the emerging trends of adding distinctly consumer-unfriendly ‘social features’ and Always Online DRM to games that don’t need it.
But we all should know that going into this sort of thread and be able to play with it at least a little. I guess the knee-jerk reaction might’ve been a tad influenced by Poe’s Law, and not everyone is great at text ‘play’.
Meh… This is the new Australian way I think. You don’t think my way OUTRAGE OUTRAGE OUTRAGE OUTRAGE OUTRAGE!
But I still sit on my couch and play my PC, so I get the best of both worlds.
made an account just to dislike this
I could go on.
seems legit.
I game on both pc and console.
I know, I was like, where’s the ‘Both’ button?
I mean, I have played console with mouse and keyboard attachments, PC with a controller on the couch and in the end they are all different experiences that, for me, are equally great.
Exactly. I have my preference, sure, but why they hell would I want to stunt my experience by fanboying over one offering, I am a gamer, not a platformer.
Said it before, will say it again. Gamers play games, fanboys play platforms
My only console is Wii U because it is significantly different enough from my PC. That said 90% of my gaming is PC.
Most of the time PC wins hands down – although there a few games i will pick up on console even though they look better on PC because i want to sit down on y couch and play with the controller – Assassins Creed series comes to mind. Or console exclusives that i need to have that don’t see the light of day on PC.
Although now that my PC is 4 years old and looking at the recommend specs for running ultra on Watch Dogs… It looks like i am going to have to upgrade next year…
In my experience games that work better with a controller only work better with a controller because the PC controls are incredibly badly done.
The couch thing I will agree with though.
Both – but I prefer the elegant simplicity of console gaming. Same reason I use on iphone.
PC will provide the better experience 99% of the time for a multi platform release, and the initial investment can pay for itself when the games can be acquired for cheaper after a short time, or especially during sales.
Consoles still have good value for exclusives, my time is generally split evenly over all the platforms. Got a decent backlog of titles in the PS3 pipeline, not to mention PlayStation plus, got a few WiiU/3DS titles patiently awaiting the end of my latest monster hunter urges. The 360, well, it does the skylanders and guitar hero duties, and the controllers have been cannibalised into the PC setups.
I’m also the kind of person that likes to play with settings to find the right balance between graphics and performance, and I sometimes find console gaming a little frustrating without that ability.
See I’m not sure if i agree with you on this, I honestly think most of the time you’re playing your PC in a study type area with either great headphones or a 5.1/7.1 speaker setup. Small screen. However most people will be playing their Consoles with a 45″+ screen with much better surround sound home entertainment setup 9 times out of 10… I think the latter is a much better experience. Growing up with PCs and consoles i can use both controller or keyboard and mouse so for me this adds/removes nothing from the experience.
Sorry, that was a very general statement on my behalf with no qualifiers. I write this from the perspective of having my PC next to the consoles, with everything plugged into the same TV – wireless K&M or 360 pad both ready to go for any PC game.
Down side being when the missus wants to play Demon’s Souls, it takes every other system out of availability at the same time.
There is nothing stopping you plugging your PC into your big TV these days, Steam big picture mode makes it pretty damn nice.
I often plug in my 360 controller to my PC.
Until this weekend I was playing on PC with a 47″ TV as my main monitor and a 5.1/7.1 headphones. I just swapped to a smaller screen because my god programming on a 47″ is not easy
Really think the poll could use a “both” option, for those who go for the game over the platform…
Agree completely.
Plug your PC into your TV and get a 360 controller and you get the best of both worlds.
If your an XBox player that hold true. If you’re a PS owner I find the logitech controller works better. After years of muscle memory on PS controllers I just couldn’t make the switch. I must say controller support for most PC games is still pretty dismal.
Why not just use your PS3/PS4 controller with your PC? It’s possible to get them working.
Yep. PS4 controller works perfectly with win7/win8 now.
Use BetterDS3. It installs an Xinput shell driver for your PS3 controller. You can set it up through bluetooth to play wirelessly too if you have bluetooth on your rig.
And this is why I love Kotaku!
Seems to me that this involves taking one of the PC’s great strengths and ruining it for no apparent reason.
It’s perfectly possible to game with a mouse and keyboard/laptop sitting on a couch – I do this all the time.
I don’t like keyboard and mouse for most genres of games mainly 3rd person and racing games.
Use the controller that fits the game!
I disagree, I think it’s taking one of PC’s strengths and using it. Part of what makes PC so great is that you can use whatever you want with it. Wii game on your PC? Use a Wiimote. Playing a Dynasty Warriors game or Dark Souls? Use a controller (either kind). Emulator? Whatever you want. That’s the great part of PC, you’re not limited to anything
Console for me, but I’ve never had a gaming rig, so maybe my opinion will change in a couple of months when I finally build one (hopefully).
Thanks for the downvote @rethilgore, I sincerely apologize for not being financially privileged enough to be a part of your master race.
This is kind of how I’m picturing him….
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120211222858/southpark/images/0/05/Griefer.png
I got a down vote as well for preferring PC but not excluding consoles.
I prefer to game on my PC, but nothing beats getting some mates round, having some beers and belting each other in SSB. Both have their merits.
Does everybody know that the term, “PC Master Race” was done as an insult?
Anyways, I’d like to play on PC, but the problems with PC are all the problems with PC. I even recently added some RAM to my laptop and it took a week to get it right. I once spent 2 weeks trying to get Dawn of War to work before I found the problem. I went through all this headache in highschool and I don’t really feel like doing it all over again.
I must admit, the simplicity and ease of consoles is sometimes so appealing over PC gaming.
My biggest problem with PC is cheaters, it’s a constant battle. When have you ever come across aimbots and wallhackers on console?
When have you ever come across aimbots and wallhackers on console?
…really? You really want me to answer this? I mean, obviously it’s not as bad as PC, but all Call of Duty games before the previous two on console are unplayable.
gta online. nuff said.
Boosting isn’t really the same as aimbots. That’s a symptom of poor development, allowing someone to do the same thing over and over to gain money or experience artificially quickly.
Oh it’s not just boosting. GTA Online has people who are able to hack the living crap out of it via modifying their files on their console hdd using a pc cable. The servers at that point didn’t keep most of your character data, or at least would use your console data as the ‘true’ data while playing. These people would make modified vehicles (the moonbuggy), altering weapon stats, tightening and loosening spray areas of weaponry, invincibility etc. It’s also how they managed to gift billions to others. A lot of it’s been patched out, but it’s a very insecure game. I haven’t played in the last 3 months because of this sort of thing, it really turned me off of it. But when you shoot someone with over a hundred rounds of machinegun ammo, a few grenades, a rocketlauncher etc then knife them for good measure and they’re not in passive mode? There’s a good chance they’re cheating 😉
Knifing still kills passive. Explosion weapons can cause collision damage.
Then they’re most definitely cheating if my knife didn’t kill them lol
I recall both Mario Kart DS and Metroid Prime Hunters having online play totally destroyed by cheaters, way back when. Was good fun up until that point though 😛
Any hacker can do this on a cracked console
We’re owning it – taking it back, removing the humour so that the console peasants know their place! Which is licking our masterful, high and mighty boots. (Which is cleaner than it sounds, because our boots never touch filth, such as jaw-droppingly gorgeous/rich/deep console exclusives. Wait… I’m getting off-track.)
*raises keyboard & mouse to the sky* MMMMAAAAASTERRRR RAAAAAAACE!
The problems with PC have changed quite a bit since you were in school. It might be worth a revisit sometime if you have the means. There are a lot of gems that are PC only these days.
Yeah, I know that. I have been meaning to get a Gaming PC. Problem, at my current stage of life it wouldn’t be a good idea. I have a huge backlog of console games already, you really think I want to jump into Steam Sales so quickly? Lastly, it’s no secret that the best idea is to upgrade in bulk with enough high specs that you can ignore upgrading for several more years and still enjoy most games at their highest settings. Which will cost a lot of money and a lot of research. Considering how much a headache this can be I’d rather work hard and getting the best so avoid doing again for a long time. Unlike the Australian Government, I think in the long term.
I hope the Australian Government has BURN HEAL.
Only reason I use consoles is because of the controller. My wrists get so sore from using the mouse + keys combo all the time. When I use a PC I feel I am a lot more in an ‘attack position’ when playing compared to when I sit back with a controller on the console. YES I know you can use a controller with a pc, but let’s all face it, the mouse is MUCH more accurate. You can’t use a controller in a mouse dominated game.
That is true, but the same can be said in reverse for controller dominated games.
It’s 6 of one, half a dozen of the other
Too true. Again I never have had sore hands from an xbox 360 controller yet.
There’s an obvious divide here – the main reason I DON’T use my console much is the controller.
Yeah, I agree with this sentiment. I’ll never play a shooter on a console purely because of the controller. After using the keyboard/mouse for so long, the controller feels like a massive handicap. Though this it’s for this exact reason my wife won’t use mouse/keyboard controls on a PC. The mouse being too crisp, in her case.
That’s it. it’s a completely different ball game altogether. My brother use a mouse on PC and is super smooth and accurate to the finest divide. Love it and respect it, but I cannot use it myself.
For me PC. If only because I’m more geared towards simulation programs these days and a console can’t fulfill that need
Having made the switch to PC last year & having picked up a PS4 since…. I’d still lean to PS4 over PC. It’s not just the controller/couch issue. I guess having grown up with consoles, that’s where I gravitate. PC is great for certain types of games, but I just like consoles. *shrug*
Come on Mark, why would you even spark this? We are still reeling from the fallout of Xbone vs Ps4. Seems a little childish
It doesnt have to be childish though, just people giving their personal pros and cons. It only gets childish if people take it personally.
I see your point, probably a little bit short sighted of me. BUT! It’s the internet. You can see why someone would view this as a shit stir and nothing else.
Given the previous history of this question being posed, who could blame you?
Console, Controlpad, Couch, Home Theatre…can play everything made for it without upgrades.
Yeah, that’s the thing for me, too. Buy a console, stick it under the TV and don’t think about hardware for the next 5 years or so.
I do play a little on PC, but more for indie / older stuff that I can’t play on console (e.g. lately I’ve been playing a fair bit of FTL and one of my all time favourites, Jagged Alliance 2) rather than the latest bleeding edge stuff which would just kick sand in my PC’s face and steal its lunch money.
I think the PC hardware market has plateaued to the point where this is more or less true for PC games too. Apart from anything else, most games are cross-platform now so console specs hold down the PC requirements massively.
I just got a 1440p monitor and to my great surprise my 2-3 year old Radeon can run Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 2 on it at perfectly playable framerates (40-50ish).
Yeah I get that PC’s are obviously more powerful, but there is definitely something appealing to me in knowing I can relax and sit down to a console carefree of drivers and tweaking performance vs look that I find comes with PC. And the price tag that comes with keeping an up to date rig was too consuming for me too, which is something that you cant help considering if performance and higher settings is priority, which evidently it is for most PC enthusiasts. There’s a comfort in getting a console and knowing it will play the game when you put it in first go, no dramas.
It’s not 1994 any more, drivers are a total non-issue.
Ah I dunno, maybe not drivers, but I know for a fact friends who still run pc have performance issues with certain games and dont always have a clean start playing from install. Kind of splitting hairs.
Hey, it happens. I was feeling nostalgic a few days ago and decided to install NFSIII (as I still have a SHITLOAD of awesome mods for it), only to be rudely informed that the setup won’t run on a 64bit OS. So I’m going to have to get it to work through DOSbox somehow, now. DOSbox and I have had a complicated history on this new machine of mine, I don’t like my chances. :S If I had it on PS2, no worries, I could just drop it in and go. There is something to be said for the simplicity of consoles, but then I wouldn’t be racing in XC Falcons, GTHOs and Scooby’s Mystery Machine…
PS2 Emulator 🙂 It’ll work nicely, and with Anti Aliasing, it’ll look better
With a few notable exceptions, moderately modern gaming PC + current PC game + default/medium settings = perfectly good performance.
And medium settings will generally far exceed the quality of a console.
The trap is to get sucked into “oh, but that setting goes up to Ultra Ultra Mega Quality” and crank everything up to a million.
And of course console games also have severe performance issues from time to time (like Skyrim).
Anyway, my point was just – drivers etc should definitely not stop anyone playing PC games. The hardware all slots together like lego these days, and if you run Win 7 or 8 with hardware from mainstream brands then you are highly unlikely to have driver or performance issues.
You clearly don’t play TF2 with an NVIDIA card then 😛
Dear oh, dear, these are always so baity.
Can’t we just agree that both options are fine and leave it at that?
I actually can’t stand playing games on my PC. I work all day on a computer why the hell do I want to sit in front of a PC when i get home?
because sitting in front of a TV is so much better?
Lot more comfortable than in front of a PC. PC just has the stigma of spreadsheets for me.
I voted for PC’s purely on the multiplayer and re-playability factor; besides that, I’d use a console for more of a single player/story driven game. If I’m in the mood to play something like The Last of Us, I’ll sit down in front of the tv and wrap myself in the game. But if my friends wish to play some Diablo, I’ll jump on the PC and fulfill my PTLD (post traumatic loot disorder).
i game at a desk on PC, but if i want i can go lay on the couch with a controller and my PC
MASSTERRR RRAAAAAACCEEEEE!!!!
*Goes back to actually read the article*
Edit: I grew up on PC, had it exclusively during my university years, and I still prefer it. Now, have a tricked out gaming rig with 30inch screen, a tricked out SteamBox, and pretty much every console.
I prefer to play on the couch (and with console) these days, since I have a full-time job in front of PC monitors. I’d rather get some distance and additional couch-comfiness to play games, as well as the ability to pop disc in and play.
I still prefer PC overall – my SteamBox is pretty great, albeit with some pending tech problems to be resolved – and I prefer PC for multiplayer. Xbox 360 blows for multiplayer – chat, lag on everything, voice clarity, load times, etc.
Wow, downvoted for an obviously joking use of “master race” huh. Tough crowd.
Actually, I think he’s just gone through and downvoted every comment…
Ah yeah, I see it now. Lol.
Humour is not a thing on Kotaku Australia.
Both, I enjoy using my top-spec 2014 MacBook Pro (on bootcamp obviously) for RTS, Diablo and indie games while I also have a Wii U for party games with friends (and Zelda, X, Metroid exclusives) and also a PS3 and PS4 for everything else, I like the longevity of a console, it will play a game that comes out in 8 years time, it has a controller I don’t need to configure, it isn’t costly to replace and I can come home from sitting at a desk at work all day and sit on the couch instead. Of course PCs are better technically speaking, but at the moment especially with comparably powerful consoles
(albeit not for long), I do enjoy my consoles more.
Until I get my PC hooked up to a bigger tv or a proper sit down desk, I’m finding myself playing cross-platform games on my PS3/4 atm while my PC is used mainly for strategy games. I do play both at the same time though so I’ll be happily playing Skyrim or something on the TV while playing Footie Manager or Total War on my PC. As said though, this will likely change when I get a much better setup for my PC and it’s more comfortable for me to play more action-orientated games on it.
I used to play exclusively on PC, but now I haven’t gamed on PC for years (I’ve logged thousands of hours on CS:S and BF2142). I pretty much only play on the 360 now. I just hate starting up Steam and find that it wants to download gigs of updates. This happens every single time I boot up Steam – why can’t they control or limit the updates? It’s got to the point where I’m scared of launching Steam because I don’t want to see all the updates it wants to download.
I also find that PC gaming is just full of hackers.
I must admit that I long for the days of playing low lag games on the PC – 360 games are mostly unplayable due to the massive lag.
@rethilgore why are you downvoting every single comment?
Because he’s a dick?
I used to be both, but now am only PC.
I want to be both again, but I had to make a choice when I came into enough money to either grab a console or a PC a couple of years ago.
I chose the PC, simply because I had to choose only one.
So whilst I can run around screaming “Master Race” and all that jazz, I don’t – because I will look at some of the console only exclusives and drool.
Both have their place and both need their place. What is interesting is seeing how certain platforms on the PC – i.e. Steam Big Picture and Steam Boxes – mimic the consoles, while consoles are in this current gen mimicking a lot of PC features.
I honestly believe in the black box theory, that eventually we will have one box in our living room that handles all our entertainment needs. In saying that, we won’t truly get that because the bastards will sign platform only exclusives with both games and TV channels so eventually we will still have three or four boxes in our living rooms.
Just because.
Console, most of my friends play on there, I like the thought that everyone is on the same level of hardware as me and I’ve got some nerve damage in my hand that makes using extended keyboard use a bit of a hassle.
Woah. What’s your problem @rethilgore ?
I call deliberate incitement due to the fact there is no “Both” button. As for me, most of my gaming tends to be on consoles these days, but you just can’t beat the fact that, with the internet, the PC is home to the most diverse and dynamic library of games ever, a lot of which are either free or far cheaper than on consoles.
i started as a console gamer when i was 6 or 7 with the atari 2600, then the master system 2, then i went to computers with an Amstrad and then a IBM 286, over the years ive had a sega saturn, playstation, N64, Game Cube, XBOX, Wii, currently i have a PS3 plugged in, ive also always had a PC at the same time and have gamed on both. for a few years i was very focused on console gaming around the time of N64, GC and XBOX.
but in recent years i have enjoyed PC gaming much much more. and now with a lot more games supporting the 360 controller i really enjoy that. my next pc build will be for the lounge room and thats when it will be at its most enjoyable.
Going in to bat for the console “kids” here.
I haven’t had time to f*ck around with a PC since I was a teenager.
I do agree that a high end PC is a much better way to game if you’ve got the time and expendable cash for it, but the low fuss of a console does it for me. Plus I spend a mandatory 5+ hours a day on a work PC, I don’t want to come home and get back in front of a monitor.
The only two game types I really miss are RTS games and good, competitive multiplayer FPS.
Thing is the RTS genre died out a tiny bit since back in the day and competitive multiplayer shooters have been on the downward slide since Counterstrike popularised to bro-tastic team based military shooter.
I don’t think any single title could get me off my ass and back into PC games these days. The best thing about PC gaming is that the additional fidelity of the controls makes competitive multiplayer gaming fantastic, unfortunately I don’t have the 100’s of hours required to get good at those kinds of games the way I did playing the Quake series between 1996 and 2005. Instead I just enjoy the experience and a console is good enough for that kind of gaming.
If Half-Life 3 is PC exclusive I might need to reconsider my position….
You have probably noticed this but consoles are becoming less simple/plug and play with each iteration and the PC has ironed out a lot of the issues you would have experienced when you were younger.
Its always nice to have both 😀
The Big Question? Please. There is no competition at all.
http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/15/150274/2475415-0532372570-tumbl.gif
I started as a PC gamer 25 years ago. I still prefer PC but sometimes I’d just prefer to sit back and play some casual console games with friends.
Mouse and Keyboard is about 100 times easier than thumb sticks to actually get a bead on your target, aim assist is totally lame, Apart from everything else this is all ways the killer for me when it comes to consoles. I bought a PS4 and i just couldn’t do it, if you actually want to compete at all, and feel good about getting a killstreak its gotta be PC, not is it only the master race, the rest maswell not exists IMO.
PC hooked up to the TV with a 360 controller, boots into Big Picture Mode which also has an option to shut down the PC when I’m done, so I can start it, play and shut down without having to touch a keyboard or mouse. Oops I just built my own console!
I also have a little desk in the corner with a monitor and keyboard/mouse for games that are better with those, and for when I have to do any nitty gritty installation stuff, but mostly I game from the couch.
Consoles are great for exclusives but if there’s a PC version then I will buy that (usually for much cheaper too)
I prefer PC but console has always had a place and my inability to keep my PC up to date lately means I’m relying on console for my gaming more now.
I prefer console by far…. i don’t know what it is but it feels…. comfortable? Fun? like the console loves me? i know I’m strange.
But in saying that i do play PC as well
There really needs to be a both option.
I favour the PC if the game is a multiplatform release, but I buy exclusives on whichever console they come out on because I enjoy playing games, I don’t really pick sides.
Console for me.
I have a dual vid card rig but in general I go with console versions for the simple fact I can put the disc in and it runs. On PC depending on your setup and drivers it could take days before you can getting it running ok. I have a far bit of experience on PC’s so it usually doesn’t take to long to update a driver and tweak scripts if needed but it is a nightmare for some. Sim City & COD: Ghosts were a pain to setup.
For me console all the way. (Xbox 360 and PS4) I play a lot of action and first person shooters.
Nothing beats sitting on my gaming couch 2 meters in front of my 42in 1080p TV with a pair of surround sound wireless headphones. I used to game on PC before I got an Xbox 360, I never turned back after that. I own a laptop that can play new games on moderate to high settings but gaming on PC feels cheap and tedious. Steam is annoying most times with updates that take ages and sometimes the games don’t play after I download them. Yes PC will always look better but you need to keep updating your PC every year or two to take advantage of that. With console the games are optimised to that particular console so they will work and look the best. Consoles even at the end of their life cycle the graphics still look good. Also there is the trading of pre owned games can’t do that with PC. To get the games cheaper you have to wait months after they are released. Console – Simple, efficient and convenient.
Gaming rig in my nerd cave, HTPC in the lounge room, Steam Home Streaming, wireless 360 controller, Steam sales. No room in my life for consoles
How long has home streaming been available and is it any good?
Its still in alpha which you have opt in for, it was only a matter days after I opted in that I got excepted. It works really well, but I recommend wireless AC network. Its made me decide I don’t need a GPU for my HTPC.
I have gigabit going to my current media player next to the TV so that should be fine, I might have to give it a crack.
Gigabit as in wired? I might be wrong but I think Steams Home Streaming only works over wireless at the moment.
Forget everything I told you. Its now out of beta and runs on wired networks
Moved to mainly PC the year before last, as I’d got fed up with waiting for the next generation of consoles. Times like yesterday, when Wolfenstein releases with short-notice preloading, a 40GB download, followed by the game crashing on start because apparently my drivers are too old, followed further by the driver update seemingly stalling for twenty minutes when installing the VC++ runtimes… It makes me pine for the simplicity of console gaming – go to store during lunch break, get home, put disc in console, download updates, play game. But, it plays buttery smooth on Ultra, so I don’t mind.
As for the “couch and controller” argument, I don’t have a couch – I have my desk chair and my bed, and my chair is a hell of a lot more comfortable for extended periods. And I use a wireless controller with my PC whenever I feel like it – mostly third-person games; I’ve grown accustomed to Kb/M for first-person stuff now.
As for the price argument… I don’t see it in the long term. Yes, it cost me $1200 for my PC. But I’m paying $50 at most for games that I was previously paying upwards of $80 for on console, which means I need to buy 40 games over the course of 4-6 years to get my money back. Eight to ten games a year through GMG rather than JB or EB, and I’ve got positive ROI.
I still play console games when exclusives come out, of course, but they’ve been pretty lacklustre thus far this generation, and the lower price/higher performance advantage of getting them on PC has been too tempting to pass up.
Totally agree with the game prices for Consoles vs PC, totally sucks that console owners have to fork out $30 (at least) extra for a game.. But PS Plus gives away so many games every month (mainly PS3 atm) and its fantastic!
PS+ is amazing, but as I tend to get most games when they release (because I don’t like having to dodge spoilers for months on end until there’s either on sale or on PS+, and also because spending a decade as a console gamer ingrained in me a – now irrational – sense of “I should get it at launch, as I may not be able to find it later”) I rarely see any games on there that I want to play that I haven’t played already.
I have really really tried hard to get into this console thing.
I grew up on PC (ZX Spectrum anone?) (C64?) and gaming with joystick in “Gaming Parlours”
I got original Xbox day one purchase and hated its guts.
I think my thumbs are not opposable enough to operate stupid console thumb-sticks.
Than end last year i got sucked into all the next gen console bullshit and talks of death of pc gaming and got myself a PS3 with all naughty dog “masterpieces”
played Uncharted 1 – finished
played Uncharted 2 – half way
played Uncharted 3 – 2 chapters and could not be arsed any more
Played Killzone Online and liked it a lot.
Played TLOU – not sure – i find it repetitive. Pretty, but boring, Crouch listen sneak choke repeat.
gave up.
I thought lets give PS4 a go
BF4 – now i play BF a lot and I love it
At the time i only had a “gaming” laptop – and that shit was choppy as hell. gtx640m i7
I could not get any kills – rubberbanded – got killed behind covers.
The main thing was I aim at enemy – put clip into him – he turns and kils me
On PLAYSTATION 4 – BF4 looked fantastic – (compared to my shitty laptop) and when i aimed at someones head and squeezed the trigger they died
BUT
I could not be arsed playing for more than an hour at a time.
I would go back on my laptop – and ended up playing 5 hours straight.
HOW CAN THAT BE
I worked out why – AND THIS IS THE REASON WHY ILL ALWAST STRIVE TO BE PART OF THE MASTER RACE –
On PC – there is a community – people TALK – TYPE – abuse each other – praise – you hear and read crap but also some interesting things pop up – you can and want to work hard to get a revenge or advantage over the better player AND YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND THAT PERSON tumorow day after tomorrow – same server — Thats what master race is about
ON CONSOLE i felt so empty – i could not care less if im going to shoot that digital character or get shot and teebagged by it. That enemy had no identity no meaning and most likely even if i new who he was id never get MATCHMAKED against the same player.
On PC – you always hope that enemy you just killed is going to be that bastard you have been chasing – that person – who said /typed something bad about your mum.
GAMING on PC Is about competing against other persons/identities unlike empty digital shells on console.
MIND YOU WE DO HAVE respawn with their matchmade stupidity invading PC’s.
I’m a modder. I mod the shit out if games. On PC, I have very few limitations on this. I can alter and enhance games to expand upon the existing game and/or create entirely new experiences, including updating stock visuals/performance to make better use of my hardware as I update and evolve my system. With PCs, I have the freedom to do so. Not with all games, but the vast majority. I don’t have that freedom with consoles. I play games on consoles and experience them in that singular way. If there are bugs or oversights with the game itself, I have to wait for a patch that may alter any number of gameplay characteristics based on the developer’s work schedule, or I have to accept that this is the way it’s going to be. I am dictated to in how I am meant to experience a game based on the limiting framework of the console, or the gaming network it runs on. Its for this reason that I lost almost all of my interest in consoles long ago and only use them rarely, say when a game isn’t released on PC, such as GTA V. For my needs and expectations, this is why I find PCs to be superior platforms.
I massively prefer playing with a controller and while I can use a controller on PC, I would be cutting my own feet off if I used a controller against keyboard + mouse users.
I’m a PC gamer, but ultimately who cares? It just comes down to whatever works best for you personally.
If you prefer a lower price and the ability to just stick the disk in and get right to it, then buy a console. If you prefer higher resolutions, modding and backwards compatibility and don’t mind the excruciating headaches that often come with them, build a gaming PC.
Oh and if anyone wants to buy a shiny new slightly used PS4 killzone, BF4, Son
and Used PS3 with naughty dog games and GTA5 – let me know
i got myself i7 16bg SLI 150fps maxed out in BF4 gaming rig and loving it.
Also how do you think this can be compared ?
PS4 controller / headset
VS
Roccat keyboard and mouse combo – that thing even communicates with my ipad and iphone
and ad700x earcans
I prefer console. Don’t get me wrong PC certainly has the better quality and better marketplace and better everything else too but I’ve setup my PC like a hellishly expensive console so I can get the best of both worlds, behind the TV with a controller and plugged in to my home theatre.
I just love the insert-disc-switch-it-on-and-play immediacy of a console but one thing that’d tip me in to the PC being better would be mods. Mods keep me coming back to games like Just Cause 2 and Skyrim time after time after time.
Console. I’ve had minimal time with the PC, having only once played a couple of “current” games like Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 then not really having a modern machine up until building one last year. And… don’t really use any of that power for anything 😛
My computer’s sitting here being a computer, I’d rather go over and sit on the lounge when I want to play games. And I’m sure as shit not going to unplug it and haul it over there every time I want to do that. My gaming tastes seem to better fit those of the console/handheld library anyway, most of the stuff on PC doesn’t really tend to interest me.
I play both, but tend much more towards PC. Games are cheaper, graphics are better and keyboard/mouse combo will always beat a controller.
In saying that, some games just feel better on a console, yknow. Games like Assassin’s Creed, the Arkham series, Grand Theft Auto.
I enjoy having both, but I haven’t made the plunge into “next-gen” consoles yet, happy to just be playing Titanfall on PC 🙂
This one time I installed a game on my PC and the display was all weird and kept going black so I download the new video driver and then it worked.
One time in 5 years.
So many headaches.
PC’s are for my work and my consoles are for games and movies.
This is like asking me to pick my favourite child Mark! I like both equally as each one has something good to offer. 😀
Recently I plugged my PC into my TV to play Fallout NV. So it’s like having a PC/Console hybrid. While on one hand I enjoy the extra power and range of games, I dislike the mess it’s made in my living room. I quite like how neatly the X1/360 sit in the cabinet.
Both, depends on the game and situation. Some games are better to kick back on the lounge and play on a TV, some are better to sit up at a desk and play on a monitor. Technically you could do both with a PC or with a console but it’d take swapping cables and that’s a pain when you just want to fire stuff up and go.
Watch_Dogs is good example, I’m getting that on PS4 because it feels like the kind of game I want to sit on the lounge and play. Nothing specific to differentiate it (and unless it turns out shite I’ll almost certainly get it on PC as well when its $5 on steam) but I just have that kind of feeling about the game.
I used to use a PC for gaming way way back when I had an AMD 64 chipset.. I then purchased my first console myself (my older brother used to always do that) in 2006, the PS3 and couple years later an Xbox360 (the cheapest version) coz you could rip the games, i wanted to compare the two consoles. Around 2011 i tossed up between upgrading my PC rig, or by then buying a completely new one.. I decided to hold out and keep on with my consoles.
I honestly used to love gaming on PC, especially the FPSs, but I found there were just way too many hackers on say the likes of Counterstrike, this is what made me shy away from PC mostly. And the cost to stay up-to-date every couple of years.
My PS3 died in 2012, i managed to borrow my a family members ps3 slim to tied me over till the PS4 was out. I now own a PS4 and albeit it lacks a lot of the basic features the PS3 once had (DLNA, MP3, Video Playback, USB connection), I’m still extremely happy with it.. I love the online gaming experience, i have a fast connection so Lag isn’t usually an issue, and its awesome when your mates come round to play, i think this is the biggest thing that separates consoles from PCs.
Sure you can bring your Laptop or Rig over to mates place, for a “lan party”, do people still do that anymore?? Not a lot of people i know…
Anyway just my 2 cents.
PC for any cross platform game, console for exclusives, still waiting for a good enough exclusive for me to purchase the xbone or ps4, think I might have to wait for Halo on Xbone till I get that
Yeah…how much better on PC than the console versions were “The Last of Us’, Zelda OOT, Mario Galaxy, Metroid, Advance Wars, Mario Kart, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, ICO, Okami, Pikmin…….Oh hang on a minute!
Call yourself a gamer and want to play all the best games you possibly can, stop being sad elitist fanboys and embrace all the formats.
I’m afraid I cannot participate in this poll for I choose both. Or neither. I can’t decide. I was a long-time PC gamer, but working in IT spending all day, every day in-front of a computer turned me to console gaming in the PS2/Xbox era. I’ve been a dedicated console gamer up until the end of last year and have since been gaming on Steam… but I can’t say I’ve enjoyed that experience either.
As a console gamer, the part I loved the most was that I could get hold of a disc, plug it into my system of choice and I would know for a fact it was going to work. The game would play nicely on my 42″ screen, I didnt need to go into the options menu at all for graphics, audio or key binding settings, I knew the game would work, I knew the layout would work, I knew I could just invite a mate to a group chat and it would just work. I didn’t want any of the PC dramas I dealt with at work. Simple. Life was simple. I can most definitely handle a graphic hit when compared to the PC beast when compared to knowing the game would just work.
Why I am not a console gamer? Advertising. Plain and simple. The latest rendition of the 360’s dashboard is loaded with advertising – 90% of the screen real estate is this. Crap I won’t be buying. For the first time since owning the console, I didn’t want to look at the dash anymore and set the unit to automatically start the game. This then became a problem when I bought more GonD titles. The PS3 wasn’t much better with its “always on” Singstar crap. I dont play Singstar, I don’t even own a mic, so why must it be there in my list? Constant adverts for movies I won’t watch, games I don’t want to play.
Both consoles just needed one thing and I would have been happy. Removable sections from the main dash/xmb. Simplify it and they could have won me over. Now with the new xbone and ps4 I see just as much advertising – only the worst thing is, neither platform has a decent selection of titles, so they’ve both lost me as a customer. What both companies seem to be forgetting is that people pay for the console, pay for the online subscription yet you still blast them with purchases. If they could come up with a system of targeted advertising – give me adverts for game/movie genres I actually like – then I will happily have them on the console. Sports titles, music titles, drama shows – you’re breeding hate where there doesn’t need to be.
Which brings me to Steam… the christmas sale brought me back with its great prices. Whats pissed me off ever since has been the constant downloading and updating and patching and searching forums for fixes because the dev is lazy and windows updates and having to run the game in lowest detail because it wasn’t designed for my graphics card and having to change key bindings every second title and dealing with audio issues when using a headset and HDMI output together and having to upgrade hardware to get the game to run smoother and goddamn… SO many issues.
PCs, while pretty and expensive, do have cheaper games but with that comes an expectation that theres a lot of things you need to do yourself. A game won’t just play. Troubleshooting is expected. So while I’m playing on a PC, its not an enjoyable experience either.
I would choose to be a console gamer if I wasn’t treated like a sheep. I would choose to be a PC gamer if I wasn’t treated like a beta tester.
I Played mostly on Console and a bit on my laptop. Now I have a $4,000+ computer setup and I havnt touched my Ps3/Ps4 in awhile. Pc is just more versatile in my opinion. Xbone is trying to do what pc does but I’m not sure if it’s working to well.
PENCIL AND PAPER FTW!!!! 🙁 My youth was wasted…
Occasionally I want to sit in the lounge and be able to play something against mates in the same room – maybe a UFC game or something.
But almost always I’ll prefer the speed and customization of my PC. And the choice in my 1000+ game steam library..
If we are talking in gaming terms (so ignoring a PC’s ability to do great web browsing, word processing etc), I had to choose console. I chose that because over the years I have grown more used to a controller for FPS controls (I previously only swore by mouse & keyboard), and I love the convenience.
As I am someone who can’t build his own computer, and simply cannot afford to regularly stay on top of having the best tech, I find it frustrating that whenever I get a new AAA PC game I always have to play around with the settings to get the game looking at its absolute best without sacrificing a playable frame-rate. But on console, providing the game is made properly and isn’t a shitty port job, the frame-rate is decent at at least 30fps and runs with pretty sweet visuals.
The one thing that is keeping me playing on a PC is the great range of innovative indie games available, and the bargain prices of things like Steam sales. It lets me take risks on new ideas or games I wouldn’t normally play. But when I really thought about it, if console took on the indie game range (which it seems PS4 is trying to do) and that pricing culture then I would go completely console. So there’s my answer!
PC, keyboard and mouse. I can’t achieve the same levels of precision with a controller. Especially with first person shooters. I’ve played multiplayer FPS with my wife, both on PCs, she with a controller and me with KB+M. There’s just no comparison. Unless the person using the controller also has aiming assistance on, their accuracy will always be less than the player with KB+M. Also, my gaming PC produces far, far better graphics than a PS4 or an XBOne can. For those who can afford a console but not a good quality gaming PC, fair enough. But anyone who can afford a good gaming rig and chooses a console instead, I just don’t understand.
Each has their own place, but if I had to choose between owning either a PC or a console, PC would be the one for me. Just far more flexible with what you can do with it.
i have always been a pc gamer though i have always had a console of some sort too, so if i HAD to make a choice it would be pc.
in saying that though im getting pretty sick of the pc v console debate and i wish people would realise it doesn’t matter what you play your games on if you enjoy it that’s great for both you and the industry as a whole.
Yet another stupid article with stupid people fighting over “what’s better”
In my case I have most consoles like PS3,PS4,X1,Xbox 360, WiiU,Wii, Vita and 3DS, etc.
A six screen monitor in quad fire setup
now my point is; it’s a matter of reference, availability of space, MONEY, priorities, time, etc
in the end it’s ONLY about GAMES heck give me a gamecube (new one) I will trade my Xbox1in a heartbeat
I’m going to go with PC, because i can concentrate a lot more the closer I am to the screen, meaning I can pay more attention to details graphics etc which I love…. (I think i’m slightly OCD for detail).
Okay, i’ve owned just about every console ever released, and last year when the xb1/ps4 were coming out i had my ps on preorder set for launch date, about a month or so before i was set to buy me and my brother got our hands on a copy each of battlefield 4. mine on ps3 with the intentions of using the upgrade deal to bring it to ps4, his on pc. I was happy on my consol for about a day before i decided to give his gaming rig a try. I was shit for ages but the markedly better visuals kept me there. I kept playing and kept getting better, before I knew it I was fan boying hard for Pc, cashed in my pre order and spent the money on a rig and played that since. Now after awhile people wanted to play some console shooters with me, and i gotta say the transition was horrible. I’d became more conditioned to the greater precision and the concise, refined motion of handling a mouse. This be noted that the effect was most noticeable when aiming to shoot, it felt clunky and ham fisted andI pretty much couldn’t play i’d just make a fool of myself. So I swore off console for awhile after that. But eventually I learned that the controller (and ultimately console use) is not necessarily a totally inferior method of control. Its just that it has different stregths and weaknesses. I bust out the hdmi extender and the dual shock 4 connected via blue tooth dongle to play certain games on the couch with the big screen. My personal preference for using the controller is with Racing games and 3rd person games (darksouls, batman arkhan origns for example) and i save the more precise controlled shooters for my m/kb
all in all the age ol’ pc v console argument is a pretty stupid one, neither is better their both just different idc what you play games on
I’m a weirdo that has a better experience on consoles rather than pc. My pc is the equivalent of my PS4 yet I would rather play every game on PS4.
All depends, some games I prefer on console (GTA & driving games for example) where as FPS I find much better on a PC.. So both. I love my PS3 & PS4 & I love my PC. So yep.