gaming on PC vs. console

[gamehammer23]

Hi I am writing a paper for school about why gaming on PC is better than gaming on console I would love any insight you may have thx!

[GuiltySpark_]

What timing then, LTT just uploaded a video that's quite on topic. 

 

Keep in mind, you're asking people to start a thread on a topic that has had decades of written discussion about it and with a quick google search you could be reading for days.. weeks.. of people's thoughts on the topic. 

 

 

[8tg]

Key factor is economics, consumer need and personal effort.

PC is a sharper initial investment but with a potentially longer hardware lifespan and cheaper games, while consoles tend to have a more limited serviceable lifespan but overall simplicity for the user.

Each has their own benefits, a pc can do a lot more than play games and stream media content, while a console is limited to a select few things it can do besides game or stream media.

However that depends on what the consumer needs and wants, if they just want to play games and get a relatively easy out of the box experience to do so, or if they want a machine which can do more.

 

This is a whole huge topic and it’s been discussed to death all over the internet for decades, there’s plenty of resources out there to look into this.

Really, neither is better than the other. They’re different devices for different purposes.

[whm1974]

I strongly favor PC over Console Gaming. And yes you can use Game Controllers on PCs. PCs have a much wider selection and way better games.

[Arika]

Do not, under any circumstances, mention/reference/include the cancerous idiots that are part of the PCMR or even use the name "PC master race" in your paper. It would look extremely pathetic to anyone reading it and to those who don't know the satire behind the name; extremely questionable

[gamehammer23]

Thank you I really appreciate the help!

[gamehammer23]

Maybe I'll post my paper 

[IPD]

A key advantage of PC (for me) that I believe if often overlooked is user mods.  Game modding on PC just absolutely dwarfs end-user game mods for consoles.  What you'll find on consoles is usually limited to custom skins, custom levels, etc.  PC will have all that, plus added game modes, total conversion mods, etc.

 

P.S.

I always scoff at the "a gaming PC is too expensive, so I play consoles" arguments.  They usually come from someone with a $1000 smart phone that's usually replaced with another $1000 smart phone--before the 2 year mark.

[JZStudios]

Change the topic. It's not a good topic. I know someone who back in the day did a high school paper about how doing cocaine was a good thing.

 

20 hours ago, 8tg said:

PC has cheaper games

Having only used a PC for about 7 years, I will never understand why people think games on PC is cheaper when it just flat out isn't. Games still start at the same price, hold the same price, and have the same price drop as console's digital and physical sales. The only "reasoning" for this is periodic sales on random titles which a stupid metric to go by, and both physical and digital console stores do the same thing.

[Monkey Dust]

1 hour ago, IPD said:

A key advantage of PC (for me) that I believe if often overlooked is user mods.  Game modding on PC just absolutely dwarfs end-user game mods for consoles.  What you'll find on consoles is usually limited to custom skins, custom levels, etc.  PC will have all that, plus added game modes, total conversion mods, etc.

 

P.S.

I always scoff at the "a gaming PC is too expensive, so I play consoles" arguments.  They usually come from someone with a $1000 smart phone that's usually replaced with another $1000 smart phone--before the 2 year mark.

Yep, mods are a huge part of it. KB & Mouse for shooters, and just how pretty games can look on PC are another couple of big ones for me.

 

The only big downside of PC gaming is the epic cost. Just because games can be bought for less, it doesn't mean that  PC gaming still doesn't cost multiples of console gaming. And that's before PC gaming becomes a gateway drug for custom keyboards...

[IPD]

3 hours ago, Monkey Dust said:

Yep, mods are a huge part of it. KB & Mouse for shooters, and just how pretty games can look on PC are another couple of big ones for me.

 

The only big downside of PC gaming is the epic cost. Just because games can be bought for less, it doesn't mean that  PC gaming still doesn't cost multiples of console gaming. And that's before PC gaming becomes a gateway drug for custom keyboards...

Guilty.  My wife is probably gonna kill me.

[SolarNova]

As a long time member of the Glorious PCMR I invite you to watch the below video for your viewing pleasure and encourage you to avoid the peasantry that are the console scrubs.

 

 

 

 

/jk

 

#nopolitcsintended

[ThreePinkApples]

I know you asked for why PC gaming is better, but I'd like to add some reason why I (as a long time PC gamer) have started to warm up more and more to consoles.

The big thing consoles have over PC, is the simplicity and how fast it is just start and stop playing a game (from the couch). I've had a PS4 Pro for 3 years, and now a PS5 and the one thing I love the most is the Suspend/Sleep feature. Being able to just put the console to sleep when I need a break, or ending the game session for the day, and quickly waking up the console again later and be right were I left off, is amazing. To me this makes it way easier to just "plop down" and play for an hour or so. I really hope that Microsoft will add something similar to Windows 11 soon, the ability to "suspend" a game, so closing it down, but keep it in memory, or even write the memory state to disk, so you can jump straight back in where you are.

There are also other annoying aspects of couch gaming from a PC that crops up if you don't have a PC dedicated to your TV. As soon as the TV is a secondary (or tertiary, or more) monitor connected to your PC, you're going to have annoying issues and need to tinker to get things right. And it gets even worse if you need to use Nvidia Gamestream or similar.

 

I'm actually at the point now that if the game runs at a stable 60fps on PS5, I might actually prefer to play it there.

[Moonzy]

On 10/6/2021 at 2:58 AM, gamehammer23 said:

I am writing a paper for school about why gaming on PC is better than gaming on console

Doesn't sound like a good topic to write on

 

Maybe writing about the pros and cons of each and list down situations where one night be better than the other might've been a better paper

 

But if you must, I personally think that, for strictly gaming, the only pros PC have over consoles is having the option to use kbm or gamepad, and the ability to mod some games too breathe in new life, and in most games, higher visual fidelity and, if you have the processing capabilities, able to produce much smoother animations and higher framerates

 

In many other aspect, consoles are better for gaming, but your paper isn't about that so...

[dalekphalm]

On 10/5/2021 at 2:58 PM, gamehammer23 said:

Hi I am writing a paper for school about why gaming on PC is better than gaming on console I would love any insight you may have thx!

Is it? That's a subjective experience.

 

There are many things that PC's excel at, and other things that Consoles excel at.

 

Couch gaming, for example, the PC simply can't touch without a lot of hassle and compromises. On the other hand, couch gaming is itself a compromise since the ideal control mechanism has it's own inherent limitations.

 

In other words, both are good.

[JZStudios]

3 hours ago, ThreePinkApples said:

I know you asked for why PC gaming is better, but I'd like to add some reason why I (as a long time PC gamer) have started to warm up more and more to consoles.

The big thing consoles have over PC, is the simplicity and how fast it is just start and stop playing a game.

I'm actually at the point now that if the game runs at a stable 60fps on PS5, I might actually prefer to play it there.

The biggest benefit to PC is the fact that I can still play games from 1995 on the same system. My buddy has gone from 360/PS3 to Xbone/PS4 and now a PS5 and the biggest draw to him for PC is being able to play something like Driver 1 in 4k60 with surround sound as opposed to having to plug in his PSX to play with 240i maybe? and unstable framerate that constantly slows the game down over lossy analog signals. Don't have to buy the game again for the new console. And whatever doesn't have a PC port there's emulators for.

 

Outside that, unless you have a really beefy system and/or ultrawide/multi-monitors you're probably playing at similar settings to console anyway. The KBM/controller debate is pretty useless. Sure, mouse is more accurate, but everyone on console is used to controller, has auto aim, and are all using the same input device. Console people bitch about kbm, pc people bitch about controller. My brother, who's a dummy, says that controller is just more fun than kbm.

[Moonzy]

18 minutes ago, JZStudios said:

My brother, who's a dummy, says that controller is just more fun than kbm

I do both and can confidently say it depends on the game genre

Some games are definitely better on gamepad, but that's subjective

 

A more objective way to put it is that, with gamepad, I can do more action at one time since more fingers can access buttons at once, such as strafing while using an item, which may require you to let go of wasd if you're on kbm

But precision aiming is out the window

[whm1974]

23 hours ago, SolarNova said:

As a long time member of the Glorious PCMR I invite you to watch the below video for your viewing pleasure and encourage you to avoid the peasantry that are the console scrubs.

 

 

 

 

/jk

 

#nopolitcsintended

To be honest, I never did like the phase PCMR at all. Personal Computer Gaming Gods is way better.

[JZStudios]

On 10/7/2021 at 9:29 AM, Moonzy said:

I do both and can confidently say it depends on the game genre

Some games are definitely better on gamepad, but that's subjective

 

A more objective way to put it is that, with gamepad, I can do more action at one time since more fingers can access buttons at once, such as strafing while using an item, which may require you to let go of wasd if you're on kbm

But precision aiming is out the window

No, he's a dummy. He might have said consoles are more fun rather than specifically controller, but both of my brothers say KBM is too hard to learn and ignore me when I say that PC games also with a controller.

It's not a subjective thing, it's a dummy thing. Of course racing games are better with a controller than a keyboard. Which is why every racing game allows for a controller.

 

Well that's just not true. At any point on a controller you're using the two thumbsticks and the two triggers and that's it. Unless you're one of those freaky controller claw people. That means any time you want to hit a face button of D-pad you're either not looking around or not moving in FPS.

On PC you're doing movement, sprinting, crouching, jumping, and RMB/LMB without losing control of movement or aiming at all. Considering most people move forward or backwards while doing other things, you can also reload, lean left/right, swap weapons, throw grenades, etc. without losing basic movement and aiming. I've never had to remove all my fingers from WASD unless I'm opening (I)nventory or something.

[FruitOfTheLum]

On 10/5/2021 at 7:58 PM, gamehammer23 said:

Hi I am writing a paper for school about why gaming on PC is better than gaming on console I would love any insight you may have thx!

I hope you're seeking a broader sample-size than just asking here, because you're going to get a somewhat biased view otherwise!

 

I've been in both camps over the years. When I was a mini-Fruit my dad ran a computer business, and I used to help him build PCs, so that's where I started. Other than a Mega Drive, I was an exclusive PC gamer until 2008, when I jumped ship to consoles after my old PC died and I couldn't afford to repair it (and then, once I could, I was entangled in a series of horrible relationships, so I never built a new one). I stayed on consoles until early 2020, when I got a decently powerful laptop during lockdown and remembered why I loved PC gaming. Despite the GPU shortage, I've since built a proper PC and have been re-discovering even more.

 

Each platform has advantages over the other, really. Input devices are less important these days, as you can use mouse and keyboard on consoles and controllers on PCs.

 

First of all, don't let anybody tell you that PC gaming is somehow 'more economical'. It absolutely isn't. Even before the current crisis, a GPU on its own could cost as much as an entire games console at the start of its lifecycle, and you'd need to upgrade both that and other pieces of hardware at least once over the same period in order to remain competitive. LTT's own channel has made a point of trying to build a PC that can match the performance of something like an Xbox Series X for the same price, and the only way they've been able to do so is... well, it hasn't been pretty. 

 

The follow-up argument to that is usually "well, without having to pay royalties to the platform-holder, PC games tend to be cheaper, so you just make your money back over time by paying less for games!" This is only true if you rely upon the digital stores, which PC gamers have to do these days. I have never once paid the full, recommended retail price for a console game, even when new - partially because you can shop around for hard-copies from myriad retailers. Supermarkets sell them as loss-leaders, even, to entice you into the store to buy bloody cheese. You can also buy second-hand console games for as little as a quid, and - importantly - sell them on again once you're done with them for the same price. 

 

It's not cheaper to be a PC gamer. It never has been, and it probably never will be. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

 

 

Now that's out of the way, let me break down my thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of consoles and PCs!

 

Consoles

• Plug 'n play! PCs are much easier to build and get running now than they were the last time I built one. But... they still don't hold a candle to consoles. Login, maybe download some automatic updates, and you're good to go. No fussing with drivers. No downloading an OS installation tool. No delving into your BIOS and wondering why the heck XMP isn't working. No thermal paste. Nothing like that. It either works, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, you take it back and get a replacement.
• Coasters! Consoles still have the option of physical discs. To the best of my knowledge, PCs don't anymore. In fact, cases don't even come with optical drive trays anymore. Why's that important? Well, you can share your disc. You can sell your disc! You can shop around at bricks 'n mortar stores for the best deals on a disc! It's true that there is a grey market for PC game codes, but... there's a grey market for console game codes too. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the convenience of thinking to myself, "I want to play [random game I just saw on Steam] - I'll just download it!" versus having to either go and get or wait for a disc to arrive. But... physical ownership is a big deal, and if you're willing to deal with the inconveniences, opens up a lot of options.
• Certainty. Cyberpunk aside, if you own an Xbox One, and you buy an Xbox One game, it's going to work on your Xbox One. No questions. No worries. You don't have to think about it. You don't have to run benchmarks. You don't have to look up system specifications. It will just work. 
• Economy. If you buy an Xbox Series X today (assuming you can find one, anyway), you can be confident that it will be able to run all the games you want it to run for the next five or six years, or however long it takes for the next console to be launched at least. They will look pretty good for at least the next two years, too. If you buy one when it just came out, that'd cost you... what, ~£450? In a couple of years, it'd cost you ~£250. Meanwhile in PC land, I just spent £750 just on a graphics card on its own, and I can't say the same thing about that. And before you say anything, that graphics card at normal prices would have cost around £600.

PCs

• GRAPHICS! Assuming you have a decently powerful PC, even now at the start of the 'next-gen' consoles' lifespans, your games will look much prettier at higher resolutions and refresh rates. That's where the premium really hits home. Console manufacturers have a 'hardware budget' - they have to be affordable, fit within a certain form-factor, and consume a certain amount of energy. They do an incredible job of eking out as much power as they can from what they have to work with, don't get me wrong, but PCs, unbounded by those constraints, will always be more powerful.
• Modularity. Is your PC starting to stutter? Are there more edges on your circles than you might like? Just pop a new part in. Gaming PCs tend to become big old Ships of Theseus as the years go by. Is it the same PC after you've replaced literally every part? Who knows!
• Monthly no-scriptions. On PC, you don't have to pay for a subscription service in order to play your games online (for now, at least). This doesn't make up for the thousands of quid it costs to get a PC running from the ground up, of course (at least, it won't before the next time you spend more money on upgrading it), but it's nice not to have to worry about it.
• Mods. This is the big one.
  
  This is my current Skyrim character walking to Whiterun during a rainstorm, using her shield as a kind of umbrella (her hair, cloak, and all the surrounding foliage (they blow in the wind) are all physics-enabled, by the way - screenshots don't really do those justice, though):

• It's not a particularly special screenshot, not one I've beautified or anything, but there are about a dozen mods at play just in that one screenshot - most of which you can't, and will never be able to, install even on the liberal Xbox version, let alone the restricted PS version (which is, as far as I know, the only console game besides Fallout 4 that allows you to install mods like this at all).
  
  Sure, you can modify Skyrim on the Xbox One, but as you can't install the Script Extender or an ENB, you're never going to come close to what's possible on the PC. And my load order isn't even impressive!
  
  Mods are, far and away, the most incredible benefit of PC games, and the main reason I returned to the platform after so many years. Sins of a Solar Empire can be transformed into a full-fledged Star Trek RTS. Half-Life 2 can be transformed into a weird Fallout: New Vegas MMORPG. The Sims can be turned into... erm... something. An ancient game with terrible graphics can be upgraded to look better than anything being released today. You, yourself, can be playing a game, decide you don't like part of it or think it could be improved in some way, and go off and learn how to make a mod to fix it! 
  
  Mods are incredible. They can turn games from 60 hours to 1,000 hours. Mods were making games into services long before 'games as a service' was a thing!
• Powerful PCs are powerful PCs beyond gaming. My employers have recently tasked me with editing videos (I work in local government, and they've suddenly realised that the 21st century exists). I'm not a video editor so I am going to make a poor job of it, at least until I figure out how it all works. But... the laptop my employers provided me with just couldn't do the job. It's an underpowered HP laptop. My gaming PC, on the other hand, is more than powerful enough to tackle such things!
  
  I actually use my personal PC (or PPC) for a lot of work-related activities, ranging from videos to PhotoShop work. Because it's powerful enough to run games, it's powerful enough to do lots of other stuff too. Had I still been reliant on my Xbox One, I'd have been a little stuck...

I suppose that if I were to summarise, the difference is that console gaming is convenient, easy, cheap (it just is), and generally doesn't go wrong (and if they do, it's usually just a case of turning your machine off and on again). 

 

PC gaming, by contrast, can be more difficult, more fuss, more expensive, and require more long-term maintenance. But, in return, you're getting much better graphics potential (in terms of texture quality, resolutions, and framerates), much more personalisation, and a platform that you can easily upgrade to make it better over time, rather than buying a whole new system.

 

And, of course, mods.

 

One of the biggest differences of all, though, which likely won't be highlighted in this thread, is in terms of game ownership.

 

PC gamers don't own their games. They haven't for several years, now. They essentially pay a one-off 'rental fee' with an indeterminate borrowing length. If Valve suddenly shut down Steam, for instance, PC gamers would be screwed.

 

All of my old console games are still sat on my shelf, though. 

 

That's probably the biggest difference I've noticed since switching back. And I don't like it.

 

[neverpreodergames]

On 10/5/2021 at 12:20 PM, 8tg said:

Key factor is economics, consumer need and personal effort.

PC is a sharper initial investment but with a potentially longer hardware lifespan and cheaper games, while consoles tend to have a more limited serviceable lifespan but overall simplicity for the user.

Each has their own benefits, a pc can do a lot more than play games and stream media content, while a console is limited to a select few things it can do besides game or stream media.

However that depends on what the consumer needs and wants, if they just want to play games and get a relatively easy out of the box experience to do so, or if they want a machine which can do more.

 

This is a whole huge topic and it’s been discussed to death all over the internet for decades, there’s plenty of resources out there to look into this.

Really, neither is better than the other. They’re different devices for different purposes.

Console is for Broke people; Xbox ultimate pass in mexico cost $10 mxn, that's Half a dollar. You can use a VPN and make Infinite accounts.

building a $1,000 to $2,000 PC = FREE GAMES baby. I haven't buy any game and yet played almost all AAA games out there. Even Watch dogs Legion believe it or not.