Consoles vs PC gaming (user experience)

[MC.Morrado]

As someone who plays games on both Xbox and PC. I can definitely say there are pros and cons to both platforms.

 

PC:

- more games

- You have to know what you're doing to build a PC so you don't waste more than a months rent on nothing.

 

Console:

- not as many games

- Plug and play, all you have to worry about is gaming

 

What is your take on the user experience compared to console versus PC? Be civil, this only about the user experience of both respective platforms. What are your experiences like and how do they compare?

[Hinjima]

6 minutes ago, MC.Morrado said:

As someone who plays games on both Xbox and PC. I can definitely say there are pros and cons to both platforms.

 

PC:

- more games

- You have to know what you're doing to build a PC so you don't waste more than a months rent on nothing.

 

Console:

- not as many games

- Plug and play, all you have to worry about is gaming

 

What is your take on the user experience compared to console versus PC? Be civil, this only about the user experience of both respective platforms. What are your experiences like and how do they compare?

I like both!  I am a PC hardware fan and I do like my high end PC builds!

But I grew up on PS1, PS2 and gamecube ( never owned an XBOX of any kind )

 

Plug and Play is definitely a huge plus for consoles, it just works! ( sorry Nvidia )

I like turning on my PS5 and just booting up a game and thats it. That being said.. I haven't touched my PS5 in over a year, its sitting there waiting for GTA 6.

 

Both are great for what they are and there is no right or wrong here. 

[WereCat]

9 minutes ago, MC.Morrado said:

 

- You have to know what you're doing to build a PC so you don't waste more than a months rent on nothing.

 

Or you can buy a pre-build or have someone build it for you.

 

PC:

Negatives: Game launchers & having to do initial setup to get things to work the way you like

Positive: Versatility & options

 

Console:

Negatives: Performance, game prices, pay for online play (if that is still a thing)

Positives: Plug & play, low maintenance

[emosun]

I don't see any pros to modern console gaming due to the whole "requires internet/if company goes out of business the game/console stops working" issue.

I don't like anything thats dependent on the internet or the original company existing.

Pc's are similar these days , but to a lesser degree in that it's possible to modify the software/game/os to not require the internet to increase it's longevity.

That being said I hate the entire modern mentality around videos games. The whole "rent the game and have it taken away whenever they feel like it because you agreed to the EULA" is stupid. And unfortunately people aren't old enough to know that games can be owned and last forever becuase they grew up during a time when companies/games had control over them.

[podkall]

PC not just more games, but other things,

 

• PC used for work related tasks
• Flexibility and options
• Multitasking
• Interface can feel better
• Open source stuff
• Customization
• etc

 

Console is quite one-dimensional in use case,

 

sure you can watch movies, YouTube, search the internet and game, but that's about 90% done, on PC that's 10% of the beginning of things you can do on it.

[TylerD321]

I like PC gaming better than console gaming because I hate controller. I also like that I can have multiple displays so I can see discord and music on a PC. I am sure you could probably work out something similar on a console but ew.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Hinjima said:

I like both!  I am a PC hardware fan

That makes 2 of us.

1 hour ago, WereCat said:

Negatives: Game launchers

Totally.

 

1 hour ago, emosun said:

I don't like anything thats dependent on the internet or the original company existing.

Me neither.

 

1 hour ago, emosun said:

And unfortunately people aren't old enough to know that games can be owned and last forever becuase they grew up during a time when companies/games had control over them.

Sad but true.

 

I started playing games as a child in the eighties. I remember going over to a friend's house and playing Lemmings, Prince of Persia and Vikings on their dad's PC. And going to another friend's house to play Atari's Enduro and Pitfall. All great games!

 

My first console was a NES compatible system called Hi-Top Game, check it out:

 

(I remember I didn't expect to get such a gift because I grew up in a working class family.)

 

I've owned or played them all, with a few exceptions (PS1, PS2 and Gamecube). Then I got a PS3, then a PS4, and finally moved to PC.

 

For me, PC and consoles are two different things. I don't play as much as I used to, but if I had all the money and time in the world, I would definitely have a console because for me there's nothing like sitting on the couch and playing on a big TV, but I would also have a PC because I love CRPGs and I prefer to play them with a mouse and keyboard.

 

So to sum it up for me, the difference is in the type of game I want to play. I really don't like the idea of consoles disappearing into TVs and all-in-one view-play devices. I like consoles.

 

[Spring1898]

I feel like the community in consoles is different and less formal, not that PC gaming is.

But there is still that element, that really doesn't exist much but underpins the culture of consoles, that the interaction is more like in the living room setting than at a desk...

[cmndr]

Quote

You have to know what you're doing to build a PC so you don't waste more than a months rent on nothing.

 

The bar is pretty low. I could build a computer in middle school and there's a ton of resources. 
Also rent is $5000 in some places... haha. Eugh. 

[jordanbuilds1]

6 hours ago, MC.Morrado said:

- You have to know what you're doing to build a PC so you don't waste more than a months rent on nothing.

i feel like people exagerate how hard it is to build a pc, especially now that tools like 'google' exist. sure it can be tedious but i dont think ive actually seen anyone take the extra step to search it up.

[emosun]

50 minutes ago, jordanbuilds1 said:

i feel like people exagerate how hard it is to build a pc, especially now that tools like 'google' exist. sure it can be tedious but i dont think ive actually seen anyone take the extra step to search it up.

Building a pc isn't hard , diagnostics are.

 

That's why this forum has 1000 "just built my pc and it won't post" threads and zero "how do I turn a screwdriver" threads.

[TylerD321]

4 hours ago, emosun said:

Building a pc isn't hard , diagnostics are.

 

That's why this forum has 1000 "just built my pc and it won't post" threads and zero "how do I turn a screwdriver" threads.

That is absolutely true. I also believe this is a good justification for a forum like this to exist. It allows us to learn from other people's mistakes and learn how other users helped them troubleshoot/solve the problem. It is basically crowdsourcing knowledge.

[Spring1898]

But not everyone is savvy in ways like that. And for those people prebuilts or friends exist.

[MC.Morrado]

I know what I'm doing as a PC builder. My only difficulty is installing proprietary AMD drivers on Linux because the open-source ones kinda suck for my specific cards.

[monopoly_hater]

My take is both kinda suck these days. Dark patterns, overpriced DLC, horrible optimization, and of course the fact that you don't own anything. The only gaming I do is playing kapman or SuperTuxKart on my PC, or sometimes when I have more free time I play games on my Wii U. I will never buy a new console though, like the fact that they're starting to lack any means to play physical games is a dealbreaker.

[atxcyclist]

I have gaming computers I’ve built and also had consoles for decades. 
 

I think consoles are great because of cost of entry and future compatibility; If you have $499 you can buy a console that will run games for its entire lifecycle with no need to upgrade (maybe storage).

 

You obviously can get much higher performance and style on a top-tier gaming machine, so for people that like to ‘choose their own adventure’ and have a budget to match, it’s the obvious choice.

 

 

I have a Series X and it’s been great. Honestly I could get by with just the XBOX for gaming outside of a few exclusives on Windows, with GamePass and backwards compatibility there’s a ton of titles that run.

[MC.Morrado]

16 minutes ago, atxcyclist said:

I have gaming computers I’ve built and also had consoles for decades. 
 

I think consoles are great because of cost of entry and future compatibility; If you have $499 you can buy a console that will run games for its entire lifecycle with no need to upgrade (maybe storage).

 

You obviously can get much higher performance and style on a top-tier gaming machine, so for people that like to ‘choose their own adventure’ and have a budget to match, it’s the obvious choice.

 

 

I have a Series X and it’s been great. Honestly I could get by with just the XBOX for gaming outside of a few exclusives on Windows, with GamePass and backwards compatibility there’s a ton of titles that run.

The newest console I own is an Xbox One S that I got for christmas in 2019. Most of my childhood was spent playing on an Xbox 360 because the Xbox One had me waiting forever to do anything and I didn't like it.

[sonnumber5]

For me, family game time usually happens on a console, and personal gaming happens on my PC. That norm only really changes if there's a compelling console exclusive I want to play at launch before its eventual PC port.

[Ha-Satan]

As somebody who mostly prefers slower-paced single-player games like JRPGs and open world action games (Assassin's Creed, etc.) I've honestly found myself gravitating towards console in recent years, especially now that VRR is a standard feature on XBox and Playstation (and hopefully will be on the next Nintendo console too).

 

The biggest issue for me is simply stability and consistency. So many single-player AAA games these days have launched with #stutterstruggle and stability issues on PC, even with high-end rigs, but run consistently on PS5. Yeah, the resolution and graphics settings might be lower, and the average frame rate might not be as high, but the frame rate is often more consistent on PS5 compared to the stuttery PC ports we often get nowadays.

 

It's not universally true, but it's true enough to give me pause before choosing to buy new AAA games on PC.

[rikitikitavi]

For almost 10 years, Xbox 360 was my main gaming machine, with my laptop being used for just a few long running pc titles like CS, SC, LoL and indies like FTL.

 

In a way it simplified my life big time - I knew that whatever game I get, it will be playable when I want to chill on the couch after the long day, no matter if the FPS or graphics weren't keeping up with the time. These were the times I would buy a few games on release - I remember GTA5 being the last one.

Every game mattered - I didn't have a big collection, about two dozen discs, but every chosen title was one of the best gaming experiences.

 

PC gaming has always been a bit more cumbersome than it should have been. I remember returning GTA 2 because I didn't know how to update DirectX or smth. Couch coop meant bringing your "massive" tower to the living room, so it rarely happened. Also... I have an embarrassing amount of Steam games collected throughout the years that were never played (and a Steam badge to commemorate it).

 

Both experiences can be great, but I would argue that console plug and play makes it a better overall experience.

 

Looks like Steam Deck might become the "pc console" (aka the ultimate gaming machine) since more and more devs starting to target it. It just needs more juice.

[maplepants]

The sleep / wake features of modern consoles or the Steam Deck are some of my favourite features PC gaming is missing. I don't play any online games so if I just have 30 minutes to game I can wake up my Steam Deck or PS4 and get 30 whole minutes of gaming. When trying to do that on my gaming PC sometimes I get 25 of the minutes, sometimes I get 5 depending on what, if any, updates need to be done.

 

Just last night I wanted to play The Division on my gaming PC but Windows needed an update, the game needed an update, Ubisoft Connected wanted to update, and Steam did too. While all that junk was happening I just grabbed my Steam Deck on was back into Just Cause 3 within seconds.

[Freeman_SC]

Console Pros:

Easy enough plug and play / etc. Though, with modern consoles this isn't necessarily the case. Especially when you look at all the things you need to setup a PlayStation or XBox.

Generally more Co-Op (Hot-Seat) games than PC. Co-Op games are great, paying for multiple devices to play Co-Op is not great.

Games are generally more optimized for the platform, because a developer is targeting a single or just a few platforms.

Hopefully rock solid hardware, because Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo are working with One (or very few) Set(s) of hardware.

 

PC Pros:

Tons of free content, which you pretty much can't get on Consoles.

For Example (easy copy-paste not necessarily comprehensive):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_freeware_video_games

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_video_game

Emulation, specifically I'm not talking about console emulation. I'm talking about the ability to play DOS games and old Windows games on modern devices.

Multi-use system. Video / Audio Editing, Software development, general Office work, and other various uses are all within reach of an average game PC. (Yes, even Facebook.)

Not generally locked-in to one specific Ecosystem.

GOG and Steam Sales. Perhaps the #1 reason I stopped buying console in general. (Also, Humble Bundle.)

Did I mention no vendor lock-in? Good, because my next computer will be Linux and our household will officially be free of Microsoft. Wife and Kiddo already have new Linux machines.

Keyboard and Mouse, because some games just shouldn't be experienced with a controller. (PlayStation, Windows, and Nintendo at this point could all use KB+M, but we can't have nice things.)

[Nat4Sail]

Something just hits differently playing a game on a big TV while sitting on a couch. I prefer to play the majority of games on my Xbox. 
 

I use my PC if I am doing games I with friends on discord, but that's pretty much the only time now. 

[Erioch]

On 11/12/2024 at 10:21 AM, TylerD321 said:

I like PC gaming better than console gaming because I hate controller. I also like that I can have multiple displays so I can see discord and music on a PC. I am sure you could probably work out something similar on a console but ew.

I'm pretty much the same (except for Discord, ew).  I really don't get controllers and I'm too old to learn.  Plus, building PCs is fun.

[Ha-Satan]

On 11/14/2024 at 4:20 AM, maplepants said:

The sleep / wake features of modern consoles or the Steam Deck are some of my favourite features PC gaming is missing. I don't play any online games so if I just have 30 minutes to game I can wake up my Steam Deck or PS4 and get 30 whole minutes of gaming. When trying to do that on my gaming PC sometimes I get 25 of the minutes, sometimes I get 5 depending on what, if any, updates need to be done.

 

Just last night I wanted to play The Division on my gaming PC but Windows needed an update, the game needed an update, Ubisoft Connected wanted to update, and Steam did too. While all that junk was happening I just grabbed my Steam Deck on was back into Just Cause 3 within seconds.

While I totally agree that easy sleep and wake is a great feature that Windows needs to improve upon, I've never really understood how people are encountering these issues with invasive and lengthy updates in Windows. In the nearly 10 years of using Windows 10 for both my gaming rig and my office PC at work, I've never once encountered a lengthy forced update causing a major disruption to my work or gaming.

 

I'm not trying to point fingers at you in particular, but I think the problem might be that people are allowing updates to pile up to the point of a forced update, but this is easily avoidable by just doing a manual reboot of your PC (actually "Restart" and not "Shut down" since modern Windows doesn't actually Shut Down when you select "Shut down") every couple days so that you are constantly applying small amounts of updates (which usually barely take any time at all) instead of waiting for Windows to force a massive update upon you because you didn't update for months.

 

Would it be better if you didn't have to do this? Yes, but it's still a very manageable thing.

 

To be honest, I've actually been interrupted more times by my consoles demanding an update than I have by my Windows PC.