Are consoles actually as bad as most PC enthusiasts say?

[SteveGrabowski0]

55 minutes ago, Sauron said:

A ps4 is not 230$, at least not where I live - and even amazon.com has it at 270$. Any bundle bonus is irrelevant when the first year of internet fee kicks in, not to mention I haven't paid full price for a AAA pc game in years (with the exception of doom) and in general the price of games is lower even without discounts and sales.

 

Here's a significantly better computer for the price of a ps4, a year of subscription and the price premium (10 bucks each) of 3 AAA games:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 845 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: MSI A68HM-E33 V2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.92 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.76 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Mini Video Card  ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Xion XON-310_BK MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($31.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $355.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-09 13:25 EST-0500

 

Now we don't even have to worry about windows pricing, the insider program allows you to legally use it for free.

 

Consider consoles like printers, the manufacturer doesn't make a large margin on the hardware so they can rape you with cartridge (/game/internet fee) costs.

 

If you buy a ps4 to play only the bundled game and have no interest in internet functionality, then yes, the ps4 is cheaper. If you want to use it anywhere near as much as I'd use the computer above (assuming limited funds, aka only one game machine), it's much more expensive. It was even worse a year ago when the upfront price was about the same as the build above. And let me emphasize that the pc is not only cheaper in the mid to long term, it is significantly better in terms of hardware and functionality.

Don't forget $45 for a decent controller in that pc price.

[App4that]

4 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

Don't forget $45 for a decent controller in that pc price.

Then you have to add that to the PS4 too  

[Bleedingyamato]

3 hours ago, Dash Lambda said:

There are three reasons I can't really can't play games on a console:

-The framerate is almost universally low, usually around 30FPS, and also inconsistent. I always notice low framerates, especially when they fluctuate.

-The input latency is awful. There's not much else to say, latency is important to me, and consoles just don't care.

-I could never get used to the controllers. An analog stick isn't meant for precise movement, I have no idea how anyone manages to use them to friggin' aim.

 

I don't really care that much about graphical fidelity, I just want the interface to be good, and consoles just don't have a good interface. They might actually be good if they could use different controllers and gave you some graphics settings, but they don't. So...

 

If you don't mind the controllers, the latency, and the developers deciding bigger textures are more important than a good framerate, then consoles are fine. You can build a better PC for cheaper, but not the difference in price isn't massive enough to make them hideously overpriced.

My eyes must suck then because I'm not sure I've noticed fps issues on my consoles.  Not saying you're wrong just that my eyes are bad I guess. (I own several including PS2-4, Xbox-Xbox One S, and Wii/Wii U and portable ones from both Nintendo and Sony)

 

Can you explain about the controller latency?    Like how to notice it.

Again, not saying you're wrong but I never paid that close attention to notice it happens.

 

For moving around a thumb stick is great and while I do agree that it's not as good for aiming it's not too too bad.  I think adjusting the movement sensitivity helps a bit with precision.  Also patience with a sniper rifle.  I bet 80% or better of my missed sniper shots were because I rushed taking shots without careful aiming.  ? 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Nuluvius said:

Just wait until you have kids then.

Based on experience as a parent they certainly prove themselves based on their simplistic interfaces that a young child can easily get to grips with. I used to dispose them but not anymore.

Even better: if they break it then if you choose to replace it the cost is much lower than a PC.  

[Bleedingyamato]

2 minutes ago, App4that said:

Then you have to add that to the PS4 too  

Ummm no..  It's included.  ?

[Guest]

I think they both are for entirely different groups of people, PC who want a solid game with high fps/graphics and for competitive gaming with precise aim and consoles for people who want to chill and play with friends. I have a PC and an Xbox one s and the Xbox one is that bad but I can tell the PC is better. It's hard to compare them though because they are very different.

[App4that]

Just now, Bleedingyamato said:

Ummm no..  It's included.  ?

I was a tester on the PS4, owned a few. The controller sucks. So far the best controller I've found on this generation of console is the Xbox One S controller. Significant improvement over the original Xbox One controller. 

 

So joke.

 

you  

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

For me, the two have their place in the world. PC gaming is for people who want the absolute best experience on offer today and can deal with the problems associated with it, and console gaming is for people who want to play the latest titles (and exclusive) without having to deal with any problems, albeit at a satisfactory experience.  

[SteveGrabowski0]

42 minutes ago, App4that said:

Consoles are holding back the game industry, bad. And that won't change until people have the courage to look past the marketing and see it. 

I think this argument is crazy. If there were no consoles AAA gaming would likely die in its current form. We'd have games mostly like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, etc, and lots of free to play crap too.

 

You gotta look at this from the perspective of a typical gamer, not from your perspective where you know what hardware performs well and what's worth the money, what's going to last, what works with my power supply, and so on. The typical customer walks into Best Buy and if they pick out a gaming PC they're lucky to come away with a GTX 745 in their system. And then they badmouth PC gaming when their shitty storebought PC can't keep up with whatever new game they want to play. When their game looks and plays worlds worse than their friend's copy on PS4 even though they paid $700 for a computer that was supposed to be good because it had an i5 in it.

 

If you want to see a title designed for PC gamers look no farther than the awful PC port of PES 2017, which was made to run on Intel's integrated graphics. That's the kind of garbage we'd see without dedicated gaming consoles. Those of us who build gaming PCs are a pretty small minority and we're never going to be catered to because we're not the ones keeping these guys in business. The death of consoles would be the death of AAA gaming.

[SteveGrabowski0]

8 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

My eyes must suck then because I'm not sure I've noticed fps issues on my consoles.  Not saying you're wrong just that my eyes are bad I guess. (I own several including PS2-4, Xbox-Xbox One S, and Wii/Wii U and portable ones from both Nintendo and Sony)

Some people can really notice the difference. I'm one of them, I can easily notice if my game drops to even 55 fps. With that said, I'd rather play a great game at 30 fps (or even 20-25 fps, like Red Dead Redemption 1 on XBox 360) than a good one at 60 fps, which is why I bought a PS4 for games I couldn't get on PC.

[Bleedingyamato]

3 minutes ago, App4that said:

I was a tester on the PS4, owned a few. The controller sucks. So far the best controller I've found on this generation of console is the Xbox One S controller. Significant improvement over the original Xbox One controller. 

 

So joke.

 

you  

What does a tester mean in this case?

 

It does not suck...  I like it.  Better than the PS3 controller.

 

What exactly did the S controller change?  

 

I noticed they resized the Xbox button and the bottom has a different texture to it but they're not exactly life changing differences.  

 

 

I'm confused, are you saying I missed a joke or I am the joke?  lol 

[SteveGrabowski0]

3 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

For me, the two have their place in the world. PC gaming is for people who want the absolute best experience on offer today and can deal with the problems associated with it, and console gaming is for people who want to play the latest titles (and exclusive) without having to deal with any problems, albeit at a satisfactory experience.  

I agree. PC gaming is a premium gaming experience that I'm willing to pay for and willing to spend the time researching on.

[App4that]

2 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

-snip-

There was a time this was accurate, that time has passed. PC gaming has more market share than all the consoles combined, and the DIY market has dwarfed the pre built market. That's why you see MSI and others trying to restart it. 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

I think this argument is crazy. If there were no consoles AAA gaming would likely die in its current form. We'd have games mostly like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, etc, and lots of free to play crap too.

 

You gotta look at this from the perspective of a typical gamer, not from your perspective where you know what hardware performs well and what's worth the money, what's going to last, what works with my power supply, and so on. The typical customer walks into Best Buy and if they pick out a gaming PC they're lucky to come away with a GTX 745 in their system. And then they badmouth PC gaming when their shitty storebought PC can't keep up with whatever new game they want to play. When their game looks and plays worlds worse than their friend's copy on PS4 even though they paid $700 for a computer that was supposed to be good because it had an i5 in it.

 

If you want to see a title designed for PC gamers look no farther than the awful PC port of PES 2017, which was made to run on Intel's integrated graphics. That's the kind of garbage we'd see without dedicated gaming consoles. Those of us who build gaming PCs are a pretty small minority and we're never going to be catered to because we're not the ones keeping these guys in business. The death of consoles would be the death of AAA gaming.

 

I disagree with you both, I think that he's right and if they saw the pc builders became the majority then they'd make AAA titles for them... but if people just stopped buying consoles and pcs altogether (because of their experience with storebought ones) then they would stop making them for us.

[App4that]

1 minute ago, Bleedingyamato said:

What does a tester mean in this case?

 

It does not suck...  I like it.  Better than the PS3 controller.

 

What exactly did the S controller change?  

 

I noticed they resized the Xbox button and the bottom has a different texture to it but they're not exactly life changing differences.  

 

 

I'm confused, are you saying I missed a joke or I am the joke?  lol 

I worked for a few developers, still kinda do. Testing games and patches, getting input from players that kind of stuff.

 

Keep in mind I've used every controller ever made for a console. To say I'm picky is an understatement. So things most people wouldn't notice drive me up a wall. 

 

 

[Misanthrope]

The biggest problem is exclusives.

 

More specifically, games that were planned or even released at one point as PC games than later become console centric or even console exclusives. There is nothing that pisses me off more than seeing so many once great PC developers take an axe to most of their game mechanics and put in those stupid, motherfucking circular menus and then release that version as a "PC game" with very obvious performance problems, 30 FPS or capped FPS at 60, etc.

 

So I actually do encourage people to promote PC gaming, fuck around with the Mustard Race memes and actively critize consoles because in my eyes it's just an honest and deserved backlash against the fucking pigs at Sony and Microsoft mainly (Though Nintendo doesn't gets a free pass with me unlike many other PC gamers)

 

[SteveGrabowski0]

Just now, App4that said:

There was a time this was accurate, that time has passed. PC gaming has more market share than all the consoles combined, and the DIY market has dwarfed the pre built market. That's why you see MSI and others trying to restart it. 

PC gaming has a huge market share because of stuff like LOL and all the free to play crap like Candy Crush that just basically prints money.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

(Though Nintendo doesn't gets a free pass with me unlike many other PC gamers)

 

1

ayyyy whats wrong with nintendo?

[Misanthrope]

1 minute ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

PC gaming has a huge market share because of stuff like LOL and all the free to play crap like Candy Crush that just basically prints money.

LoL and overwatch are still valid PC games in my eyes. The flash games gone to facebook are still big but dying down quickly as they move to mobiles instead.

[App4that]

1 minute ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

PC gaming has a huge market share because of stuff like LOL and all the free to play crap like Candy Crush that just basically prints money.

So LOL isn't worthy, but consoles are? 

 

That was a misstep. Doesn't matter the game you play, but the time you put in it. 

[SteveGrabowski0]

4 minutes ago, Abyss Gaming said:

I disagree with you both, I think that he's right and if they saw the pc builders became the majority then they'd make AAA titles for them... but if people just stopped buying consoles and pcs altogether (because of their experience with storebought ones) then they would stop making them for us.

PC builders are never going to become the majority though. Most people aren't tech nuts, which you basically have to be to build your own pc and do a good job of it.

[Misanthrope]

Just now, Abyss Gaming said:

ayyyy whats wrong with nintendo?

Not much I grew up and enjoyed the 8 bit and 16 bit generations, it's just that not much has changed since. Yes some of their franchises are now 3D but even those go back to the N64 days in the fucking 90s plus when 3D came around I jumped to Quake and such instead.

[Guest Kloaked]

30 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I didn't want UPlay on my system for a while (especially after Google declared it a rootkit)

5

oh my god hhahahahah

 

I am surprised I never heard about that.

[Misanthrope]

2 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

PC builders are never going to become the majority though. Most people aren't tech nuts, which you basically have to be to build your own pc and do a good job of it.

That's why LoL and Overwatch and other "Just play it on the most popular graphics card ever, intel igpus" will remain the #1 for a good while. Doesn't means they're not proper PC games I maintain that games like this and smaller, 2D or basic 3D indie games are proper PC games and should be afforded attention.

[SteveGrabowski0]

1 minute ago, App4that said:

So LOL isn't worthy, but consoles are? 

 

That was a misstep. Doesn't matter the game you play, but the time you put in it. 

LOL isn't a big budget AAA game. It's the kind of game you can play on any pc. I'm not sure how the consoles are holding back AAA gaming but LOL is making some great contribution to it.

[App4that]

2 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

PC builders are never going to become the majority though. Most people aren't tech nuts, which you basically have to be to build your own pc and do a good job of it.

Then you haven't been watching the market, why do you think both Nvidia and AMD have seen huge stock price increases?

 

But with board partners building pre build gaming PCs I hope we see a resurgence.