Do Console Gamers Have More Fun?

[geon106]

Different strokes for different folks.

PC games can achieve the same level of "community" you speak of, and in many ways it can achieve more. Steam helps me a lot with this, as well as this very forum.

Unless you get ripped off every step of the way there is absolutely no way a good gaming PC is going to cost you £1000. Maybe in the late 90's, early 00's, but these days tech is getting so accessable I'd be amazed if you couldn't get a very servicable gaming rig for the price of, say, an xbox 360. Keeping them updated is easy (ok, maybe upgrading hardware every few years is a task, but hey) and maintaining them is not only simple, but fun too! (Getting a little rubber thingy of compressed air to just squeeze over the computer every few weeks, it's a barrel of laughs!)

Ultimately, PC Gamers enjoy a greater sense of control and freedom. In my mind, both PCs and consoles are perfectly valid ways to enjoy one's hobby, it just comes back to the phrase I mentioned at the start of this post.

Edit: As for the simpler question the title alone poses; my brother plays xbox 360 and he's always screaming and moaning about something or other, so probably not.

Agreed 100% with you there matey.

My Gaming PC has these specs:

AMD Athlon X2 6000+ 3.0Ghz oc to 3.2ghz
4GB 667Mhz DDR2
NVIDIA 8800GTX XXX Edition GPU
X-FI Fatal1ty Champion Pro soundcard
2000Mhz FSB SLi Mobo
500GB Western Digital Black Caviar 32MB Cache SATAII HDD
Logitech G15
Impact 3200dpi gaming mouse
22.5" LG 1080p 2MS 50,000:1 Gaming Monitor
DVD+-RW
850W PSU
Xbox 360 for Windows Controller

This PC at the end of 2007 cost me a total of about £700 for the whole lot, tbh a gaming PC doesn't cost much. If you upgrade it rather than get a whole new one it works out much cheaper

 

[BaldursBananaSoap]

There's a much better feeling of community on PC. And they're not all twelve year olds. You act like the PC doesn't have parties and invite systems. It does, maybe you should play more.

 

[Misaek]

Ive always been a console gamer but I'm making the transaction to PC gamer now that I have FINALLY upgraded my RAM and video card so I can actually play games now. And so far while I do enjoy the security of knowing a game will work on the console, the console does not hold anything even resembling a candle to the PC, for me at least. But for some reason, for now if I can get a game on the console and computer I will choose the computer and I don't know why this is.

 

[Julianking93]

I just don't like PC gaming because I hate using a keyboard.

I prefer a controller. Its too much work anyway.

I played Oblivion on my PC first (first computer game I ever played) and thought it was horrible. The controls were weird and since I hate the noise of a clicking mouse, constantly clicking it to swing a sword got on my nerves.

I much prefer consoles.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I play games on almost all platforms, and I must say, I get far more often annoyed at my PC titles than console titles. Bitching with settings, certain services not working (DAMN YOU GFWL, DAMN YOU TO HELL!!! I wanna play DoW2!!!), installation crap, files missing, unstable OS's or computers making you crash, etc etc etc. It annoys me to no-end, and that's not even mentioning the hardware business, that isn't even that much of a problem nowadays.

Not saying I'm never annoyed with my consoles (yes I'm looking at you MW2 with your matchmaking FROM HELL, also the complete lack of a proper, solid community for any game) but far less than with my PC.

 

[omega 616]

Can a PS3 do that? With limited choices, yes.

Umm, I can play every single ps2 and maybe even ps1 (I haven't tried yet) on my ps3.

My brother and I have this discussion alot! I think the console wins 'cos it's all there for you, you slap down your cash, take it home, set it up and your good to go. No more upgrades (maybe the odd update) and no were near the amount of things that can wrong with it. Just for the record and I totally computer illiterate.

My brother LOVES his gaming pc, he goes on about how the graphics are better, how the aiming is easier, how you can mod it, how he can get his games for free. He is computer literate to the point of going to uni to study it further.

I Don't care about graphics, you just zoom past 99% of them anyway. I can aim only slightly slower than he can, although I am more accurate due to the lack of speed. I'm a bit of a goody goody, so I believe if a game manufacture spends time making it, I should atleast pay to enjoy there work.

So in short play what you like and don't let any body tell you it's crap.

 

[comadorcrack]

Different strokes for different folks

you know I was Gonna publish a long thought out response but fuck it nothing says topping that

 

[squid5580]

You guys can surf the web, so we kinda lose there.

PS3 owners can so we are back to even.

I have fun playing console games. I have had fun playing certain PC games. I have had shitty times with both because of shitty games. Hmm I am starting to see a pattern emerging.

 

[e2density]

Can a PS3 do that? With limited choices, yes.

Umm, I can play every single ps2 and maybe even ps1 (I haven't tried yet) on my ps3.

That's why I said "With limited choices"...
You can only play a few PSOne games, the ones that are available to you in the PSN Market. PC's can play almost every game they've ever had since about 1998...

 

[omega 616]

Can a PS3 do that? With limited choices, yes.

Umm, I can play every single ps2 and maybe even ps1 (I haven't tried yet) on my ps3.

That's why I said "With limited choices"...
You can only play a few PSOne games, the ones that are available to you in the PSN Market. PC's can play almost every game they've ever had since about 1998...

I mean mine is backwards compatible. I can't download off PSN, due to the lack of Internet.

Not many games from the past I want to play anyway, although I did buy KOTOR 2 and it doesn't work on my pc.

 

[Ultra_Caboose]

I've never been a PC gamer, really. While I know how to use a computer, how they work goes about a mile over my head, so I'm always confused as to why my PC version of Metal Gear Solid would work on a 12 year old Piece-of-Shit computer with a 700mb hard drive, compared to this brand-spankin'-new laptop, where it would crash before ever getting started. (I figured it out eventually).

So, in a nutshell, consoles are much easier platforms to game on in my opinion. I can't say they're superior, nobody really can, but I like 'em, so I'll keep on playing on 'em.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

You guys can surf the web, so we kinda lose there.

PS3 owners can so we are back to even.

I have fun playing console games. I have had fun playing certain PC games. I have had shitty times with both because of shitty games. Hmm I am starting to see a pattern emerging.

The wii can as well. But its shit so its hardly worth mentioning.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I know that with a console, you can be sure that a game will run fine on it.

This is probably the best reason to own a console, hands down.

and that with a PC, you better be damn sure your PC can run it, or else you are in for a laggy, unplayable mess.

*feels ripped off after getting "The Bard's Tale" off of Steam, only to find that its slow as fuck even on low*

*points and laughs at you for failing to check your machine against the requirements*
*feels bad shortly thereafter*

I checked. It said that I could run it on full on CanYouRunIt.com

 

[the_dancy_vagrant]

Ah, this tangent again...

It's all about the pros and cons of each setup. Like-a so:

PC

Pro: moddable games, wide variety of control schemes, *somewhat* wider variety of games (RTS and MMO, basically. Anything that was released for PC and console doesn't count as it was ported to one or the other), and my personal favorite - PC games tend to drop in price faster than console games. The PC is a multi purpose box, if you aren't gaming you can always use it to accomplish actual work related to making an income.

Con: wide variety of hardware makes game requirements hard to predict, console exclusive titles often take years to be ported (if ever), relatively high initial cost to get a decent system together (this only works if it isn't a launch year for a console. when new consoles come out they're about as expensive as a mid-range desktop), development cycles often take years longer when compared to console games (I'm looking at you, Blizzard...)

Console

Pro: works right out of the box, exclusive titles/franchises are typically very high quality and very fun, ability to loan games to friends with ease/trade games you're sick of, support for RMA is practically a guarantee if your console bricks on you. It's a home appliance - you buy it and it works. If it doesn't work then the manufacturer will send you a new one unless you voided the warranty, same as any device you buy.

Con: peripherals are pricey when compared to PC bits and are limited to one system and one system only, limited or nonexistent fan development/mods/etc, online support has been somewhat of a crap shoot instead of a given (though I admit freely that this is not much of an issue any longer)

Both

Pro: there will be something that you like to play, even if it's only one game, regardless of what you pick.

Con: shovelware, and lots of it. also vaporware, cattiness/poor support from developers, huge and unwarranted developer egos to contend with, planned obsolescence, poor planning (financial, development, or otherwise), lame gimmicks that ruin otherwise good games.

That's my take.

 

[Ophiuchus]

I seriously would like to know what kind of Hardware you had (or still have) that you couldn't play friggin Portal on a PC and how long you had the PC in comparison to the last console you bought...

I bought the computer around the end of 2007. Couldn't afford anything particularly high-end - I'm a university student, the only reason I bought it in the first place was because my laptop suddenly died beyond repair, so it was just a case of emergency buying the cheapest one that came packaged with a monitor and was vaguely functional for work and internet browsing.

Couldn't tell you much about the spec - cheap 2.1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, some random onboard graphics... thing. I've since put in a half decent graphics card (GeForce 9600) and upgraded to 2GB RAM. It runs Oblivion and Fallout 3 on high settings, it'll do for my needs.

As for the last console I bought - well, that was the Wii, which is a massive waste of time and shelf space so let's not even consider that. As for the Xbox: I got that as a birthday present a couple of months before the computer, although I don't really see why that's relevant.

Actually, I don't even know why I feel the need to explain myself. Is it really so difficult for people to accept that not everyone can afford to maintain a high-end gaming rig, or that that they'd rather take the easy option, or even that they just don't care?

 

[Epitome]

Im 3 Xbox's in and I still prefer it to PC gaming, I have done alot of both and the PC for me wins only in RTS and some RPG aspects (I love the BG series. The console is just so handy I can play from the comfort of my bed, things will always work etc

 

[Hiphophippo]

I think it's pretty much just what you're weened on. I grew up making maps for doom and duke3d so I'm more a PC guy.

Consoles will always win out when it comes to local multiplayer though just by their very nature.

Im 3 Xbox's in and I still prefer it to PC gaming, I have done alot of both and the PC for me wins only in RTS and some RPG aspects (I love the BG series. The console is just so handy I can play from the comfort of my bed, things will always work etc

Well...