Humble Bundle: Is It the One Thing PC has over Xbox 360 and PS3?

[meepop]

This thought just popped into my head as I was reading the Humble Bundle V article. Now, I'm a PC-main gamer, and I've seen the console wars rage on non-stop. (If we must get hostile, please try not to get too violent. These are only words. For all you know, a massive troll-face could be writing them.) Yet, I realized that the one thing PS3 and Xbox 360 didn't have was the Humble Bundle. And there is no denying it: Neither Xbox nor PS3 has anything similar to the Humble Indie Bundle; a collection of good indie games (Which XBLA has some good indie titles, albeit mixed in with shit games), which you can pay what you want for, and part of it goes to charity. Not only that, but you get the soundtracks for all the games, and you can even gift the bundle to your friends.

TLDR: PC has Humble Indie Bundle, consoles do not.

For discussion, I'd like to ask what you guys think of this. Am I right in believing that the Xbox 360 can't compete with this, or is there something I'm not getting here? Also, if you did buy the HBV, how much did you buy it for?

(Captcha: Make a bee-line. Probably gonna have to do that before the rage starts)

 

[Kotep]

It's a thing but I wouldn't say it's the one thing when PCs have a number of other advantages.

The fact that games aren't tied down to a monopoly by the company that made the system is just one advantage.

 

[The Madman]

The 'one' thing? Absolutely not.

The various Indie bundles and indeed the entire PC indie industry is indeed fantastic however. It's been one of my favourite 'craze' to emerge in recent years, this sudden onslaught of high quality low budget projects that spread across pretty much every genre. Sure there's always been an indie scene, so to speak, but it's really begun to thrive in recent years. Fantastic stuff!

 

[Dryk]

It's fantastic and amazing, but so are a lot of other things about the PC.

 

[Vault101]

there are alot of things

held back mainly by DRM and lack of support

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Consoles have console exclusivity..... until emulation gets good enough to take on every new console (we currently lack PS3 and 360 emulators, the Wii emulator is ironically better than the actual Wii). They also have the fact that the games are built to run on it, so you don't have to worry about upgrades, BUT that also means you are stuck with bad hardware if your game doesn't run well.

DRM is by-passable unless the resources are not stored on your PC (I don't need to say the most recent example of this).

 

[Soviet Heavy]

PC has the largest back catalog of games period. Mainly because through the use of emulators and things like DOS box, you can play anything from the 1980s to 2012 on the same machine.

We do have to put up with bullshit a lot of the time, but to me at least, the benefits of having an all in one that can play every PC game in existence plus films, internet and a workstation far outweigh the cons.

 

[ResonanceSD]

The "one thing"? Really? Have you never seen a PC?

Technology, game library, mods. Better hardware support, better software support, better support, period.

 

[Savagezion]

You must not play many strategy or simulator games. No console can compete in that area as the controls are terrible for it. Remember Civilization Revolution? That was made solely for the console demographic and it didn't go over to well despite being simplified and built specifically for console play. Total War is another example. EU, HoI, etc. PS1 had Panzer and Allied Generals but after that, the strategy genre takes a dive. For Sims, consoles get The Sims and Sim City then they stop. Unless Tropico plans to release on consoles (Controls could be a nightmare) I don't see any more titles likely to go that route.

 

[Dandark]

Yes, a special kind of sale is the one thing that the PC has over consoles, there is nothing else at all, just that, it is the sole reason gaming PCs are so expensive. They most defintaly do not have supirior graphics, modding capability and overall customization. They also do not at all have more options for controls ranging from the keyboard to other controllers, they have no emulators either.

Indeed it is just the humble bundle........

 

[Kermi]

I'd say easier access to Indie games in general, combined with initiatives like the Humble Bundle, as well as massive savings on Steam/GoG.com/Impulse sales. Not to mention near-infinite modding capacity.

I prefer my console gaming, but playing the odd PC game here and there is nice.

 

[dfphetteplace]

Certainly not the only thing. I love being a PC gamer. I have a 360, whose purpose is to stream movies and music to my TV. The HB is incredible, but I also love Steam, being able to mod games, the ability to use a controller or keyboard/mouse depending on the game (anything with driving is much better to use a controller, and games like Super Meat Boy, ect. While games like TF2 are only proper with K/M). While it can be expensive, my graphics card crapped out earlier this year and I had to buy a new one, I think it is worth it.

 

[Doom-Slayer]

-snip-

The PC has a ton of things over consoles I think. But I payed I think 10 bucks for it, and Ill probably grab a few more copies of it soon to give to friends.

 

[thom_cat_]

Consoles have console exclusivity..... until emulation gets good enough to take on every new console (we currently lack PS3 and 360 emulators, the Wii emulator is ironically better than the actual Wii). They also have the fact that the games are built to run on it, so you don't have to worry about upgrades, BUT that also means you are stuck with bad hardware if your game doesn't run well.

DRM is by-passable unless the resources are not stored on your PC (I don't need to say the most recent example of this).

PC has PC exclusivity... it's not a very good argument.

Yes, the Humble Bundle (and IndieRoyale) are fantastic, but are not the real selling point for PC gaming.
I prefer mods and modding. Pretty much customization.

(also many other things I value that are my own personal preference, like mouse and keyboard, not having to move to the TV to boot up another device every time I want a spot of gaming, lots of stuff)

 

[Clearing the Eye]

there are alot of things

held back mainly by DRM and lack of support

There's plenty of DRM on consoles. Backwards compatibility? Ha. More like "If you don't have the console, pay us for the ability to play these old games." Lack of support? You can play more video games on personal computers than every other console from all the generations combined.

 

[Clearing the Eye]

There's plenty of DRM on consoles. Backwards compatibility? Ha. More like "If you don't have the console, pay us for the ability to play these old games." Lack of support? You can play more video games on personal computers than every other console from all the generations combined.

*including most of the other generations combined

You can easily play more games on your PC than all previous and current generations combined. Emulation covers virtually every console prior to this generation and the Wii is actually emulated. PC exclusives and the millions upon millions of indie and web based games together with said emulation more than surpasses what you can play on all the consoles combined.

I would be willing to bet the indie games on PC alone outnumber the games available for all previous generations. Google "free game" and count all them for me, lol.

 

[Bvenged]

Oh goodness, another flame-inducing thread.

I play Xbox 95% of the time when I'm gaming. I bought the humble bundle, I'm having fun with it; but is it something PC has over console? No.

It's not something it has over console, it's just something it does that console doesn't. It's not a competition at this point, those days are long gone, you should have used them in the 90's - the argument of "one thing has X and is there better" or "one has Y which is why it's worse" is nothing short of ignorance these days. They're two very different computers with 2 very different purposes.

It's as dull as trying to argue that your PC is better than TV for TV, because your PC can watch TV equally well but whenever you want - No point to comparing like that, it's all down to preference. Nearly all arguments are invalidated due to preference and/or ignorance of computer technology and consumerism.

So in answer of your thread: No. You could argue the point either way, really, which is good discussion/flame value for this thread... But in response to the overall console/pc flame war I'm sick of reading about (and yes, this thread contributes as you're stating one thing has something others do not); then all participants can stop trying to mash their triangle or circle shaped opinions into the square shaped hole.