right now....Is it worth getting a console?

[Vault101]

I actually did a thread like this a while ago but anyway this can be the revised version

So Im a PC gamer and its going great for me, I have quite a backlog of games not including all the exiting new releases this year (and older games I need get round to playing), I also have the added awsomeness of portability (its a laptop) I also seem to live in a magical fantasy land where the stores have PC games (as In Ive never bourght off steam...not an option anyway)

and Really I dont feel Im missing out on much (well Red dead redemption and gears of war but I'll live)


so lets say in a magical version of the future I may actually have money (I can dream) so the Idea of actually getting a console might come into my mind, the are two reasons why Im not sure

1. the idea of deciding weather or not to get it for the console or PC (preference being PC) makes my head hurt, what if I end up getting hardly any games for the thing? plus playing on a couch makes me feel like a fat slob (ok so I supose I am but at least I can pretend im doing somthing important at a desk)

2. and this is the importnant one

the next gen, Im not sure how far away it is (a while if kinect has anything to do with it) but perhaps its worth waiting?

thats another thing I like about PC gaming, I know that you have to replace parts/computers so its really not any better than consoles in that regard...but its that mentality that your machine has a set life....that the SECOND the new console comes out thats it, your beloved gaming machine is now dead, outdated a piece of dust-gathering junk...and then you need to scramble and go buy the new one

at least with a PC its kind of gradual

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Grass is always greener. Stick with the PC as you really will be hurting if make a choice to go to console and then get bored with the choice there when you are already happy enough with PC. Get a console for a change if you can afford to own both. Buying a new console at launch is also not really a great decision. Launch titles are often few and not that great and you can have a painful dry patch of releases while the devs get up to speed. Hardware is also buggy and expensive.

 

[GaryH]

Also, it's never "THE SECOND" a new console comes out. They were still making PS2 games for ages after the PS3's release, for example, and it's not like your console just stops working. I still get a kick out of playing my SNES occasionally (can't believe it still works)!

Honestly, if you can afford it, a games console is well worth the money. The grass may always be greener on the other side, but if you can be on both sides then you don't have to worry anymore. I love me some PC gaming, but there are some games that I just would not play on PC (Dead Space) and also games that I CAN'T play on PC (RDR, like you said, or Little Big Planet i.e. the only reason I still have a PS3). I will never understand people who pick sides in the "console war", it's not like you can't have it all with a little bit of extra effort and saving.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Also, it's never "THE SECOND" a new console comes out.

It was for original XBOX and that console had a shorted life than most. New releases for Gamecube mostly dried up before the Wii came out.

 

[PureAussieGamer]

Everyone has a pc. Consoles have the best exclusives. Consoles dont need to be upgrades to keep up with the latest games. Win

 

[ChipSandwich]

The potential of a particular generation usually goes a bit further than when the next one is released, due to the aforementioned crappy launch titles. xbox and ps2 games were still being produced after their respective "successors" came out. I use fingerquotes because this gen has been quite a disaster, what with the 360's hardware problems and the PS3's root key deal.

Next gen probably won't be for a while, not until the motion controls have run their course. Research and development for a new console is pretty expensive and the console doesn't really turn over the green stuff for manufacturers or distributors.

The other major issue is that the hardware, at least for the past two gens, while being able to run many PC games to a playable extent, was midrange at the time of development, and quickly becomes eclipsed by new GPUs, RAM space, directX versions etc. If you care about pretty graphics (I personally DON'T, with capital letters), then getting a new gen console is probably a waste of money.

I'm not even sure whether a new gen will come out, tbh. Maybe they'll be stuck in DirectX9 forever, and maybe then devs can produce console games for console, PC games for PC and put a decent amount of heart and effort into both.

 

[Perfice]

It's atleast another five years until the next generation of gaming. And all systems these days are given a ten year guaranteed lifecycle atleast by the publishers, look it up.

As for if you should get a console system. If you did I would say to get a Wii because it actually has the best selection of games for it's online store. Almost every game for the XBox is released for PC also because that's how Microsoft rolls. Playstation has some good games exclusive for it but not worth buying the system since most of it's GOOD games are on the PC.

If I had a great laptop like you seem to have I'd just be rolling in PC games also, but my computer sucks. There are also ALOT of problems with PC games, which I'll list if you need me to. However, if you've been playing PC games this long then you've probably conquered most of this problems like a squirel in a war with nazi teddy bears. Don't let my XBox know I told you but the PC is actually the best gaming system all around. The major issues are that I'd rather play with the far more game-friendly controller than a mouse and that the console is MADE for games. If you have a great laptop most of that is nulled though so I'd say don't worry about a console.

One more note, Gears really wasn't one of my favorites anyways and not worth buying the whole XBox just to play it.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

If you have money troubles then screw the next gen. Get a PS2. You can get one cheap and it is generally accepted that it has the greatest library of any console.

 

[ChipSandwich]

If you have money troubles then screw the next gen. Get a PS2. You can get one cheap and it is generally accepted that it has the greatest library of any console.

This. Lots and lots of decent exclusives.

 

[Artemicion]

Consoles are cheaper to maintain and generally have better exclusives than the PC (Halo and Uncharted, for instance). Additionally, racing games are way better on consoles if you're into those. But its a matter of personal taste. I enjoy my PC but I'd go crazy without my Halo ODST.

 

[Delta342]

I'd say if you're laptop is good enough stick with it. Admittedly there may be some exclusives you might miss (if you miss them that much go for it and I'd recommend the xbox over the other offerings) and you might get some releases a fair while after the consoles have had them but from my experiences the pc versions of the games are so much better looking and smoother (if you have a powerful enough system) so that'd be my advice. Speaking as an xbox owner I do enjoy having live and such but a lot of the good parts of live seem to be migrating anyway.

One thing I will ask.. What kind of games are you into? That plays a massive part in the decision. Oh and you have an awesome avatar! XD I forget what the comic is called though! D=

It's atleast another five years until the next generation of gaming. And all systems these days are given a ten year guaranteed lifecycle atleast by the publishers, look it up.

As for if you should get a console system. If you did I would say to get a Wii because it actually has the best selection of games for it's online store. Almost every game for the XBox is released for PC also because that's how Microsoft rolls. Playstation has some good games exclusive for it but not worth buying the system since most of it's GOOD games are on the PC.

If I had a great laptop like you seem to have I'd just be rolling in PC games also, but my computer sucks. There are also ALOT of problems with PC games, which I'll list if you need me to. However, if you've been playing PC games this long then you've probably conquered most of this problems like a squirel in a war with nazi teddy bears. Don't let my XBox know I told you but the PC is actually the best gaming system all around. The major issues are that I'd rather play with the far more game-friendly controller than a mouse and that the console is MADE for games. If you have a great laptop most of that is nulled though so I'd say don't worry about a console.

One more note, Gears really wasn't one of my favorites anyways and not worth buying the whole XBox just to play it.

I more or less concur with the nextnext gen thing being roughly 4-5 years away but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if things got stirred up.. All in all though not worth waiting.

Also, you know you can use a 360 controller with a pc right? (Being a console guy I never liked keyboard and mouse so any game I played on my laptop utilised the 360 controller).

 

[New Troll]

Finances aside, the only time to be hesitant about buying a console would be if the next gen was already in mass production, like if it was coming out in a month or already available. Consoles last many, many years before becoming obsolete, the shortest life-span being for the original X-Box, but that's only because Microsoft (and Apple and Nintendo to a slightly lesser degree) don't believe in supporting old technology. And yeah, there have been shorter lived consoles than even that, but those were from companies who stopped making consoles while thier console was alive. Definitely don't see that happening with the "Big 3" right now.

Course my recommendation would be to get a PS3. It will not only have a much longer lifespan once the next gen becomes available, but it's also one of the best Bluray players you can buy. Course the BIG decision will be which console has the exclusives you desire most, since that's mainly what you would be buying it for. For me, none of them have exclusives to make them the big winner. Well, except maybe the Wii cause if it wasn't for Mario Cart, I wouldn't have anything to do with the damn thing. But for each thier own.

And as for being a couch potato, you could always play it in bed instead! (Or in an office chair, or standing, or...)

 

[Azure-Supernova]

It depends how much you want the exclusives. I've got a PS3 for my Metal Gears, God of Wars and Uncharteds. But everything else has a place on my PC. Do the exclusives alone justify the want for a console?

Everyone has a pc. Consoles have the best exclusives. Consoles dont need to be upgrades to keep up with the latest games. Win

Neither do PCs necessarily. Providing that upon building/purchasing your PC you've actually thought about the hardware rather than 'ooooh, shiny case!' then you should be future proofed. Not to mention the cost in upgrades you might want (an extra 2Gb of RAM for example) is a bit redundant when you're paying £40+ for a new console release but only £25-30 for PC releases.
This is especially true for 360s when you factor Xbox live subscriptions. PC gaming can work out considerably cheaper if you're economic. But this is neither here nor there... just the whole 'you have to upgrade every five minutes' thing is getting old and it's not an issue for anyone with common sense.

 

[Vault101]

Everyone has a pc. Consoles have the best exclusives. Consoles dont need to be upgrades to keep up with the latest games. Win

what? haha yes they do...difference being you replace the enitre console, as for PC tbh Imnot sure how often but not THAT often

exclusives dont seem like much of a big deal thease days anyway

 

[Vault101]

Also, it's never "THE SECOND" a new console comes out. They were still making PS2 games for ages after the PS3's release, for example, and it's not like your console just stops working. I still get a kick out of playing my SNES occasionally (can't believe it still works)!

Honestly, if you can afford it, a games console is well worth the money. The grass may always be greener on the other side, but if you can be on both sides then you don't have to worry anymore. I love me some PC gaming, but there are some games that I just would not play on PC (Dead Space) and also games that I CAN'T play on PC (RDR, like you said, or Little Big Planet i.e. the only reason I still have a PS3). I will never understand people who pick sides in the "console war", it's not like you can't have it all with a little bit of extra effort and saving.

you wouldnt play dead space on a PC? unless you have a prblem with keyboard/mouse I find the controlls to be very good

I only ever didnt play assins creed with PC controlls because in AC2 they felt so unintuitive (but to be honest its not like i actually tried to the get used to them, I just had a controller...which is now broken) I mean you can get a controller if its such an issue(though weather or not said game suports it is another mattter)

but ive played Batman AA, Darksiders, Fallout, mass effect saints row 2 with a mouse and its been fine (saints row 2 was a little annoying since it was a lazy port)

I mean if all I could play were FPS and RTS I'd go mad, I need variety

 

[Vault101]

If you have the time to post a thread about buying another videogame platform while worrying about value for money and the library of games you'll have access to, that pretty much implies anything you do doesn't really have all too much of a consequence. Do what you like. It's not like you won't be able to pay the rent or something.

This is the kind of stuff I worried about in Year 10.

Haha no I just have too much time on my hands

and when that hapens I start freaking out about things, mainly gaming like:

is online going to take over single player? will the games industry crash? will they stop selling PC games at stores? should I really own a console? is PC gaming dying? will I run out of good games to play? will all games require me to be online 24/7? will I finally have to change my internet? are games getting shorter? will there be no more single-player FPS? is shepard going to die in ME3? ME3 is going to end???!!! nooooo will bioware stop developing for PC? will single player be a thing of the past? how will I afford any of thease games I must have? will I ever get past this fucking level in saints row 2????? will there only be RTS and FPS for PC? no action games?

Ill get over it by tomorrow

 

[e2density]

Everyone has a pc.

Therefore...you shouldn't buy one?
Regardless, PC has a larger competitive community than any console will ever dream of having.
Very rarely do you actually upgrade your PC as much as uneducated console idiots will lead you to believe.
You don't have to deal with paying for Xbox Live/A new CoD game every year -.-
Also, if PC gaming is so dead, why is there a peak of 78,000 players playing CS 1.6 today, a 10yr old game?

 

[Woodsey]

The 360 is not worth it if you have a PC, not in the slightest.

The PS3 does have a strong line-up this year, and typically it's exclusives don't make their way on to the PC, whereas the 360's do quite often.

It's not vital though, and this year has a great PC line-up, so if you're really finding it hard to justify, I wouldn't bother.