Should I get a 360 or PC?

[Atrocious Joystick]

Get a decent mid-range gaming PC, it will run anything out today maxed out.

Then connect that pc to your tv with a long-ass hdmi Cable. Then buy an Xbox 360 controller for windows. Browse the web and write reports like a pro, then watch movies and game on the couch in comfort and style. Best of both Worlds.

 

[MrFalconfly]

PC.

Simply because of flexibility.

An XBox can only ever play games and run DVD-movies. A PC (even a specialized gaming rig) can do that and everything else on top. Not to mention the fact that PC has the largest number of control methods (everything from the venerable Mouse-and-Keyboard, to gamepads, joysticks, steeringwheels and such).

 

[The White Hunter]

I have been saving money up for a while now and next month I can either get a gaming PC or an Xbox 360. Now before anybody gives a response based on price I want to say that isn't an issue.

What kind of performance PC? If you're talking you have the cash saved (900£ or so) to build your own high end rig then the choice is obviously go for the PC.

Really I made this choice a w3hile back and weighed it up, owning a PS3 and Wii already there's not much point in a 360 over a PC except for Halo and Gears, if Halo and Gears is more important to you than performance, customisation, modding, using mods, better multiplayer (FREE MULTIPLAYER) with better communities, etc, then get the 360.

If the things listed are more important than Halo/Gears then get the PC.

Because really, Halo and Gears is all the 360 has over anything these days.

Edit: My PC isn't bought yet I made the choice to save up a month ago and I can now get m yself a very good rig. GOnna wait longer and build me a Behemoth of a thing.

 

[Warped_Ghost]

What do most of your friends have?
Get whatever they get because games are a lot more fun with people you know.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I probably should have been more clear in saying that I don't want to get AAA games on the computer.

Why not? You WOULD want them on the XBOX? This is confusing.

The best analogue I can think of for this question of yours is a guy 7-8 years ago asking if he should buy an MP3 player or a discman. The discman is cheap!

I like my XBOX but it was woefully outdated technology at the time it was BRAND NEW, never mind now, almost a decade later. It's not a question of "I must forever be upgrading my PC, for she is a demanding mistress" but rather a question of "I CAN upgrade my PC, rather than having to wait X years for a new console cycle".

And as others have mentioned, I can get 10+ games for the price of a single console title during Steam sales. Even used games don't come close to touching the markdown you can get on PC games with digital distribution.

For me it would be a no brainer. But then I've been a PC Gamer all my life.

Because I don't have $800+ to throw around for a computer to lay those games. Since I have other things to take care of (rent, electricity, food). You know, little things. And I don't play enough games to have the price of the computer even out the rice of games. I buy MAYBE one game a month, and said games is usuallly a few months old. Last month I bought New vegas for $20, beofre that AC revelations for $25.

I was thinking of getting one that can play games like minecraft, and everyone is telling me to buy a high end computer for AAA games, despite me saying several times that I don't want a computer for AAA games.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

What do most of your friends have?
Get whatever they get because games are a lot more fun with people you know.

I guess that depends on the game, yeah?

I can think of a great many games that would not be greatly improved by having my friends blundering around in it stepping on my lines and interrupting the story, no matter how charming they were being.

 

[kasperbbs]

If those few simple games are all that you want to play then just get a cheap laptop and a used xbox, you can connect both of them to your TV.

 

[Warped_Ghost]

What do most of your friends have?
Get whatever they get because games are a lot more fun with people you know.

I guess that depends on the game, yeah?

I can think of a great many games that would not be greatly improved by having my friends blundering around in it stepping on my lines and interrupting the story, no matter how charming they were being.

But those games you can just play solo. Having the option to play with friends is the reason I stick with my xbox. I built a gaming pc and now I rarely use it for games except RPGs because of my friends.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Because I don't have $800+ to throw around for a computer to lay those games. Since I have other things to take care of (rent, electricity, food). You know, little things. And I don't play enough games to have the price of the computer even out the rice of games. I buy MAYBE one game a month, and said games is usuallly a few months old. Last month I bought New vegas for $20, beofre that AC revelations for $25.

Uh...there seems to be a critical failure of understanding, here.

The XBOX is 10 year old architecture. AAA games today still run on that thing. You don't need a bleeding edge rig to play AAA games on the PC. Hell, my girlfriend is playing them on a 4-5 year old rig and she's STILL maxing everything. That cheapo PC you highlighted is more than capable of handling the current generation of games. The same games you'd be playing on the XBOX. You could probably buy a used PC for even cheaper and do just as well.

I was thinking of getting one that can play games like minecraft, and everyone is telling me to buy a high end computer for AAA games, despite me saying several times that I don't want a computer for AAA games.

That's because PC gamers are power obsessed lunatics, not because you actually NEED that potent a machine. There are very, very few games out that would even begin to tax my GF's machine, let alone mine, and mine ain't even state of the art. Even a low end PC total is miles more powerful than a 360. MILES. If you don't feel a burning need to buy a 28 inch monitor and crank your AA through the roof and turn on every DX11 feature you can find, your games will run just fine even on an aging rig.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

Can people please start reading earlier posts. I even posted the computer I had in mind.
I know I said "price isn't an issue" because I meant between the two specific options I had. I can either spend roughly $600 on a computer or 200 on an Xbox.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

If those few simple games are all that you want to play then just get a cheap laptop and a used xbox, you can connect both of them to your TV.

My computer is five years old and it can't even load angry birds.

 

[Souplex]

The Escapist is hardly the place to come for a balanced opinion.
I abandoned the PC in 08 and never looked back. Go for the 360. You'll save money, your games will run properly, and you'll have the benefits of hard copies, like chatting up that sexy gamestop manager.

 

[snowbear]

AS said by so many people. PC is the obvious answer.

There is next to no reason to buy into the console market at the moment.

The only legit reason I can think of, is if you really want a certain exclusive game. If not then buy a PC.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

What are you playing those on?

A fat PS3 I bought used about four years ago.

 

[MetalMonkey74]

If money is not an option, then i would definitely suggest going for the PC, and get a 360 controller for it. You dont have to pay extra to play online, you have many more games available and you can do a lot more with a pc. You can also use different browsers on it! Did i mention STEAM yet?

 

[Zakarath]

That PC there is alright, but its video card is easily its weakest link. It'll be fine for Angry birds, sure, but if you can get a similar rig with something like a 6850 instead of a 6670 (or build your own), you'll get a much more long-lasting rig, as well as something that could handle AAA games quite a bit better. And the price difference between those cards is only something like $60.