Why buy consoles?
- Thread starter Susurrus
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They're essentially premade gaming computers, with none of the fuss of putting them together.
Besides which, there's no fuss about your particular build not being compatible with something, or having to buy new graphics cards every few years, etc.
It's cheaper and a lot faster, although yes, the quality of a proper gaming computer is significantly better - not to mention the mods.
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Oh yeah, and being able to hook it up to the tv in your living room is just awesome.
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Not to mention that consoles don't have to put up with utterly shitty DRM, although I doubt that most of the people in the market for a console consider that, or even know what DRM is
Besides which, there's no fuss about your particular build not being compatible with something, or having to buy new graphics cards every few years, etc.
It's cheaper and a lot faster, although yes, the quality of a proper gaming computer is significantly better - not to mention the mods.
/edit
Oh yeah, and being able to hook it up to the tv in your living room is just awesome.
/edit edit
Not to mention that consoles don't have to put up with utterly shitty DRM, although I doubt that most of the people in the market for a console consider that, or even know what DRM is
Hurr durr PC elitist.HG131 said:
That is the best insult you can come up with?
Yeah I am a PC elitist/console fanboy hybrid.
And why the fuck would you buy a console to watch movies?
Have you lost points to make for an argument?
Also, laptop can be connected to a TV.
I've always been a PC gamer but I'm becoming increasingly interested in consoles. For two and only two reasons:
1. More choice of games.
2. Ability to rent and trade-in games.
That's it. If only the PC had more games being released I would never even consider owning a console, I love PC gaming. I don't think theres a huge lack of games on the PC as much as other people say (I agree with you that most AAA games get a PC release, particularly ones on the Xbox 360) but there is undoubtably more to choose from on the consoles.
The ability to rent games means I can simply join a rental plan and play what I want when I want, with a fixed monthly price, which is much more appealing to me, and I can just buy games that I truly think are worth the price (hint: theres not many). Which is pretty much exactly what I do now with piracy, because piracy is my equivelent of a "rental option" on the PC.
1. More choice of games.
2. Ability to rent and trade-in games.
That's it. If only the PC had more games being released I would never even consider owning a console, I love PC gaming. I don't think theres a huge lack of games on the PC as much as other people say (I agree with you that most AAA games get a PC release, particularly ones on the Xbox 360) but there is undoubtably more to choose from on the consoles.
The ability to rent games means I can simply join a rental plan and play what I want when I want, with a fixed monthly price, which is much more appealing to me, and I can just buy games that I truly think are worth the price (hint: theres not many). Which is pretty much exactly what I do now with piracy, because piracy is my equivelent of a "rental option" on the PC.
Well, for me, it's the exclusive games and the fact that swapping graphics cards and downloading new drivers makes me nervous. Computers feel to me like too complex of machines to bother with when I have a console whose system requirements are clear: PS3 is written on this game and requires a controller. I have a PS3 console and a controller. Pop the game in, let it install, and that's it. True, you often need memory cards, but those are even easier to use than flash drives.
It seems to me that you'd have to update your computer a lot and it would ultimately cost more that buying the console once and having it be compatible always. Error messages, stalling games, warnings that my driver is too weak to handle the graphics and having to let the program crash so that I can delete the task and hope the game will run the next time I try is just not worth it.
Computers are for internet and word programs in my opinion; consoles are for games. Sure I miss out on the stuff on Steam, but small price to pay for having to buy new graphics cards every few years and nervously install them with a manual that could pass for a phone book.
It seems to me that you'd have to update your computer a lot and it would ultimately cost more that buying the console once and having it be compatible always. Error messages, stalling games, warnings that my driver is too weak to handle the graphics and having to let the program crash so that I can delete the task and hope the game will run the next time I try is just not worth it.
Computers are for internet and word programs in my opinion; consoles are for games. Sure I miss out on the stuff on Steam, but small price to pay for having to buy new graphics cards every few years and nervously install them with a manual that could pass for a phone book.
I said it in the Comments of the latest Extra Credits, and I see it's been said quite often already, but here goes.
To me, Console Gaming just defines the medium. I began playing games on a borrowed SNES that the owner later let me keep. Aside from playing in the arcades now and then, I basically played on consoles all my life. My grandpa was always a computer nut, though, so it's not like I didn't get a chance to play computer games. However, until he got Windows 98 and the Internet, he religiously used MS-DOS, so if you can imagine it, just picture the kinds of crappy games I played on that kind of computer compared to what I could get on my SNES.
Nowadays, the tables have turned, though. I've been stranded by the current gen consoles due to my own lack of a gaming budget, and have been forced to resort to either finding lost gems for my PS2 or using my PC to satiate a lot of my gaming needs. I can definitely agree that the cost issue is a moot point, as I bought this computer over 2 years ago for around $500, and aside from a couple gfx card upgrades I've been able to run just about anything just fine, albeit nowhere near optimum graphics capability.
That being said, I do still love consoles, and enjoy the feel of curling up in a couch or laying flat on my bed to play a game. Whenever I play a PC game, I just can't relax as much. Maybe it's the fact that my monitor is only ~18", but all game text is incredibly small, and after playing with my body in a chair, barely two feet away from the screen at all times for well over 4 years, I just don't know any other way to play PC.
I guess the short of it is it all comes down to preference. Both sides can try to come up with every reason under the sun why their way is best and any other way is blasphemy, but really, if you can find the games you want to play on whatever it is you want to play them on, then there's no reason to argue further. Personally, being a hardcore (J)RPG fan, Consoles hold more of what I want than PCs do. Now that doesn't mean I'll go out of my way to get a game I know was intended for PC (*coughDAcough*) but make sure I get it for console. But in the long run, Consoles have a bigger library of stuff I enjoy, plus a much larger, much more enjoyable history with me.
To me, Console Gaming just defines the medium. I began playing games on a borrowed SNES that the owner later let me keep. Aside from playing in the arcades now and then, I basically played on consoles all my life. My grandpa was always a computer nut, though, so it's not like I didn't get a chance to play computer games. However, until he got Windows 98 and the Internet, he religiously used MS-DOS, so if you can imagine it, just picture the kinds of crappy games I played on that kind of computer compared to what I could get on my SNES.
Nowadays, the tables have turned, though. I've been stranded by the current gen consoles due to my own lack of a gaming budget, and have been forced to resort to either finding lost gems for my PS2 or using my PC to satiate a lot of my gaming needs. I can definitely agree that the cost issue is a moot point, as I bought this computer over 2 years ago for around $500, and aside from a couple gfx card upgrades I've been able to run just about anything just fine, albeit nowhere near optimum graphics capability.
That being said, I do still love consoles, and enjoy the feel of curling up in a couch or laying flat on my bed to play a game. Whenever I play a PC game, I just can't relax as much. Maybe it's the fact that my monitor is only ~18", but all game text is incredibly small, and after playing with my body in a chair, barely two feet away from the screen at all times for well over 4 years, I just don't know any other way to play PC.
I guess the short of it is it all comes down to preference. Both sides can try to come up with every reason under the sun why their way is best and any other way is blasphemy, but really, if you can find the games you want to play on whatever it is you want to play them on, then there's no reason to argue further. Personally, being a hardcore (J)RPG fan, Consoles hold more of what I want than PCs do. Now that doesn't mean I'll go out of my way to get a game I know was intended for PC (*coughDAcough*) but make sure I get it for console. But in the long run, Consoles have a bigger library of stuff I enjoy, plus a much larger, much more enjoyable history with me.
Their rental catalogue options are small and the time you get with them is short (5 hours). I'm talking about a system where I can rent games to play them in full, and probably send them back and never play them again, unless they are exceptional in which case I would buy a copy to keep for the future. This is the system consoles can have, because you simply pay a monthly fee and you can rent out a game and keep it as long as you need it, before sending it back and getting another game in its place. The PC has nothing like this.PettingZOOPONY said:
Those upgrades cost money, it costs a lot more to keep your computer up to date then just one payment for the console. Ya, they break down and don't last as long as the PCs, but they are easy to set up, cheaper in the long run and simpler to play on and maintain.
Perhaps the fact that a dedicated fighting game player would be happy with the selection of fighting games on offer for their PC?Sabiancym said: