Why buy consoles?

[Palademon]

I prefer a controller designed specifically for games instead of a keybaord where it's impossible to tell where anything is instinctively unless you touch type.

Computers require thinking. Consoles require buying, then calling for repair if soemthing happens.

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

1: Consoles have the superior games: Basically all major AAA titles are designed for consoles now, and some don't even go to the PC at all. While the PC does still get quite a few good exclusive AAA games, consoles get the lion's share, making investing in them a better value oriented approach.

2: PC performance superiority over consoles is waning. Unless you really shell out for parts, most gaming PCs do not have significant graphics/performance advantage over current consoles, and they certainly won't over the next gen of consoles.

3: The controller is an infinitely better control setup for gaming over the mouse and keyboard, with the exception of RTS, MMO and certain select games. While the mouse still controls better for precise aiming, the joystick serves that purpose just fine and has the advantage of being infinitely better for movement controls than the keyboard.

4: The more you plan to play multiplayer, the more appealing the consoles become. PCs basically have ZERO in-house playability, and only increase and spread costs of PC gaming to multiple people, while with 1 console 4 people can play multiplayer together; it only takes 4 consoles for 16 to play together. With few exceptions, the console community also tends to stick a bit more with games too; its easier to find matches for console games for longer than it is on PC, unless you REALLY, REALLY like playing a particular way.

5: Portability. Consoles are easy to transport, work basically anywhere there is a TV and power, and don't take up as much room. Good gaming PCs are often HUGE, and often way A FUCKING TON, in addition to having multiple parts that must be transported.

6: Player-generated content is one of the few advantages PCs really have, and its not even that great an advantage. Because when you think about it honestly, 97% of all user content is shit or smut, 2% is decent and only really 1% is truly good worth saying "Yeah, this was worth it".

7: What sounds more appealing, in all seriousness?

Pay $300-$500 for a system that is guaranteed to play any game that comes out for it for the next 5 years, is easily portable, has an extremely simple set-up and plays games at very good level of performance, OR pay anywhere from $1000 to $2500 for a system that may only be relevant for 3 years before needing new parts to play the latest games, isn't portable or sharable, can have an extremely complicated set-up, but can play games at a higher level of performance.

Good god I hope your trolling because your argument is way off base and not even close to being objective.

 

[sethisjimmy]

I don't own a gaming PC, I actually own a console, but I do agree that PC is the best way to game, if you're willing to put in some work.
The only real advantage to console gaming is the convenience. You can buy it, set it up and be playing games in 10 minutes easily. No installing, and no need to build anything.
But if you're willing to put some time into building a gaming rig you'll be rewarded with stunning graphics, more varied and in some cases superior control choice (some people don't realize you can use virtually any controller with pc if you don't like keyboard and mouse), the ability to mod anything in the game, the ability to customize settings to make it run better, choice of servers, cheaper games, steam deals, a wider selection of games and much much more.
edit - also you can hook your PC up to a tv and play on the couch in case anyone was trying to use that old argument.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

That's a question I have never personally found the answer to, as I likewise do not own and have no particular desire to ever own a console. Sure, I clocked a decent amount of playtime on other people's systems back in the days of the NES and Genesis, but our household never owned one when I was growing up. We did own a whole bunch of computers though (I think my first gaming memory was Archon on the Commodore 64), and I grew up in an environ where you didn't simply use computers (unless you were one of the female members of my family, in which case you would have only just achieved a level of basic competence with them say... a year or so ago? It got pretty pathetic there for a while, especially when my mother was more willing to take intuitive leaps and try new things than my younger sister was/is), you understood them - how they worked, what went inside them, what technical specifications actually meant, etc.

I remember being maybe 8 years old the day I first realized that there were in fact adults who didn't instinctively know how to use a mouse - that entire concept was astonishing to my younger self.

So that's me - a fellow who has been assembling his own computers from components since before the introduction of 3D accelerated graphics cards, and gaming on them since well before the advent of non-DOS based Windows OSes and hardware abstraction layers. When people explain their preference for consoles by suggesting that assembling a system is difficult, or that installing and running games is generally more of a hassle on the PC, it makes me want to laugh really hard at them, because I know just how much crap those assertions are.

Yes, there is a far greater range of possible things that could go wrong, and sometimes getting a game to run can be like pulling teeth, but it is piss easy to assemble a computer even if you have never done so before: read a guide like this one [http://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/] to figure out what to buy, and then use basic logic to put it together (or you could watch someone assemble/disassemble a PC online for a few minutes and learn everything the experts know - cases, connectors, slots - all that shit is standardized and intuitive these days (and it kind of always has been)). As for troubleshooting and having to wrangle with your games to get them to run, you have to understand that modern PC gaming is nothing like what it used to be - back when hardware directly addressed the software using it and everything ran in DOS, then yes, it was always a crapshoot whether an individual game would run or not, and it did require quite a bit of "technical chops" to set things up even if they weren't somehow broken and in need of genuine troubleshooting.

But these days? You put the disc in, then follow the installer prompts (probably without reading any of the options and just clicking next), and your game installs. Then you run it. Seriously, this notion that installing and running a PC game will require you to download obscure drivers and search the furthest reaches of the web to find the arcane command-line string you need to make everything work properly, it is very rarely true. Of the last 20 games I've purchased, you know how many of them I had to coax into running? 0! Weird show-stopping errors are the exception, not the rule (provided you have a non-broken computer that isn't an infested hive of malware) - people who "just want things to work" are dismissing PC Gaming based on a worst-case scenario they probably wouldn't experience.

You might as well dismiss say... the X-Box 360 as not worth your time because it's just going to red-ring on you and you'll have to send it back. Heck, based on the figures I've seen for failure rates, you're actually way more likely to have that happen to you than you are to see a truly show-stopping bug on your PC that would require more than rudimentary troubleshooting to resolve.

 

[Sabiancym]

Move your computer to your living room, you now have the best "console" in the world.

If people took the 5 minutes to learn how to use a PC correctly, they would learn that consoles are only good for console exclusive games.

 

[Sabiancym]

1: Consoles have the superior games: Basically all major AAA titles are designed for consoles now, and some don't even go to the PC at all. While the PC does still get quite a few good exclusive AAA games, consoles get the lion's share, making investing in them a better value oriented approach.

2: PC performance superiority over consoles is waning. Unless you really shell out for parts, most gaming PCs do not have significant graphics/performance advantage over current consoles, and they certainly won't over the next gen of consoles.

3: The controller is an infinitely better control setup for gaming over the mouse and keyboard, with the exception of RTS, MMO and certain select games. While the mouse still controls better for precise aiming, the joystick serves that purpose just fine and has the advantage of being infinitely better for movement controls than the keyboard.

4: The more you plan to play multiplayer, the more appealing the consoles become. PCs basically have ZERO in-house playability, and only increase and spread costs of PC gaming to multiple people, while with 1 console 4 people can play multiplayer together; it only takes 4 consoles for 16 to play together. With few exceptions, the console community also tends to stick a bit more with games too; its easier to find matches for console games for longer than it is on PC, unless you REALLY, REALLY like playing a particular way.

5: Portability. Consoles are easy to transport, work basically anywhere there is a TV and power, and don't take up as much room. Good gaming PCs are often HUGE, and often way A FUCKING TON, in addition to having multiple parts that must be transported.

6: Player-generated content is one of the few advantages PCs really have, and its not even that great an advantage. Because when you think about it honestly, 97% of all user content is shit or smut, 2% is decent and only really 1% is truly good worth saying "Yeah, this was worth it".

7: What sounds more appealing, in all seriousness?

Pay $300-$500 for a system that is guaranteed to play any game that comes out for it for the next 5 years, is easily portable, has an extremely simple set-up and plays games at very good level of performance, OR pay anywhere from $1000 to $2500 for a system that may only be relevant for 3 years before needing new parts to play the latest games, isn't portable or sharable, can have an extremely complicated set-up, but can play games at a higher level of performance.

1: MMOs are pretty much PC exclusive, RTS games, and most console games come out on PC. Making your argument completely false. Not to mention the amount of free indie games out there for PC.

2: Not true at all. If I dropped my graphics settings down to DX9 and at the same level that consoles run, I'd get 100+ more FPS than consoles. Guaranteed. You aren't even close to being knowledgeable about this.

3: I use a controller with my PC all the time. Xbox or PS3, you can use them both. Another useless point.

4: PCs have way more dedicated gaming servers. That's a win right there. Plus you can have multiple people playing one game on a PC if you have multiple monitors.

5: Gaming laptops are more powerful than current gen consoles, and more portable. Plus you can build a decent desktop in a relatively small case.

6: You're a console gamer. You don't have a clue about user created content. I can think of 50 great mods in Oblivion alone.


7: Seriously, what sounds better now?

 

[archvile93]

Because consoles tend to get more titles, and the ones PC's do get that consoles also have are often poorly made ports and rarely have as much content available.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

Console exclusives. Every game I've really enjoyed in the past two years hasn't had a PC version. This probably says more about my choice of genres than the quality of games on either console or PC, but there it is. As a side note, I never buy consoles when they're new, too expensive and have about 4 games on them, I wait a year or two and get them much cheaper and with a backlog of good titles to choose from.

 

[Zantos]

As a university student I move residence at least 6 times a year for holidays or when my contract is up. I own a gaming PC but wouldn't dream of moving it around with me, it gets carted to a new studsent property once a year. When it's time for holidays I can just slip the 360 in my bag with some games and not have to make the difficult choice of have to move my PC or give up gaming for a month or two.

 

[imagremlin]

Sit forward vs sit back. Two very different experiences.

I'm an avid gamer, well, as much as you can be with a full time job and a family. I play two or three hours every day, more on weekends.

I'm also a software developer. I spend about ten or more hours a day in front of a PC. The last thing I want to do when I get home is sit in front of a PC some more. It just doesn't feel like relaxation, it feels like work.

Now, sitting on the couch, in front of the large screen and surround sound, that relaxes me. Cost has never been a consideration for me, the home theater rig my consoles are attached to cost many times what any PC would.

Once upon a time I was a PC gamer, but slowly found myself playing on consoles more and more. Several times tried to go back, and I would never feel comfortable, so eventually, I gave up. When upgrade time came, I switched to Mac, confirming once and for all that I'm not going back.

 

[WOPR]

A few good reasons:

* It's cheaper and will usually last longer.
* You get to play in your sofa on a big TV.
* No need to worry about system requirements.

Counter

*My computer can still run games to this day and has gone through a few generations of consoles
*the giant TV is really expensive, and you don't need a giant/expencive monitor to get HD on a computer
*True, you just need to shell out another $300+ for the next console and another $60 for each new game

let's take supreme commander 2 for example

XBLA - $30 (no sale)
Steam - $15 (no sale)

plus computers have countless FREE games (it's called Flash Player)

in the long run the computer is LESS expensive and MORE efficient
on that note I play both computer and console... I really wanted SC2 and MvC3...

 

[Resonantscythe]

Personal preference pure and simple:

The Games I want to play come out on consoles.

I've always been more comfortable with controllers. EDIT: okay, scratch that.

I prefer sitting on the couch to on a desk chair, even a very good one.

Local multiplayer.

plug and play.

And not to be another teardrop in rain, but again the system requirements thing. Don't have to think about it, don't have to care about it.

Pc people somtimes go on a bout how good pc games look but, graphics have always taken a backseat to story and Gameplay to me. Even now I can get off playing something as good looking as MGS4 and go and play Sonic 2 or streets of rage, or Castlevania SOTN, Or final fantsy 9. One of my favorite games ever is legend of the Dragoon, and even for it's time, it had some pretty ugly overworld visuals.


Both pc's and consoles have their good points, but really people are just going to go with what is comfortable for them.

And about the supposedly "High" cost of the Ps3, can we just stop it? When you adjust for inflation, consoles have actually been getting cheaper even at launch. When adjusted and compared to 80's consoles the ps3 is actually relatively cheap, so can we cut that out? It's always been a weak argument because hey: the Ps3 plays blu rays. When it came out, it blu-ray players were still expensive. In fact, at the time it was in the cheapest forth of blu-ray players available. How come no one ever mentions that? Oh, right, because it undermines their black and white argument.

 

[WOPR]

4: PCs have way more dedicated gaming servers. That's a win right there. Plus you can have multiple people playing one game on a PC if you have multiple monitors.

Or multiple gamepads (beat hazard, magicka, LotR, emulators)
or you can take turns playing Hotseat in games like Heroes, Disciples, or Civilization

 

[Paragon Fury]

1: Consoles have the superior games: Basically all major AAA titles are designed for consoles now, and some don't even go to the PC at all. While the PC does still get quite a few good exclusive AAA games, consoles get the lion's share, making investing in them a better value oriented approach.

2: PC performance superiority over consoles is waning. Unless you really shell out for parts, most gaming PCs do not have significant graphics/performance advantage over current consoles, and they certainly won't over the next gen of consoles.

3: The controller is an infinitely better control setup for gaming over the mouse and keyboard, with the exception of RTS, MMO and certain select games. While the mouse still controls better for precise aiming, the joystick serves that purpose just fine and has the advantage of being infinitely better for movement controls than the keyboard.

4: The more you plan to play multiplayer, the more appealing the consoles become. PCs basically have ZERO in-house playability, and only increase and spread costs of PC gaming to multiple people, while with 1 console 4 people can play multiplayer together; it only takes 4 consoles for 16 to play together. With few exceptions, the console community also tends to stick a bit more with games too; its easier to find matches for console games for longer than it is on PC, unless you REALLY, REALLY like playing a particular way.

5: Portability. Consoles are easy to transport, work basically anywhere there is a TV and power, and don't take up as much room. Good gaming PCs are often HUGE, and often way A FUCKING TON, in addition to having multiple parts that must be transported.

6: Player-generated content is one of the few advantages PCs really have, and its not even that great an advantage. Because when you think about it honestly, 97% of all user content is shit or smut, 2% is decent and only really 1% is truly good worth saying "Yeah, this was worth it".

7: What sounds more appealing, in all seriousness?

Pay $300-$500 for a system that is guaranteed to play any game that comes out for it for the next 5 years, is easily portable, has an extremely simple set-up and plays games at very good level of performance, OR pay anywhere from $1000 to $2500 for a system that may only be relevant for 3 years before needing new parts to play the latest games, isn't portable or sharable, can have an extremely complicated set-up, but can play games at a higher level of performance.

1: MMOs are pretty much PC exclusive, RTS games, and most console games come out on PC. Making your argument completely false. Not to mention the amount of free indie games out there for PC.

2: Not true at all. If I dropped my graphics settings down to DX9 and at the same level that consoles run, I'd get 100+ more FPS than consoles. Guaranteed. You aren't even close to being knowledgeable about this.

3: I use a controller with my PC all the time. Xbox or PS3, you can use them both. Another useless point.

4: PCs have way more dedicated gaming servers. That's a win right there. Plus you can have multiple people playing one game on a PC if you have multiple monitors.

5: Gaming laptops are more powerful than current gen consoles, and more portable. Plus you can build a decent desktop in a relatively small case.

6: You're a console gamer. You don't have a clue about user created content. I can think of 50 great mods in Oblivion alone.


7: Seriously, what sounds better now?

1: MMOs are PC exclusive because of WoW. You can barely compete with WoW on PC, how do you expect a console MMO to do it? And indie games fall into the "97% of all user generated content sucks ass" slot.

2: Bullshit. Absolute, bold-type fucking lie. Mind telling us how much your graphics card(s) cost? Let me guess....somewhere in the area of $150-$300USD, right? Thats not counting your processor and MBoard either.

3: Many games do not support gamepad use, or have terrible unalterable game pad controls. Examples: Battlefield games, Crysis 1, Team Fortress 2.

4: Dedicated servers cost money, and have their own set of balance and fairness issues to deal with. And how many PCs can really handle playing multiple copies of a high-end game; and how many really allow it?

5: Again, bullshit, and they're costly, even more so than desktop PCs.

6: Nice blind attack. Perhaps you ought to have at least taken a cursory glance at my profile before launching that particular move.

But personal attacks aside, lets take measure, shall we?

If I were to go to TESNexus and look for Oblivion mods right now and sort them into groups, what did you think I would wind up with more of? Well-thought out and implemented mods designed to add to or significantly improve or add to the game experience, or would I find more mods dedicated to "TEETIES" and stupid, inane BS?

7: Now what sounds better?

 

[Silas13013]

1: Consoles have the superior games: Basically all major AAA titles are designed for consoles now, and some don't even go to the PC at all. While the PC does still get quite a few good exclusive AAA games, consoles get the lion's share, making investing in them a better value oriented approach.

2: PC performance superiority over consoles is waning. Unless you really shell out for parts, most gaming PCs do not have significant graphics/performance advantage over current consoles, and they certainly won't over the next gen of consoles.

3: The controller is an infinitely better control setup for gaming over the mouse and keyboard, with the exception of RTS, MMO and certain select games. While the mouse still controls better for precise aiming, the joystick serves that purpose just fine and has the advantage of being infinitely better for movement controls than the keyboard.

4: The more you plan to play multiplayer, the more appealing the consoles become. PCs basically have ZERO in-house playability, and only increase and spread costs of PC gaming to multiple people, while with 1 console 4 people can play multiplayer together; it only takes 4 consoles for 16 to play together. With few exceptions, the console community also tends to stick a bit more with games too; its easier to find matches for console games for longer than it is on PC, unless you REALLY, REALLY like playing a particular way.

5: Portability. Consoles are easy to transport, work basically anywhere there is a TV and power, and don't take up as much room. Good gaming PCs are often HUGE, and often way A FUCKING TON, in addition to having multiple parts that must be transported.

6: Player-generated content is one of the few advantages PCs really have, and its not even that great an advantage. Because when you think about it honestly, 97% of all user content is shit or smut, 2% is decent and only really 1% is truly good worth saying "Yeah, this was worth it".

7: What sounds more appealing, in all seriousness?

Pay $300-$500 for a system that is guaranteed to play any game that comes out for it for the next 5 years, is easily portable, has an extremely simple set-up and plays games at very good level of performance, OR pay anywhere from $1000 to $2500 for a system that may only be relevant for 3 years before needing new parts to play the latest games, isn't portable or sharable, can have an extremely complicated set-up, but can play games at a higher level of performance.

1: MMOs are pretty much PC exclusive, RTS games, and most console games come out on PC. Making your argument completely false. Not to mention the amount of free indie games out there for PC.

2: Not true at all. If I dropped my graphics settings down to DX9 and at the same level that consoles run, I'd get 100+ more FPS than consoles. Guaranteed. You aren't even close to being knowledgeable about this.

3: I use a controller with my PC all the time. Xbox or PS3, you can use them both. Another useless point.

4: PCs have way more dedicated gaming servers. That's a win right there. Plus you can have multiple people playing one game on a PC if you have multiple monitors.

5: Gaming laptops are more powerful than current gen consoles, and more portable. Plus you can build a decent desktop in a relatively small case.

6: You're a console gamer. You don't have a clue about user created content. I can think of 50 great mods in Oblivion alone.


7: Seriously, what sounds better now?

1: MMOs are PC exclusive because of WoW. You can barely compete with WoW on PC, how do you expect a console MMO to do it? And indie games fall into the "97% of all user generated content sucks ass" slot.

2: Bullshit. Absolute, bold-type fucking lie. Mind telling us how much your graphics card(s) cost? Let me guess....somewhere in the area of $150-$300USD, right? Thats not counting your processor and MBoard either.

3: Many games do not support gamepad use, or have terrible unalterable game pad controls. Examples: Battlefield games, Crysis 1, Team Fortress 2.

4: Dedicated servers cost money, and have their own set of balance and fairness issues to deal with. And how many PCs can really handle playing multiple copies of a high-end game; and how many really allow it?

5: Again, bullshit, and they're costly, even more so than desktop PCs.

6: Nice blind attack. Perhaps you ought to have at least taken a cursory glance at my profile before launching that particular move.

But personal attacks aside, lets take measure, shall we?

If I were to go to TESNexus and look for Oblivion mods right now and sort them into groups, what did you think I would wind up with more of? Well-thought out and implemented mods designed to add to or significantly improve or add to the game experience, or would I find more mods dedicated to "TEETIES" and stupid, inane BS?

7: Now what sounds better?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you have never owned a gaming PC in your life and probably don't have any idea of how one works.

1. Ever played an indie game? The majority of my games are indie now because they are at least creative and FUN, as opposed to 99% of the ass the comes out on consoles. How's that for a blind and biased attack?

2. Ever made a computer? Ever seen the inside of one? Ever used one to game? No I'm not going to look at your profile since your words let me know you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. My 5 year old computer with a $50 graphics card gets a higher frame rate than my brother's PS3 eaisly when not running dx10.

3. This is a preference question. Keyboard and mouse is better to use in every situation I can think of except the lack of a rumble feature.

4. Dedicated servers cost nothing if you know how to set one up. I've had 15 players using my pc as a server whilst I played on it as well, giving us a nice even 16 with no lag.

5. My laptop is more powerful than a PS3, I'm not sure what world you live in where the PS3 has "earth shattering new hardware" but it stopped being new a few years ago.

6. Fine, I'll give you that but next time anyone quotes "little big planet" as being a good game I'll point to you and you can explain how it's crap for relying on user made content.

 

[51gunner]

Local multiplayer. 4-player splitscreen with your friends is awesome. Just yesterday I was hanging out with a few buddies and we took a 4-player group online in Reach and had a great time. Many beers were drank, many noobs were pwned.

 

[WorldCritic]

Easier to use for me than PCs.

 

[Harry Mason]

Take the PS2 for instance.
You can go to Gamestop right now and buy a PS2 for $60.

Then you can buy some of the most fantastic experiences in gaming for $5-$10 a piece.
The majority of the Silent Hill series, The Metal Gear Solid Series, God of War, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Killer 7, Beyond Good and Evil, Timesplitters, Fatal Frame, The Persona Series, Half Life 2, The Prince of Persia Series, Guitar Hero, the .hack series, Siren...
The list goes on and on and on and on. And 99% of these groundbreaking games are NOT available on PC.

I once went into a Gamestop, spent $45, and came out with a Gamecube and a copy of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's requiem. For less than the cost of one PC game I got an experience that's head and shoulders above the majority of big budget releases, and also the means to continue buying quality titles like, Legend of Zelda, Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime, Tales of Symphonia...

Regardless of whether "modern" consoles are worth it, the consoles of yesteryear are dirt cheap and have better games that you can get anywhere else.