No one actually comes out and says it, but among gamers, there seems to be an unstated but passionate belief that the experience of playing an electronic game on a PC can never match that of playing the same game on a console, such as PlayStation 2.
Is this a natural assumption, or one rendered outdated by today’s powerful new PC processors and monitors? Given this progress, why is it seem to be an article of faith among so many that the game console was, is, and always will be a better device to play games on than a PC?
IMHO? Try playing games like Black&White or any RTS(real-time strategy) on a console and tell me it’s better than on a PC. Same thing with FPS games, too.
There are of course some games that are better on a console but I feel that majority of games work better on PC.
Another issue is that console games are played via TV so the quality of picture isn’t as good as with monitor.
But there’s no one answer and we could debate this, and some do, for years to no avail.
Well, when consoles first come out, they are ussually better than current top of the line PC’s. But PC’s get better all the time and consoles stay the same. You can’t upgrade a Nintendo(or PS2 or any console) but you sure can a PC. There are pro’s and con’s to both sides. PC’s pro’s are:upgradeability,HUGE STORAGE space and generally better graphics. PC cons would be:often buggy,WAY to time consuming sometimes(this is good and bad I know, but how many of us have played the SIMS until daylight?). Console games are made for ONE system (at a time) and dont have to worry about being able to work with 25 different video cards and 10 different sound cards and 75 different mobos and yaddy yaddy yaddy. Consoles are built for ONE thing, PCs are built to do many things, gaming being one of them. Consoles SUCK at anything that requires a lot of different imputs or that need a lot of storage space. And yes, FPS ussually suck on consoles (James Bond for the N64 ROCKED though, for its time) as do RTS(real time strategy). Sports games are ussually better on consoles. My vote is for the PC’s though but I’m biased, I only own a genisis and a super nintendo.
Not just RTS. Try finding a good Turn-based Strategy title on a console . Those and RPG’s are my preference, so console’s really aren’t a worthwhile investment for me. Where consoles excel is in “twitch” games. Not my cup of tea - I lack the reflexs ( which means I get frustrated very quickly ) for shooters and the faster moving ones actually make me slightly ill because of the visual disorientation. I remember the original Wolfenstein and the Magic Carpet titles being particularly bad in that respect.
So which platform is superior really depends on your gaming preference. Strategy, RPG, and hard-core simulators ( i.e. flight simulators ) are generally superior on a PC.
Consoles are great for certain kinds of games, but not generally for the kinds of games I like. Really, the kinds of genres that consoles are thought to be superior for (fighting, sports, platform games) could actually be done just as well or better on the PC (and occasionally are) but are generally neglected because (A) PC gamers are generally not into those genres and those that are usually have a console in addition to their PC and (B) PCs are not as practical for those genres. Most PC games can be played easily with a keyboard and a mouse, in fact that is the preferred control scheme for FPSs and RTS games - I loved Goldeneye for the N64 but I spent a lot of time wishing I could play it with the mouse and keyboard setup, I would have done SO much better with precision control and the ability to turn as fast as I want. Fighting games require complicated button combos and a precise joystick or gamepad to pull of special moves, and a lot of computer gamers don’t own one, or if they own a joystick it’s one designed for gradual, slight movements (like in flight sims), not fast ‘up-down-up-forward’ fighting game moves. Also, fighting games are best when you are playing against a friend, it can be tough crowding you and your friend around a 17" monitor sitting on a computer desk. That also applies to sports games, which are done fairly well on PC but are generally designed around single-player action because of these limitations. There’s not much stopping people from making platform games for the PC, and again there have been some very good ones, but platform games appeal to a younger market, who are less likely to own a computer of their own and more likely to have access to a game console.
There’s also the boot-up factor. When I played with my N64, I’d often play more than one game in an extended session, or I’d feel like playing for just 15 minutes or so to kill time, so I’d pop in a cart and play. When you play a PC game you have to wait through the boot process, which can take a few minutes - this scares away people who are annoyed by 10 or 15 second load times on their Playstation. The games often take longer to load up as well, due to their larger memory requirements. When you play a PC game, you generally choose a game that can entertain you for hours and play just that game. This makes more detailed and complicated games much more popular on the PC.
It’s easier to develop games for a console because consoles all have identical hardware. A developer can spend more time optimizing the games performance and not worrying about supporting dozens of different video, audio, motherboard, and operating system configurations.
–Nut When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my father did, not screaming in terror like his passengers.
I prefer consoles mostly because they’re so much more casual than PCs. A PC game can’t be played lying in bed or slouched on a sofa. Console controllers are also much better than keyboards for lots of game styles - fighting, driving, and platformers spring to mind. OTOH, nothing beats a keyboard-mouse combo for FPS or srategy (You can get both for the Dreamcast but it’s dead now and besides would just feel wrong somehow) and PC games are often much deeper and more involving, if you like that sort of thing.
I play on consoles because its easier for my shoulders & I don’t like spending long hours eighteen inches from a computer monitor. Also, the games I want aren’t made for the PC.
I like console games for instant gratification. If I have 30 minutes I need to kill or I’m keeping friends amused for an evening, there’s nothing quite like firing up the Dreamcast. Some games just work better–fighting and racing games in particular seem pretty well suited for the consoles.
On the other hand, PC’s rock for sheer immersion. When I want to take the phone off the hook, stock up on junk food and veg out for 8 hours on a dark winter day, the PC is the way to go.
Funky McDuck: the MS Dual Strike wasn’t perfect, but it was very close. Sadly, they no longer make them, and I couldn’t find anything else like it, that was hand-held. Now I use a MS Strategic Commander + mouse, but it’s not as nice as the DS was. -The SC has to sit on the desk which gets tiring fast, and it’s action is all wrong: the action is too loose, and the buttons are too tight.
(sigh…)
The main “playability” advantage of consoles is that lacking a keyboard, they have to use simpler controls. Many PC games -particularly action games, require so many different buttons the real challenge has little to do with the game, it’s learning to jump around on all the damned controls. -I like my game on the [b[screen**, not the keyboard. If I want a typing lesson I’ll ask for it, thanks.
The (-lack of-) PC hardware standardization issue has been grumbled about quietly for a long time by everybody, including many hardware manufacturers. It seems that nobody likes paying for huge tech support budgets, but the only company big enough to have an impact on the problem is MS, and that probably wouldn’t go over real well. - MC
Consoles are often better if you have one or more friends at the same location but don’t have a network set up for games. Trying to have to people crunch over the same keyboard is ungratifying in my experience.
As a lifelong arcadegoer, I will admit to having extremely little fondness to what’s supposedly so appealing about computer games. Complexity…feh, that’s what I’m trying to get away from when I sit down for a session. A gazillion and one commands…as has already been metioned, thank you no. (I haven’t gotten to first base with keyboard/mouse syncrhonization.) Depth? Usually a euphemism for “have to play to death to get anywhere”. Need I mention the nearly endless compatibility/running problems, and that’s for the ones that DON’T have any bugs? (Of the nine most recent computer games I’ve purchased, exactly one did not have a horrendous sound or loading problem.)
Please do not get me started on the hardware headaches. How anyone can sell a steering wheel where the pedals don’t work or a joystick that never stays calibrated and not be instantly discredited baffles me.
As far as console/computer comparisons go, I think the strangest thing is that a lot of things that draw enormous complaints when they occur in console gaming pass with barely a mention in the computer community. Can you imagine a Dreamcast game that was full of bugs and didn’t have any sound? Or a joystick that kept signalling right even when it was centered? Say what you will about the shallowness or arcade-ness of console games (and since when did “arcade-style gameplay” become a dirty phrase?); at least we need never worry about getting a good product.
Hmmm… well, the way this is phrased I can almost sorta agree with it. The majority of games available for both the PC and console format are better on the console. Those games are mostly twitch games… I’m also an arcadegoer, but I guess I have a perspective different than DKW. If I want twitch games, the arcade is much better than the console. If I want strategy or adventure games, the PC is much better than the console. Therefore, I don’t own a console. The best argument in my mind for the console is the multiplayer ease, and there are a few good games only available for the console, but I haven’t bothered yet.
Oh, and DKW: FWIW, the last nine PC computer games I’ve bought had no problems whatsoever with sound or loading. The last thirty or so I only once had a significant problem (Ultima 7, which was hard to get to load). Haven’t bought a steering wheel, but my joystick stays calibrated.
Tamerlane wrote:
Huh? as far as I know, the original Wolfenstein was only available for the Apple 2 series, and maybe the C64. I don’t think it ever came out for the Atari consoles of the day, and I have trouble imagining anyone experiencing visual disorientation from it. It was far from fast.
. Those and RPG’s are my preference, so console’s really aren’t a worthwhile investment for me. Where consoles excel is in “twitch” games. Not my cup of tea - I lack the reflexs ( which means I get frustrated very quickly ) for shooters and the faster moving ones actually make me slightly ill because of the visual disorientation. I remember the original Wolfenstein and the Magic Carpet titles being particularly bad in that respect.