Console Advantages?

[Shamitako]

So the pc vs console debate popped up around me earlier and its been on my mind because I can't really think of any actual reason to choose a console outside personal preference/dedication; I can't think of any tangible advantages to it

 

Anybody who actually bits consoles want to enlighten me as to why you'd get a console instead of a decent pc for your gaming?

 

Oh, and I'm gonna go ahead and exclude game exclusivity from the discussion. That goes all directions and comes down entirely to preference.

 

TY, Lexi

[Alphagar]

PC. It has mods. :3

 

Then again...I don't have a console...sooo...yeah.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Alphagar

[HUEnd]

The main argument that I heard about why someone would choose a console over PC is because they're just too lazy or don't know how to properly maintain/fix a computer, so...they just go for a Console.

 

I would, definitely, have a better PC to play games that rely on your hardware, but, since I got very little time to spend playing, I just use my good ol' laptop to play Pokémon =3

[FairFamily]

Usability, playing a game on console is a lot easier. So when I buy a new game on console I insert the game do the installation (if necessairy) and I can start playing the game. Simple as that.

 

When I buy a new game on pc I first have to make sure I have the specs. So before even buying it I have to see if I can run it. Then I download/install the game (with sometimes the additional download, disk swaps and product key input) and can immediately fix the launch problems. So I'm busy from at least half an hour (easily an hour or more) fixing the game before I even play it after that I have to configure the key settings for my game (sometimes even some obligatory mods) and then I can play. Some of the pc games I bought I simply don't play because they aren't worth the hassle. 

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

5 minutes ago, FairFamily said:

Usability, playing a game on console is a lot easier. So when I buy a new game on console I insert the game do the installation (if necessairy) and I can start playing the game. Simple as that.

 

When I buy a new game on pc I first have to make sure I have the specs. So before even buying it I have to see if I can run it. Then I download/install the game (with sometimes the additional download, disk swaps and product key input) and can immediately fix the launch problems. So I'm busy from at least half an hour (easily an hour or more) fixing the game before I even play it after that I have to configure the key settings for my game (sometimes even some obligatory mods) and then I can play. Some of the pc games I bought I simply don't play because they aren't worth the hassle. 

Mostly this. On console you know what you buy will run. On Comp, you've got no idea if it will cause ever if you had the correct specs your drivers could just hate the game... or perhaps your graphics card just doesn't allow a game to render properly and it crashes due to it. Consoles are super duper easy mode as they are plug and play so if you don't really care about running it at high end super performance they are easy to pick up and use. Because the devs only have to develop for a very limited number of specs so it's easier to optimize them for said specs even if they are lower. Due to how many different parts etc there are for PC... there can be compatiblity issues that end up being hard to solve or impossible which can lose you out on playing some things. Luckily refunds are more common now on online stores so you won't as often be outted of your cash for such but still...

Really it's ease of use. ((if exclusives are out the window cause that's the only real other reason honestly.))

[HongaarseBeer]

I feel like a lot of people also prefer consoles over PC because of the fact that's it's more laid back. As in, they can just chill on their couch and it's wireless (the controller). Also, back when games still had split screen (not sure if they do anymore), people enjoyed playing split screen with friends

 

And, like mentioned before, if you buy a game for a console you can certainly run it, whereas, with a PC, that's not always a given, especially if it's a brand new game and if you have a relatively old GPU.

[IntSys]

This may be more of a Nintendo thing but, a lot of the games that I want to play are console-exclusives, which is why consoles appeal to me more.

[FairFamily]

33 minutes ago, HongaarseBeer said:

I feel like a lot of people also prefer consoles over PC because of the fact that's it's more laid back. As in, they can just chill on their couch and it's wireless (the controller). Also, back when games still had split screen (not sure if they do anymore), people enjoyed playing split screen with friends

 

And, like mentioned before, if you buy a game for a console you can certainly run it, whereas, with a PC, that's not always a given, especially if it's a brand new game and if you have a relatively old GPU.

Don't they still play games with firends like party games or smash brothers?

 

Also I forgot the argument that I usually make in this argument. Handhelds. Handhelds are extremely portable and can be used almost everywhere: car, train, home,... . Even laptops which are the most portable version of PC gaming cannot match the portabality of handhelds especially when the games demand a mouse (like most do).

[Maelstrom]

I don't mind the mouse, but I hate the keyboard as a controller. It just doesn't feel natural, whereas gripping and playing with a controller does. The true advantage of the pc is the mouse for aiming.

 

Consoles are generally cheaper than pc's and laptops as well. Less prone to bugs and viruses.

 

A lot of people point to the plethora of games on sale for cheap on steam. I have to point out- how many of them are actually good? What is the depth and complexity of the game and the gameplay? How does it compare to a mobile app game? How many of them are rip-offs of older games?

 

The 'graphics advantage' held by pc is often-times negligible, or again, locked behind specs your particular unit might not have.

 

 

 

I've got a good gaming pc. I just really, really dislike playing with a mouse and keyboard. And everything I prefer to play is either on my phone or is out for console.

[Godot]

Excluding games is a cheap shot.  But yeah, PC is unreliable unless you dump a decent amount of money into it.  People say things like "build your own pc" or "maintain it" but they forget that it is costly to do those things when Consoles run from $200-$500.  A good PC costs twice or three times that much. If not more.
 

People also mention fan made mods all the time, when I don't personally see them as enhancing the game experience.  I also find most fan made mod things to be distractedly ugly

 

Also PCs are quickly outdated and if I buy a game on my console, I will know that it works....

 

And again, excluding games is silly.  Regarding games, PC has close to nothing interesting that console has as far as I am concerned.  Excluding games is like saying "what is better? Pizza Hut or Dominoes? Excluding talking about the food."

 

PC doesn't have Mario, Zelda, Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Main Line Pokemon Titles, Metroid, God of War, Super Smash Bros, and so much more.... Unless you do Emulators... but.... encouraging not buying the games.... that is a separate can of worms...

 

This year alone I really enjoyed Odin Sphere Lefinhaiser, Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Ever Oasis, Crash Insanity Collection, FF12 Zodiac Age, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, and soon Splatoon 2, Pokken Tournament DX, Uncharted Lost Legacy, Mario Odyssey, Samus Returns, and some others I may not be able to mention from the top of my head... but If I preferred PC gaming over console... I wouldn't have been able to play any of those awesome sauce games.

[Plok]

I prefer PC for gaming - main reason is that I had PC for as long as I can remember while most of consoles were rare around here when I was a kid. So yes, I prefer keyboard and mouse over controller and I always will. I recently got some consoles - nintendo and PS4 and I just don't see myself playing some games on it because I'm not used to controllers (fps games I'm talking to you)

 

Advantages for PC:

+ graphics advantage -> if you're willing to pay for it

+ no need to pay to play most of the mp games

+ usually PC has wider variety of games

+ more mods

+ you can run older and newer games on them -> backwards compatibility which some of the consoles don't have (legality is questionable ofc)

there are probably more but I just can't remember them atm

+ you can use both keyboard and mouse + controllers

+ can be used extremely wide range of things

 

PC Disadvantages:

- high cost for upgrading/maintaining if you want to be able to play every new release on high or better settings (prices will depend a lot over the years and mining seasons)

- doesn't have exclusive games

- imo steam sales are meh - most of the good games are on sale like once a year and the price drop is usually nothing compared to ps store drops that have way better offers every week

- usually not user friendly and requires knowledge to build them

- tweaking setting to run some games

- usually you need Windows OS

- some game that are booted from consoles on PC will have a lot of problems

- usually you can't properly play games on the couch

 

Advantages for console:

+ more user friendly

+ no need to tweak settings or to wonder if you will be able to play the game

+ exclusive games

+ way cheaper games if you don't get them at release date

+ better local mp

+ portability

+ cheaper

+ better pre order rewards

 

Disadvantages:

- paying for mp

- replacing whole console when it gets outdated

- no connectivity between the different console brands

- no mods most of the time

- lack of some genres

 

There's probably more but I just can't remember them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . Anyway both pc and console have a lot of things to offer - it is just a matter of what do you prefer when you want to play the games and how much time and money do you want to spend to be able to play something properly

 

 

 

 

[Shamitako]

Alright, that went Pwell. I'm going to ruin it by talking about some points and likely disagreeing in some cases. Please note that I'm most interested in understanding and clarifying and not trying to be antagonistic ^^

 

6 hours ago, FairFamily said:

 

Also I forgot the argument that I usually make in this argument. Handhelds. Handhelds are extremely portable and can be used almost everywhere: car, train, home,... . Even laptops which are the most portable version of PC gaming cannot match the portabality of handhelds especially when the games demand a mouse (like most do).

Ah, this is a good point. I don't usually think of handhelds in the same vein as other consoles (although the, uh, Switch exists now so what do I know). I usually compare handheld gaming to mobile gaming and compare home consoles to PCs

 

6 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

I don't mind the mouse, but I hate the keyboard as a controller. It just doesn't feel natural, whereas gripping and playing with a controller does. The true advantage of the pc is the mouse for aiming.

So I wanted to point out that I play 80% of my PC games with an Xbox 360 controller and only play a very few games with controller support using a mouse and keyboard (and several without controller support I often still use a controller for via 3rd party stuff)

 

6 hours ago, Godot said:

People also mention fan made mods all the time, when I don't personally see them as enhancing the game experience.  I also find most fan made mod things to be distractedly ugly

Not for the same reasons, but I prefer to not use mods either. Minecraft and Don't Starve being the main exceptions

 

6 hours ago, Godot said:

Excluding games is like saying "what is better? Pizza Hut or Dominoes? Excluding talking about the food."

Indeed. And I do it because the food is entirely a matter of personal preference and we could sit here for hours arguing over which tastes better and that would become the entire discussion. To continue the analogy: I want to know about how much the food costs, portion sizes, customer service, how many locations are in my area, etc. In the end I'll still probably go to the place that tastes best to me, but I still want to know all the rest

 

6 hours ago, Godot said:

 

This year alone I really enjoyed Odin Sphere Lefinhaiser, Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Ever Oasis, Crash Insanity Collection, FF12 Zodiac Age, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, and soon Splatoon 2, Pokken Tournament DX, Uncharted Lost Legacy, Mario Odyssey, Samus Returns, and some others I may not be able to mention from the top of my head... but If I preferred PC gaming over console... I wouldn't have been able to play any of those awesome sauce games.

Since I have interest in only two of these games, I have no issue missing out on them. I could list off PC-only games I think are awesome that you're missing out on, but you'd probably have interest in only two of them so there's really no point. Taste in games isn't a tangible advantage, it's just a personal thing

 

Also I'd like to point out, these span across multiple consoles. If you can only get one console you miss out on most of them anyways in addition to PC games

 

5 hours ago, Njab said:

- high cost for upgrading/maintaining if you want to be able to play every new release on high or better settings (prices will depend a lot over the years and mining seasons)

I don't actually know the gaming lifespan for PCs, but if you're willing to have your graphics suffer later into its life, it's longer than consoles, yes? 

 

5 hours ago, Njab said:

- doesn't have exclusive games

This is hardly true. Unless you only count "exclusive" for things that have a contract to not release elsewhere. PC has plenty of games that console doesn't. Thus why I preempted this point earlier (or rather attempted to), since it goes both ways and just eventually ends up being personal preference anyways

 

5 hours ago, Njab said:

- usually you can't properly play games on the couch

Not actually a standard thing, but I have the intention of hooking up a PC to my TV when I move out and playing most of my games from my couch (ATM I can't use the couch for myself anyways, but that's a personal thing) It's gon be kewl

 

5 hours ago, Njab said:

+ more user friendly

+ no need to tweak settings or to wonder if you will be able to play the game

This seems to be the main thing, and it's a solid point. I've not had much trouble on this front so I didn't think of it

 

5 hours ago, Njab said:

+ way cheaper games if you don't get them at release date

This has not been my experience at all unless buying a game from the previous console generation. It's a big part of why consoles have been inaccessible to me even in the times when I've actively wanted them. Not necessarily saying this is wrong, but it's hard for me to believe

 

I sorta mentioned it earlier, but just as a general point: An individual console is cheaper than a quality PC (esp. if you're going for Nintendo). But you're going to have to buy 3-5 to get access to all the games, at which point you're spending as much or more than you are to get a quality gaming PC that can run every PC game at high settings. And you can get one that can manage most games at high settings for a lot cheaper

 

Thanks again,

Lexi ^^

[FairFamily]

1 hour ago, KosherKitten said:

I sorta mentioned it earlier, but just as a general point: An individual console is cheaper than a quality PC (esp. if you're going for Nintendo). But you're going to have to buy 3-5 to get access to all the games, at which point you're spending as much or more than you are to get a quality gaming PC that can run every PC game at high settings. And you can get one that can manage most games at high settings for a lot cheaper

 

Thanks again,

Lexi ^^

This is actually very misleading. With each generation of pcs a lot of games fall out of the boat and can't be run anymore.  A PC can technically be too advanced for what you are trying to do. You can try to circumvent some of these issues but I'm not sure if it fixes all the problemns and if the hours of work you have to put into it are worth it.

[Shamitako]

3 minutes ago, FairFamily said:

This is actually very misleading. With each generation of pcs a lot of games fall out of the boat and can't be run anymore.  A PC can technically be too advanced for what you are trying to do. You can try to circumvent some of these issues but I'm not sure if it fixes all the problemns and if the hours of work you have to put into it are worth it.

I was speaking within a single generation, although backwards compatibility does play into things

 

However to that point, I've only run into this with the PC-98 Touhou games, which require ten to fifteen minutes of emulator setup to run. Can you give a more recent example so I have a better idea of what you're talking about? I've not had trouble running games made during the Windows XP era on 7 or 8

[Godot]

Gonna mention a few things after reading all this.

 

1. People mention the whole "buying a new console when the generation ends" thing but PCs and Laptops have life spans too.  Not that they get out dated or anything.  They get cranky and die of old age.  I have very few consoles do this to me, but the main point I am trying to get across is that it is less costly to replace a console for a newer generation than it is to buy a new PC or laptop.  I am also curious as to how much it costs to replace a driver and a graphics card.

 

2. I specifically stayed away from mentioning certain games because I am aware of PC exclusives.  Most of which I have seen have been super niche.  

Pc exclusives typically are...

a. Fan Games like Reborn or rejuv, though I have heard of people finding ways to play them on consoles with the use of modding.

b. Indie titles that are often hit or miss that usually times want to publish on steam because it is cheaper or they don't think their game will do well.  A lot of those games land up being meh.  And the ones that aren't meh usually get ported to consoles at some point in time.

c. RTS and Strategy for DAYS.  Age of Empire, Star Craft, Civilization, Wargroove,  and more.  That ain't my genre.  You also have mobas that are inspired by the genre like LoL, Dota, HotS, etc.  I cannot get into those games at all...

 

There are are a few other things that I am well aware of, as well as games that are on both platforms that run better on certain hardware.  And shitty ports with no work put into them.  (People complain about console to pc ports being bad, but the reverse happens too...  I AM LOOKING AT YOU STARDEW VALLEY!!!) But don't feel like going into it ATM.

 

I also want to mention that the only time I really play pc games is if I am not going to be home for a long while, (like a holiday with family) I will take my laptop and my PS4 controller with me.  I actually have quite a few things on my pc I enjoy.  However this may change due to the Switch now existing.

And even though I enjoy console over pc, I will buy a game on pc before I buy it on Xbox.  In terms of preference in buying a game it goes PSN>Nintendo>PC>Xbox.  I bought Rivals of Aether on Steam over XBLA, and I loved it.  And if my pc could run it (rip) I would have bought killer instinct too.

[FairFamily]

32 minutes ago, KosherKitten said:

I was speaking within a single generation, although backwards compatibility does play into things

You mean like buying a nitendo ds, a playstation 4,... just to play all console games? That argument is basically 'exclusives'.

32 minutes ago, KosherKitten said:

However to that point, I've only run into this with the PC-98 Touhou games, which require ten to fifteen minutes of emulator setup to run. Can you give a more recent example so I have a better idea of what you're talking about? I've not had trouble running games made during the Windows XP era on 7 or 8

Well I have tried to run age of mythology in the past with no avail I could do on my previous setup (after modifying some of the files) but now I can't. 

[Shamitako]

4 minutes ago, Godot said:

1. People mention the whole "buying a new console when the generation ends" thing but PCs and Laptops have life spans too.  Not that they get out dated or anything.  They get cranky and die of old age.  I have very few consoles do this to me, but the main point I am trying to get across is that it is less costly to replace a console for a newer generation than it is to buy a new PC or laptop.  I am also curious as to how much it costs to replace a driver and a graphics card.

The point I'm trying to make above is that while it's cheaper to upgrade a single console, it's more expensive to upgrade every console you need to play the variety of games since there's greater exclusivity between consoles than there is between PCs

 

My Wii broke not too long ago, I think we had it for three, maybe four, years? Not sure. Not really that significant, just pointing out that consoles die of old age too. Again, IDK which actually lasts longer although when it comes specifically to mechanical failure I'd expect consoles do actually have it occur less.

 

13 minutes ago, Godot said:

People complain about console to pc ports being bad, but the reverse happens too...

Oh yeah, esp. since PC games often take advantage of the whole "mouse and keyboard" thing, lol

 

16 minutes ago, Godot said:

I actually have quite a few things on my pc I enjoy.

And I've enjoyed a few console games too. I'm really not trying to say you shouldn't get one or the other, or even that PC is actually universally better since even with more tangible advantages, people value certain things differently (like how some people excessively value mods)

 

5 minutes ago, FairFamily said:

You mean like buying a nitendo ds, a playstation 4,... just to play all console games? That argument is basically 'exclusives'.

Yes, I'm arguing the accessibility of games. What I'm trying to avoid is discussing which has better games that the other doesn't have since what makes a game good is highly subjective

[5hift]

Consoles are generally low maintenance but you certainly can do a lot more with a capable PC.

 

With consoles you don't really need to tweak in game settings too much to maximize performance because the default option is typically the only and the most consistent option while on PC there is definitely a lot more trial and error involved in getting games to run good and well as looking nice.

 

Value wise, you can get a fairly decent PC built for less than 800 dollars depending on sales and availability while consoles sell for a lot less but will probably be outdated in a couple of years.

[Adventurer]

Simple thing. I use my pc for more than just gaming. So a console is pretty much useless on it's own for me. I would still need a pc.

 

My current pc is 7 years old and still running very well. Because I always buy a pretty strong one between €1200 - €1400.

 

The games on pc are also more my thing. And Steam sales, don't forget them. And mods. Mods can make a game so much better.

[PokeFailure]

P.C is much better because it literally has endless options. Emulators, Steam, Mods  etc.and if you put the time and money into it you'll have the best gaming experience. But it is expensive (unless you're smart about building a P.C) With a P.C you can always upgrade as well and while it is annoying to maintain at times I'd say overall it's a better experience. 

 

Console isn't without it's merits because it's fairly simple to use but Discs will eventually break if you buy physical copies, Consoles generally don't last more than 5 years or will have an upgraded version within those 5 years that makes it slightly worse. Using a controler to type is hell in itself... but really Consoles are great because of their simplicity and the fact they're more or less medium end P.C's dedicated to gaming and streaming only pretty much. Except the Atari Box, that's just stupid.