I spend over 1200$ on a PC 2 years ago. and now I should spend another 100$ ~ 200$ just to play the games of today? Why should I do that when I can pick up an Xbox360 for 350$ that can run most of todays games?
And every console is exactly the same, they all have the exact same hardware. They also have an OS, but a much more simple one, one without all the bells and whistles you don't need.
I'm sorry you didn't buy a great PC, but regardless, NOT all consoles are the same. Thats like saying all computers are the same.
What if I were to tell you, that MY pc right now, can play any game that is on a console. What if I were to say that it really can play ANY game on ANY console?
Truth be told, it's true, with emulation software my PC could BE an Xbox 360 or an N64, or a PS2 if I wanted it to. You can more easily open up the flood gates to modifications on the PC you could never do on a console. Now I'm not saying I've done that, or that anyone actually has. I will tell you that if you go looking for emulators for Xbox and PS and Nintendo, you'll find them.
Now, you say XBOX 360 can play most of todays games, and thats true. But what of the quality? Have you seen a side by side comparison? I have, and if you saw it, you'd be surprised. Now I'm not saying don't get a console, I'm just saying you get what you pay for.
Well the PC I bought was bought in a normal computer store and it was the average price for a system like that.
And as far as I'm aware, the emulation process for the new generation consoles is only taking it's first steps and the amount of roms avaible is low/
I have indeed seen side by side comparison and in all cases the PC look slightly better, and I mean really slightly. I don't see anything that's worth 800$ more of graphic quality.
I considered buying a console instead of a PC because of the lower price. However, when I look at the available software, the consoles have nothing that I would I would use.
Paying more for something you use is better value than paying less for something you do not use.
I think eventually there will be a lower price common platform computer. For example, consider how long the 2 video standards (VHS and Beta) lasted. How long would a movie making company survive if they decided to create a unique DVD standard that would only play that companies movies on a DVD player that can only play that companies movies? However, I doubt we will see a standard for some time in the computer industry, as the hardware and operating systems are evolving too quickly for any computer to remain the standard for more than a few months.
To me it looks like the console are dying. Next gen consoles will be nothing but a cheap computer. They will sell at $600-800 price point same as mid-range computers. Just because new types of computers will enter the market won't kill the old ones or the market.
The PC I am running right now cost me $1k 5 years ago, could have gotten it for $800 if I had known more about computers t that time. The only thing I have upgraded is the video card and that was like two months ago to a 7600 GT for like $100. It can play any modern game and look better than a console doing it. I will probably be able to use this computer another 3 years with this video card. By then another generation of consoles will be out that will cost as much as the new computer I get. When consoles can be upgraded for a very low amount and extend them out another whole generation then they will be worth it.
I do own a PS3 and 360, but they mostly just collect dust. I do use the PS3 daily, but usually for email rather than games.
Your mind is like a parachute, it's only useful when it's open. Don't forget, you can use the block function on trolls.
The only thing I have upgraded is the video card and that was like two months ago to a 7600 GT for like $100. It can play any modern game and look better than a console doing it. I will probably be able to use this computer another 3 years with this video card.
I really highly doubt that that video card will last you another three years.
Life is a sexually transmitted disease and it is 100% fatal.
To me it looks like the console are dying. Next gen consoles will be nothing but a cheap computer. They will sell at $600-800 price point same as mid-range computers. Just because new types of computers will enter the market won't kill the old ones or the market. The PC I am running right now cost me $1k 5 years ago, could have gotten it for $800 if I had known more about computers t that time. The only thing I have upgraded is the video card and that was like two months ago to a 7600 GT for like $100. It can play any modern game and look better than a console doing it. I will probably be able to use this computer another 3 years with this video card. By then another generation of consoles will be out that will cost as much as the new computer I get. When consoles can be upgraded for a very low amount and extend them out another whole generation then they will be worth it. I do own a PS3 and 360, but they mostly just collect dust. I do use the PS3 daily, but usually for email rather than games.
considering that the console market has grown more than 3 times it's size since 1990, I have to wonder why you seem to think consoles are dying. Also consoles sell at 350$ ~ 500$, not 600$ ~ 800$, not including Xbox core and Wii for obvious reasons and the Xbox comes with 2 games as well.
Why is it that every time the PC vs. Console thing comes up we all start with the canned discussion about price point and graphics quality? There's also the equally dead horse of the PC having more functionality than a console.
Answers to the canned responses: Consoles are cheaper, PC graphics are better, and you don't need a gaming rig to do your taxes so you're actually spending more to add games to an oversized PDA.
With that out of the way, lets talk about some of the less discussed advantages of consoles.
Four players, one machine, no lag, no cheating and the trash talk is kept at a suitable level of civility due to the fact that anyone who takes offense is perfectly able to inflict bodily harm upon you. Also, the maturity level is always appropriate since you usually play face to face with your friends who are already on your level. Read whatever you like into that statement.....
Four players, one machine online. Another variation is eight players and two machines online. The result is that everyone on your team is in the same room with you. That makes teamwork much easier than yelling over Ventrillo or Teamspeak. Two of my best memories were playing Perfect Dark with three of my friends against bots and playing Tribes: Aerial Assault with a friend of mine online. I've also been made aware that you can take three friends with you on the same machine over XBox live in Halo 3.
You can rent console games. Renting PC games is just an open invitation for piracy.
I could also add that consoles are more portable than PCs making them perfect for LAN parties. Sure, you can buy a laptop but you'd just be paying more for system with less power than a gaming desktop.
At any rate, if you're a rich basement troll with no friends then the PC is your best bet. If you actually like to socialize face to face, then you'll appreciate consoles more.
Didn't take long for this thread to get stale.... Why is it that every time the PC vs. Console thing comes up we all start with the canned discussion about price point and graphics quality? There's also the equally dead horse of the PC having more functionality than a console. Answers to the canned responses: Consoles are cheaper, PC graphics are better, and you don't need a gaming rig to do your taxes so you're actually spending more to add games to an oversized PDA. With that out of the way, lets talk about some of the less discussed advantages of consoles.
Four players, one machine, no lag, no cheating and the trash talk is kept at a suitable level of civility due to the fact that anyone who takes offense is perfectly able to inflict bodily harm upon you. Also, the maturity level is always appropriate since you usually play face to face with your friends who are already on your level. Read whatever you like into that statement..... Four players, one machine online. Another variation is eight players and two machines online. The result is that everyone on your team is in the same room with you. That makes teamwork much easier than yelling over Ventrillo or Teamspeak. Two of my best memories were playing Perfect Dark with three of my friends against bots and playing Tribes: Aerial Assault with a friend of mine online. I've also been made aware that you can take three friends with you on the same machine over XBox live in Halo 3. You can rent console games. Renting PC games is just an open invitation for piracy.
I could also add that consoles are more portable than PCs making them perfect for LAN parties. Sure, you can buy a laptop but you'd just be paying more for system with less power than a gaming desktop. At any rate, if you're a rich basement troll with no friends then the PC is your best bet. If you actually like to socialize face to face, then you'll appreciate consoles more. See? That wasn't so hard.
Meh, I wouldn't be playing video games if I wanted to socialize face to face.
Here is what I know and believe will happen in the near future. Consoles will begin to offer solid Internet connections to do web surfing (unrestricted) and play games without needing any game cd. Companies like MS are already began research and development of such a thing and if it ever comes out might make people use the game console as the PC. Imagine surfing the web with no limitations, playing any game you want on the console even older titles by simply clicking the game you want to play. Of course the fee for this yearly would give MS billions more in revenue *sigh*, well lets hope they fix Vistas problems so I can build the best PC next year to play Farcry2. We know xbox live started all this for them but taking it to the level of being able to play ever game that is made for this future console over the internet through the console would be the biggest thing since Atari.
I still think that a PC will always offer benefits consoles can not. But if MS has it there way the near future will bring the PC to their console and try to limit PC sales.
People also seem to disregard the fact that pretty much every home that would have a gaming console already has a Computer.
Computers just have done a better job at infiltrating our homes. Consoles are trying to get better at it by building themselves up to be "entertainment" systems to include movie watching as well but we can't tell yet if that is going to work well.
AS Consoles continue to try and make themselves more into entertainment centers instead of just gaming machines the price goes up and as the price goes up one of the main advantages console gaming has over PC gaming goes away.
The second major advantage that Console gaming has over PC gaming is exclusive games. This is accomplished by the manufacturer of the console paying developers to make games solely for their console. We see that going away as well though because the payoff doesn't really beat the potential sales lost to most developers by not releasing to every possible platform. So as more and more exclusive titles go multiplatform you will see that advantage dwindle as well.
The other major advantage that many people mention is the social aspect. While this can be an advantage it isn't as big a deal as some make it out to be. The Vast majority of people using the PS3 and Xbox360 are using them online and playing wiht friends online just like PC gamers do. The major expection to that rule is of course the Wii, which has become the social party system by far. IT by far is most like previous "fun" systems that is attracting the casual family gamers.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 on the other hand generally appeal to a similar mentality player as a PC does but a "lesser" version in a way then the PC. The PC gaming niche can still be considered more or less to be the more "hardcore" of the gaming segments. These are generally the people that will know more about their systems and games then any other segment. The console Gamers are generally going to be plug and play type of people. They want to be able to pick up a game that they can figure out quickly play it and have their fun. Where as the PC gamers are looking for more depth in their genre.
This can be seen in a few gaming areas pretty significantly:
1. Sports games. Sports games are pretty much one of the most shallow game genres and they are one of the largest game genres on Consoles.
2. FPS'ers. FPS games are big on both PCs and Consoles but their are some pretty big differences between PC players and Console Gamers. For instances PC FPSers generally like more tactical games with team based combat that require stragedy and Console FPSers generally like more action based games with a lot more solo fast paced action.
Also the modification ability of the PC has created a whole wealth of depth in the FPS genre that can not be matched on the Console.
3. About the only genre where PCs and Consoles are fairly equal is in standard RPGs, this of course is not the case when you include MMORPGs but in the standard single player variety both have excellent games and you can even say that the Consoles have had better RPGs then the PC has.
Of course this is all in my opinion but no I have said it before and will continue to say it I do not think that the PC has lost anything. We are seeing the peak of a Console vs PC comparison period. Basically any time new consoles are launched they compare fairly well to PC gaming but given a couple of years and around the middle of the console's lifespan that comparison moves to fairly poor. The innovation in hardware allows the PC to move well beyond the Console very quickly and leaves the developers for Console's having to improve coding since they can not improve the hardware for years. Some developers do an excellent job and can produce games on consoles that are still very good (i.e. God of War series, Legend of Zelda series, etc) but overall the PC jumps way ahead very quickly.
We are already starting to see the PC advantages emerge again. Games like crysis will very quickly become the norm instead of the exception and increases in the Physics capabilities of PC Games will bring them far and beyond their Console brethren. Increases in the hardware of the common PC will bring genres like MMOs and FPS games up as well by allowing them to have larger and larger numbers of players occupying a single playing field. This will also allow the PC to move well beyond the abilities of the Console game.
Currently playing: LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too: Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
We are already starting to see the PC advantages emerge again. Games like crysis will very quickly become the norm instead of the exception and increases in the Physics capabilities of PC Games will bring them far and beyond their Console brethren. Increases in the hardware of the common PC will bring genres like MMOs and FPS games up as well by allowing them to have larger and larger numbers of players occupying a single playing field. This will also allow the PC to move well beyond the abilities of the Console game.
There is no way a single game like crysis will make millions of people go and spend upwards of $2300 to build a PC capable of playing these types of games. The market is very small for these eye candy games and not every gamer can afford a PC this powerful to play them. So that argument is flawed. It is still the main reason 10million players are still playing WOW, because the system specs to play that game are really low and more then 80% of all computers in the homes are over 5yrs old. Only a handful are capable of playing the new games and even smaller portion are capable of playing crysis with medium to medium high settings.
The idea that games get better and more eye candy doesn't mean people will go out and buy new hardware or new top end PC's every 3yrs to play these new titles. Mind you the price to do so right now is about $2300 to play crysis with minimal problems. Let me get my crystal ball out and see how the future is in prices on hardware..........Wait I think the answer is the prices on hardware will continue to be the same or higher as newer hardware comes out. That's how it has always been for years now.
This is why this argument doesn't work and why a console system that will be built cheap and can do everything the PC can almost do will be the norm in the future and keep the PC sales down. Look as the 360, it is essentially a PC, now when MS starts building their future console with core 2 duo processors or better hardware I think that they could play a game like crysis with all settings maxed with no lag because what you fail to forget is a console has fewer IO's and less operations needed to do other things between the GPU CPU and memory. It is a system that simply plays games unlike a PC that works much harder and needs more powerful hardware to run the best games. So if MS did have a crysis title per say, it probably could play that game full settings once it was optimized.
We are already starting to see the PC advantages emerge again. Games like crysis will very quickly become the norm instead of the exception and increases in the Physics capabilities of PC Games will bring them far and beyond their Console brethren. Increases in the hardware of the common PC will bring genres like MMOs and FPS games up as well by allowing them to have larger and larger numbers of players occupying a single playing field. This will also allow the PC to move well beyond the abilities of the Console game.
There is no way a single game like crysis will make millions of people go and spend upwards of $2300 to build a PC capable of playing these types of games. The market is very small for these eye candy games and not every gamer can afford a PC this powerful to play them. So that argument is flawed. It is still the main reason 10million players are still playing WOW, because the system specs to play that game are really low and more then 80% of all computers in the homes are over 5yrs old. Only a handful are capable of playing the new games and even smaller portion are capable of playing crysis with medium to medium high settings.
The idea that games get better and more eye candy doesn't mean people will go out and buy new hardware or new top end PC's every 3yrs to play these new titles. Mind you the price to do so right now is about $2300 to play crysis with minimal problems. Let me get my crystal ball out and see how the future is in prices on hardware..........Wait I think the answer is the prices on hardware will continue to be the same or higher as newer hardware comes out. That's how it has always been for years now.
This is why this argument doesn't work and why a console system that will be built cheap and can do everything the PC can almost do will be the norm in the future and keep the PC sales down. Look as the 360, it is essentially a PC, now when MS starts building their future console with core 2 duo processors or better hardware I think that they could play a game like crysis with all settings maxed with no lag because what you fail to forget is a console has fewer IO's and less operations needed to do other things between the GPU CPU and memory. It is a system that simply plays games unlike a PC that works much harder and needs more powerful hardware to run the best games. So if MS did have a crysis title per say, it probably could play that game full settings once it was optimized.
You completely missed the point. My point was that a game like crysis will be the norm in another year or two and a PC that can run Crysis will be the PC that sells for around 800-1000 dollars.
By that time we still won't be seeing a new console for probably another 3 years. So you will get three years of games where the baseline is Crysis on PC and Crysis level of quality is still unattainable on a Console.
Now of course MS might release a new Xbox before then but then you are missing your Price advantage if they release a new console every 3-4 years instead of the 5-7 years that has been the norm. (and there is talk that Sony wants the PS3 to last even longer up to 10 years)
Currently playing: LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too: Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
We are already starting to see the PC advantages emerge again. Games like crysis will very quickly become the norm instead of the exception and increases in the Physics capabilities of PC Games will bring them far and beyond their Console brethren. Increases in the hardware of the common PC will bring genres like MMOs and FPS games up as well by allowing them to have larger and larger numbers of players occupying a single playing field. This will also allow the PC to move well beyond the abilities of the Console game.
There is no way a single game like crysis will make millions of people go and spend upwards of $2300 to build a PC capable of playing these types of games. The market is very small for these eye candy games and not every gamer can afford a PC this powerful to play them. So that argument is flawed. It is still the main reason 10million players are still playing WOW, because the system specs to play that game are really low and more then 80% of all computers in the homes are over 5yrs old. Only a handful are capable of playing the new games and even smaller portion are capable of playing crysis with medium to medium high settings.
The idea that games get better and more eye candy doesn't mean people will go out and buy new hardware or new top end PC's every 3yrs to play these new titles. Mind you the price to do so right now is about $2300 to play crysis with minimal problems. Let me get my crystal ball out and see how the future is in prices on hardware..........Wait I think the answer is the prices on hardware will continue to be the same or higher as newer hardware comes out. That's how it has always been for years now.
This is why this argument doesn't work and why a console system that will be built cheap and can do everything the PC can almost do will be the norm in the future and keep the PC sales down. Look as the 360, it is essentially a PC, now when MS starts building their future console with core 2 duo processors or better hardware I think that they could play a game like crysis with all settings maxed with no lag because what you fail to forget is a console has fewer IO's and less operations needed to do other things between the GPU CPU and memory. It is a system that simply plays games unlike a PC that works much harder and needs more powerful hardware to run the best games. So if MS did have a crysis title per say, it probably could play that game full settings once it was optimized.
You completely missed the point. My point was that a game like crysis will be the norm in another year or two and a PC that can run Crysis will be the PC that sells for around 800-1000 dollars.
By that time we still won't be seeing a new console for probably another 3 years. So you will get three years of games where the baseline is Crysis on PC and Crysis level of quality is still unattainable on a Console.
Now of course MS might release a new Xbox before then but then you are missing your Price advantage if they release a new console every 3-4 years instead of the 5-7 years that has been the norm. (and there is talk that Sony wants the PS3 to last even longer up to 10 years)
So wait, a game like Farcry and Doom3 or any those titles that are very graphical heavy and still need a great PC to play today after what 4-6yrs after launch needs to be played for that period of time without getting bored of them? What I am saying is that these games are molded around the current hardware available not the other way around. So these games will continue to be very costly to run 3yrs down the road after launch because that's how computer hardware is.
You do not see drastic performance changes and value in the hardware in that short of time. We only began to see DDR2 sales go down a year ago while older PC's using DDR are more expensive to operate. Hardware is a funny thing, a 8800gt that costs over $300 today will still be near that price 2yrs from now, it is how it is. Newer hardware coming out gets more expensive not cheaper and sales rarely go down enough to make building a PC powerful enough to play a game like crysis today barely and then play a new title 3yrs later with low settings without upgrading.
The fact is if a console is introduced 3yrs from now that is as powerful as a PC today that can play crysis near high settings will operate a similar eye candy game then with max settings because the way a console operates vs a PC, then it makes the PC almost obsolete if you only game. You can make a console play a game like crysis and all it's eye candy 3yrs from now and go 10yrs down the road with that same game graphics and not be underestimated by a PC. Because a game like crysis you can only go so far in graphical performance and realism before you get to a point where anything after that doesn't really matter in a visual experience. Crytek knows this, and like everyone else in the industry knows once a game like crysis was introduced it was rather a safe bet to say that is as good as it gets for years to come. What can get better but hardly worth mentioning is physics because they are done nicely now.
You can't take the grand canyon and make it anymore beautiful or magnificent.
The difference is that you can buy Crysis right not and get crap FPS and in five year buy a new computer and get great FPS. With consoles, whatever it is now is what it Always will be.
Saying Crysis will be the norm in 2 years is laughable at best, Especialy considering that, aside from Far Cry 2 which comes a bit close, nothing as graphical impressive has even been announced, let alone that will become the standard.
Upgrading a PC isn't exactly cheap either, I'm sure the average home PC is not capable of running todays moden high end games, and upgrading it is going to take hundreds of dollars, which you'll have to do multiple times over the next few years.
Saying Crysis will be the norm in 2 years is laughable at best, Especialy considering that, aside from Far Cry 2 which comes a bit close, nothing as graphical impressive has even been announced, let alone that will become the standard.
Upgrading a PC isn't exactly cheap either, I'm sure the average home PC is not capable of running todays moden high end games, and upgrading it is going to take hundreds of dollars, which you'll have to do multiple times over the next few years.
IMO Unreal T. 3 is similarly impressive, and there are many upcoming games licensing the UT3 engine.
The thing is, my console really only does one thing well and that’s games, where as my PC can do pretty much everything my console can do (and better mind you), as well as many more things.
If all the PC could do was play games then it would be just as cheap as a console – in fact isn’t that basically what a console is...a dumbed down, generic PC designed for very specific tasks?
Don't forget in some situations (such as with MS) they actually lose money when they sell the xbox system, and instead make money with the games they sell. Unfortunately PC's don't have this luxury.
And at least you can upgrade PC's, replacing consoles isn't exactly a cheap affair either.
Saying Crysis will be the norm in 2 years is laughable at best, Especialy considering that, aside from Far Cry 2 which comes a bit close, nothing as graphical impressive has even been announced, let alone that will become the standard.
Upgrading a PC isn't exactly cheap either, I'm sure the average home PC is not capable of running todays moden high end games, and upgrading it is going to take hundreds of dollars, which you'll have to do multiple times over the next few years.
IMO Unreal T. 3 is similarly impressive, and there are many games licensing the UT3 engine.
The thing is, my console really only does one thing well and that’s games, where as my PC can do pretty much everything my console can do and better mind you, as well as many more things.
If all the PC could do was play games it would be just as cheap as a console – in fact isn’t that basically what a console is? A dumbed down PC?
And at least you can upgrade PC's, replacing consoles isn't exactly a cheap affair.
Well Unreal Tournament 3 will also be avaible on consoles.
And again, PC will always run multiplatform games better if you have the hardware required, but I don't think that the difference is worth the extra few hundred bucks.
Replacing consoles isn't cheap, but you only need to replace it every 5 ~ 7 years a new one comes out.
Saying Crysis will be the norm in 2 years is laughable at best, Especialy considering that, aside from Far Cry 2 which comes a bit close, nothing as graphical impressive has even been announced, let alone that will become the standard.
Upgrading a PC isn't exactly cheap either, I'm sure the average home PC is not capable of running todays moden high end games, and upgrading it is going to take hundreds of dollars, which you'll have to do multiple times over the next few years.
IMO Unreal T. 3 is similarly impressive, and there are many games licensing the UT3 engine.
The thing is, my console really only does one thing well and that’s games, where as my PC can do pretty much everything my console can do and better mind you, as well as many more things.
If all the PC could do was play games it would be just as cheap as a console – in fact isn’t that basically what a console is? A dumbed down PC?
And at least you can upgrade PC's, replacing consoles isn't exactly a cheap affair.
Well Unreal Tournament 3 will also be avaible on consoles.
And again, PC will always run multiplatform games better if you have the hardware required, but I don't think that the difference is worth the extra few hundred bucks.
Replacing consoles isn't cheap, but you only need to replace it every 5 ~ 7 years a new one comes out.
Yes, but for a lot of people a PC isn’t just there for gaming…so the extra money spent on a pc often EASILY justified. In my situation, my xbox 360 get’s used every month of two when a game comes out that’s worth renting, which then usually last’s me from anywhere between 1 minute to 24 hours.
Then I look at my PC, it get’s used every day – whether it be for work, internet, multimedia, or anything else I can cook up. It also get’s used for gaming, most of which is for MMO’s – which can see my playing them for 2 hours+ on weekdays and a further 8+ hours over the weekend.
Now tell me which is better value for money in this situation…it certainly isn’t the console, and I’d hazard a guess and say the majority of people will also use there PC for more than just gaming.
And in terms of gaming - no current console can match the resolution and clarity of my PC, even on my 50” HD plasma my PC games still look better, not to mention a lot of PC games I tend to play have various mod’s and enhancements that are PC only AND did I mention the lack of k/b & mouse and that auto aim & dumbed down interfaces BLOW.
That totally depends what you're going to do with your PC. If your PC is for websurfing, emailing, music , microsoft office etc. you can do all of that on very, very cheap computer. you don't need an 1000$ rig to do the things the average family will use it for.
Only if you're going to do things that require a high end PC next to gaming is a high end rig really worth it imo.
That totally depends what you're going to do with your PC. If your PC is for websurfing, emailing, music , microsoft office etc. you can do all of that on very, very cheap computer. you don't need an 1000$ rig to do the things the average family will use it for. Only if you're going to do things that require a high end PC next to gaming is a high end rig really worth it imo.
But for some of us, PC gaming is our hobby and the money spent is not too extreme. I don't mind plopping out the cash for upgrades because it's fun and it's what I like to do.
If money is a problem then I could understand buying a console. But for those of us who have a job that pays well we don't have to take that cheap option. I think the price for an upgrade is just fine.
I'm not saying that to sound cocky or arrogant. Really, I'm not. I'm just saying that some of us have the money to spend. And likewise, don't mind spending it. The utility I get from the upgrade (to me at least) is worth the cost.
That totally depends what you're going to do with your PC. If your PC is for websurfing, emailing, music , microsoft office etc. you can do all of that on very, very cheap computer. you don't need an 1000$ rig to do the things the average family will use it for. Only if you're going to do things that require a high end PC next to gaming is a high end rig really worth it imo.
Yes, but you can get cheap PC's now days (or take a family pc) - throw in a $100 video card, then run games well and do a lot more things than any console. As for a High end Gaming Rig - it will still handle everything else you throw at it, unlike a console.
In my situation even if my PC cost 20x more than my console and was replaced every year - my PC is still by far better value, and is also much better at gaming.
Comments
I'm sorry you didn't buy a great PC, but regardless, NOT all consoles are the same. Thats like saying all computers are the same.
What if I were to tell you, that MY pc right now, can play any game that is on a console. What if I were to say that it really can play ANY game on ANY console?
Truth be told, it's true, with emulation software my PC could BE an Xbox 360 or an N64, or a PS2 if I wanted it to. You can more easily open up the flood gates to modifications on the PC you could never do on a console. Now I'm not saying I've done that, or that anyone actually has. I will tell you that if you go looking for emulators for Xbox and PS and Nintendo, you'll find them.
Now, you say XBOX 360 can play most of todays games, and thats true. But what of the quality? Have you seen a side by side comparison? I have, and if you saw it, you'd be surprised. Now I'm not saying don't get a console, I'm just saying you get what you pay for.
Well the PC I bought was bought in a normal computer store and it was the average price for a system like that.
And as far as I'm aware, the emulation process for the new generation consoles is only taking it's first steps and the amount of roms avaible is low/
I have indeed seen side by side comparison and in all cases the PC look slightly better, and I mean really slightly. I don't see anything that's worth 800$ more of graphic quality.
www.gamespot.com/features/6178185/p-2.html
A screen shot comparisson. I honnestly don't see that much difference.
PCs have better graphics etc and can't really be compared to consoles.
Maybe more people can afford a console over a PC but they won't have the options to a game that a PC has.
I considered buying a console instead of a PC because of the lower price. However, when I look at the available software, the consoles have nothing that I would I would use.
Paying more for something you use is better value than paying less for something you do not use.
I think eventually there will be a lower price common platform computer. For example, consider how long the 2 video standards (VHS and Beta) lasted. How long would a movie making company survive if they decided to create a unique DVD standard that would only play that companies movies on a DVD player that can only play that companies movies? However, I doubt we will see a standard for some time in the computer industry, as the hardware and operating systems are evolving too quickly for any computer to remain the standard for more than a few months.
thebs413.blogspot.com/2007/03/pc-gaming-dying-at-25-part-i-why.html
pretty interesting read.
To me it looks like the console are dying. Next gen consoles will be nothing but a cheap computer. They will sell at $600-800 price point same as mid-range computers. Just because new types of computers will enter the market won't kill the old ones or the market.
The PC I am running right now cost me $1k 5 years ago, could have gotten it for $800 if I had known more about computers t that time. The only thing I have upgraded is the video card and that was like two months ago to a 7600 GT for like $100. It can play any modern game and look better than a console doing it. I will probably be able to use this computer another 3 years with this video card. By then another generation of consoles will be out that will cost as much as the new computer I get. When consoles can be upgraded for a very low amount and extend them out another whole generation then they will be worth it.
I do own a PS3 and 360, but they mostly just collect dust. I do use the PS3 daily, but usually for email rather than games.
Your mind is like a parachute, it's only useful when it's open.
Don't forget, you can use the block function on trolls.
I really highly doubt that that video card will last you another three years.
Life is a sexually transmitted disease and it is 100% fatal.
considering that the console market has grown more than 3 times it's size since 1990, I have to wonder why you seem to think consoles are dying. Also consoles sell at 350$ ~ 500$, not 600$ ~ 800$, not including Xbox core and Wii for obvious reasons and the Xbox comes with 2 games as well.
Didn't take long for this thread to get stale....
Why is it that every time the PC vs. Console thing comes up we all start with the canned discussion about price point and graphics quality? There's also the equally dead horse of the PC having more functionality than a console.
Answers to the canned responses: Consoles are cheaper, PC graphics are better, and you don't need a gaming rig to do your taxes so you're actually spending more to add games to an oversized PDA.
With that out of the way, lets talk about some of the less discussed advantages of consoles.
I could also add that consoles are more portable than PCs making them perfect for LAN parties. Sure, you can buy a laptop but you'd just be paying more for system with less power than a gaming desktop.
At any rate, if you're a rich basement troll with no friends then the PC is your best bet. If you actually like to socialize face to face, then you'll appreciate consoles more.
See? That wasn't so hard.
Is it that time of the month already?
Meh, I wouldn't be playing video games if I wanted to socialize face to face.
member of imminst.org
Here is what I know and believe will happen in the near future. Consoles will begin to offer solid Internet connections to do web surfing (unrestricted) and play games without needing any game cd. Companies like MS are already began research and development of such a thing and if it ever comes out might make people use the game console as the PC. Imagine surfing the web with no limitations, playing any game you want on the console even older titles by simply clicking the game you want to play. Of course the fee for this yearly would give MS billions more in revenue *sigh*, well lets hope they fix Vistas problems so I can build the best PC next year to play Farcry2.
We know xbox live started all this for them but taking it to the level of being able to play ever game that is made for this future console over the internet through the console would be the biggest thing since Atari.
I still think that a PC will always offer benefits consoles can not. But if MS has it there way the near future will bring the PC to their console and try to limit PC sales.
People also seem to disregard the fact that pretty much every home that would have a gaming console already has a Computer.
Computers just have done a better job at infiltrating our homes. Consoles are trying to get better at it by building themselves up to be "entertainment" systems to include movie watching as well but we can't tell yet if that is going to work well.
AS Consoles continue to try and make themselves more into entertainment centers instead of just gaming machines the price goes up and as the price goes up one of the main advantages console gaming has over PC gaming goes away.
The second major advantage that Console gaming has over PC gaming is exclusive games. This is accomplished by the manufacturer of the console paying developers to make games solely for their console. We see that going away as well though because the payoff doesn't really beat the potential sales lost to most developers by not releasing to every possible platform. So as more and more exclusive titles go multiplatform you will see that advantage dwindle as well.
The other major advantage that many people mention is the social aspect. While this can be an advantage it isn't as big a deal as some make it out to be. The Vast majority of people using the PS3 and Xbox360 are using them online and playing wiht friends online just like PC gamers do. The major expection to that rule is of course the Wii, which has become the social party system by far. IT by far is most like previous "fun" systems that is attracting the casual family gamers.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 on the other hand generally appeal to a similar mentality player as a PC does but a "lesser" version in a way then the PC. The PC gaming niche can still be considered more or less to be the more "hardcore" of the gaming segments. These are generally the people that will know more about their systems and games then any other segment. The console Gamers are generally going to be plug and play type of people. They want to be able to pick up a game that they can figure out quickly play it and have their fun. Where as the PC gamers are looking for more depth in their genre.
This can be seen in a few gaming areas pretty significantly:
1. Sports games. Sports games are pretty much one of the most shallow game genres and they are one of the largest game genres on Consoles.
2. FPS'ers. FPS games are big on both PCs and Consoles but their are some pretty big differences between PC players and Console Gamers. For instances PC FPSers generally like more tactical games with team based combat that require stragedy and Console FPSers generally like more action based games with a lot more solo fast paced action.
Also the modification ability of the PC has created a whole wealth of depth in the FPS genre that can not be matched on the Console.
3. About the only genre where PCs and Consoles are fairly equal is in standard RPGs, this of course is not the case when you include MMORPGs but in the standard single player variety both have excellent games and you can even say that the Consoles have had better RPGs then the PC has.
Of course this is all in my opinion but no I have said it before and will continue to say it I do not think that the PC has lost anything. We are seeing the peak of a Console vs PC comparison period. Basically any time new consoles are launched they compare fairly well to PC gaming but given a couple of years and around the middle of the console's lifespan that comparison moves to fairly poor. The innovation in hardware allows the PC to move well beyond the Console very quickly and leaves the developers for Console's having to improve coding since they can not improve the hardware for years. Some developers do an excellent job and can produce games on consoles that are still very good (i.e. God of War series, Legend of Zelda series, etc) but overall the PC jumps way ahead very quickly.
We are already starting to see the PC advantages emerge again. Games like crysis will very quickly become the norm instead of the exception and increases in the Physics capabilities of PC Games will bring them far and beyond their Console brethren. Increases in the hardware of the common PC will bring genres like MMOs and FPS games up as well by allowing them to have larger and larger numbers of players occupying a single playing field. This will also allow the PC to move well beyond the abilities of the Console game.
Currently playing:
LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too:
Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
There is no way a single game like crysis will make millions of people go and spend upwards of $2300 to build a PC capable of playing these types of games. The market is very small for these eye candy games and not every gamer can afford a PC this powerful to play them. So that argument is flawed. It is still the main reason 10million players are still playing WOW, because the system specs to play that game are really low and more then 80% of all computers in the homes are over 5yrs old. Only a handful are capable of playing the new games and even smaller portion are capable of playing crysis with medium to medium high settings.
The idea that games get better and more eye candy doesn't mean people will go out and buy new hardware or new top end PC's every 3yrs to play these new titles. Mind you the price to do so right now is about $2300 to play crysis with minimal problems. Let me get my crystal ball out and see how the future is in prices on hardware..........Wait I think the answer is the prices on hardware will continue to be the same or higher as newer hardware comes out. That's how it has always been for years now.
This is why this argument doesn't work and why a console system that will be built cheap and can do everything the PC can almost do will be the norm in the future and keep the PC sales down. Look as the 360, it is essentially a PC, now when MS starts building their future console with core 2 duo processors or better hardware I think that they could play a game like crysis with all settings maxed with no lag because what you fail to forget is a console has fewer IO's and less operations needed to do other things between the GPU CPU and memory. It is a system that simply plays games unlike a PC that works much harder and needs more powerful hardware to run the best games. So if MS did have a crysis title per say, it probably could play that game full settings once it was optimized.
There is no way a single game like crysis will make millions of people go and spend upwards of $2300 to build a PC capable of playing these types of games. The market is very small for these eye candy games and not every gamer can afford a PC this powerful to play them. So that argument is flawed. It is still the main reason 10million players are still playing WOW, because the system specs to play that game are really low and more then 80% of all computers in the homes are over 5yrs old. Only a handful are capable of playing the new games and even smaller portion are capable of playing crysis with medium to medium high settings.
The idea that games get better and more eye candy doesn't mean people will go out and buy new hardware or new top end PC's every 3yrs to play these new titles. Mind you the price to do so right now is about $2300 to play crysis with minimal problems. Let me get my crystal ball out and see how the future is in prices on hardware..........Wait I think the answer is the prices on hardware will continue to be the same or higher as newer hardware comes out. That's how it has always been for years now.
This is why this argument doesn't work and why a console system that will be built cheap and can do everything the PC can almost do will be the norm in the future and keep the PC sales down. Look as the 360, it is essentially a PC, now when MS starts building their future console with core 2 duo processors or better hardware I think that they could play a game like crysis with all settings maxed with no lag because what you fail to forget is a console has fewer IO's and less operations needed to do other things between the GPU CPU and memory. It is a system that simply plays games unlike a PC that works much harder and needs more powerful hardware to run the best games. So if MS did have a crysis title per say, it probably could play that game full settings once it was optimized.
You completely missed the point. My point was that a game like crysis will be the norm in another year or two and a PC that can run Crysis will be the PC that sells for around 800-1000 dollars.
By that time we still won't be seeing a new console for probably another 3 years. So you will get three years of games where the baseline is Crysis on PC and Crysis level of quality is still unattainable on a Console.
Now of course MS might release a new Xbox before then but then you are missing your Price advantage if they release a new console every 3-4 years instead of the 5-7 years that has been the norm. (and there is talk that Sony wants the PS3 to last even longer up to 10 years)
Currently playing:
LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too:
Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
There is no way a single game like crysis will make millions of people go and spend upwards of $2300 to build a PC capable of playing these types of games. The market is very small for these eye candy games and not every gamer can afford a PC this powerful to play them. So that argument is flawed. It is still the main reason 10million players are still playing WOW, because the system specs to play that game are really low and more then 80% of all computers in the homes are over 5yrs old. Only a handful are capable of playing the new games and even smaller portion are capable of playing crysis with medium to medium high settings.
The idea that games get better and more eye candy doesn't mean people will go out and buy new hardware or new top end PC's every 3yrs to play these new titles. Mind you the price to do so right now is about $2300 to play crysis with minimal problems. Let me get my crystal ball out and see how the future is in prices on hardware..........Wait I think the answer is the prices on hardware will continue to be the same or higher as newer hardware comes out. That's how it has always been for years now.
This is why this argument doesn't work and why a console system that will be built cheap and can do everything the PC can almost do will be the norm in the future and keep the PC sales down. Look as the 360, it is essentially a PC, now when MS starts building their future console with core 2 duo processors or better hardware I think that they could play a game like crysis with all settings maxed with no lag because what you fail to forget is a console has fewer IO's and less operations needed to do other things between the GPU CPU and memory. It is a system that simply plays games unlike a PC that works much harder and needs more powerful hardware to run the best games. So if MS did have a crysis title per say, it probably could play that game full settings once it was optimized.
You completely missed the point. My point was that a game like crysis will be the norm in another year or two and a PC that can run Crysis will be the PC that sells for around 800-1000 dollars.
By that time we still won't be seeing a new console for probably another 3 years. So you will get three years of games where the baseline is Crysis on PC and Crysis level of quality is still unattainable on a Console.
Now of course MS might release a new Xbox before then but then you are missing your Price advantage if they release a new console every 3-4 years instead of the 5-7 years that has been the norm. (and there is talk that Sony wants the PS3 to last even longer up to 10 years)
So wait, a game like Farcry and Doom3 or any those titles that are very graphical heavy and still need a great PC to play today after what 4-6yrs after launch needs to be played for that period of time without getting bored of them? What I am saying is that these games are molded around the current hardware available not the other way around. So these games will continue to be very costly to run 3yrs down the road after launch because that's how computer hardware is.You do not see drastic performance changes and value in the hardware in that short of time. We only began to see DDR2 sales go down a year ago while older PC's using DDR are more expensive to operate. Hardware is a funny thing, a 8800gt that costs over $300 today will still be near that price 2yrs from now, it is how it is. Newer hardware coming out gets more expensive not cheaper and sales rarely go down enough to make building a PC powerful enough to play a game like crysis today barely and then play a new title 3yrs later with low settings without upgrading.
The fact is if a console is introduced 3yrs from now that is as powerful as a PC today that can play crysis near high settings will operate a similar eye candy game then with max settings because the way a console operates vs a PC, then it makes the PC almost obsolete if you only game. You can make a console play a game like crysis and all it's eye candy 3yrs from now and go 10yrs down the road with that same game graphics and not be underestimated by a PC. Because a game like crysis you can only go so far in graphical performance and realism before you get to a point where anything after that doesn't really matter in a visual experience. Crytek knows this, and like everyone else in the industry knows once a game like crysis was introduced it was rather a safe bet to say that is as good as it gets for years to come. What can get better but hardly worth mentioning is physics because they are done nicely now.
You can't take the grand canyon and make it anymore beautiful or magnificent.
How many MMO's can I play on console?
The difference is that you can buy Crysis right not and get crap FPS and in five year buy a new computer and get great FPS. With consoles, whatever it is now is what it Always will be.
member of imminst.org
Autoaim FTL.
Controllers FTL.
Lack of customizability FTL.
Lack of good MMO support FTL.
Lack of good RTS support FTL.
Lack of good mod support FTL.
Lack of possibilities FTL.
Dumbed down interfaces, UI &/or gameplay FTL.
Consoles FTL.
Saying Crysis will be the norm in 2 years is laughable at best, Especialy considering that, aside from Far Cry 2 which comes a bit close, nothing as graphical impressive has even been announced, let alone that will become the standard.
Upgrading a PC isn't exactly cheap either, I'm sure the average home PC is not capable of running todays moden high end games, and upgrading it is going to take hundreds of dollars, which you'll have to do multiple times over the next few years.
IMO Unreal T. 3 is similarly impressive, and there are many upcoming games licensing the UT3 engine.
The thing is, my console really only does one thing well and that’s games, where as my PC can do pretty much everything my console can do (and better mind you), as well as many more things.
If all the PC could do was play games then it would be just as cheap as a console – in fact isn’t that basically what a console is...a dumbed down, generic PC designed for very specific tasks?
Don't forget in some situations (such as with MS) they actually lose money when they sell the xbox system, and instead make money with the games they sell. Unfortunately PC's don't have this luxury.
And at least you can upgrade PC's, replacing consoles isn't exactly a cheap affair either.
The thing is, my console really only does one thing well and that’s games, where as my PC can do pretty much everything my console can do and better mind you, as well as many more things.
If all the PC could do was play games it would be just as cheap as a console – in fact isn’t that basically what a console is? A dumbed down PC?
And at least you can upgrade PC's, replacing consoles isn't exactly a cheap affair.
Well Unreal Tournament 3 will also be avaible on consoles.And again, PC will always run multiplatform games better if you have the hardware required, but I don't think that the difference is worth the extra few hundred bucks.
Replacing consoles isn't cheap, but you only need to replace it every 5 ~ 7 years a new one comes out.
The thing is, my console really only does one thing well and that’s games, where as my PC can do pretty much everything my console can do and better mind you, as well as many more things.
If all the PC could do was play games it would be just as cheap as a console – in fact isn’t that basically what a console is? A dumbed down PC?
And at least you can upgrade PC's, replacing consoles isn't exactly a cheap affair.
Well Unreal Tournament 3 will also be avaible on consoles.And again, PC will always run multiplatform games better if you have the hardware required, but I don't think that the difference is worth the extra few hundred bucks.
Replacing consoles isn't cheap, but you only need to replace it every 5 ~ 7 years a new one comes out.
Yes, but for a lot of people a PC isn’t just there for gaming…so the extra money spent on a pc often EASILY justified. In my situation, my xbox 360 get’s used every month of two when a game comes out that’s worth renting, which then usually last’s me from anywhere between 1 minute to 24 hours.
Then I look at my PC, it get’s used every day – whether it be for work, internet, multimedia, or anything else I can cook up. It also get’s used for gaming, most of which is for MMO’s – which can see my playing them for 2 hours+ on weekdays and a further 8+ hours over the weekend.
Now tell me which is better value for money in this situation…it certainly isn’t the console, and I’d hazard a guess and say the majority of people will also use there PC for more than just gaming.
And in terms of gaming - no current console can match the resolution and clarity of my PC, even on my 50” HD plasma my PC games still look better, not to mention a lot of PC games I tend to play have various mod’s and enhancements that are PC only AND did I mention the lack of k/b & mouse and that auto aim & dumbed down interfaces BLOW.
That totally depends what you're going to do with your PC. If your PC is for websurfing, emailing, music , microsoft office etc. you can do all of that on very, very cheap computer. you don't need an 1000$ rig to do the things the average family will use it for.
Only if you're going to do things that require a high end PC next to gaming is a high end rig really worth it imo.
If money is a problem then I could understand buying a console. But for those of us who have a job that pays well we don't have to take that cheap option. I think the price for an upgrade is just fine.
I'm not saying that to sound cocky or arrogant. Really, I'm not. I'm just saying that some of us have the money to spend. And likewise, don't mind spending it. The utility I get from the upgrade (to me at least) is worth the cost.
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</OBAMA>
Yes, but you can get cheap PC's now days (or take a family pc) - throw in a $100 video card, then run games well and do a lot more things than any console. As for a High end Gaming Rig - it will still handle everything else you throw at it, unlike a console.
In my situation even if my PC cost 20x more than my console and was replaced every year - my PC is still by far better value, and is also much better at gaming.