Benefits of gaming on the PC in comparison to Consoles.

Number_25

Number_25

Number_25

Soldato
Joined
23 Dec 2010
Posts
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After coming across this on the Console Gaming Forum I wanted to ask the PC gaming community what are the advantages to playing on a PC in comparison to a console (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii).

So I'm going to ask for a minimum of 6 reasons to why gaming on PC is better than gaming on a console.

I know that both have their advantages, I myself have an Xbox 360 (under the bed now) but I played it to death untill about January this year.
 
pc

1) better gfx at higher resolution
2) and a mouse gives you better control
3) maybe better AI (dont know but more processing power so i guess so)
4) you can do stuff other than gaming on a pc
5) ??? porn
6) ??? easier to pirate stuff

but then the above is expected when you pay 3x to 5x the price
 
1, higher resolution
2, better graphics even natively from the game or with forcing high levels of AA+AF
3, better controller options, keyboard+mouse /game pads / steering wheels (massive rnage of choices for each some beeing very expensive and precise like the wheels that cost hundreds
4, faster loading times
5, easier for devs to patch/free dlc (team fortress 2 for example on xbox doesnt have the manconomy, we got all the shfit 2 dlc for free
6,MOD's, beta tests , free online games , free mmos (some of which are very good these days look how popular league of legends is)

i could probably add another dozen but ill see what other people add
 
Better GFX + resolution
Better control + accuracy
Smoother game-play IMO
More customisable, mods
Cheaper games
More games, greater variety
Easier access to games, online
Alpha + Beta testing
Utilises the latest technology rather than technology which is 5 years old.
 
Better GFX
Higher resolutions
Higher FPS
Better control system
Wider choice of control systems (can use a PS3 or 360 controller with your PC)
Mods
Dedicated servers (usually)
Cheaper games
Wider selection of game genres
More AMAZING Indie titles
Multimonitor setups
Can alt-tab to watch porn between rounds.

There are only three things that a console is better than PC at and those are:
Hardware Price
Easy Setup
Splitscreen multiplayer
Everything else a PC can do as well or better.
They also have exclusives which is probably the only reason I would ever get a console anymore.

Also noticed a lot of comments in this discussion from the console side stating "I can play on my sofa on my [insert TV size here]". Well I've got news for you buddy, you can do that on a PC too but at a higher resolution and FPS with a M+K or gamepad or wheel so your argument is invalid.
 
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I have an X360 (mainly for Forza 3 and soon to be Forza 4, though I have played a number of other games on it), so feel I can provide a less elitist view.

  1. Higher resolution and improved/sharper graphics.
  2. Advanced graphics options.
  3. Faster loading times (after coming back to the console after a while on PC, this was one of the biggest differences I noticed).
  4. A number of different input methods can be used.
  5. M/KB for FPS games is far superior compared to a control pad.
  6. Unrivalled developer support.

In regards to point 3, I play a lot of Forza 3, and one of my biggest gripes with the game is the incredibly long loading times despite having the game installed to my X360 HDD. One of my mates has Dead Rising 2 on X360 and says the loading times are horrendous when going to new areas or whatever, but on my PC version it's pretty much instantaneous.

I love Forza 3 to death, but the sheer number of jaggies and low res textures (attributed to being an upscaled 720p game on my 1080p TV no doubt) gets to me when I haven't been on it for a while. Granted, I get used to it, but it's annoying if I've been away from it and then come back. GTA IV is a good example of how much better a multiplatform game can look and perform on PC.

I would go on, but I fear by continuing I might induce flaming or come across as some PC elitist.
 
Also the fact there are some genres that just wouldnt work on a console.

Flight simulators, turn based strategy, complex mmo's and complex rts.
 
Mainly the feel of more room for me, a controller feels more compact, for example; I can't play FPS' on a console due to the compactness of a controller, but i can play games like Mario Sunshine, Zelda etc, just not FPS'.
 
You can make a PC do everything a console does but better.

Only exceptions are exclusive titles and things like Kinect e.t.c

Main ones for me are very high res and crisp graphics, controller options and faster load times ( i lose the will to live playing on my PS3 and waiting for things to load).

Also alt-tab

If you have the money though i don't know why you wouldnt have a console in addition to a gaming PC. I have a Wii and a PS3 for a few exclusives ( but to be honest i hardly ever touch either console :/)
 
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i-bert said:
Why are you saying ALT-TAB as a benifit to gaming?
Click to expand...

It does in games like Minecraft where you want to look at a FAQ or other similar applications.

Or maybe you have music playing in the background and you want to skip a track or pick something new?

Or if you were looking in the OcUK forums to see what server everybody moved to or to enter in a discussion about the merits of PCs over Consoles for gaming :p
 
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topgun06 said:
Better GFX + resolution
Better control + accuracy
Smoother game-play IMO
More customisable, mods
Cheaper games
More games, greater variety
Easier access to games, online
Alpha + Beta testing
Utilises the latest technology rather than technology which is 5 years old.
Click to expand...

This.

Plus Steam!
 
The fact that you can chat via TYPING in-game. Seriously, I've been out of PC gaming for a few years and was playing CSS again for the first time in yonks recently and was amazed how I forgot pressing Y and you could type a sentence. Can't do that on consoles :p Too complicated with opening dashboard, going to messages, having to type it out with a controller to come back to game seeing you score has been mashed.
 
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