Why do you like consoles?

This is something I've always struggled to understand having always been a PC gamer. Why do people love consoles so much?

I know some people claim it's because gaming PCs are really expensive. That doesn't seem to hold any water since my previous PC was built for around $400 and is far more powerful than any console available right now. I wouldn't even need to upgrade it and it would most likely still be capable of pushing a little ways into the next generation of consoles if they come out any time soon. Even if it does need upgraded to still compete, that would cost me a fraction of the cost of a new console

Some say it's because there's more effort involved with installing the game properly and all that, but Steam makes it even easier to play a game on PC than on a console, you don't even have to worry about disks.

Buying a gaming PC doesn't mean you have to go overboard on price (like me, $1200 on one machine )

Any other reasons I'm missing?

That doesn't seem to hold any water since my previous PC was built for around $400 and is far more powerful than any console available right now.

your crazy, I spent 420$ alone on my old video card to match the ps3 when it launched. You aren't building a system capable of HD gaming for 400 bucks.

I "love" my console because most of the work is done for me. Does my ati card support this? does my nvidia card? Does it run in x64? Every ps3 is the same, the difference between the slim aside, the only difference is the size of the drive inside. Drivers? nope, no need to update them either.

Yes, my current computer (1200 last x-mas) blows the consoles out of the water because I spent the price of a console on the video card. But each Pc game is a crap shoot, with my ps3 i know it will work, pretty much the main reason I spend my gaming money on the ps3 not the pc.

the other side of that is cheaters. Now with jailbroken ps3s and modded xboxs the cheaters can indeed get online for awhile, but they are caught and banned. I started as a pc gamer and will always play some games on it, but the majority of my money for games goes down the console route.

there is also a noticeable decline in the amount, and quality, of pc games as it's becoming a dying system. It's a constant hardware upgrade scam.

I used to be an avid pc gamer too, the price of graphics cards here in the UK and indeed any other components is somewhat higher than in the states. I think for me the reason for switching to xbox was that the majority of my friends are on it. However, that said the price of components here in the UK was a major influence. The reliability also on console I find to be a lot better, games dont boot you to desktop etc. Its just easier to stick a disk in and away you go, any updating is swiftly taken care of with xbox live and I dont need to worry about updating drivers every other month.

Dont get me wrong though, first person shooter and real time strategy have and always will be BETTER on the pc. (3 years with xbox and still no where near as good with a pad as a mouse and keys)

Phishyblankwaters you must have posted at the exact same time as me, but yeah - like you say

reply to post by warbird03


I used to love my PC for gaming back in the day (quake, q2, half life, ut, jk and mots, etc).

Now , I use a computer so much, that the last thing I want to do is look at one when I get home. However, I have a pretty fast machine right now, and I was thinking about getting a new vid card.

To get to your question, there's nothing really special about a console, as you know. I like the lazy factor of playing while relaxing on the couch. Sure the graphics aren't that hot, but I don't care. I care about story and content. I really want to go back to some older games like Planescape etc. The only thing that bothers me is the titles mostly suck on xbox360 for RPG. Not sure about PS3.

For fast twitch shooters, nothing beats a mouse and keyboard though. I wouldn't want to play CS on a console.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


The PS3 has what is essentially a gimped Geforce 7900, so by spending $420 alone on a video card to match it means you either went way overboard or got completely ripped off. Whether or not an ATI or NVIDIA card supports a game hasn't been an issue for an extremely long time, especially since both companies switched architectures to use stream processors. 64-bit support isn't an issue either since a 64 bit OS will run both 32-bit and 64-bit software. Cheaters and hackers are hardly prevalent on PC. I can't even remember the last time I saw one. On that same note, piracy is even more prevalent on consoles than on PCs.

Constant hardware upgrade scam? I'd rather spend a couple hundred every few years to keep a PC up to date than spend any money on a console that you can't do anything on besides play games or watch movies.


reply to post by Ohboyohboy


I don't know about component prices in the UK so I can't comment on that, but the reliability is why I mentioned Steam. Nothing on consoles can even compare to it.

reply to post by sixswornsermon


HDMI cables and a 360 controller connected via USB works pretty well for sitting on the couch too

reply to post by warbird03


That would be pretty BA.

I've done both sides of this.

Back in the day, my PC never had a cover, and I was constantly upgrading, etc. and configuring my system to best play games.

I'm older now, with a LOT less time to play. With a console, it starts right up, the game comes right up. I can lounge on my couch, wireless controller in hand, and relax and play a game. No tweaking, no errors, no frustrations.

While there are ways to do this with a PC, it's much more cumbersome, have to deal with compatibility, etc. Sure, some may say the PC graphics are better or whatever, but my XBox 360 games look damn good on my 46" LCD TV (HDMI hookup), and I love the sound out of the sound system.

It depends on what KIND of gamer you are. Gone are the days when I could spend hours on end in EQ (older game similar to WoW), etc. These days, if I get a couple hours of alone time to play a game I'm doing good...and I damn sure don't want to spend time for the computer to boot up, game to load, only to find some issue, etc.

I tried with console games, I really did, but I am a PC gamer at heart. After Atari games, I cut my teeth on games like Kings Quest and Space Quest 1.
Building a good gaming computer, doesn't have to cost that much if you know how to do it right and where to buy the components. Sure I spent $300 on my current graphics card and I am currently drooling over the new Nividia GTX 480 for $500, but I could have gotten away with a lot less without any sacrifice.

I like to play video games with my friends either in person or online, I can't do that with consoles.