Done To Death: The PC vs. Console thing.

Now, let’s get one thing straight before I dive into this: I like to think of myself as a diverse gamer with certain preferences. In my house at the moment there are two gaming rigs, a gaming laptop, three Xboxes, two PS3s and a Wii. Now while they might not be all mine (they are shared between my boyfriend and our roommates), I have played my fair share of video games on all of them so I like to think of myself as objective in this. With that out of the way, let’s get to it.

As far back as I can remember, there has always been the debate around which device is better to play video games on.

The “Master Race of PC’s” as they call themselves are always gloating about having a precision instrument, hundreds of keys and better everything and they see console users are dirty peasants who are clearly playing with children’s toys.

The “Elitist Console Generation” boasts about the fact that systems don’t require users to upgrade their systems every other year to keep up with current hardware and not having to worry about DRM. They see PC users are troll-faced idiots who are jealous they picked the wrong system. (And then they bicker amongst themselves about if the Xbox or the PS3 is better.)

Both these perceptions are entirely wrong. They’re so wrong, it’s pathetic.

The idea that the PC is better than the Console

for everything is perpetuated by the notion that you’ve got unlimited power and ability using a PC and granted, I can see how. My Xbox is almost 5 years old, has RRoD’d once and sounds like a fighter jet powering up. It’s restricted by the pre-manufacture of all Xbox’s. Whereas on a PC, you can upgrade when you can afford it. If your computer isn’t handling the graphics of a game well, you can go to a computer fair or jump online and find yourself a decent graphics card for cheap! There lies the downfall, however.

Developers are constantly trying to find a balance of older technology and newer technology while trying to give everyone a better experience, whether it is visually or story-line based. Designers have to work around people who might have components’ that are over three years old and might not be up to handling the processes needed to make the game run smoothly.

The way I see the divide between the two is the controls. While the Keyboard and Mouse set-up may be better for Real Time Strategy games or FPS, actual controllers are great for driving games and Third Person Shooters.

I don’t see what everyone is yelling about. Both PC and Consoles are as useful as each other; they offer entertainment at a relatively low-cost and can last for years.