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Debate: Console v. PC games

Discussion in 'MMO Debates' started by quinn, Apr 18, 2011.

Which are better?

  1. Console Games

    10 vote(s)
    26.3%
  2. PC Games

    25 vote(s)
    65.8%
  3. Neither

    4 vote(s)
    10.5%
  1. quinn

    quinn Starcatcher Ogre Veteran

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    The thread for the debate between Lions and myself on PC games versus Console games. A poll shall be made once both parties write their opening arguments.

    Good luck!
    I'll have mine written up probably by tomorrow, I've got to log for now :)
     
  2. JaredOzzy

    JaredOzzy The Legendary Ogre Veteran

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  3. Lions

    Lions Clubbed for Drama

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    I call PC games! :D

    You can start.
     
  4. McDougles

    McDougles BamBam

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    Let's see how this turns out.
     
  5. Aaddron

    Aaddron Moderator Staff Member GameOgre Moderator

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    This could be interesting.
     
  6. Lions

    Lions Clubbed for Drama

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    AADDRON! Haven't talked to you in months.
     
  7. Aaddron

    Aaddron Moderator Staff Member GameOgre Moderator

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    lol yeah, it's been a while.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 18, 2011
  8. Joker

    Joker Ogre Hall of Fame Ogre Veteran

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    I prefer console games most of the time.
     
  9. quinn

    quinn Starcatcher Ogre Veteran

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    Aaddron is alive? YESSSSS! WB.
    also you could have posted Lions, it is my understanding we don't debate too much until both people post an opening, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyways, here it is.
    Console games are far superior to PC games, for a few main reasons. First, console games are guaranteed to work, or your money back. When purchasing a PC game you must painstakingly check each and every stat-- just one thing too low in power, such as a low quality graphics card, will make your game non-working with little chance of refund.

    Secondly, price. Consoles are HUGELY mass-produced, most consoles are much cheaper than their stats as a computer would typically indicate. There certainly are some cheaper computers, but considering stats will show that consoles are much more price efficient, enough so for the military to use consoles for computing.

    Third, controllers. Many gamers, especially but not only older generations, love the feel of a controller in their hands. Many PC games lack this symbol of gaming, instead requiring players to associate over 30 buttons to game commands differing from game to game. Consoles help to create unity between games, something lacking in the world of PC games.

    Lastly, quality control. Consoles almost always require a dev license to make games for. This means that the thousands of horrid games created for PCs are filtered out for you. Someone truly devoted may still apply for a license, but losers who just randomly create sucky games can not pollute the consoles.

    That's my opening argument...your turn :)
     
  10. Lions

    Lions Clubbed for Drama

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    Woops, wasn't sure if I should go first, never done this before. :p

    First I will respond to your point about the guarantee to work. You are correct in saying that you must check your computer specs to make sure you are up to date and can play the game. However, I feel this is actually a benefit. The reason that PC games are often requiring such high specs is that the graphics and sound on the games will be of much higher quality. 1080p graphics hit the PC 3-4 years before the concept was even conceived on consoles. And besides, if your computer does happen to be out of date, nearly all modern games have dozens of different settings you can tweak to make the game run smoother. Since the game is already better looking on PC than on consoles, your not really toning the graphics down so much as bringing them to the lower level power of consoles. So your basically experiencing the same, or better than, console games at all times.

    I would like to get the controllers argument out of the way up front. First of all, the mouse and keyboard combination is MUCH more accurate then a controller. Seriously, it may take some getting used to, but after a while of playing FPS games (or any genre really, it's just most noticeable with FPS), you will notice that controllers can actually be quite choppy, even with today's advanced technologies. However, if you still insist on a controller (I can understand the feeling as this used to be me), you can always go out and buy one. In fact, PC gives you more control over your controller! If you aren't interested in the grip and feel of the Xbox 360 controller for Windows that I posted above, you have plenty of other options. For example, here is one with the same feel as a Playstation 3 one. And there are all kinds of other ways to play, ranging from gaming mouses and keyboards, to all kinds of funky controls. I only showed the above two as examples because controllers is often one of the biggest transitions if your coming from a current generation console like PS3 or Xbox 360. And the whole argument about them being extra costs? You are correct.. but let's not forget, nearly every gamer owns at least a second controller for their console. In fact, I can't think of any console I have ever owned that I didn't end up purchasing a 3rd or 4th controller on. Not to mention, PC controllers are actually cheaper than console ones.

    I also want to get into what you said about crappy games by unknown developers but I've got to go do history homework. I'll respond again tomorrow. If you can make another post between then and now for me to remark at that would probably be good. Gotta say, this is pretty fun. Do we put up a poll at the end or as the debate is going on? :)
     
  11. quinn

    quinn Starcatcher Ogre Veteran

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    Not really sure...can someone more knowledgable on debates answer that?

    Also, you say checking stats means better graphics, but as I've said consoles have a much better bang for your buck. I know my bro's PS3 has amazing graphics compared to my computer.

    Can't make a huge response ATM as I've got to go but thought I'd touch on that point real quick.
     
  12. Lions

    Lions Clubbed for Drama

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    On the contrary, I think it's the opposite. True, consoles can usually be found cheaper than gaming PCs. However, upon console release, for example, the PS3, it was $600. Sure you can wait for the price to go down, but by then many of the games you originally wanted to play will be outdated and not the highest graphical games ever. The same applies for PCs. Your current computer, assuming its an XP/Vista/7 machine, can still run plenty of games, they just won't be the newest ones. It's simply the way the technology is advancing. But I digress, time for the main point. The PC is the KING of bang for your buck. Unlike consoles, the PC can be used for tons of other things. Email. Web surfing. Word processing. Make up spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations, databases. When you buy a gaming computer, your buying a piece of technology that can do far, far more than just play games. And keep in mind, you mentioned a gaming computer, therefore it's going to be a powerful machine, so in that case it can even be used for things like HD graphical arts or very high quality video recordings or audio edits. So yes, a gaming PC will be more expensive than a PS3, but how many times have you worked with Photoshop or Dreamweaver within minutes of finishing a game.. on the same device?
     
  13. sasuke2490

    sasuke2490 Clubbed

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    I like PC cause I believe if you want you can make a really good one from scratch(never actually tried this) also I love how you can emulate older games like Nintendo 64 and stuff. Also I think this forum would not exist if it were not for the PC ^^ since I do not think most people would go on here from a smart phone due to charges of internet and the chances of going out of region for additional roaming charges and then the console people use it primarily for gaming. The PC can game but, is also able to perform a variety of other tasks.
     
  14. Lions

    Lions Clubbed for Drama

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    I appreciate the support, just keep in mind this isn't an open debate. Your post is borderline-argumental. :p
     
  15. quinn

    quinn Starcatcher Ogre Veteran

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    Consoles these days can surf the web (Google Docs is a great word processer ;) ), use email, and all that stuff. I used to use GO on my Wii quite a bit actually. DSi too :). I'm not saying that PCs are not very versatile and useful devices, I am saying that Consoles are better for gaming purposes. And for processing power devoted to gaming, Consoles are much cheaper...a computer to match the specs of the PS3 I have seen estimates of about 600-900$. It is enough of a difference that the US Military bought a ton of PS3s to use for computing power! (Talk about versatility!)

    Another point I'd like to make: These days consoles are MUCH more user-friendly. The Wii, for example, has gotten both my 3-YO sibling and my 50-60+ YO Grandma playing together on the same game.

    And Consoles don't take freaking years to boot up, like Windows computers do these days. Windows 7 is okay, but anything older takes minutes to boot up, something I find to be very BLAGH in our current day and age. (Yes, I'm spoiled with my Linux xD).
     
  16. sasuke2490

    sasuke2490 Clubbed

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    Doesn't mouse and keyboard provide better aim over a console. Also console don't allow modding and changing maps, weapons, models, etc... (I don't consider forge one of these because your just messing with models and entities not make different ones and new textures). I just feel comfortable knowing that PC gaming wont have the plug pulled like I think the old Xbox live did and other games on Xbox live for the 360. People still play Half-Life 1.
     
  17. Lions

    Lions Clubbed for Drama

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    Okay.. so consoles can perform tasks that computers have been able to do for years at a slower pace. Congratulations. And as far as it being cheaper is, it's really not all that true. How many computers do you have in your house? Two? Three? Four? It's like the square:rectangle analogy. A computer can be a gaming system but a gaming system can't be a computer. Heck, an Xbox 360 can't even browse the web. PS3 and Wii might be able to, but you and I know both know that Google Docs, being free, has nowhere near the capabilities of Microsoft Word or Excel 2010. Now what are you going to do, try to compare Photoshop CS5 with Picnik?

    As far as user-friendly goes, that's really only true with the Nintendo Wii. Odds are, your sister and grandmother weren't going to be playing Modern Warfare 2 on PS3 together. And even so, PCs are very user-friendly to once you get used to them. And if you just want to game, how hard is it to launch Steam, go to "Library", and click Play? It's simple, it's fast. And as far as loading up your computer goes, it will take longer than a console. But personally, I'm willing to wait a minute or two for the best gaming experience known to man. Besides, they're getting faster and faster boot up times by the day.

    I would now like to mention one of the greatest things about the PC; the indie games. You yourself have mentioned numerous times how great so many indie games are. Osmos. The Ball. Machinarium. Shadowgrounds. Trine. Revenge of the Titans. Hoard. Audiosurf. I could go on. Now, tell me how many of those games can be found on your Wii? Xbox 360? Playstation 3? And in addition to these great indie games, we PC gamers also have access to thousands of free games. Anyone that is willing to spend a couple of minutes searching can easily locate all kinds of crazy fun games to mess around with. Like you said before, some will be lousy, but that's why we have reviews. If you're the type of gamer that doesn't do their research before purchasing, that's your own problem, not the PC's.
     
  18. quinn

    quinn Starcatcher Ogre Veteran

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    Many PC games don't 'allow' modding either...at least pretty much all commericial games. And while consoles may have new developments and have old ones lack new games and creations, computers also have the same issue. There are many PC games that don't play due to computers today being so fast that the games go in a sort of 'ultra-speed'. And I know many gamers refuse to touch anything without "graphics" of some sort..


    EDIT: Lions you ninja'd me but I have to go to sleep now or I'll fall asleep during my classes tomorrow. Will get back to you on that.
     
  19. quinn

    quinn Starcatcher Ogre Veteran

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    You underestimate free software. Google Docs is definitely comparable to Word, I can do anything in Google Docs just as well as anything I would do in Word. Just because something is "free" does NOT make it worse in any way than something else. If you really must insist that Google Docs is not as good as Word, then there are some other alternatives that are also free, such as OpenOffice. Photoshop can easily be replaced by Gimp as well.

    Also, Word/Office is freaking waaaayyyyyyy overpriced for a word processor/presentation/spreadsheet program that I can just use something else IN MY WEB BROWSER for or use one of many free alternatives.

    (Sorry to get a bit off-topic there but I am a bit touchy when people go against free software!)
     
  20. Lions

    Lions Clubbed for Drama

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    I will give you a chance to finish your post before I respond to this. Sorry for the ninja move. :)

    It's off-topic but I use a lot of free software as well. I have OpenOffice and GIMP both installed right now. I do not, however, have MS Office or Photoshop installed, so yes, I know quite a bit about free software. However, neither OO nor PS can be accessed from your console. Nor can dozens of other programs like CDBurnerXP, VLC Media Player, or Camstudio (made a point only to list free ones for your benefit). All of this free software can be accessed on the PC in seconds, therefore the PC is a more versatile piece of technology than a gaming console. In addition, you can also get a gaming laptop if you want REALLY mobile gaming. It will probably cost more, but now you're talking about one of the most versatile pieces of technology on the planet. Last time I checked the only mobile gaming the consoles have had to compete with is the DS or PSP. Pretty sure the US Army isn't buying to many of those.
     

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