[link590o]

Long has this been a topic of extreme controversy and heated argument. Is it better to buy a console for the kind of experience you can only get with a controller? Or should you stick with a PC and your good old mouse and keyboard?

The reasons why this question tends to be such a heavily debated issue are numerous and they expand across a few different areas; the experience, the consistency, the price, the types of games, and the level of satisfaction offered.

Consoles are great; it doesn't really get much simpler. You buy a 300 dollar box of equipment, and with it you can enjoy a variety of games from shooters, to racing games, to problem solving, to fighting games. Whether your fancy is Halo or Super Smash Brothers Brawl, there is no doubt that you think you can't live without it. But how does it measure up to a PC?

Here's a somewhat more in depth analysis of console gaming. Every couple of years, a new console arrives on the market after new parts have been invented, and new ideas have been cooked up. The prices of these consoles range typically from $250 to extreme cases where they reach $600. After you buy the console, you have to spend another $30 to $50 or even $100 for some controllers, another $50 for just a single game, and then you might even have to buy special attachments for if you want to have a high definition experience. All told, you could be looking at spending anywhere from $400 dollars to $1000 depending on how many controllers, attachments, and games you buy.

As for a PC? Most people who want to buy a solid desktop gaming PC will spend about $800 to $900 dollars on the PC and then spend whatever else on a few games. Pricewise, if you include perhaps a new screen with the purchases, it can easily match the extremes of console prices and in some cases, surpass the prices entirely.

Now, experience-wise, consoles have the unique feel to them of using two joysticks and several buttons to control your character(s) and actions. Hardly anything can match up to playing God Hand on the PS2, or playing Super Smash Brothers on the Wii, or playing Halo on the Xbox. Some games are so unique that if you tried playing it on a PC, it just wouldn't ever be the same. For instance, my personal experience with the PS2 showed me that playing a game like Armored Core: Silent Line would never have worked on another platform. Controlling a large mech robot that rocket boosts through the air at incredible speed cannot be done using a mouse and keyboard.

However, when you're playing a shooter, there is no substitute for that mouse and keyboard. When you're in a first person environment, W A S D, and your left click become your best friends. It's simply too difficult to play a shooter using a joystick because with a mouse your reaction times are better, and your accuracy is vastly improved. You can't whip around 180 degrees and pull a headshot very easily on a console.

So far, PCs and consoles have been pretty fairly matched. Over the short term, they're both very enjoyable, can be very affordable, and both have similar games and different styles.

But what about the long term implications and the performance levels of the hardware? That's where we separate the men from the boys.

With a console, you're limited to whatever can fit inside a small box the size of, say, a shoe box. That means that only certain hardware can fit, and certain hardware means that there are limitations with how well the console can perform. With a game that's relatively easy on the graphics, it's not a big deal. But when a game like Bioshock or Crysis comes along, suddenly it's a different ball game. When Bioshock first came out, tons of people trying to play the Xbox 360 version had their console die because the consoles burned out trying to display the graphics. One man reportedly had to send in his console 12 times in a row because Bioshock kept frying his console's processor.

A PC can fit whatever hardware is currently available on the market. If you have the money to blow, you can buy 8 gigabytes of RAM, a 9800gtx or two, a quad-core processor, a beast of a power supply to handle it all, a nitrogen tank to cool it, and a 60 inch screen to watch it all on. This means that a PC can play any game as long as it is constructed wisely to accommodate the potential jobs it will be handling. Therefore, in terms of performance, a PC can handle virtually any game regardless of the graphical content. And for those that still can't handle the game on full, you have the option to edit the resolution, and the detail so the PC can handle it anyway.

In addition to that, over the long term, a PC may be a smarter choice. Consoles get outdated just as quickly as PCs do, but a PC has the option of getting upgrades. You can replace the processor, the video card, the RAM, or even the entire motherboard if you need to. A console doesn't have that luxury. Once the company has moved on to another platform, the old one is pretty much left for dead, and you will have to spend another $400 bucks on the new one and buy new games.

With that in mind, a console would last only maybe a few years. A PC constructed wisely and updated every once in a while can last 10 years before it becomes so outdated there aren't any parts for it anymore. It might even end up saving you a good bit of cash in the long run.

The question now becomes the following; do you care if the console only lasts a little while, and do you want to save a little money? If you don't really care, then there is no right answer to this question.

But personally, I'll stick with the PC and save a console for a more social occasion if I choose to buy one.

[Blackmirror]

My sons are console mad
We had at one time 2 of everything
They had every console under the sun
Now its just the Xbox360

[link590o]

That's a lot of consoles :O

Too many if you ask me. I've only ever cared to own 3. My trusty Play Station 2, a Nintendo 64, and a Nintendo Gamecube. I'm looking into maybe getting a Wii, but that's up in the air until I have my cash flow problem solved. And until then, I'm more than happy with my PC.

[Blackmirror]

I loved the Saga Mega drive
Sonic

[link590o]

Ahhhh Sonic...I still remember that Sega thing like it was yesterday.

I was still going to Elementary School back then. Someone on my bus had it and was playing the latest Sonic game on it. It feels like it's been forever since Sega still owned the Sonic franchise. And then Sony bought it :P

[Blackmirror]

I used to make my sons laugh
When sonic went round a loop the controller followed lol

[Studio 2]

PC gaming for me. Nothing beats playing Unreal Tournament 3 using the keyboard and mouse, but using the old trusty emulators, pretty much any gaming console's games can be played on the PC.

Also, MAME is fantastic for old arcade games - one of my favourites being Daytona USA - it's just great.

You can even play Sonic, Mario, SF2, Mariokart etc on your mobile phone...

[samjohnson]

I recently built a computer for a friend. Spent just under $600 on it. Of course they had a monitor and all that so all they had to buy was the tower and components for it. But it can pretty much play anything out there right now. I didn't get the best card for it, just an 8600GT. But heck that will even play crysis. My 7600GT can play crysis. Not great though.
You can build a decent computer that will play everything out today for not a bad price. So I will definitely stick with the PC for gaming.
I have had a Playstation, and Gamecube. Which I still play the gamecube occasionally (when I am in the mood for a racing or sports game). And we actually just purchased a wii. For my sister for Christmas so it won't be used for a while yet. lol
I am thinking of getting a 360 sometime. Some guys at work have 'em and they play online with it and stuff. Would be cool to play with them. Just can't see spending the money for it right now, and plus I don't wanna buy the stupid points or whatever so I can play online.

Oh yeah I had the old NES system. That was actually really fun when I had it.

[link590o]

Now that the 8800gt and the 9600 are at about the $120 mark, it might even have been a good idea to wait before building it. Because holy crap. $120 for a card like the 8800gt? That's insanely awesome and if I weren't already satisfied with my 9600, I'd be ordering one of them right the heck now.

But for 600 dollars, that's not a bad rig at all. Very nice.

Also, woot for PC gaming.

[Studio 2]

If you want to play online with a 360, don't you have to pay for it? Tsk!

[Blackmirror]

Theres nothing like online Xbox360 play

Gears of war .. Its the headsets that get on my nerves and the fact they have to give a running commentary

[samjohnson]

Originally Posted by Studio 2

If you want to play online with a 360, don't you have to pay for it? Tsk!

Yes you do. Which kind of puts me off of the 360. I really rather not have to pay for playing a game online.

[link590o]

Well obviously if you want to use Microsoft's servers, then you have to pay out the nose for that.

And of course there's the possibility that you can get banned forever for one simple screwup. I'll take my chances with pc gaming and stick with being banned from maybe one or two servers if it comes to that.

[Jason]

You only get banned if you do something wrong.

And, I think it's fair for Microsoft to require payment to use Xbox live, after all you are using their servers. It isn't that much either, £40 for 12 months.

[Blackmirror]

My son had his account suspended one day for using bad language lol

[Jason]

So technically, he did something wrong hehe. I've never been banned, but I have used an awful lot of foul language to some of the idiots on there. Seriously, they need to grow-up and get a life. I mean, who wants running commentary? They also take it very seriously in a game LOL. Kids, you know.

[Blackmirror]

It was something to do with his profile

[link590o]

There's another unseen benefit of using PC gaming rather than XBox 360 gaming. You get FAR fewer whiny little 14 year olds that troll your server. There's nothing worse than some little brat that thinks its funny if he gets on the mic and makes nothing but obnoxious noises for the whole game. It's much easier to be a PC server admin. And it can be pretty funny too.

For instance, in Team Fortress 2, if you have the rights, you can totally mess with the cheaters. There was someone using an aim bot in game. The admin said absolutely nothing. Instead he made it so the damage he dealt was zero, and his health was zero. Whenever he so much as jumped from a wall that was too high, he would die and eventually got fed up an left. After that, the admin posted the video of the cheater on youtube and warned everyone of the screen name so they could ban/kick the cheater as well.

[samjohnson]

lol that is pretty funny. Must have been great watching him run around with no life and no weapons basicly. Everybody should have just ganged up on him.

Its like $50 for a year here for xbox live. Not really all that bad. But I rather not pay for it. Plus I just can't get used to those stupid little joysticks.

[link590o]

Ugh...the joysticks...

I can do just fine with them if I'm not competing against another player. I've played the Xbox 360 version of Half Life 2 and I did alright. I actually scored a fantastic headshot. There's a section of the game where you're near a large lighthouse, and you get flooded with combine soldiers. One of said soldiers was running down the stairs of the lighthouse along a thin section of cliff leading to the entrance. From what must have been the equivalent of at least 500 feet, I whipped out the magnum revolver and just rolled the stick up to just the right place and BOOM.

I was proud of myself considering I'd never played Xbox 360 before and my friend was just as shocked that I pulled such a shot. Yes. I have a witness who can attest to that success.

But...despite that experience, the joystick is not something I want to get used to. It was already enough of a pain with the PS2. And I used more of the buttons and the D pad than I did the joy stick in fact.