OK a "fair" comparison of console to PC gaming
PC Gaming:
Advantages:
1- 25 years of bw compatibility and the biggest library of games of any platform. (Granted some will not run without patches or external programs like DosBox, but you can always pick up a 486 for 50 bucks on ebay and install DOS on it
)
2- Mouse/keyboard: So far, it is the best controlling mechanism for some types of games like FPS'es and RTS'es.
3- Free Mods: Some games can have infinite replayibility value because of the number of mods available for them.
4- Free online multi-player: Lots of games have multi-player online support and it is free. All you need is a broadband connection
5- Will always lead the pack in technology: Maybe not this year, but in 3 years, the 360 will look "outdated" compared to the top end PC.
6- More experimental types of games: You can never get a Darwinia or the niche adventure games like Bone on a console because of the costs associated with making them. PC's are independent developers' platform of choice.
7- Cheaper games: Most PC ports are 10 or even 20 dollars cheaper than their console brothers. Main reason is no royalties to the console manufacturer.
8- Steam: I know a lot of people hate Steam, but a service that will provide Darwinia, Half Life and Sin Episodes with more to come is really promising.
Disadvantages
1- Hardware Price: That's the biggest turn off in PC gaming. The ridiculous prices of graphics cards has alienated a lot of PC enthusiasts and developers.
2- Bugs, and Compatibility problems: Because of the diversity of hardware, A lot of games are buggy when they hit retail. It is annoying that patches now are a fact of life.
3- Fewer and Fewer games as time goes on: A lot of console games are becoming exclusive to consoles, or the publishers are not seeing enough profitibility on PC's to make ports.
4- Newbie unfriendly: PC's can be newbie unfriendly due to some games expecting you to tamper with advanced settings.
5- Drivers: How sucky is it to install the latest driver from NVIDIA, just to know that it screwed up Far Cry while fixing Half Life 2.
Consoles
Advantages:
1- Perfect for you Mr. Couch potatoe
: Perfect to play on a couch, lying down, while your significant other is on top of you.
2- More exclusive AAA games: Perfect Dark Zero, Mario, Shadow of the Colossus, ICO, Metal Gear Solid 4, Resident Evil 5, some AAA games that you can never play on a PC.
3- No need to upgrade: Hardware will work for the lifetime of the console without need to shed any dollars on upgrades.
4- BW compatibility: Depends on the platform, but most consoles are bw compatible. PS3 will play PS2 and PS games, and Rev will play almost every Nintendo game ever made.
5- Gamepad: Much better for some types of games like high twitch 3rd person action games, Platforming games and Fighting games.
6- Good online support: This is mainly for the XBOX platform. Excellent online support.
7-Cheaper hardware: Hardware much cheaper than a brand new PC.
8- No patches: You are a
100% 90% sure the game will play out of the box without any patches or bugs.
9- Newbie friendly: Playing a game is as simple as putting the game in the console
10- HD enabled: For us HD owners
Disadvantages
1- Lack of harddrive: For some of the consoles. This forces developer to use the infamously frustrating checkpoint system (which works in some cases but is bad as hell in others).
2- More expensive games: A console game us 10 or 20 dollars more expensive than a PC game
3- No mouse/keyboard: Honestly this must be the number one reason that I will always buy PC games. FPS'es with a controller SUCK.
4- You have to buy all 3 of them to get the best bang for the buck: Since there are 3 consoles on the market, you really need to buy all 3 of them to enjoy ICO, Jade Empire, and Legend of Zelda.
5- Very expensive to develop for: And thus, more of the niche genres like AG's are not very available on a console
6- A good HDTV costs more than $2000
This is my rundown of what's the advantages of each system. Seriously you can't diss one or another. Each has its weakness and/or strengths so it's a matter of preference.
