Console Vs PC Gaming

Gaming has been a part of our culture for an extremely long time. Whether you're a casual gamer, who doesn't like all the competition of most games, or you're a hardcore gamer who enjoys games like Halo, Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty. There have been two platforms for gaming. Consoles and PC. Both are extremely different and many people have their own opinion on which is better. Well lets compare the pros and cons together shall we?

Lets start with PC gaming. PC gaming is huge. Over 4 million people are constantly online on Steam so there are a lot of PC gamers. PC games are also much cheaper. Normally a higher quality game is only $50 while on console they are $60. Not only that there are a lot of exclusive games only on PC. Most of these exclusives are only around $20 while delivering quality normally only seen in triple A titles. PC games also have more value then their console counter-parts. Most games have player made modifications that add hours of content to a game. It could be anything from more weapons to an entire side story added onto the game. Older games also tend to get a new paint job over time as players create graphic mods that enhance the graphics of the game to make it look more modern. PC gaming also tends to have a better experience. Take Battlefield 3 for example. I personally have Battlefield 3 on the Xbox 360 and it's a blast with friends, but when I play it on PC it's amazing. There is constant action which is sometimes lacking from the console version. You also have a ton of free to play games on PC. Recently Planetside 2 was released for PC. It follows up on the previous game giving players a map that makes Battlefield 3 a joke and delivering amazing quality that PC is also cost efficient, because it costs about the same as a normal home computer plus a console. In fact if you can jump on a sale for computer parts or a website that builds gaming PCs you can get one for about $700 or less! That's a lot cheaper than buying a home computer and a console since the average home computer costs about $600 and a console is about $200 or more. You're saving money already!

Many people prefer a console due to it being family friendly and user friendly. If you're going to get or use a gaming computer you need to know what makes a computer tick. However with a console there is no complex setup it's just plug and play, no need to build your computer with ordered parts or getting a bit confused with all the wires of a gaming computer. Many families also use their consoles for more than just video games. With consoles like the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 having movement games that are family friendly, you are seeing many families using these consoles as a means for the whole family to get together. People also use them as DVD players. Many people prefer to watch a movie on a 42 inch HD T.V. than a 20 inch monitor. It's also pretty easy to talk to friends while playing a game with them. For PC the only ways to chat with a friend outside of the game would be either Skype, Teamspeak or Ventrillo. Of those three options only Skype is free, but it tends to take up internet speed depending on how many people are in a Skype call. Xbox Live has a feature that I personally enjoy, the Xbox Live party. It allows up to 8 people to be in a small little chat room where they talk without being in the same game or game lobby. It's a very useful feature when you want to talk to your friends while you both play different games. Consoles also tend to automatically be organized. With a computer you have to make sure that all your icons are in order or have folders to hold what you need, but with a console everything is set up in sections and tiles so everything is organized. With the amount of exclusives on PC, there are a few exclusive games on console that always make PC gamers think about getting a console. I prefer the exclusive games on Xbox 360 such as Gears of War or Halo. One of my long term favorite game series is Fable. The first and third are on PC also but the second one is only on Xbox 360. One game that was unknown was Metro 2033. It is an Xbox 360 and PC exclusive. It may be on the PC but it's PC players will tell you that you need a pretty good computer to run that game, so it's easier to play on console. A console can be used for so many things both for the hardcore gamer to the casual family gamer.