As far as money goes, I am a college student/working nurse with a decent part time nursing job (alas, registered nursing (RN) school is a little life sucking leech) and a buttload of college debt to pay off.
Throughout most of my young adult life I have invested in PC gaming, as it seems to offer the most quality variety in the most cost effective manner. But all the consoles have come down in price considerably, and the general consensus seems to be that if you don't have a console, you are missing out big time.
So will anyone talk PC vs console with me? What has changed? What is the best console to invest in? I haven't played on a console since the playstation 2 era. I have trouble imagining RTS games running smoothly on a console (SC2 for PS3... lollerskates!), and FPS games even more so (perhaps it is my playstyle, I dearly love MW2 on the PC for that clean snap mouse precision aiming which makes others so angry, and hate BF2 because it takes that away). It seems like most single player RPG games however (Dragon Age, for instance) would deliver a better experience on the console.
What am I missing!!! Besides hearing Omnae say "haha pwned" on xbox live. I have been considering buying a console but it's hard to make that leap...
The main advantage A console has is Input. The games are built around the controls. With a PC you have to program any control you wish to use for each game. Many have memory for this but it is still a mater of changing controls for games.
That being said, I dearly love my Saitek X52 controler for flight and mech type games. But the majority of my time is spent on RTS games like Space Empires V, Dawn of war, and Force of Coruption to name a few.
I think it just comes down to what you like. A console could never do a game like dawn of war 2 justice. But Halo on the computer is not near the same as on the X box.
I think it comes down to personal preference, really.
For me, the cost of maintaining a computer so I can keep decent graphics levels and various other additions is far too much. I enjoy picking up a console game, taking it home, putting it into the console and knowing it will look as good as the developer's could get it looking.
Granted the console version might not have that extra shader quality, or that lighting effect, but hey: at least I know I'll have a steady frame-rate without having to worry about upgrading my RAM so the game doesn't look pixelated and crabby without anti-aliasing on.
One thing that works well on PC, however, is RTS - that goes without question.
But, insofar as shooters or anything of that nature, I find that playing on a console is fine for me. I can play both gamepad or keyboard/mouse, but as stated above, I think the cost for me is too much to consistently upgrade my PC.
I mean, I would rather look at a game on the console that is medium-high, rather than having to downgrade all my visual settings up until the point that my game looks like it was made 5 years ago for the sake of a smooth PC frame-rate.
Besides... I can play on my high def flat screen in the living room, as opposed to my much smaller PC monitor.
I used to be a PC gamer, some may remember the old days of boasting about our new rigs, and swore I would never go back to another console. Period.
And then I did, and I've never looked back.
Paul hits the nail on the head, as usual. Gaming on PC is just too expensive, assuming you want to keep up with the recent releases and be able to run the game at full quality. That's a biggie.
And then there's the control input. It's game-pad or nothing, I say.
Big loss, MMORPG and RTS. The simple fact is that current generation consoles cannot offer anywhere the same quality, save for a small number of examples, of game play. Why? Because having a keyboard mapped with hot-keys and a mouse to drag around cannot be suitable made-up for by any game pad. Sid Meier's Civilization, for example, was a spot on RTS for console but it broke from the traditional RTS format to fit with the 360 game-pad... End War was another one, but again it broke from traditional input by allowing gamers to verbally issue commands and that's the rub; for RTS games to be a hit on console they need to be, in their own right, cutting edge. The same is true of most MMORPG style games which depend on key mapping and macros to put a myriad of commands at your finger tips.
For FPS games, 3rd Person and just about everything else you can imagine, however; consoles are the bee's knees... why? Because the uniformity of the console levels the playing field and leaves the Television Set the only variable (and in some cases, your internet connection).
Paul again hits the nail on the head: No matter the release, a console gamer can pick up the newest game, throw it in his or her console and know he's getting the best quality possible... unlike PC gaming where constant upgrades are needed to keep up with the trends.
I personally never liked FPS games on PC. However, I do not like RTS games on Console. Never have.
If SC3 is to be played, I would play it on a computer.
If Halo: Reach comes out, I will play on a console.
I personally like the Xbox even though I've burned through 2 of them. I do not know all that much about a PS3 but I do not know anyone I play with who has one that could convince me to get one.
I am more of a social gamer (not hardcore at all really) so the peeps I do occasionally hook up with all have xboxes and a Live account.
If you have a group of friends you like playing with and they all have PS3's, then you might look into that and whatever services it provides.
I still stick to PC. (I'm weird though.) Playing SC2 beta right now... yummmm.
To me, the mouse and keyboard feel like an extension of my mind, and the console controller feels like some sort of super awkward arcade stuffed-animal-grabber, haha.
Plus I pretty much want a powerful computer regardless of whether my games need it, so buying a console would just be extra $$$.
I generally agree with what Vance, Beff, and Om have said.
That being said, as another poor college student, I end up doing most of my gaming on a PC, simply because it has a wider variety of games that cost less money (and just as importantly to me, an upgraded PC has other uses besides gaming...). But if I had the money...well, I'd probably have all of the big three consoles...
Speaking of which, do you have any ideas about which console you'd get? I'm imagining that the X-box might be a good fit if you're into MW2...but that almost seems to obvious...
Advantage Xbox: The 360 is a gaming oriented console. It was developed for gamers.
Advantage PS3: The PS3 is truly a multifunction device which plays games in amazing graphical detail, will run your Blue-Ray DVD collection and can be the center hub of your entertainment electronics.
Advantage Both: PS3 and 360 both offer a variety of games, though the range of games offered by the 360 is somewhat wider. Console exclusives, from a purely game-oriented perspective, can make or break a sale - PS3, with its offerings like Uncharted and God of War, really produces some amazing-to-look-at games while the 360, with its slightly inferior graphics, tends to focus heavily on game play.
Online Community: PlayStation offer the PlayStation Network, and it's free... Xbox has LIVE and while it is also free to connect, to play games and have access to its full range of functions, a pay-membership is required. The difference is that PSN, sorry PS3 gamers, sucks ass by comparison. Things that are free usually suck compared to the things that cost money and what it comes down to here is that the money you pay for LIVE allows Microsoft to create a more in-depth, comprehensive community format which includes XBLA (the greatest online Arcade EVER!) and boasts a much wider variety of options.
Keep in Mind: I've owned both. I now own only a 360. I made my choice and it was the right one for me and, since I am a paragon of human achievement, it must be the right one for you!
Seriously though, both of the current generation consoles are fucking amazing and no matter which one you buy I know for a fact that you'll be happy with your dollars spent.
Side Note: Most of TRF's console gamers have the Xbox 360 and if you want to be down with us, you should have one too.
I can play both my 360 and my PS3 on 1080i and 1080p, respectively - and I can tell you, from personal experience, that the difference between i and p is little.
I can't tell.
But, as it stands, the 360 is getting better graphics and has been stated as having 'more' in the way of games - whereas, as Beff said, the PS3 is a mixture of PC/dvd/paper weight.
Besides, we all play on 360, so if you want to roll with us, you'll need to get one too. Failing that, you can get a PS3, and you might see me playing on the PSN every now and again (maybe - I tend to use it as an expensive DVD/blu-ray player now, rather than play games on it).
Some games to consider if/when you buy a 360, based on multiplayer fun:
- Bad Company 2 - Modern Warfare 2 (be prepared to pay out the rear for 3 maps for multi) - Magic: The Gathering (arcade release on the 360 itself - downloadable) - Borderlands (be prepared to purchase expansion/s) - Forza 3 (I am still looking for a cheaper copy, Beff) - Halo: ODST (for the upcoming Halo: Reach beta) - Splinter Cell: Conviction (awesome two player co-op mode) - Red Dead Redemption (awesome open-world, 8 player co-op mode along the lines of GTA4 in the wild west) - Crackdown 2 (awesome open-world, 8-16 player co-op mode along the lines of GTA4 in a post-apocalyptic future with superhuman players)
Note the last three don't come out for a little while yet (SC in 5 days, RDR in a month and CD in a few months).
If you buy a 360, we have a thread made with all our gamer tags included - feel free to send out the friend invites.
