Video Games – one of the best time wasters ever invented. We’re talking classics like Pong, DOOM, and Myst, to new age games like The Last of Us, Portal, and Bioshock. These games have come a long way in terms of technological and graphical advances, and storytelling. However, some people still argue on which is the best way to fully appreciate and enjoy these titles to the fullest potential.
As someone who has been playing video games nearly my entirely life, I also have my own preference and opinion as to how games should be played. I prefer the power and stability that my computer offers over a traditional console any day, as “…it depends on how powerful your PC is, but you don’t need a top-of-the-line $3000 gaming rig to run games at higher graphics then consoles can handle. A $400 computer can easily equal or outperform even the Xbox One or PS4.” (Villas-Boas, Nov.17,2015, Business Insider) I paid just over $1000 for my current computer nearly two years ago, and it could already run certain games a lot better then my PS4 at the time. Although over the two years I’ve had it, games have become much more graphically intensive and I’ve since put another $300 in terms of upgrades into it, with further upgrades planned to keep it cutting edge in terms of technology. I’m currently using an i7-4790 paired with a GTX 1050 with 16GB of RAM, and while it’s not the most powerful system one could build, I’m very proud of it. The thing about consoles is that you can’t upgrade what’s under the hood the same way you can with a PC.
Modding is another thing that computers can do. While some consoles are very slowly allowing such things, modding has always been a prevalent feature in PC Gaming. “”Modding” is just jargon for “modifying” – altering – video games. Savvy fans dive into the back-end of their favorite games to fix bugs, update graphics, or introduce new elements.” (Letzter, July 20, 2015, Business Insider) This is incredibly hard to achieve on consoles due to the nature of how the software runs, which is primarily caused by the data being encrypted, or coded, to run specifically on that console. In contrast, a computer has its data stored on local files that can be accessed.
But alas, a video game is a video game, and can be enjoyed on several different platforms. PCs are simply the most widespread, the most powerful, and perhaps the most expensive way to really enjoy these games to their fullest protentional.
References:
10 Reasons why playing games on PC is better than consoles,
Antonio Villas-Boas, November 17, 2015, Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-why-pc-gamers-prefer-pc-2015-11
10 Reasons why playing games on PC is better than consoles,
Antonio Villas-Boas, November 17, 2015, Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-why-pc-gamers-prefer-pc-2015-11
Online communites are changing video games to make them better, weirder, and much more wonderful
Rafi Letzter, July 20, 2015, Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-modding-2015-7
Rafi Letzter, July 20, 2015, Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-modding-2015-7
For further reading: (seriously, people are proud of their machines, as am I)
PC Master Race Subreddit
www.reddit.comr/r/pcmasterrace
PC Master Race Subreddit
www.reddit.comr/r/pcmasterrace
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ReplyDelete(Re-posted after I corrected a typo)
ReplyDeleteIf I had a million dollars I would have my only personal arcade stocked with the original joy stick, put your quarter on the screen games. PacMan, Galaga, Frogger still call to me. Donkey Kong was much easier to beat. I liked the old school consoles with a few simple buttons that allowed you to button mash your way to the top, burning your t.v screen because they hadn't invented screen savers yet, and blowing in the cartridges to get it to work, which of course didn't make it work but we all thought it did. The newer consoles offer the better graphics it's true, but they're more complicated, and I guess the games are too, but still who can keep up? They launch a new one every few years for some pretty hefty price tags, they always bugs, and the kicker, often aren't backwards compatible so you have to re-stock all your favorite games. Plus you have to own multiple consoles if your games are only offered by one system, and not the other. Curse them. I personally haven't played on a PC but my daughter does and I agree it is superior, even just from an economical point of view. As you noted it's way easier to update your PC and fix bugs, plus if you use things like Steam you can save money on games by accessing them all under one place and Steam is good at fixing game related issues too, a service that the consoles will never be able to offer. Win. Win. Win.
While I’m personally not a huge PC gamer, I can see the many advantages it provides. Not only do you get great performance and graphics, but a large and varied library of games. The addition of graphic customization and mods also give certain games a huge amount of replay value. The only major downside with PC gaming is the lack of mobility, which is becoming a more popular form of gaming due to smart devices. However, there are even workarounds for this issue with powerful laptops that are easy to take with you on the go.
ReplyDeleteI don’t really game much anymore, but when I did I found PC was the way to go. The combination of keyboard and mouse just works, offering more precision and speed than consoles analogue sticks. You’re also not tied up to one online service, with Xbox and PlayStation you’re relying on a single central server (Xbox live, PlayStation Network) With PC you have unlimited storage space, PC games just sit happily on the potentially unlimited storage space of your hard drive.
ReplyDeleteYou make some valid points in you're argument for the validity of the PC Master Race. However, it does seem like you contradict yourself by stating in the opening that paragraph that you don't need an overblown machine to game but in your closing paragraph you also say it is the most expensive way to play games. I think you need to ensure you pick your argument and stay with it otherwise you risk appearing as if you lack conviction in your own argument.
ReplyDeleteThat said, having been a console kid since the 80's and having played PC games since the 90's, there is just something about playing games on a console that seems so right. Maybe it's the restrictions in computing power that forces the game designers to get really creative. It seemed like with consoles, you had to focus on design over graphics for the longest time whereas PC's could always make graphics a top priority. Still, modding on PC's can add so much deployability to the title and gives many would be programmers and designers something to cut their teeth on so I definitely have to agree with you there.
PC vs Game Consoles may be the only unwindable war that humans will ever benefit from.