My Opera9 Reasons why PC gaming is better than console gaming.
Friday, January 21, 2011 5:29:59 AM
#1 Steam: steam allows you to purchase a game and keep it forever; it’s a digital copy not a disc so it can never be damaged lost or stolen. The downside is you can't sell your games back but game stop rips everyone off anyway. I purchased half life 2 back in 07, to play the game anywhere I am no matter what computer I'm on all I have to do is download steam login DL the game and play. Thanks to steam play I also have achievements and my game saves in the cloud.
#2 Steam sales: I bought both the l4d games for $10, GTA 5 complete for $10 there's so many amazing deals it's not even funny, for gamers on a budget there's NO BETTER OPTION!
(Most PC games are $10-$20 cheaper than their console counterparts, BRAND NEW!)
#3 Keyboard and mouse: Think you have good aim with a controller? Pick up ANY optical mouse and your accuracy increases tenfold. (Still like your 360 controller? PC's let you use them to!)
#4 Unlimited upgradeability: So you just got your Xbox and a month later M$ releases a new console that's $500, sucks right? PC's aren’t affected by this. If a new game comes out that requires a better CPU you can pay for it and put it in yourself, same goes for graphics cards and memory. $50 - $200 is way easier to come up with then $500 for a new console. Not to mention Overclocking is always an option, and has become pretty simple now-a-days.
#5 Multiplayer is always free!: When I first got Xbox live gold I thought "ok $50 a year isn't bad." but now they've upped the price to $60, so for me to get my game on it'll cost $60 for CoD black Ops and $60 for gold; that's too much money to pay, to play one game for a year until the next game comes out; and then it's going to cost another $120. Microsoft tempts you with Netflix and last.fm and then requires a Gold membership to use a service you already pay for, not cool! PC's have access to ANY digital form of entertainment at no extra cost.
#6 Mods: Many of you console gamers have no clue what a Mod is, and that’s a shame. A mod is just what the title implies; a modified version (or completely new version) of a game. Take the L4D series for example, you’ve played your game you even bought the DLC and beat every campaign available end of story right? Wrong, If you go to l4dmaps.com you’ll find a TON of free community made multiplayer maps and campaigns to download and play. This happens because PC’s are a very open platform and a developers dream; with access to any tool they need to produce some awesome stuff. These mods aren’t perfect but you’ll find some that are just as polished (if not better) then the original game. Just the other day I downloaded a campaign that’s an exact replica of Dawn of the Dead, it’s pretty sweet! Almost every PC game has a good modding community behind it to ensure you get your money’s worth out of every purchase.
#7 Better graphics: No I’m not saying for a game to be great it must have stunning visuals, but the fact is EVERY GAME ever made looks better on PC then on console. This has to do with reason #4, If there’s a more advanced graphics card released and you have the ca$h then it’s as simple as opening up your case and installing the new card. PC’s are 1-2 full generations ahead of consoles in terms of graphics horse power. Developers know this and allow their games to scale to bigger and better specs. The PS3 can’t run Crysis (a 2007 game) past the medium detail level on a PC. Consoles are holding devs back from making better looking games, it’s that simple.
#8 Peripherals: This is probably the most overlooked reason in the PC vs. Console debate. If you don’t like the feel of your mouse just change it, if there’s a better responding keyboard out there just buy it. There’s a TON of options available to you, some cheap and some expensive. The point is you have some great options from companies like Razer and Logitech; unlike a console where your options are very limited to what Microsoft or Sony says you can have. I’ve never found an aftermarket console controller with as good build quality as the original. Unless you buy the Onza from Razer, and even then Microsoft still holds their proprietary wireless technology hostage.
#9 Game replays: Until just recently with the release of CoD Black Ops, the only game with replays that could be viewed at a later time on a console was Halo. You can record every single PC game replay you want, using third party software.
John DeBusk
