Why did you choose your gaming platform?

mustang121

I used to have a PC as I enjoyed upgrading the machine and games were better with a whole range of unofficial modifications.


Then during my time at University my PC ended up drastically out-of-date and the choice of games seemed dire.


I ultimately choose the Xbox because I hate Sony ever since the PS one and Xbox has Halo

Chickabiddybex

Well, my first console was a Sega Master System and that was chosen for me by my mum. Then I got a PlayStation and that was simply because one of my friends had one and I loved playing it at their house, so my mum got me one too for Christmas.

We had a family computer that was capable of playing games, so I gamed on that more seriously as a teenager. This is the same time period as the PS2 and Xbox. I moved out in my late teens and was unable to afford my own gaming PC. I bought a PS2 for £50 second hand and a back catalog of games I'd missed out on (and re-bought some of my faves I'd already played on the PC). I chose it because my cousin had one too, as did a few friends and I'd played a PlayStation before so the controllers felt familiar.

I actively made a choice between the Xbox 360 and the PS3. I chose the PS3 for the following reasons:
- Playing online with friends is awesome, and most of my friends have a PS3.
- The exclusives are FAR superior
- Although marginally more expensive to buy, not having to pay a subscription to get online made it cheaper long term
- It's technically a better console
- As I'd previously used a PS2, the controllers felt familiar

The Xbox had the Kinect which I did envy but I think I made the right decision overall.

When it comes to my decision of which console to get next I had considered a gaming PC or laptop but worked it out and it will be more expensive and I would have only 1 or 2 friends to play with online.

I have about a 60/40 split of friends with Playstation/Xbox so it isn't enough to make me swing either way with which console to buy really.

Although the exclusives haven't all come out yet, based on past performance I am going to put my money on Playstation having the best exclusives this time too! This is the sole reason I will be getting a PS4. The reasons that influenced me last time are no where near as important as this one.

d70cw6

PC master race reporting in!

fozmcfc

d70cw6 wrote: »

PC master race reporting in!

Not wishing to stir things up, but if you can afford an extremely high end PC, the graphics on an A1 non ported from console, PC game, will still wee all over the latest consoles graphics.

Of course, as we know, with Tetris etc, it isn't all about graphics and sounds though.

fozmcfc

Tropez wrote: »

I play mainly on PC for various reasons.

It was the first platform I played games on, way back in the Doom days.

It has native support for almost every possible type of input device. I prefer keyboard and mouse in FPS games, and usually use the Xbox 360 controller for RPG games.

Most games can be bought cheaper on PC, which means you can outlay more on the initial hardware to get a better experience.

I like TBS and RTS games of which consoles only have a handful and most of them are a horrid chore to play.

I can still play most of the games I enjoyed from ten, or even twenty, years ago without needing to keep an old PC around to do it.

Mods are generally easier to access on PCs and some mods can give old games a whole new lease of life (such as all the mods for SimCity 4).

Steam. Steam sales. Steam library. Steam in-home streaming. Steam workshop (very good for things like Skyrim).

And, if I'm honest, even simple things like customisation of the unit. I'm not restricted to somebody else's design philosophy. If I want a big sod-off tower with flashing lights and all that jazz, I can have one. If I want a small compact case the same size as an Xbox One, I can have one (hardware permitting, of course).

All that said though, I did recently buy an Xbox One but only because I knew I would buy one eventually as there are games I prefer playing on consoles (mostly sports, racers), are games that I want to play that are not, and in some cases will not be, available on PC, and I saw a decent bundle and thought yeah, sure. It won't get a lot of use but it serves as an extra media centre for when it's not being used as a PC which is handy while Amazon still isn't on Roku.

Swap Xbox One for PS4 and that is virtually me to a tee.

ineed

I buy and use them all each gen since I started gaming for various reasons. I do play on PC but tbh I prefer console gaming; prefer a controller (I have an Xbox controller hooked up to my PC because I like it better than keyboard/mouse play), my friends play on consoles, sometimes I get dizzy from PC play etc.

duggan1

fozmcfc wrote: »

Not wishing to stir things up, but if you can afford an extremely high end PC, the graphics on an A1 non ported from console, PC game, will still wee all over the latest consoles graphics.

Of course, as we know, with Tetris etc, it isn't all about graphics and sounds though.

You don't need an extremely high end PC to 'wee' all over the latest consoles graphics.

There are numerous resources on the web which will spec you a PC for less than the cost of an XB1/PS4 which will easily outperform it (assuming tv as monitor etc).

The hardware in XB1/PS4 is necessarily out of date compared to PC land, and the benefits of optimization only carry so far.

Of course it isn't all about the graphics. It's about the games.

Marvel1

PS4 - friends had it and fancied a changed from Xbox (360).

Nilrem

My main gaming platform has tended to be PC for the last 15+ years.

The reason is fairly simple, it has a huge selection of the sort of games I like, there is no barrier to entry for people wishing to create games on it (some of my favourite games are indie ones*), and it typically remains backwards compatible with older games.
It allows a lot more choice in controllers, and keyboard/mouse is far superior for many game types than a joypad (but if I wish I can easily use a joypad, including those from the Snes, GC, PS, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360). I loathe the joypad for many game types, it feels completely wrong and very inaccurate for anything FPS.

The pricing of the games also works in it's favour, as does the fact I use the PC a lot for non gaming purposes, so spending a couple of hundred on giving it better graphics is cheaper than buying a console
I very rarely spend more than a tenner on PC games, usually about a fiver or less thanks to Steam sales (and the likes of the Humble Bundle), and probably have about 50+ games in my library that I've yet to play at all due to lack of time (but either got them in a bundle, or very cheap).

Oh, and when something goes wrong with it I can usually repair it cheaper/more easily than I would a console.

It also made me laugh when consoles started to make a big thing about being HD, given that PC's had been "HD" for years (and the graphics in most consoles are cut down versions of the graphics chipsets that have been in the PC for a year+ by the time the console launches, usually with far less video memory than their dedicated PC counterparts).


*I've ended up getting several times as much gameplay out of an indie game that cost a fiver new, than many AAA Console mainstay titles that cost £45+

DCFC79

Current platform I chose because I had a friends list built up plus I was happy with the layout of the buttons for the 360 and felt I would be happy with the controller for the One.