Why did you choose your gaming platform?

Sheepster

Really, nobody with reason can argue that the PC is the best "console". Want keyboard and mouse - you can, want joypad, well you can too. Will it age - never, you can upgrade it. Has it backwards compatibility - of course.
The problem is twofold. Firstly, being REALLY honest, you DO have to spend quite a bit to get something decent. Secondly, yes there's Steam updates or whatever, but PC gaming can and does involve a bit more messing than rock steady "just stick in a disc and it will run" console gaming.

Then there's the exclusives, you can't play Uncharted, Last of us or Yakuza on pc.

Anyway, the question - for me it was the 360. The controller was way superior to the PS controller, it had the better games at first, and it even had the right "blokish" image (albeit that is a very minor consideration). Even though the PS3 was newer, the Xbox360 was technologically superior due to it's makeup - games nearly always looked better on this, down a lot to it's terrible RAM problems.

That said, I eventually got a PS3, only for the games though. I actually got a RSI from that blasted rubbish gamepad and had my hand strapped up for a week (Took some explaining at work, I feigned a sports injury hehe)

I haven't decided on current generation yet. I really want a PC, everyone knows it's the best, but really I just can't justify the extra cost. I'm not a 20 something living with parent's anymore with loads of disposable income. Ho hum

Idorego

I only really use a PC now. I'm a university student so unless I want to be carrying a huge console up and down the country on a train, it's not really feasible. I bought a gaming laptop and so far it's holding up pretty well. I've got way more games than I know what to do with though, I'm not used to having to pay this little for games.

Nilrem

Re the exclusives, you really run into that with whatever platform you go with:(

In some ways the PC can come off best there, because you'll often get titles that appear on the consoles, and sometimes titles that appear on one console but not the other.

I would love to be able to say "blow the expense" and get a PS3, 4, 360, One and Wii U, as they've all got at least a couple of titles I would love to play, but I could never justify £200+ (not including game) for a console just to play one or two exclusive titles
Especially when many of the non exclusive titles do come out on the PC (and can look much better on it:)).

I've actually got a Wii which had a fair bit of use (I am a fairly big Zelda and Metroid fan, and it let me play a bunch of older titles via virtual console as well as the then new ones), but that's been packed away for the last 18+ months.

Retrogamer

My main choice for gaming just now is always the PC.
It's a fairy decent set up so blows the PS4 / XBone out the water in terms of sound and graphics quality.

First person shooters and some other genres of game are much better with a keyboard and mouse set up as well

More customization available, better online games / community.
More serious gaming more often (leagues / tournaments etc)
More versatile as well.

Tropez

Sheepster wrote: »

The problem is twofold. Firstly, being REALLY honest, you DO have to spend quite a bit to get something decent.

It depends on your definition of 'decent' and 'quite a bit' but I would say, quite simply, you don't have to spend quite a bit. Almost six years ago now, I built a gaming computer for a friend of mine. That computer still works, and still runs the latest games. They have had two upgrades in that time (and probably changed a few peripherals, which is no different to changing a controller), one to increase RAM and one to increase storage. They'll probably want an SSD at some point too because they've seen the performance boost on my PC.

But the original cost of that system was little more than £500 (not much more than the cost of the PS3 when it first launched) and it still works and the extra upgrades... well it's not much different than the external HDD I'll eventually have to buy for my Xbox One since after installing five games I've used almost half of the available space.

Sure, they have to drop the graphics settings on some of the more cutting edge games but they still outperform the current gen consoles. They didn't have to spend quite a bit at all, they just had to buy the right equipment (well I directed them to the right equipment) and I would argue that the long-term savings far exceed buying a console since the games on PC are almost always cheaper to some degree. And since they're playing games from both current and last gen (and probably the gen before that) it's worked out cheaper than buying multiple consoles.

I spent £800 on my system. I would not expect to need to upgrade or replace it in the next five years to continue playing the latest games, although I would expect to need to drop my graphics settings from ultra on 99% of games to high or medium over time, but if I wanted to continue playing at Ultra then I have the option of upgrading if I wanted to take it.

Secondly, yes there's Steam updates or whatever, but PC gaming can and does involve a bit more messing than rock steady "just stick in a disc and it will run" console gaming.

To a point, but beyond the initial setup, so much of it is now automated that this argument holds little water. All my driver updates are handled automatically, including video drivers. My game updates are handled automatically, just like they are on consoles. I can boot my PC into a console interface and forget I'm using a PC - plus, no discs - and that's less of a faff to me. Sure, consoles have digital downloads but the prices of those downloads are ludicrous for the most part, even when the game is 'on sale' so it is almost always more cost effective to buy the disc version.

PC gaming can be as complex or as simple as a person likes, and involve as much or as little faffing about as they like. It does have to be said though that PC gaming is still very much an 'enthusiast' pursuit and so there is a sense that it requires much more faffing about than it really does because some enthusiasts like to tweak and mess around, more so than some of them like to play games from what I can tell!

Yes, the consoles do have more of the pop-in and play thing going for them, and that's perfect for many people. Even I can appreciate the benefits since the initial setup is basically automated by the console, whereas there are a few things to do on a PC but when it comes down to it, popping in a disc, or going in a Steam library and clicking play... it's much the same experience.

Then there's the exclusives, you can't play Uncharted, Last of us or Yakuza on pc.

Same can be said for consoles. No Company of Heroes games on consoles, no Total War games on consoles, very few MMO games on consoles, no Starcraft II on consoles, no ARMA 3 on consoles, no Amnesia: The Dark Descent on consoles etc.

Sure, if the titles you list are a big deal to someone, then a console definitely makes sense but the 'exclusive' argument isn't exclusive just to consoles. There's lots of games that I've put quite a bit of time into on PC that are not on any console (not including a Steam Box, of course).

marleyboy

Played on the PC up until I won a PS2 (when they were the most popular), that gave me a taste of the console, enough for me to now have a PS3, but wont be upgrading to a PS4, as I think I have reached my satisfaction levels.

IronWolf

I started on the PSX and Metal Gear Solid was my favourite game, so it was a no brainer for me to get PS2 when that was released so I could play MGS2.

I then mostly was a PC gamer, not really through choice but because I got into 2 games above all others that were PC only - World of Warcraft and Minecraft. I also had a brief flirt with the Wii but sold it on as I got bored of it as rarely had friends around to play on it.

It's only recently I finally upgraded console to a PS3, mostly for the BluRay player as I dont already have one, but also MGS4 might have swayed me.

Still not got a next gen console but I would go for the PS4, mostly because I tend to only buy second hand games and believe the Xbox 1 doesn't allow them.

AlecEiffel

My console is a PS3. I chose it as I preferred the exclusives (primarily uncharted) and the Xbox 360 was v unreliable at the time. Prior to this I gamed on a laptop.

I also game on my iPad (civ rev, limbo, monkey island) when I'm on the sofa/travelling.

Next console will prob be a ps4 but undecided yet - too many unplayed PS3 games to rush a decision and my gaming time is more limited at the mo.

mustang121

IronWolf wrote: »

Still not got a next gen console but I would go for the PS4, mostly because I tend to only buy second hand games and believe the Xbox 1 doesn't allow them.

I confirm that you can trade in and buy pre-owned games. Microsoft was initially planning on phasing out hard copy games and only have digital downloads, but when many customers complained as they didn't realise that billions of people like to trade in old games, they fortunately listened, properly because they knew that many people would have gone to the darkside of PlayStation.

duggan1

Tropez wrote: »

PC gaming can be as complex or as simple as a person likes, and involve as much or as little faffing about as they like. It does have to be said though that PC gaming is still very much an 'enthusiast' pursuit and so there is a sense that it requires much more faffing about than it really does because some enthusiasts like to tweak and mess around, more so than some of them like to play games from what I can tell!

Good post but I have to disagree with PC gaming being an 'enthusiast' pursuit. The PC gaming industry is over twice the size of the console industry and growing faster.

I, like a lot of PC gamers, also have a console. It isn't one or the other but there remains these myths about PC gaming. It certainly isn't a faff anymore. Buy game on steam, click download, wait, click play. Done.