THE PC vs. CONSOLE WAR: PC's are LOSING. - Page 2

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Flyin15 has hit the nail on the head IMO. People are all logged into WoW and dont have time or dont feel the need to purchase new games.

Go tell Blizzard that PC gaming is dying, they will laugh in your face, I guarantee it.

Console Game is very easy to market than a PC. Common people with no time or patience to learn the intricacies of PC can immediately enjoy PS3, XBOX360 or WII. It a business and game makers will go to where the money is.

PC game will remain superior than console games (regardless of the cost) on all technical aspect. PS3 and XBOX360 hardware is 4th generation older than our PC hardware.

PS3 for all its hype run games in 720P without telling the users. Assasins creed and Call of Duty 4 runs on 720P on PS3. PS3 Engine can't match the capability of the current PC. But again common people don't really care about it. Maybe 720P is good enough for them

We all know that 720P is not enough for PC games. PC Video card alone is far more expensive than the console games.

Its a fact of life that PC games is a minute percentage of the GAME business. It will remain that way since the CONSOLE GAME is an easier market to capture.

PC games will not go away any time soon. Its the bench mark of computer games. Development of games are still done on PC platform with cross compiler to console.

I'm a PC gamer and will remain on this platform. I like excellent graphics and excellent game-story/plot. I like the control that are availbe on PC & PC games. As long as you have the money you can improve the quality of your game. You can't do that on CONSOLE GAMES.

On Console games you get what the game makers think you need. They even decide what resolution you should play your game. I DONT LIKE THAT SCENARIO AT ALL.

When I'm not playing my PC run my design simulations that takes if not hours, weeks to finish. I can't do that on PS3 or XBOX360.

Thats my personal view...

WAIT I HAS A SOLUTION!!!! but before I get to that please know that imho pc gaming is not dead, rather it has evolved.

It is now beyond consoles. Consoles are what every average joe gets and plays on, for the truly hardcore elite gamers, pcs are the way to go.

Only those of us who have put the hard work, elbow grease, and time (and on occasion a little blood from sharp edges) into building computers and tweaking them to get the max performance can truly understand what it means to love to game. I can honestly say that I enjoy and appreciate d games MUCH more than I ever did after building my first computer.

Not only that, but look at the games that come out for PCs versus those that come out for consoles. The thousands of games that come out every year are filled with games ranging from crappy to so awesome that the english language is unable to describe exactly how utterly uber they are. If you look at the amount of crap games that come out for the various systems, PC games have the best ratio of Awesomeness to crap. Meaning that PCs (while having less total games) still get most of the same awesome games consoles do, without having to drudge through all the little pokemon and other nonsense games that console players do.

Anyway that's my opinion on what PC gaming truly is. Now back to my plan to bring PC gaming revenue up to par or beyond the consoles!!!

There are two relatively easy steps to bring PC gaming up to the multi-multi-billion dollar industry that console gaming is today.

The first would be dependent on Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. The three current console kings. They would need to release software that would allow you to play their console games on your PC. I can guarentee you if one company did this, the other two would soon follow suit. This would make PCs the number one gaming platform of choice. This would also be relatively cheap for the companys. If Microsoft did it they could use it as a major selling point for Vista. Sony and Nintendo (the ones I think less likely to do this) always have the option of making it work as a separate operating system that you install on a separate hardrive just like a console would have it and all you would need would be the capability to play the discs (Thus blu-ray for the PS3 which you can now get a blu-ray drive for less than $200 = cheaper than PS3).

So that's number one. If you could play a console game on your pc it would remove much of the cost developers face in designing a game and would bring many more games to the PC (the downside being this would remove the Elite status I believe PC gaming to hold currently).

Number 2: PC games and hardware need a rating system. Just like the ESRB rating for game content, if hardware had a rating, and so did the games, then it would be much easier for people to see what type of hardware could play what games. For instance you say a computer of Rating 1 from dell can play 90% of games at max graphics. Then games would have ratings like a rating 1 game would require a mainstream PC bought within a year and a game with rating 5 could be played on PCs bought within 5 years, etc.

No it's not perfect, but either or both of these solutions would bring in enormous amounts of revenue for both hardware and game companies.

That's my 2 cents please criticize at will, but don't hate me because I actually proposed a solution rather than whining about the problem.

PC Games will not be able to compete with console games in the near future. I can think of 6 main reasons for this:

First, knowledge. There is almost zero knowledge required to operate a console versus a considerable amount of pc knowledge required to find the right gaming pc (such as what makes a good gaming pc? what makes a good graphics card? etc), let alone to build one's own gaming pc (which is necessary to really get a decent setup for a reasonable amount of money).

Second, accessibility. Can you rent pc games at blockbuster? How about gamefly? Little joey's 7 year old friend (or younger, I started playing zelda when I was 3 years old) jacob has a nintendo wii, and so does his friend zach. Zach also has a PS3 and his older brother has a xbox360. Even mom plays the wii now. My freaking aunt and uncle who NEVER play video games even own a wii. The point is, most people either own a console system or they know someone who does. Accessibility breeds familiarity, and that's the key, getting someone to be familiar with what it is you're talking about. Think about it, how many people (honestly) do you know that you can talk about how the 8800 GT smokes the 8600 GT? Now think about video games, how many people can you talk to about how the nintendo wii or ps3 make the nintendo or psone look like crap?

Third, price. Not only Microsoft and Sony LOSING MONEY on the systems they sell, but they are putting their systems out there for around $500 or less even when they debut (the PS3 being the rare exception, but even still it was in that neighborhood). So you're getting a custom designed gaming rig for less than cost. Then you see a major price drop 1-2 years in and the console market usually settles in around 2-300. Compare that with $500 BARE MINIMUM (only by REALLY KNOWING YOUR SH*T ABOUT COMPUTERS) and more likely 1K on any decent computer gaming rig and you can see how pc gaming is NOT economical at all while console gaming can be a christmas present even for a low-income family. Consoles fit nicely into the low-income bracket while computers tend to be more geared toward middle to upper-income brackets. Most people are in the low-income bracket, which really limits the amount of potential pc gamers.

Fourth, convenience. I buy the Grand Theft Auto IV. I have a PS3. Therefore, I know I can play GTA IV. I put the disc into the system, turn it on, and I am done. This is really simple and that's what counts. People are fundamentally very simple; if something is easy to do, chances are people will do it (right or wrong). I don't have to study the box and my video card before I buy it to decide if the FPS will be adequate. I don't have to question my HDD space. I don't have to install anything. I don't have to have the right operating system (HALO 2 ANYONE). I DON'T HAVE TO HAVE INTERNET JUST TO FU**ING INSTALL THE DAMN THING, LET ALONE PLAY IT (bioshock and the steam installer for HL2 come to mind)

Fifth, longevity. The playstation lasted at least 5 years. The playstation 2 lasted at least 5 years. The playstation 3 will probably last at least 5 years (especially being that it has blu-ray which is still 1-2 years from mainstream). Notice a trend here? How many people in here can look back at their 5 year old computer and laugh their ass off? I can't even run some OLDER games because they were designed for windows 95/98 (nhl 98 comes to mind), let alone the converse!

Sixth, compatibility. There's just so much that can go wrong with a pc game. OS conflict, bad ram, bad hdd, overclocking issues, power supply issues, and just the fact that there's no real way to cover all computer configurations when designing a game, which makes bug testing hindered. For consoles, most people would look at you and say, "what do you mean by compatibility issues?" Don't get me wrong, pc game designers do their best, but overall there is just no comparison between console and pc games in terms of bugs and compatibility.

These are just some of the reasons why the pc game market will continue to be left in the dust by console games and sadly (or wonderfully, depending on your perspective) these reasons are not slated to change for a long while. Long-term, we may see something revolutionary such as the government or schools providing a computer and internet or requiring a computer and internet. If and when that happens, then we could really see a twist. Until then we're just going to have to be satisfied with what we've got (I'm ready for Diablo 3 how about you? )

The reason PC gaming is going down hill is because its not Simple, and its not Cheap.

Average Joe Schmo doesn't know the difference between 720p and 1080p, so Costs can stay down on consoles, and graphics can be allowed to stay average at best. Most people in the console genre don't care if this texture has 4x more polygons and has pixelshader 4.1 and bump mapping, so what is in it for them?

I showed my 14 year old brother the difference between DX 10.1 and 9.0C and he said, they look the same. I almost fell out of my chair. He owns like 50 xbox 360 games. He constantly says 720p games look better than my 1920x1200 games because he doesn't know any better.

You know why I know this, its because I work for an ISP and I support their TV service. The average customer has no idea what HD really is. They have no idea the difference between 480 lines and 1080 lines on the screen. They think its "HD" and they eat it up.

90% of customers buy the largest and cheapest TV they can get no matter how ugly the picutre is. ITS HD!!! WOOT!! Lets watch some foot ball on basic cable that I think is in HD! WOOT!! That's where the money is... Ignorance of customers.

Ignorance is the reason why PC gaming is falling in comparison to console. Plain and simple. That is also why Blueray isn't taking off, because customers just don't know the difference between the different formats.

How many people do you know that have an Xbox 360 on a 20" tube screen from the 80's and they say its the best "Grafix" they've seen. Yeah... See...

completey disagree on this , stand alone single player games are dieing , but multiplayer online games are not , piracy might work on single player stuff as theres no way of monitoring the cracks. but as most people buy games these days to play online the cd key check is 99% foolproof. Call of Duty 4 etc , (what codemasters were thinking when they released Grid without cd key i have no idea , although i own the game i know for a fact it works online with cracked copy) also the mmorpg market is soley for pc's , look at the recent figures , World of warcraft - 8 million subscribers , Age of conan - at least 1 million subscribers , Eve online just to name a few. also Warhammer online has 750,000 beta applicants and is set to match World of Warcraft on release , games like Spore are going to draw big crowds. Grand theft auto 4 is dubbed for release next month on pc.

sorry but pc's are getting cheaper and stronger imo , not dieing. the market has always had piracy , i remember the atari st and amiga had companys like pompey pirates, activision (not the software guys!) , waznotwaz to name a few that regulary hacked , consoles have iso's constantly uploaded and chips are easy to come by , you'll never iradicate it , but it does encourage the developers to make sure they dont release utter tosh , if the games good enough people will buy it. if its substandard or average people download it to try as they dont want to commit to wasting money.

*squints* ... Man i'm gettin' some serious Déjà vu.... I JUST responded to this exact post two threads over! WTF?!?

In any case--

@hixbot- Except for fighting games, sports games and Guitar Hero, most console gamers aren't sitting around a TV challenging their friends and, for the record, when such games appear on PCs they offer local, same-screen multiplayer gaming... So, really, the only types of games on PC that don't offer same screen multiplayer options are FPSs, Racing Games and RTSs... and, to be completely honest, playing an FPS or an RTS on a divided tv screen in a room with three of yer mates crowded on the same couch is about the lamest experience on the planet. The only reason "same-screen multiplayer" even existed on consoles is because consoles couldn't connect to LANs back in the day and the, rather pathetic, split-screen-gang-play was the best substitute Golden Eye on the N64 could vomit upon the masses of FPS deprived console junkies.... Nowadays, most console gamers aren't even using local multiplayer options: they're hoppin' on LANs just like PC gamers... So, I don't think it's necessary to have local mutliplayer on the same screen in most PC games and the lack of local same screen multiplayer is hardly a reason for the so-called decline of PC gaming...

As far as your other point, you're partially right about consoles integrating great PC features, but not so much about what PC games have delivered in general. PC games never really offered more "features" than their console versions because up until recently, there was simply a very small area of intersection between PC and console games. It was never so much a battle of features between PC and consoles because, really, the experience on each was so vastly different. Moreover, PC games sold well because the types of games a gamer played on PC were generally ONLY available on PC and most PC gamers weren't interested in the stuff that was widely available on consoles. Case in point, the zenith of computer gaming era was full of Adventure games, Text heavy RPGs, Simulations, RTSs and FPSs; consoles were for platformers, scrollers, crumby arcade ports, fighting games, and simple Japanese style RPGs that were more like fast-twitch arcade games than the novel-esque PC RPGs of yore... When PC games finally started coming to console, they were basically the same (in fact, with the initial push, console ports of games like Doom 2 featured extra bells and whistles to spice up the deal for skeptical console buyers who were unfamiliar with the strange PC stylings), just with inferior graphics...and it was that way for years... (remember Wing Commander for 3DO? Oh how Origin tried so hard to make PC gamers jealous of the consoles!) It's not that the FEATURE set has changed or varied over the years, the difference now is that PC gaming TRENDS have shifted from Adventure games; while FPSs--once primarily a PC only titles--are currently major sellers on the consoles. Western style RPGs like Mass Effect and Oblivion are being played on the systems formerly purchased by people who laughed at PC gamers for playing games with "so much reading/talking." The entire gaming arena now involves PCs and Consoles fighting over the same TYPES of games.

But I wouldn't say that consoles have any advantage--as you pointed out, consoles have "integrated" a lot of PC features. And I say, this has been done much to the detriment of the console as a viable future gaming platform. What were some of the major complaints about PC games and PC gaming? Long install times, patching requirements for buggy games, OS errors and crashes, susceptibility to viruses, the need/desire to upgrade the system every few years, the expense, etc. Well, guess what? Go to any console forum and you'll find a bunch of console-ites complaining about one or more of the above issues on any of the current generation of consoles. Consoles are rapidly becoming PCs, and the faster they "integrate" PC functionality (e.g., web browsing, media distribution, encoding, etc.) the more quickly they will adopt the "problems" that console users claim plague PCs...The more consoles become PCs, the more PC gamers will be left as the only viable gaming community for developers to woo, impress, and design for-- people right now are trying to upgrade harddrives in their PS3s... Either that or spend ANOTHER 350 - 400 on the new release with the 20 extra gigabytes of space... Fear of obsolescence? The requirement of a tech savvy user? The Wii is having a storage crisis as I type this because its developers are trying to allow the console to mimick the long held pc tradition of classic game download and storage... Console innovation? Fresh Ideas? New console game genres that are rehashes of PC staples, hard ware derived from last gen pc parts?

And let's talk about the effin' expense 'cause I'm sick of people claiming that consoles save SO much money...
Any brand new next gen console (wii included) [$300 - $600] with a brand new high def TV [$600 - $3000], four wireless controllers [~$50 x 4 = $200] (for your local same screen multiplaying) and a few games (each priced at $10 to $20 more than the exact same title on the PC but with inferior graphics) is gonna set you back about as much as a decent PC with a 22" monitor...I know this because i've built two PCs recently, one's capable of playing Crysis with everything on HIGH at 1440x900 and it only cost about $700 (~$950 with the monitor)... the top PS3 was about $600 when it came out and couldn't dream of playing Crysis (even at 1280x720, which is about the highest res a PS3 can actually crank out at a playable framerate for most decent lookin' games anyway)...

And really...none of the "Advantages" of consoles really matter when anybody with a few extra dollars to burn can buy all the console peripherals [thank you xbox 360 compatibility] and a 50" LCD screen and play PC games on the couch if he or she desires (and i do, from time to time)

I really hate these people that are yammering on about piracy piracy piracy killing the PC market.

Fact is it's a multitude of things killing it from multiple angles, and yes piracty has a very small part of it, but I think the much bigger problem is this:

PC games are much much more similar to console games than they used to be - many old PC gamers are moving to the console market, since if the games are virtually the same: why not get the thing that is easier to deal with(compatibility and get one complete system rather than worry about components), is also cheaper, plus you can invite a couple of friends over for some social gameplay without worrying about the hassles(or even possibility if you dont have the right components on hand) of a LAN party.

Take a look at most games that have come out for PC within the last few years, they share many of the BAD aspects of console games which didn't used to be there in the old days. Just for example, checkpoints, lack of options, autoaiming, lack of depth, and many other frustrating aspects of consoles, while not adopting any of the good aspects of consoles(such as many of the things that were good in the console "blockbusters", such as Finaly Fantasy 7(which in its own right reminded me of the depth of PC gaming). Thankfully so far some companies(such as EA and Blizzard), have done well to avoid this disappointing trend, while others have embraced it thoroughly(such as ubisoft and bioware) and still seem to make it well on the review sites.

In conclusion I lay a lot of the blame on the common person, such as anyone in this thread whining about the same thing over and over again(piracy?), and the review sites for not being honest and mentioning which games feel like a damn console port. This isn't even referring to the games that actually ARE ported over from consoles because I can understand why they are like this. The fact is the dev's try to give us what we want, because that's how they make their money, and they don't know PC gamers tend to hate the way console games are designed(i'm sure there are some exceptions, and maybe you should go pick up a xbox or something if you are). They don't know we hate this because nobody speaks up about it and mentions this specific fact.

I think one big problem is the lack of knowledge that some people have when it comes to PC vs Console.
It is too easy for people that are not big pc enthusiasts to go buy a console game, throw it in and start playing. I argued with one of my best friends for a few weeks about how my PC was atleast 5-10 times faster and able of producing better graphics than his XBOX 360. This all from someone that had trouble running World of Warcraft even at medium graphics settings. He finally came over to watch me play Crysis and Mass Effect on the highest graphics settings possible, and his jaw dropped. It does make me sad when I go to my local Wal-mart or Fred Meyer to buy a new game for my pc, and the selection is so small. Don't get me wrong there are still some good games out there, its just that they are becoming fewer and farther between. Also because of the lack of interest in PC games these days you can go get quite a few excellent games for your pc for 20 dollars or less. So if you enjoy playing games on your pc, and you pirate games please stop, it is only hurting you and the pc gamer community in the long run.

Dunno about all of you but for me and most of my buddies we PC game quite a bit.

L4D
CoD:5WaW
Sins of a Solar Empire
Mass Effect
Fall Out 3
CoD:4 Modern Warfare
TF2
Company Of Heroes
Dawn of War 2
Civ IV (one of the expansions)
Titan Quest Gold
Europa Universalis III

Just to name half of the games I have purchased over the last 18 months. I download games as well .... but clearly I support the industry. I use consoles mostly for sport/racing games .... party games and HALO. Back in the day I bought consoles for Gran Turisimo and Tekken lol.

If the majors drop out of PC games will that be so bad? Seriously ... I like CoD ... but the release rate of their games is quickly fracturing the gaming community. EA is worse ..... BF xx (1942,Vietnam,2,2142,many expansions) UT is not as good IMO now but I will go ahead and buy it from Steam now that it is on sale.

I have become more interested in the independent studios lately. Valve being the largest.

Illegal?

One. I doubt it's even illegal anymore either - it's ancient, and the company that made it is no longer in existence. You would be quite hard pressed to find a copy anywhere available for sale.

Legal?

Currently, on this computer, I have 34 games purchased either through Steam or through retail stores, and that's not counting some of the older titles that I don't have on this PC (but I do have on my laptop).

I may be in the minority, but I am of the opinion that if a game is good enough for me to want it, it is also good enough for me to pay for it. Don't get me wrong - I look for sales and bundles and such all the time, but I don't illegally download any current games. Ever.

thats because of battery life and most who buy a cheap laptop / non capable of gaming laptop don't care. A lot of people buy consoles and have less than 6 real games for it. Yes I spend 150+ on graphis every 1.5 to 2 years but the avg joe only wants his simple time wasting game to run fine snood peggle bejeweld are fine and run fine on anything that runs xp. pc gaming isn't going anywhere soon but I do worry cause of the cheapness of the games. I can buy pc games at half for console based buy shopping around. that worries me but my pc hobbie won't end

Well from what iv'e concluded reading almost every inch of this topic is that the vast majority of the people that have posted in this forum believe that pc games are on their way to the morgue at this point. In my honest opinion i would have to disagree, the way i see it the way we can keep these games alive is by spreading our knowledge of computer hardware and software usage. I believe that since the money hungry software developers and (Dell) have no real regard for the pc gaming world, i think the way for it to be saved is for us to spread the knowledge and to educate people on the ways of hardware assembly, and show them how truly fun it can be and how rewarding it is. I for one send my friends who buy $2000+ Alienware systems to newegg and put together a little shopping cart full of grade A components for half the price of the generic pieces that the sheistering company alienware assembled in a big shiny case for them, to compare the price and show them how a little education could have saved them hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

I know this thread's aging, but I'd just like to throw in the fact that PCs aren't that old in the scheme of things. Many of the young people now (hopefully myself included) stand to make a lot of money in various areas of the tech industry. People who build their own PCs to play games are educated in a way that people who buy consoles are not. It's a pretty broad spectrum of people out there, but I'd guess that, 20 years from now, the kids of today's nerds will have more money to burn on PC gaming than the console kiddies' kids will have to drop money on their hobbies. I got into computers because my dad always had a new one at home for work... I remember learning to fly the original MS Flight Sim when I was three.

Long story short: PC nerds will be more successful, generally, the general audience for this sort of media (mostly console people). PC gamers may be fewer, but we stand to spend more money than the average person on our hobbies.

note: no harm to console gamers - I'm not calling you idiots or anything. Chances are if you're here on the forums then you're in the 'PC nerds' category, and own a console because there are cool games out there which will never be out for PC (Curse ye, Sony). All I'm saying is that consoles appeal more to the average casual gamer than PCs do, since they are simpler to configure, etc.

Ok i'm new here and i choose this thread for my first post since i'm a pc gamer for 15years.Since early 90's with every gen of consoles i hear pc is dying and yet ( like others said ) is still here and going strong
Pc made 12,7 billiondollars revenue in 2008 ( by far the most revenue from any single gaming platform ). For comparison all 3 major consoles plus handhelds and ps2 did about 20billion including both hardware and software while pc includes only software in that 12,7billion number which make it an even more impressive.That figure alone buries the whole pc gaming is dying rumor that is been going on since ps1 era
The only think dying on pc world are retail Us only sales.
My opinion people say pc gaming is dying because is loosing exclusives like crysis to consoles but also it happens the opposite consoles are loosing games to pc ( metal gear rising is confirmed for pc and capcom released devil may cry 4 on pc and is releasing street fighter 4 and re5 on pc to ).
Most console users know games like gta4 and Halo. There is a world of excellent indie games on pc with production values comparable to a bungie or a sony game.Sins of solar empires, Kings bounty,Zeno clash,Cryostasis,World of goo and lots of other great games are some games many people dont know about.
With RTS and MMO games only being viable on PC ,with multiplatform games like mass effect and fallout 3 ending being much better on pc ( graphics,mod support,KB+M combo) ,with a huge modding community for games like half life 2 ( and every source engine based game),crysis, oblivion and others pc is the best gaming platform (in my opinion ) and far from dying.
Another misconception is that pc gaming cost alot. In fact pc gaming can end up being cheaper than console if you build your own pc. Considering you can build a decent gaming pc for 600 and add another 200-300 in 2-3 years for upgrades thats 800-900. Now if you consider that pc games cost 10-20 less than console games and with places like steam where you can get great games very cheap ( i just bought the 3 penumbra games for only $5 and UT3 for $10 ) and places like gametap and metaboli where you can pay about $10 a month and play any and as many pc games you want ( those sites are legal in case you wonder)

HOW PC IS BETTER


- Better Graphics (This is a FACT) - Just compare the spec of a Console to that of a PC Video card, and it's obvious that this is true..

- You Can do MUCH more with a PC, so when you say "But, PC is more expensive than a console" realize that there's a reason for this, otherwise there simply would not be a market for PC Gaming, as it would not be reasonably priced, and people would not buy it. (People are smarter than you think)

- You can MOD games with a PC, you can get mods that range from anything from simple weapon mods, up to actually making the game look better than it was when it was released.


- Consoles have a resolution cap of 1080p, while PC's can go as high as 1600p giving you even better picture quality.

- PC Has DirectX 10 video cards, while Console still has DirectX 9 (Believe me, it's not JUST a number)

- You can do Photo/Audio/Video editing and Animation if you so choose.






THE TRUTH ABOUT BUYING A PC


It seems that people that have consoles usually also have a PC, but their PC would probably make a really good gaming rig, if they would have just taken the money that they spent on a Console, and put it towards a good video card for a PC, now they can have a gaming rig that does way more than a console. Tho consoles are more portable than a PC, if your one to just keep your console at home, I'd say take that money, and make a sweet PC


ALSO, PC's DON'T have to put a dent in your wallet, the only time a PC will cost you $3,000 - $4,000 is when your a bragger, and you like to overkill everything. You can build a top of the line gaming rig for about $1,000 that will let you play games such as Far Cry 2 on Ultra High at 1600p.

and I know that people will say "But I bought a computer from Dell for $1500, and I couldn't even play Crysis on Medium"

here's why: These companies rip you off!! they are over priced, and the reason they are overpriced is because they know that most people that will be buying a prebuilt PC are the type of people that don't know much about PC's, otherwise they would probably just build their own, almost every person that has ever had a sweet gaming computer, built it themselves.

You could build a better system, if you just hand picked all the parts and put it together yourself, really it's not that hard, or you could buy the parts and pay a computer tech $100 to put it together, and still be saving money.




If PEOPLE WANT A CHEAP COMPUTER THAT PLAYS GAMES


If you want a cheap computer that plays games, then remove all of the abilities it has, and there you go. Like I said PC is more because you can do more, just like how there are cheap cars, and really expensive cars, they are both cars and the both perform the same task, but one does the same task and then some, and is better, and faster.

PC is for people that want to do more than a Console, if you JUST want to play games and don't care about having really amazing graphics, then go for a Console, but just because you prefer a Console over a PC, and that it suits your needs, don't say Console is better, because it simply is not. It's better for YOU, but not better.



And yes there is more maintenance with a PC, but not much really, and it only has to be done every couple weeks, and it only takes 5-10 minutes. The problem is that PC has a bad image, of Hanging all the time, and whatnot, but this is just a stereotype, otherwise all priests would be pedophiles now wouldn't they?

and if you get the right antivirus program that doesn't slow down your PC (Which you can get) then you won't have to worry about viruses.



CONCLUSION

PC - Better Graphics, More Capability, Can be reasonably Priced if you know how to buy it.
Console - Portable, Cheaper (but less capabilities), Great Graphics, but not Better than PC. Less Maintenance

Wow @ how many of you over-analyze everything. Piracy isn't the reason PC games are dying. PC Games are dying because consoles are able to do more now and it's way more appealing to people to pop in a game and know that it will work off the bat rather than having to install it on the computer only to get error messages you have to go around and fix. The console is just 100% simple. PC's are 70% simple. People go for convenience.

That being said... I am a PC gamer. The reason I haven't switched over to console gaming is because I hate most online play on the console. Most games don't even allow you to search for games in your area... so you end up getting in a game with someone from the UK where it lags to ***. This obviously isn't a problem for PC games like Counterstrike, CoD, WoW, etc. Also another reason I like PC gaming more is because it's easier to communicate (I like just being able to type to people, and also not a lot of people even have Microphones for their PS3's)

I remember in the days of PS1, N64, and even PS2 the PC games were always one step ahead graphics wise. Now a days they are pretty much on par (because consoles are becoming more like PC's) If all console games were keyboard ready and had local host searches I'd probably stop playing PC games.

Why is this thread still open?