PCs and Systems

Now there is one. :3

I've looked into PC gaming quite seriously for several months asking questions or researching. It's biggest draw to me is that your gaming library never really vanishes with the times.
I ultimately decided against it though. I've never been one to care about silly things like brand or specs but I do care about price and keeping up with the constant upgrading game of the PC was too much to me.

Sometimes a decent pc part could cost as much or half as much as an entire system.

I usually put a lot of planning and saving into a console so the shorter upgrade timeframe of pc gaming turned me off quick. I tried using Steam on my current computer when I played Undertale but it kinda bogged it down a lot so I can't even really use my basic pc.

Not that I'd knock it or jump into the silly Pc master race vs Console owner debates since it truly does interest me I just can't really afford it.

One reason the consoles recent practice of "mid life upgrades" has me and many others worried. We dont buy them to have a PC experience, we buy them because they're simpler and it lets us play games too. Then again a lot of recent things consoles do as a whole irk me greatly. (another topic of a thread all it's own)

Does anyone else struggle between PC and system decisions?

 

So you've dappled in both then?
Anything I should know about PCs or should I just stay were I am due to price?

I wish people talked about the pros or cons of both more without falling into silly fights.

 

So you've seen that stupidity as well. I run into the same problem when asking questions about systems because the idiotic fanboys argue over specs, brand, etc. =/

Oh oh I like that idea! You seem to have a lot more personal experience with the PC than I do. I never even considered support. o-o

I've only ever dabbled with Steam on my normal PC and played Portal 2 and Undertale but sadly my PC couldn't handle it well.
It peaked my interest in PC gaming so I did a bit of researching. What I found most drawing was that games dont disappear. Everything is backwards compatible so it's something you rarely lose.

I found that building one seems cheaper than buying a prebuilt one as well in the long run. I also dug into laptops but from what I can tell it's essentially like console gaming. A laptop has some of the PC power but it's not as customization which means it goes out of date quicker costing more.
The pro to that though is I found several laptops that would be decent for at least a decade with changing what parts you can after they get so far out of date. I also found many many helpful videos to building a PC so that much is okay.

The major con I found to PCs though was the price. It's true most consoles have memberships but lots of games dont require it so you can just buy and download by getting lets say a PSN card. Sadly some games require a PS+ or XBLive but not that many that it's hampering....yet. <(key word)

Sooo the pros I found with my admittedly limited knowledge
-Game library never dies
-You can upgrade it yourself and have it exactly as you wish
-The internet things mentioned above
-There are prebuilt options but eventually you will need to upgrade it.

Major con I would say is price. I found even a decent PC costs 1K while one that works but will soon require upgrades anyway starts at 500 to 800$.

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As for consoles wellllllllll-
To be honest they ARE easier. Even as a child I could plug them up, put a game in and have the time of my life alone or with friends. It's just easier and the older systems have some damn good lasting power. My N64 and SNES still work to this day.
There's also exclusive games and series that consoles have that PCs still dont outside emulating.

They're essentially a lot cheaper and will last between 6 to 9yrs in support from the company and if you take good care of them they'll last long beyond that.

I do think consoles have developed a lot of cons in recent years though. Pricing, which was what used to make them standout, is quickly getting closer. Games cost 60$ new and even getting one use or on sale is still 40$.

Consoles are also, imo, shifting too much from gaming and into entertainment. Now consoles have more focus is seems on the other things it can do such as youtube, facebook, browsing, netflix, etc. I find this especially annoying since my simple PC or even my PHONE does these things. It makes me honestly feel like I'm paying for more than I want or need and that these things are taking up space in what could be used to improve the console further.

Granted this is a divided opinion. For many these entertainment focus is a huge Pro for many.

A console, to me, is something to let me game for a cheaper price and for now consoles still do that which I would list as their biggest positive.
Sooooo for consoles. Pros-
-Gaming exclusives which includes many many series'
-Pricing is still more optimal
-Simple to use and
-Support

Cons:
-The gaming companies focus on "being more like PC" or "entertainment centers" are quickly making it lose the things that separated them from PC's. You can't be both.
-Memberships are a thing and I only see that getting worse
-Once it's no longer being supported you have a system and games that you likely wont be able to use on later systems or see for years until a port is made meaning the gaming library is subject to loss.

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Edit.

One thing of contention I think is also the new "mid life" upgrades like PS4Pro. It has many console gamers worried for good reason.

 

I completely forgot that! Dx Yes there are lots. Usually games like Undertale which is only on Steam. I was gonna list Amnesia but I think it's been ported.

I've noticed. It honestly makes me wonder why they dont try to play on that. I know I have a rant of consoles getting to PC above but you'd think Microsoft would do something with that connection. Like making Steam run on their system or something. Their controllers are already used for most PC gaming.

 

I could see it going both ways being very profitable for them. Especially with the Bungie example. Imagine the cash in Master Chef on PC.

It depends. What I looked into showed that getting decent parts required quiet a chunk. Like this part goes out of date, decent ones to last you a few years is 100$ at least..well depending on what part it is some are higher.
Consoles all the cost is at once and it lasts while the start up for PC depends on how you start up but right now regardless of build or pre built it's a still higher than consoles.

It's what turned me off to my PC interest, the upgrade game. I can plan or put effort into eventually grabbing a console but the individual parts upkeep and pricing was my deal breaker. One part would be two games or perhaps something else etc.

Then again I only researched so if anyone has a PC and knows more let me know. Never can hurt to know more. :3

 

I looked into every angle I could. As soon as I saw builds for 1k or 2k I looked into "budget builds" which is when I found 500$ and 800$ builds but all the parts were ones that would go out of date rather quickly, maybe a few years, which would then cost more money to keep up to date on minimum settings.

That was the turn off since my systems are in date for nearly a decade.

I then looked into laptops since they are prebuilt and go out of date about the same rate a budget build does and I did see one that was a decent gaming pc no matter where I looked. It could be upgraded a bit to to last longer. I ultimately decided against it however.

 

I didn't list phones because I dislike mobile gaming. We could always make a thread about phones though. I'd prefer to keep this on the focus it is but a thread of Mobile and Handhelds could be a decent topic of it's own.

 

I think for me the major factor is money since both sides have games that interest me but what I can plan and afford the easiest is consoles for now. I'm not PC savvy enough I don think.

 

There's some laptops that can do both I think but I dont know if they're cheap. Well unless you find a deal or know someone.

 

Understandable. Anything takes planning these days it seems. lol