Jimquisition: Xbox 360 and PS3 Are Just Very Crap PCs Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 . . . 17 NEXT | |
I think you need to calm down bro. He only mentioned graphics and physics (and graphics is the main part of that since you don't really see a lot of mods dealing with physics and he goes on to talk about graphics mods). But let's look at your post. Consoles and PCs both allow you to play the vanilla game, with the only difference being that PCs will later allow you to tweak it, so both allow you the option to play the game as the industry gave it. Mind you in current times, there is a good chance that the game the industry gave you is unfinished or broken in some way and must be tweaked continuously over the coming weeks and months. Tweaks that are done by the industry while you sit and wait. PCs have the other advantage here in that you can usually bypass these broken parts. Unless you bought your PC for $200 bucks in a back alley, I'm willing to bet you can play the new Dead Space. My laptop is about that old and cost me $400 and it plays everything at console quality or a little higher. PCs allow more flexibility (in fact I was sort of surprised to see flexibility as a point in favour of consoles). There are emulators for just about every game that allow you to play whatever you want in gaming history on your current machine. In fact I would argue that your point makes no sense since it essentially translates into "If you buy an older machine you can play older games" (which to me is about as completely opposite to flexibility as you can get). By that logic if I plug in an old computer I could be playing some old pc game. The only difference being that I can play that old pc game from my current pc and I can save plugging in old obsolete tech. The direct comparison for that would be if you're 360 or Wii had access to every N64 game for free. | |
In my personal opinion (I.E. not necessarily true), consoles have ONLY one advantage over the PC: the exclusive titles. | |
I know this sounds strange but I multi-task. Playing a game on the PC I can only do that but with an Xbox I can write or chat with friends on the PC while playing a game. The other thing is I've had some bad luck with PC games. Which was that it would look like it could run on my computer so I buy it then it turned out I could not, that the graphics card was not right or that the computer was not fast enough. while on the Xbox I know it's going the run without question. PC games are great, so long has you have the right hardware. | |
Yeah the only reason I've been playing console games past few years is the handful of exclusives and the simple fact not all my friends own the same platforms. Besides that their really is no reason to value them over a good gaming pc anymore. Also as someone whose been building pcs for over a decade the old "its too hard" or "its too expensive" arguments really are even more absurd now than ever before. I mean ffs Windows 7 practically installs itself and you'd have to be a neanderthal to not know a green plug goes in a green plug hole or a graphics card goes in the only damn slot on the motherboard it can fit in. You barely need junior high levels of technical understanding to build and run a pc these days. | |
PS3 controllers is a bit trickier, but I use mine to play Spelunky and much more all the time using http://www.motioninjoy.com/ Just load it up go over to driver manager and load the driver. That cut and dry. | |
That's what it's come down to for me as well. Consoles no longer make sense anymore. The only reason I ever turn on the PS3 anymore is when it's a game exclusive to it or if the PC port is shoddy; that's not a good enough reason. I bought a PC a few years back with a modest video card, and it still runs absolutely everything just fine. That wasn't always the case with computer upgrades, but we've reached a point where those upgrades are much less necessary with technology hitting some barriers here and there. It's just hard to get excited for the next generation of consoles. Every bullet point about them seems to only benefit themselves or the publishers, not the consumers. That's what I love about PC's; there's no overarching, dominant force telling you how you can or cannot use the system you payed money for. | |
While I can think of several reasons why a Playstation is the better choice for me (console-exclusive games is a major one), I really must agree with Jim here. The amount of patching and updating required for recent console games can be just embarrasing, while my mid-range laptop runs everything I throw at it without much complaining. | |
Brad Nicholson would be ashamed of you after that workout, Jim. | |
This. All of This. Also, consoles are a ton easier to use for children, put in disc (or pick XBLA/PSN game) and done. All you need to do is turn on a tv and a controller and you're set to go for games, netflix, whatever. Finally, a lot of people seem to be saying that a gaming rig isn't that expensive comparatively. I call BS. Show me a gaming rig capable of playing every AAA release for 5-8 years that I can buy for $300 without ever needing an upgraded part and I'll concede that I've been wrong. P.S: | |
I blame Microsoft first and Sony second for allowing games that shouldn't be allowed console release at all. Look at Skyrim on PS3 for example. What's the point of the whole certification if my damn old PC (a PC of a console gamer, Radeon 3400 series, unremarkable dual-core CPU) can run Skyrim and it looks same as on PS3 AND don't have such gamebreaking issues. | |
A/V: Plug in in my laptop with HDMI quiet no weird problems and A/V worked out of the box (kinda lucky shot here though...) (right res, video, sound etc no problems..) But then again I've been lucky with my setup. Plus purely out of a technical point of view consoles is a kind of PCs... CPU+GPU+RAM+HDD.... uhm yea "PC"... (not the other way around as someone previously stated... consoles==a kind of PCs..) Now I'm gonna go and find me some popcorn and have some fun... Thank you Jim! | |
Wait. So people are using Apple products because they are too stupid to use PCs? You can't really think that, right? | |
Sorry to side step the PC vs console war but does anyone know what that live action battelstar/halo space opera thing at the end was?, it looked rather interesting. | |
I would like to dispel another myth about the cost of owning a gaming rig. Sure a modest gaming PC will cost you 700 to 800 USD, sure, you can buy a PS3 for 250-300 or so, but... since you are a human being and you live on the planet Earth in the year 2012, YOU STILL NEED A COMPUTER! How much does it cost to bump a modest family PC up to a moderate gaming PC? Probably about 200-300 bucks. | |
I'm not going to bother to read all the butt hurt fanboy's responses to you in this thread Jim. Great show, I'm glad the early negativity didn't put a dent in your show because it is now one of my favorites on the Escapist. Also, I stopped playing on a console after the PS2. | |
Way things are going these days, I'll probably end up building a decent desktop instead of investing in any of the new systems, but who knows. I've been wanting a good gaming rig for a while now, and none of my computers seem to live up to recent games. Though I suppose that's my fault. | |
I WAS WAITING FOR THIS. I have a very basic system, it's almost 6 years old. Was refurbished when it was bought for me (So we're probably looking onto about 8 now), I've spent about £30 on second hand hardware (Yes it does exist) and about £40 on some new Ram. The computer was £200 to start with. Oh and last time I checked I was playing Mass effect 3 (It's just an example of a recent game) on medium graphical settings. So what, it's cost me about £270 and I'm still a head of current gen consoles. So I dare someone to run up to me and say that you need to spend thousands of pounds/ dollars to get a decent gaming computer. Oh also, I completely agree with everything said in this video. :3 | |
The ONLY GOOD CONSOLES were those independent from the internet. | |
Multitasking? You say you can't do it on a PC? What is your PC running, DOS? | |
It's a live action trailer for Halo 4 if I remember correctly. It's the Crew of the ship that crashes in the trailer and game play shown at E3 being briefed on their mission. | |
Oh God Jim. What have you done? We all knew it, it didn't need to be said.
That is codswallop. There are a few that care about epic graphics but that is not the vast majority. I think it's just good to show that a community can accommodate those that care for impressive graphics and advancing the technology as well as those who appreciate, well, all the shit Jim said. Anyway... the one thing consoles still have is local multiplayer... though no developers seem particularly keen on that for some inexplicable reason.
It's extra bizarre because not only can he perform both tasks on one PC but he can also do both on the Xbox. ALSO what's wrong with a mobile phone? Last I checked you could get one of those for like £10. | |
Yes you just have to live with it when Nintendo releases a game with game-breaking bugs. Or maybe you can mail them your entire console and have them mail it back to you. Truly Nintendo are as gods! | |
I guess this depends on what kind of games you play on the Console. I still think the Consoles have the upper hand over PC games for play ability. However, Jim does have a point, but I think he doesn't know what point that is. The games that have given me the biggest problem on my PS3 have been made by PC developers. Bethesda doesn't know how to make a game that doesn't require massive amounts of patching to get it to work. Because the PS3 and 360 have hard drive options this enabled unskilled PC game devs to write games on Consoles using their poor QA, and poor programming skills with the Patch Later mentality. I did warn my wife Skyrim was a made by PC devs, and well... the incessant crashing finally destroyed any chance of getting a future game from them. All of my Console exclusive titles still work and function just like games of the past. In terms of PC gaming it may have become easier for some. For me I use Linux and my wife uses a Mac. I've learned more about a Mac than I ever wanted to trying to Debug Diablo 3. If a game has excessive DRM chances are it wont work at all on my Linux Box so my gaming options are limited to games that actually work. The only advantage I see PC games as having are still Genre based. FPS, RTS, and a few other types work far better on the PC than what a Console can do. | |
Do I really need to point out that minecraft doesn't exactly feature amazing physics either? And the xbox port is a poor shadow of the PC version, lagging behind in features, and limited in world size, which is practically infinite on the PC.
I'm not sure why you say that the ability to use old consoles to play old games is "allowing flexibility", since it does the opposite of that. You may be able to dedicate space in your home to storing all your old consoles, then drag them out and plug them in to play whichever game you feel like, within the fancifully claimed 30 seconds (which assumes you have access to the hardware in the first place, which isn't necessarily the case for someone who isn't at least as dedicated to gaming on their consoles as I am to gaming on my computer), but I can do the same for decades old games on my computer right now, and I don't need to maintain a shrine to my various old consoles to be able to do that. It may take longer than 30 seconds to install Baldur's Gate again (though not much longer), and probably a while longer to get over any technical difficulties involved in playing it on a so much newer computer (I remember getting Icewind Dale 2 to work a year back was fairly troublesome), but problematic software is easier to deal with than problematic hardware. I can also get the full BGtutu experience, if I wish (as clearly I would)! Incidentally, I just realized Baldur's Gate is almost 15 years old. Man, times sure does fly. Anyway. As for price, yeah, PCs are more expensive, at least when console generations are 7+ years, but I haven't had to replace mine in 5 years yet (except to add more RAM and HD space), and it still runs new games just fine on max settings. Granted, it was a very expensive PC for its time (I could probably buy 5 of them for the same price today - totally wasn't worth the price by the way, at least not for what I was using it for, but I digress), but if you buy cheap ones and you are satisfied with playing games on lower settings (which'd still be far superior to anything a console could put out) when it gets old, it's not that much more expensive. I could go on for a while, but I'm out of time. TL;DR: Consoles don't have any upsides other than a low initial cost and ease-to-use (which, granted, includes the ease with which games are made for them), while PCs have many advantages, not the least of which is flexibility - which consoles do not have, and I'm not sure why anyone would think they do. My PC could play damn near every game out there if not for anti-consumer barriers keeping it from happening. "Anti-consumer" may sound a bit hyperbolic - maybe it should be called "pro-capitalism" - but it is what it is. You may feel good pluggin in that N64 and playin' sum starfox, but even without access to the hardware I could do basically the same with an emulator right now, and I'm pretty sure you can't fire up BG without a PC. Well... maybe if someone really knew what they were doing they could pull something like that off... | |
The benefit is simple. I'm a student living at home and I can afford to pay a few hundred bucks for a console. I can't afford a gaming PC, and I know virtually nothing about computers, so building one is out of the question. Also, I've had my PS3 since just after launch and it WORKS. I've never had to take it in to get fixed, it hasn't got any viruses, it just works and always has without any maintenance whatsoever. My PC, however, has needed to be fixed multiple times in the year and a half since I got it. Oh, I almost forgot. My PS2? Also still working fine and has been for almost a decade. | |
Massive refuting reply posts, rambling paragraphs used purely for purchase-justifying and epic amounts of groan-worthy half understood misinformation. The Jimmies of the Console gamers have truly been rustled this time. Rarely have a seen jimmies rustled so thoroughly and in such amounts. Bravo Jim, you mad genius you, bravo. Im going to enjoy this thread. | |
Oh really? Is that the reason so many PC gamers still play Counter Strike 1.6, Team Fortress 2, Baldur's Gate, Morrowind etc. Anyway, I said the exact same thing about the negative aspects of consoles at least 3 times in the last year, here on The Escapist. And I think people called me a PC elitist for it. It will be interesting to see what people will say about Jim. | |
Step 1: Plug Cable into PC (I was capable of plugging cables into holes that looked like I can fit them in with 10). HDMI in HDMI, Controller into USB. Sorry, if you don't know how to do that you did not even try. I gamed on PC with ten and about everyone I knew did that too. Specs, cables and everything was never a problem. | |
Yeah, because PCs are the platforms that were advertised with their graphical capabilities since their dawn... Yeah, because consoles is the turf where the some of the most played and cherished games are over 7 years old. Yeah, because mods are just about improving the graphical fidelity. | |
Powering the machine on and off is easier than you think with proper setup. I have my blu-ray set up to power up my pc with my blu-ray's remote (which mind the pc is on the other side of the house from my bluray) and it can pull music/video files to play through the wifi. This took me 40 minutes to set up including playing with the settings to get it the way I wanted it. Granted for more elaborate functions pcs still need the mouse and keyboard, although I wonder why you would NOT want to have those tools available when, as pointed out in the video, they offer greater depth of control. I'm sorry, I have tried controllers and all but dual-analog is still inferior to a mouse. Also I want to point something out, you fixed the problem of incompatibility on your own. You didn't have to wait for the publisher to fix this for you, taking weeks to months to release a proper patch; you got help from the community and fixed it yourself, probably within hours. How is this a bad thing?
Steam unifies the voice chat and you can use said voice chat on any game you play through it. Since steam controls it you don't even have to be playing the same game all the time, you can close game, go to a new game or start a new session and your voice chat goes with you. You can log onto steam friendlist from Andriod and iOS that will allow you to see who is online from your friends, what they're playing, allows you to text chat with them & other notifications. Steam allows you to log in on other pcs and access your games as well.
This is actually an old truth that's not true anymore. The average console cost ranges from 250 to 400 dollars depending on how many bells and whistles you want it to have. You can buy perfectly fine gaming pcs in same price range. Here's an on sale $370 pc that is a quad-core pc whose specs squashes the performance comparable to similar priced consoles and would meet any requirement settings current games would ask. Also while it's great you don't buy your games new, I don't either afterall, but pc games typically launch for cheaper than their console counterparts(although some do launch for the same price).
That's fine, I'll have thirty plus extra frames per second to keep me company. But you are greatly overstating the cons of pc gaming and pros of console gaming. | |
Worse controls? Subjective. A controller in my hand is almost useless in a RTS or in a FPS if I'm on a PC but I grew up as a Sony fanboy. Controllers are really useful for sports games (yeah, I played them regularly from 2005-2007) and some third person games. I grew up with GTA being played with a controller. I could have enjoyed Saints Row The Third even more if I had a controller with me. Weak processors? The CPU in that PS3 is more powerful than mine. Shame it cost at least 500€ (a shit ton of dollars) on launch - and it was selling for a loss! Consoles have convinced people that games are simple and will be simple forever. Nothing wrong with that, if it was actually true. People will wait for patches and updates, insert 25 digit (or 20? don't remmeber) online passes/DLC codes on a controller - but if you happen to have to update your graphics card then hall hell breaks loose. I still love my 360, I just feel that I am having as much hassle as in the PC for no benefit.
3 years ago, I bought a computer for 250€. It's still running recent games even though it's not exactly up to date. On the other hand, I did not have to spend money on a console (back then two-fiddy was cheaper than a PS3), didn't have to buy a new TV, and I didn't have to buy a new computer for college. That's right. People still need a computer if they have a console. Add 45€ as a launch price (compared to 70€) and mods and I think that playing Skyrim at 1024x800 is worth it if I cut my losses. i.e. I do my math, I tailor my gaming experience to my needs. Why the fudge would I want Max Payne 3 or LA Noire on my PC? I'll play it on 360. I don't generalize and say "PCs/consoles add fuck all to my experience so I will refuse to rethink my choices!"
"I have no idea what I am talking about so I will just make a wild accusation and hope other people like me back me up with their lack of experience." Fuck graphics. Seriously. I remember that it was the consoles pushing for the HD bullcrap, so don't pretend it was the PC market that was using graphics as bait. We had Crysis in 2007, which was after the PS3 launch. If it wasn't for that game PC gamers would sit tight on their standard definition. My TV only does 720p and it's seriously outdated, but to hell with 1080p, it's not worth the money and I rather play my 360 in 720p than buying a new TV. Also, I see you have no idea of what a TC (or Total Conversion) mod is. Basically you can make a whole new game based on an engine. Which is the case for Counter Strike - a game that emerged from a mod. | |
I have the same rig since 2010 (well, if you don't count the new headset and keyboard, the old ones broke / I never had one to begin with). It costed me back then (with a Monitor I say) ~700€. I can still play games on high with that thing. The only game I had to tone it down a lot was Witcher 2, one of the best looking PC games of the last few years. Sorry but you fall for the urban lie you that you have to upgrade your PC every year. No, since the consoles are from the hardware site shit and many games release multiplattform you could run most games on high with a expensive gaming rig from 2008. Because those were already better than consoles. Even with the next gen of consoles I won't need much upgrading. | |
Hrmm... some interesting post... not the artillery lobbing one would of thought, and I have a suspicion as to why... PC Rig... home built, custom CNC milled water blocks, SLi OC'd beast rig and award winner in class... Latest game played any amount of time... Terraria, Day Z Sony PS3... 7.1 DTS/AC3 1000 watt sound system, HD HGP display... latest game played... NetFlix, Some Blu-Rays 2 game I am looking forward to... Planetside 2 (Sony), and Phantasy Star 2 Online (Sega). Both PC exclusives (atm). Yet being developed by classically console producers... 2 other games, Ni No Kuni and Last Guardian... (vapor ware?)... so the Sony games on system I am interested in a relatively/demonstrably "Japanese"... I guess what I am getting at is there is a lot of identity crisis out in "game development" land... an ugly ugly head that keeps rearing up... "we have no engine - so sorry", "Pirates!", "My Vision!", the list is long and distinguished... like a porn star's Johnson.... It has all worn pretty damn thin over the years. We ask for FF7 with a paint job... well, you got it... a rom with some achievements... We ask for PC games with decent memory management... well F'U here is Skyrim locked down to a console friendly architecture... I like all my systems... even my dust collection device... (see Wii)... but when I find myself firing up the Ole' Sega Saturn to pass the time... something is wrong, and I don't know if I am able to (with a straight face) say that any system has any more competent a strategy for product, and delivery than any other... cause by my estimation, it's all pretty crap. Mostly from the dry humping between the publishers, developers, and console producers... It's all looking a tab bit inbred. | |
1st thought upon seeing the title: No shit, Sherlock. Now that that's out of the way, When I bought my Xbox 360, I did so because my XP laptop was deteriorating in terms of its capability (no, literally, it wasn't just obsolete, it was getting worse as time passed). And it was fun for a while. But now I have a Windows 7 PC and am having a love affair with Steam. For pretty much all the reasons you've mentioned. Hell, I've already bought some games via Steam that I already had for Xbox on the cheap simply so I can enjoy better graphics and the precision that comes with aiming with a mouse rather than an analog stick. The only games I intend to buy on Xbox at this point are games like Rock Band that require large peripherals and are best played with groups that won't fit into the nook where I keep my PC. | |
Like I said a billion times on the internet, a decent rig can be achieved for little over the price of a console. Take the long term into account: launch prices at 45-50€ at most, or the console's 70€? I also didn't know shit about computers (still don't), that didn't stop me from choosing the right parts and paying 25€ to have it assembled by tech people. I have a 1995 computer in the basement. It still runs games developed at that time - remarkably it is more reliable now than it was in the 90's. Is your PS2 supposed to prove anything? | |
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