PC vs. Console Gamers - Which side are YOU on?

It took me a long time to finally get a PS3, and then, for the kids, the Wii...And I can admit now that there are positives to them, compared to PC gaming, which is my bread and butter.

Though I won't go down quietly! There is so much more flexibility and depth possible in PC games, the games are light years deeper, more sophisticated, and have more of a opportunity to be programmed to use the very maximum amount of hardware capability possible. Of course, there are also side effects to this! PC games are almost always released buggy, unfinished messes, that require months of patience to finally get patched to acceptable conditions...if at all. And there are frequent incompatibilities, or un-optimizations in the software work smoothly with a million different versions of hardware configurations out there in the PC world...this creates 'issues' in most games.

But when it gets it right, it is much more engaging and the thrill lasts much longer, for a suitably engaging title. I'm thinking of the Total War series, Bioshock series, Battlefield Bad Company, Medal of Honor, Diablo/Starcraft, Half-Life series, Elder Scrolls series, Portal series...the list goes on. And I'm sorry, but a gamepad, with multiple D-sticks to move in opposite directions, will NEVER replace how minutely accurate my gaming mouse, and an ice-slick mouse pad are in head-to-head combat. I challenge anyone to prove me otherwise!

There were [and still are for me] issues I have with the game developers, and how things are slowly changing in the PC vs. Console game worlds.

-Console gamers [priding themselves the smarter/of-the-future gaming market] are [arguably] younger, frivolous, and have not as many financial responsibilities/spoiled whatever. They are USED to blowing this kind of cash on Xcrap/PS3 games! Whereas I, (34 year old long-time PC gamer, with family and financial budget concerns), will hardly ever spend more than 35 dollars on a game. Fallout 3: New Vegas is already found at 18 dollars, and is less than a year old! It is a high selling, AAA title from a respected big name Publisher. They got my money. This is the bottom line.

-It’s a simple matter of, we PC gamers are older, wiser, more budget conscious, and probably worried about buying presents for our kids, than dropping 60 dollars on a game, when every PC game around it on the shelf is half the price, and has the long-lasting features we are used to.

In light of this, money prevails, and now the PC game market is being overrun with publishers/developers mixing and matching their products intended platforms, not deciding for which they are programming for, or worse, making a one-size-fits-all product. As far as I’ve seen, it’s because of the naive console gamers’ acceptance of spending 60 dollars on a dumbed down game, that us PC gamers get the shoveled over crap that’s left over...sometimes months later! Consolers are so much more PROFITABLE to them it seems. Alas, vote with your wallet I say.

Despite ALL the above...I now have a few games on console that I love, that are made perfectly in the mindset of, sitting on the couch and chillin', Street Fighter IV, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Racing games like GranTurismo 5, WipEout HD, with some more innovative titles like 'Heavy Rain', 'Flower' and 'Little Big Planet'. There is some merit that they aren't heavy on thinking, or require much time, that I enjoy them! I can sit down, log in and play until something else comes up [Family!] and shut it off until next time. It reminds me of the nostalgic days of my youth! Sitting up for hours playing Nintendo and Super Nintendo's masterpieces.

It's mindless fun, and sometimes we humans need both long term, and short term rewards to be happy!