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Console Cons...

tocleora

Shared on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 14:05

With all the PC problems I've had I can now post a console con... one of my 360's is going in for service. bad disc drive. What makes it worse is it's one I sold to a friend. I should have known better than to sell a friend a used 360 when I've heard about so many problems they've had. So since I've mostly been Con-PC in my blog entries so far, I'm going to list the things I find that are Con-Console for once.

1. More Control with WASD.

You are moving forward and you suddenly need to do a 180 degree turn. you press on the stick and wait umteen miliseconds. on some games you can control how fast you can turn but you may lose overall control of where/when to stop. With the mouse, I can move my mouse 6 inches instantly. Try it and see if you don't see a difference (with a 2400cpi gaming mouse). I wouldn't say this is overall important - but I do feel I have more control over my playing with WASD than I do with a controller. But I've been a PC Gamer my entire life (well, a big chunk of it) and a console gamer for only a hand full of months so this could honestly be me.

2. Cheaper Games.

Why are the games $10 cheaper for the PC? I could have picked up the special edition of World at War for the PC for the price I paid for the regular version of World at War for the Console... You could argue because they just freakin' work without installation, potential trouble shooting bugs and 1gb patches (really treyarch? 1gb patch? come on)...

3. Keyboard Layout.

Why is it that you can change every key in a game on the PC but you just have 2 or 3 button layouts on the 360 version? This one really does bother me because I'll go to crouch in one game and throw a grenade instead cause the layout is different than another game I play more frequently. They should allow you to have full control over your button layout imo.

4. Monthly Fee.

You have to pay a monthly fee on the console to play multiplayer. But at the same time I think paying $15/month for an MMO is a little out of hand. Feel free to discuss.

5. Lag.

Ok this is a good one. On the PC I can pull up a list of servers and pick the most populated one with the lowest ping from me. I may end up playing the same people multiple times but that doesn't really bother me much. On the 360 in both COD's and in Halo there have been multiple times where I've ended up in a game where the lag was just so horrible I'd end up just standing there afraid to move. And in Halo I'd get penalized for leaving. And let's not even discuss the amount of time spent finding games in between. And although I'm sure it could still be the case I didn't hear so much about host advantage until I started playing console games. On one hand I think this is cool that they find the games for you, but it sucks that you can't get out of them easily or avoid them without long wait periods in between games.

6. Requires a TV.

Yeah I'm pretty much just reaching at this point. Cause I myself play my xbox on a Computer Monitor. But since a lot of people play on their TV's - what is your spouse doing while you're playing? I doubt sitting there watching you, let's be honest. You're hogging the biggest TV in the house while she's on the bed crying, alone. How do you feel now?

7. Red Ring of Death.

I feel the need to include this since it's a major problem with xbox 360 gamers. But let's be honest for a second... I paid more money for my 8800 gt/oc (which won't play games by itself) than I paid for my XBox 360 and it didn't work either.

8. Better Graphics... ?

I would like to hope with $3000 invested in computer parts at this point that the money was well worth it and that my PC would definitely look better than my 360. But I can honestly remember playing World at War on my 360 and being amazed at the level of detail in it. I do not have my full eyesight (if you want to know why, pm me) so that could be playing a factor in it, but I'm definitely not unhappy with the graphic quality of the 360. Now I played some Battlefield 2 last night... That's definitely a game showing it's age...

9. EDIT: Upgradeability!

I can't believe I skipped this one under the circumstances!!!!  If a cd drive goes out in my desktop I can just go to the store, buy a new one, and install it.  If I tried to do that with my 360 it would void the warranty...

Sorry PC Guys - I tried. I don't think I had a good case for the PC. Feel free to add your 2¢ in comments!

Comments

Armada99's picture
Submitted by Armada99 on Sat, 04/03/2010 - 11:28
From a sheer programming standpoint, I believe a console is easier to program for. You dont have 4,000,000 processors, 10,000,000 video cards, a bazillion mobos, etc, etc, etc. Every single time I would get a new computer game, I had to update some driver, get a new component, upgrade directx, upgrade windows, upgrade ram, or figure out how to fix a driver conflict. The fact I can throw a disc in the 360 and play is fucking BAD TO THE ASS.
Armada99's picture
Submitted by Armada99 on Sat, 04/03/2010 - 11:31
I didnt even bring up windows 98/98SE/2k/XP/Vista. Soooo many operating systems that had/have to be supported.
Armada99's picture
Submitted by Armada99 on Sat, 04/03/2010 - 11:38
Look into the Shadowrun game too, thats a cross-platform game. When you had 360 gamers and PC gamers in the same MP game, you couldnt tell the difference. At least I couldnt. I dont think the PC gamers had an advantage to the XBOX gamers. I think it was pretty well balanced.
PCP777's picture
Submitted by PCP777 on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 15:20
10. Free downloadable mods- Remember what Desert Combat did for BF1942? There are so many bad ass and free mods for PC games. You can buy one game, play it, when you get sick of it you can download free mods that completely change the game. This way you get the most out of your initial investment. I still play BF2 and still love it and there are so many cool mods for it like the WWII and Vietnam mods that I always have something new to go to, not even talking about the expansion packs like Special Forces or Armored Fury. They also just released a new map! There is just a whole lot of options to big name games like this, there's a very good modding community out there. 11. Pr0n- Come on dude, free streaming pr0n on demand, want some websites? 12. Usability and functions-A PC can be used for email, surfing, downloading music and burning disks, recording and editing music and video, work projects and even going to forums to find out what broke on your X-Box this time. 13. Price-You've had incredibly bad luck with your PC gear and your failure to return a particular high ticket item has massively inflated your PC investment. You are also talking about several different PC's and builds. A simple google search reveals a rig that will run 40 FPS on Crysis for $500. The whole "You need $2,500 dollars to get a decent gaming rig is bullsh*t. " http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/build_a_500_pc_play_crysis_40fps Most of these parts can be used for subsequent upgrades as well. (I would spend $30 more for 2 more gigs of memory. ) I did not try to skimp on my rig at all, here's what I have. For example, I could have spent $100 less on my GPU and still would have built a smoker. Most of these prices have fallen too since I did my last build: My gaming rig..... Motherboard: MSI K9A2GM-FIH Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 8650 Triple-Core Processor (3 CPUs), ~2.3GHz $179.00 Memory: 4094MB RAM Corsair Twin X PC 8500 (DDR 1066) $97.00 Hard Drive: 300 GB $100.00 Video Card: ASUS 4870DK Radeon HD 4870 1GB $240.00 Case/PSU $150.00 So I spent about $765 on my latest build and most of these parts like the hard drive, PSU, case etc will be used for the next build as well. 13. Building and upgrading PC gaming rigs is fun! I really enjoy it, it's almost as fun as gaming itself, especially when you build something that kicks ass! 14. Console expense is almost always understated-When you factor it your MRC's, extra game pads , wireless network adapter, charging kits etc the price almost comes up to the budget PC pricing.
tocleora's picture
Submitted by tocleora on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 15:39
10 - ok I'll give you that one. There are like, for example forge maps for halo that can change up the game but I don't think there are mods that change the look or anything. without needing a modded xbox at least. 11 - Although I agree Pr0n is important, it's not necessarily gaming related which is the topic here :) 12 - true... that is a value if you're on a budget or just want one device to do it all. But some of the cons for PC gaming I do believe make it more worthwhile to get a 360 if you don't want to deal with some of the other issues from PC Gaming, like the hiccups during installation or compatibility issues, etc. I spent $200 for an XBox 360 Arcade, $30 for a refurbished hard drive (we'll say $99 for the 60gb since I don't think the refurbished is available anymore) and $50 for a second controller. That's still only $350 *if* you don't need to go wireless. But you do get a lot more in a PC for just $150 more I'll give you that. 13 - I do agree it is a lot of fun - when it works. and I know I'm an exception to the rule. A lot of people may argue costs involved in a hobby of pc upgrading. 14 - see my second paragraph in 12. You do bring up some good points. Anyone else want to put their 2¢ in?
VenomRudman's picture
Submitted by VenomRudman on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 15:53
You can get a VGA cable for the 360 and play it on your computer monitor. One good thing about console gaming is that you don't have to worry about the ability to play new games on it. With the PC, if you don't upgrade, you're out of luck in 18 months.
JPNor's picture
Submitted by JPNor on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 16:37
I have to agree with damn near everything you've written. I've tried to figure out why the price of PC games has not moved when the same exact games for console have gone up $10. My computer needs significant upgrading to keep up with the post-Crysis era of games so I grabbed a PS3, which resolves a few of your concerns. More reliable than 360, free online play, (arguably) better graphics, and 56 inches of pr0n when I feel like it. +1 for a great post.
PCP777's picture
Submitted by PCP777 on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 16:44
How do you quote here? @ Venom- Tocleora always plays Halo on his 19 inch PC monitor. :) Valid point about the upgrades but if you choose the right hardware it will last for more than 18 months and the upgrades will be simple and not expensive, like more memory or a faster CPU. It's going to be a long time before I have to get a new video card, for example to play a new game. My first gaming build lasted for a little over 4 years as is. My second build didn't because I was a dumb ass and bought some inferior parts. If you do it right, having to do an entire build can be years apart and even then there are parts like optical drives, hard drives, PSU and case that you will re use, build after build. Usually your upgrades are going to be mobo, CPU, memory and GPU. In many cases, just getting a better GPU will let you play the game. The best part is that when I retire parts like a GPU or mobo I just build another machine out of it and give it to the kids or sell it. As a final note, I don't jump from game to game. Even though my machine can scream through FC2, I'm still an old BF2 addict. I can hardly wait until 1943 comes out, and I'll be able to play it with everything on high.
tocleora's picture
Submitted by tocleora on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 17:00
@PCP - Something we need to consider is that we're in technical fields. If your construction worker or Office Manager wants to play a game they will be more inclined to buy a console because it's just an easier experience overall. @Venom & PCP - what we need are some statistics of the average PC generation in which upgrades are required to the average lifespan of a console. PCP - let's see if we can find some statistics to post here.
PCP777's picture
Submitted by PCP777 on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 17:34
@Tocleora-So now I'm IT??? LOL!!!!! Your point is valid, that I know more about PC builds than the average bear so it's far easier for me to spec out a PC than it is for a lot of people. Consoles are plug and play so it makes sense why folks without our experience would choose them. This is not meant to be a snotty statement, sometimes I think the PC component manufacturers go out of there way to confuse or even deceive people. Look at processors, remember when it was easy to know that a 3.2 ghz processor was faster than a 2.8 ghz? Now they use naming like Intel Pentium E2200 2.2 ghz (How is this faster than a 3.2 or a 2.8??? It is, dual core) and AMD 4400? You have dual core, tri-core and quad core. Should I get the i7 architecture??? (HELL YEAH!) Video cards are even worse. You'd think that an Nvidia 9400 GT would be faster than the older 7800 GT if you didn't know that the last 3 digits really speak ton the performance. You have to look at memory speed, core clock speed etc so it's no wonder that people throw there hands up in the air. I have no idea how the ATI naming convention works other than their high end stuff is the 4870 and 4890. Even if you know what's good and can decipher all this, you have to be aware of breaking technology trends. What about all those people who bought expensive DX9cards right before DX10 came out? It's exhausting for the average casual PC user to research all this and know what to buy. So in this sense, console gaming has a big advantage.
tocleora's picture
Submitted by tocleora on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 17:37
Looks like I'm finally converting you PCP! ;) just kidding. :)
PCP777's picture
Submitted by PCP777 on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 17:56
I'll probably pick up a console when the next generation comes out and Jack is old enough to play. Your point 6. Requires a TV .."What is your spouse doing while you're playing? " is super valid for me, my family watches a lot of TV, Netflix etc when we are home so if I took over are one decent TV for gaming that would be selfish. I don't want to plug it into my 22, I already have my bad ass PC plugged into that. V hates it when I game anyway, taking over the TV is just not going to work right now.
Tristan's picture
Submitted by Tristan on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 20:54
I totally agree on the part about lag and server browsers. I hate the way Bungie forces their shitty gametypes on you in the name of fairness (after all, they say, if they let you play whatever game you want, people would pick a gametype that gives them an advantage, supposedly, and if they included an optional server browser, they're afraid people might that over MM given the choice). When I played Halo PC, I could find a dedicated server with low ping and great gametypes in about 30 seconds, and I could stay in that server for hours. With Halo 3, I sit through 5+ minutes of pre-game search/veto/loading/veto/load again for every game I play, and even then most of the time it's going to be crappy settings that I don't enjoy (I fucking HATE the gd assault rifle), or a crappy map. And if someone quits, that's it, the rest of the game is ruined. In Halo PC people came and went all the time. If you have to leave or don't like the map or whatever, you leave without penalty and a minute or so later someone will join and take your place and the teams will be even again.
Abraham1313's picture
Submitted by Abraham1313 on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 04:24
Whats a spouse?

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