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PC with Steam Big Picture and Xbox 360 controller. Any point in consoles anymore?
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Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,430 CMod ✭✭✭✭
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If you're looking at the argument from the perspective of AAA multi-platform titles, then there's little argument - on PC they're cheaper and (far more often than not) run better. Ditto if you only play specific genres or types of games that thrive on PC. But that's far from the whole argument, and there are many benefits to the existence of consoles.
Lack of competition would breed complacency, while competition breeds innovation. Look at Nintendo - rather than adhering to everything 'the others' are doing, they're forging their own path and making machines and games that are completely unique and often completely brilliant. There are few equivalents on PC - bar perhaps the Oculus Rift - that have been as bold in terms of design as both the Wii and its successor. They're totally unique experiences. And while certainly the PS4 and One are closer to PC than consoles have ever been, the Vita and the 3DS fit the 'console' parameters and are forging their own path. Even the likes of Playstation Plus - a very popular service that has no direct PC equivalent (although PC does still enjoy the best sales
).
The console manufactures fund and directly support some of the best games around to ensure their consoles remains relevant. There are few PC developers making games as distinctive as Nintendo, and almost none with the same degree of care, polish and artistry. Naughty Dog would struggle to strive with their big budget efforts in a PC-only sphere (look at Crytek), and certainly wouldn't have anywhere near the marketing and technical support Sony offer. Sony's Japan Studio, Team Ico and Media Molecule can be relied on for making games unlike any others, and the company have also acted as patrons to many independent developers (e.g. Thatgamecompany, The Chinese Room). Ditto Nintendo (e.g. Bayonetta 2, Devils Third). Ditto Microsoft (Capybara, D4, Scalebound and so on).
There are definitely benefits to the standardised hardware. It's fair to say many developers likely appreciate the fact there's only one or two SKUs to deal with when it comes to consoles, compared to the countless permutations on PC. Naturally PC also offers far fewer technical limits, but even Steamboxes are going to exist in many different versions meaning the market will always be split in many different directions. Customisable hardware has many benefits, but it has many drawbacks too.
PC culture is far different in other countries. While there's fairly radical changes occurring in Japan in terms of hardware preferences, for example, many of their best developers deal exclusively in consoles (although increasingly of a handheld variety) - Nippon Ichi, Atlus, Nintendo, Cave etc... A definitive move to PC would require radical shifts in attitude from developers and players alike.
Local multiplayer - things are improving here in terms of PC games accepting a whole load of different inputs, but definitely easier to have a few friends over to play a game on a console than it is on PC. Wii U is particularly great for this. LANs aren't always feasible or practical!
A lot of these can be countered with the hypothetical situation of a single machine, and a single machine only - surely if PC was the only gig in town, we'd be getting distinctive Nintendo games and ambitious peripherals for it. But that is far from reality right now, and certainly can't see it happening in the near future.0 -
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I recently got Big Picture mode and the steam overlay to work with PS2 emulation. I can now officially play more playstation games than a PS4 with a console-like interface. Pretty nice being able to take screenshots with the controller buttons, too.
Biohazard Outbreak Online, anyone?
Might try get this to work with some unreleased arcade games via MAME. Don't know if I'll try Dolphin emulator, that thing needs adjusting with almost every game and there's still no profile system.0 -
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Um, you misunderstood what I said. For the same level of graphical quality consoles usually do it cheaper. Or in other words, given the same level of hardware, a developer can squeeze more out of of a console than a PC due to greater headroom for optimisation. I did not say consoles have equivalent graphics to what a good PC is capable of. Apologies if I was unclear.
Kids find controllers easier I've found. Also, more potential for you to mess things up with a PC if you're a numpty about it.
Funny enough my friends two girls use his laptop extremely efficient. They watch youtube and play their little games on it. Both girls tried to play with us on 360 and both were just... Bad at it.
then they just got back to laptop and resumed being pro.
It all depends with what kids grew up with. Consoles in that house hold are barely ever used, but laptops are used by whole family all the time. As long as you don't ask your kid to install windows or put the pc itself together, then I don't see why pc should be a problem. Then again, kids these says say "feck of cup" to consoles and pcs, because they want tablets and phones.0 -
ShadowHearth wrote: »Funny enough my friends two girls use his laptop extremely efficient. They watch youtube and play their little games on it. Both girls tried to play with us on 360 and both were just... Bad at it. then they just got back to laptop and resumed being pro.
It all depends with what kids grew up with. Consoles in that house hold are barely ever used, but laptops are used by whole family all the time. As long as you don't ask your kid to install windows or put the pc itself together, then I don't see why pc should be a problem. Then again, kids these says say "feck of cup" to consoles and pcs, because they want tablets and phones.
I mean, when my kids were 4 they could play games on the XBox without aid. You couldn't trust them to use a PC on their own yet. Sure, by 6 my son was using Steam for almost all his gaming needs and by 8 he always wants the PC version if it exists rather than the console, and my daughter is heading in the same direction but for *young* kids a simple interface and a controller is easier than a mouse and keyboard. SteamOS with a controller would do as good as an XBox for this. It's nothing specific to platform, rather control method.
And, um, I'm actually fairly sure my kid could take a good stab at installing Windows at this point at 8 and get something workable. Maybe some help with the reading but it's fairly idiot proof these days. :P0 -
Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,597 CMod ✭✭✭✭
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Robert ninja wrote: »I recently got Big Picture mode and the steam overlay to work with PS2 emulation. I can now officially play more playstation games than a PS4 with a console-like interface. Pretty nice being able to take screenshots with the controller buttons, too.
Biohazard Outbreak Online, anyone?
Might try get this to work with some unreleased arcade games via MAME. Don't know if I'll try Dolphin emulator, that thing needs adjusting with almost every game and there's still no profile system.
And that's all illegal, even if you own the games already, emulation always introduces compromises and is never perfect.
And both PCs and consoles have exclusives that merit their purchase.
The XB1 and it's predecessors is in a trickier position because am awful lot of its system exclusives arrived in the pc anyway.
The PS series seemed to do a lot better and there is no way to play its excellent range of titles barring owning one.
Nintendo knock the system exclusive thing out of the park however.
Also, owning the new consoles and games, right now, is expensive. Give it a bit of time and it all becomes quite cheap, so perhaps, for the exclusives at least, the best plan is to own a PC for now, pick up a console later when it's all quite affordable.0 -
Also, owning the new consoles and games, right now, is expensive. Give it a bit of time and it all becomes quite cheap, so perhaps, for the exclusives at least, the best plan is to own a PC for now, pick up a console later when it's all quite affordable.
that's what I usually do, but it was an easier choice to pick up the PS3 as it had a Blu-Ray player which I still use whereas the only thing getting the PS4 would give me is the exclusives
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And that's all illegal, even if you own the games already, emulation always introduces compromises and is never perfect.
And both PCs and consoles have exclusives that merit their purchase.
The XB1 and it's predecessors is in a trickier position because am awful lot of its system exclusives arrived in the pc anyway.
The PS series seemed to do a lot better and there is no way to play its excellent range of titles barring owning one.
Nintendo knock the system exclusive thing out of the park however.
Also, owning the new consoles and games, right now, is expensive. Give it a bit of time and it all becomes quite cheap, so perhaps, for the exclusives at least, the best plan is to own a PC for now, pick up a console later when it's all quite affordable.
This is pretty much spot on, you cannot compare emulating PS2 games to a PS4 exclusive. It's like saying you won't get a Wii U cause you have Zelda OoT on the DS.
And owning a new console hardware wise day 1 is like going straight out and getting the next Nvidia Titan at day 1... exciting but not value for money
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