PC vs. Console [Archive]

Fez

31-08-2011, 11:12 PM

There's "PC master race." and then there's PC elitism. I don't even want to bother with this argument, honestly it's the biggest waste of time since answering whether or not video-games are an art form (spoiler: they are), quite frankly the PC is the best platform for video-games. They are not limited by technological constraints of consoles (specifically in the RAM and graphics cards department) and general ease of support (duh Valve) but that does not mean that they are the best platform for gaming. I grew up with consoles and PC gaming, you can't exactly split-screen on a PC (it's possible but it doesn't have that feel about it) nor can you game with your friends as easily. This is only because the vast majority of kids, young adults and teens and so on are not into that sort of thing. The console appears as the most accessible platform, and while it's incredibly cheap to build a rig capable of lasting the next 5 years of video-games, I don't think that sort of thing appeals to today's market. PC gaming will never, ever die; it will always be the biggest platform for video-games given it can adapt but that doesn't make it superior.

It also doesn't give any PC gamer a right to look down their nose at console gamers because that's just both arrogant and stupid. Video-games are video-games, I play Deus Ex Human Revolution on my Xbox 360 because my PC can't run it. Believe me, I would love my PC to be up to spec but I'm poor and trapped in consoles.

If one thing has made me more sick than "video-games aren't art" then it's PC elitism, or any system elitism for that manner, it just seems that the PC gaming community is just full of the worst sort of people in this respect. Maybe it's insecurity, which is rather ill placed given the current sales of PC games, maybe it's just a general thing that comes about but it isn't right. Yes, consoles limit technology and yes console fanboys are probably the scum of the earth but it doesn't give you the right to say that the way you play is superior in any way. The adaptability of the platform is the best thing it has going for it, but it doesn't have split-screen or accessibility or control for certain genres (platforming and driving feel better on a controller, hence a booming PC peripheral market). I will always stand by "FPS is better on PC" as an absolute fact, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it on a console and it also doesn't mean that people can't enjoy the same games in a more accessible way.

tl;dr NO.