|
|
Why should you want to buy a Console over a PC?Feb 12 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Video Game Consoles
The Bottom Line Consoles are better than PCs, as gaming systems, on many levels. PCs are a mixture of mystery, complexity, and irritation, whereas consoles are clear and easy to set up.
Deciding on what console to buy is a difficult question to answer, but this epinion deals with something more basic and fundamental. Why should you choose a console system over a PC as your primary gaming outlet? Simply put, this question can be answered addressing three key and integral points: economics, compatibility, and aesthetics. Economics First and foremost, economics is a very important factor. Video games are still video games and they don't help pay the rent. So in choosing whether a console or a PC should serve as a gaming outlet, economics is key. When I purchased my computer two years ago, I had bought various components and my brother helped put it all together. Total price tag? $500. However, since my brother works in the business of computers I acquired a free monitor, keyboard, hard drives, and RAM. With these taken into consideration the price would have zoomed past the $900+ level. In addition to that, I needed to buy more RAM, and turn down graphics settings on many top games, because my video card was a mediocre 16MB Voodoo 3. For today's top games you need a nice 64 MB video card, 256 megs of RAM, and a pretty speedy processor if you want to see the games at their full potential. The estimated cost of getting such an awesome gaming rig? Probably in the neighborhood of $1500-$2000. On the other hand, how much does it cost to buy any of the top consoles? PS2 is $299, GameCube is $199, and the X-Box is $299. The price comes with everything you need to play right out of the box, minus a game and a TV. But if you don't have a TV in the your home.....then I pity you... When I bought my PC two years ago, could I play any of the top PC games, two years ago? Yes...Could I play any of them higher than a FPS of 20? not really...Could I play them at their highest performance level? Not even close... When I purchase my Dreamcast a year ago, could I play the top Dreamcast games, a year ago? Absolutely! You mean no problems? Not at all. This leads me to the next aspect to consider, in choosing the PC or console platform: Compatibility This is an issue at the forefront of your decision. When you buy a video game console, for example, a Playstation 2, as a consumer, you know that every single PS2 game that you buy will work for your system. Of course, excluding any defects in manufacturing or programming. But, the point is, when you purchase a game that says "Playstation 2" on the box, you know that the game is specially tailored for your system. It will work every time, all the time, at the peak performance level it was designed for. All you have to do in walk in the store, look for a game that you like in the "Playstation 2" section, buy it, go home, put it in your PS2 and play. When you buy a PC game, the story gets a little more complicated. Unless you have a monster system that you just spent $3000 on, you have no inherent worries about any compatibility issues. However, if you have an average joe schmoe PC or a P-O-S like mine, you need to pay careful attention to the system requirements and recommendations on the side of the box. Now, for a lot of people, understanding whether or not, your system is compatible is a pretty easy task. But there tons of consumers that have no idea what a gig of Hard Drive space, let alone where the hard drive is in their system. It can get confusing. But for the sake of this article, lets say that we can all comprehend the requirements for the game, and by a stroke of luck, our six month old system does meet the requirements. When you get home to play your PC game, what must you do first? Install....Put the CD in the CD drive, and click Minimum Install, Full Install, or Custom Install. Full Install is usually the best option, but WAIT! You don't have enough Hard Drive space to have the full install because you have too many illegal MP3s, pornography, or a really cheap HD. So now, you must either delete stuff, that you don't want to delete, or go with the minimum install. After waiting anywhere from five to 15 minutes (depending on how much money you spent on your CD drive), you can now play the game. But hold on there partner, unless you have a top of the line system, you will have to turn down some of those settings. Graphical detail, sound ambience, shadows, resolutions, etc. have to now be tweaked before you can go ahead and play the game. Now you can finally get into the game right? Well, chances are that you will, albeit a less detailed and slower game then the designers intended because you didn't spend $3000 on your gaming rig. However, there is a good chance that your game that you just paid $40-$50 on, won't really work on your system. Why? Because of incompatibility issues. Is your sound card the right one for this game? If not download a patch, to make it work. Is your video card the right one for this game? If not download a patch to make it work. At the end of the day, you've spent more time setting up your game then playing it.....then, your friend calls and asks if you could bring the game over so he can see it in action...would you want to go through that all over again? Video game consoles offer compatibility across the board for their system, and you can actually take it over to your friend's house to show it off. Aesthetics This is where video game consoles shine. Whereas PCs have a million plugs and boxes, consoles are relatively simple to set up and store. Another thing is that most PCs need a desk or table to provide space for the required keyboard and mouse. Consoles on the other hand are usually located in the living room or some common play area because of their requirement for a TV. You can invite friends over to play your new GameCube or X-Box game, but would they crowd into your room to stand around your PC desk? With the console, anyone can just lounge around the couch or living room, like a mini-party. Lastly, if ever want to bring games over to another friend gathering, its easy to bring a PS2 game to another person's house to play on their PS2 system. If they don't have a PS2, consoles are easy to transport and set up. However, if you wanted to bring that new PC game, you better hope that they have a pretty good set up on their PC. And if they don't have a PC to begin with, then you might as well forget it. So are PCs really that bad for video games? No, in fact PCs offer more expandibility and traditional more complex games. However, if your an average joe schmoe gamer or a hardcore addict in a financial bind, consoles are definitely the way to go. But the line between console and PC games are slowly blurring, and on the issues of economics, compatibility, and aesthetics, consoles are clearly at the top of the game.  |
| Write the first comment on this review! |
|
Ads by Google
|
by krial
Buy Video Game Consoles
