Why I am a Console gamer
By Enigma777 211 Comments
Inspired by risingphoenix.
I know there's a lot of PC gamers here. It's part of the reason why I've chosen to write this blog. I want to shit all over you, your values, your ideals, your dreams and hopes, and even your WASD-tattoo-covered hands. Also I'm bored.
So it here it goes.
A is for Apple
Ease of use.
This is the main reason I will never call myself a PC gamer (even though I play a decent amount of Starcraft 2). You buy a 360 or a PS3, you plug it in, then put in the game and you're good to go. No messing with drivers, no scouring through forums trying to figure out why you see red scanlines on all the wall textures, no worrying whether the game will run on your ATI card because it was optimized for Nvidia hardware. It just works. Granted there are always outliers (as with all things in life), but more often than not I just don't want to deal with that headache.
Plus I'm lazy.
B is for Batman
Controls.
Gamepads are better. They just are. While it's true that you can get much more precise movements out of a mouse, the thing that kills that combo are the WASD keys. What was once a makeshift solution at best has somehow become the definitive way to control PC games and frankly that blows my mind. I just can't comprehend it. Why on Earth would anyone use them when given the choice?
I don't believe I need to list the benefits of proper gaming controllers that were designed with the sole purpose of playing games, so I won't. Instead lets talk about why KBM is bad.
- Analog Stick for camera control = Good
- Analog Stick for movement = Excellent
- Mouse for camera control = Excellent
- WASD keys for movement = Bad
Lets do some maths: Good+Excellent > Bad+Excellent
Anyone with a a few working brain cells would ask "Why not just use a controller with a PC then?" The answer is twofold. One is, of course, multiplayer. The second is a bit trickier. If we can thank Games for Windows for one thing, its standardizing the controller layout in PC games. However not all games are created equal and as such you're never entirely sure of how the gamepad will work (especially in menus). I guess this also ties to the less fussing around point I made earlier.
So, to review, gamepads > KBM when it comes to games.
C is for Cunt
Game selection.
Console manufacturers want you to buy their stuff. It's why they spend millions of dollars developing and securing exclusives. It's also why those exclusives are generally much better than anything on the PC front (again, outliers). Now, PC gaming is known for it's indie and mod scene. I, however, don't care much for indie games or mods. Most are usually one-trick ponies that have a single "innovative" idea or artstyle and it usually gets old fast, especially when you start seeing all the shortcomings of the other aspects. At best they're novel for a couple of minutes, but more often than not, they fall short of even that.
What I'm basically saying is that I'd rather play a game that was made by 200 people over the course of 2-3 years than one made by a single dude in his garage that took him 5 years of blood, sweat and tears. Sure he has heart but at the end of the day I'm playing because I want to be entertained, not feel sorry for some dude I've never met.
D is for Daggerfall Dave
Price.
A PS3 is $250 and comes with everything you need to play (sans an HDMI cable but that's like $4). A 360 is $200 but you also need to pay $60 for Live if you want full functionality. Even if you build your own PC, it's still a fair share more.
People love to give the "The hardware may be more but the games are cheaper. OMG Steam sales!" argument. I respectively disagree. Yes, you can get games for $2.50 during Steam sales but they're usually the aforementioned crappy indie kind. If you want the AAA stuff, it's usually going to cost you the same as on consoles. Not to mention that Amazon has it's fair share of sales (and $20 credits) and then there's whole used-game business if you swing that way.
So there you go, some of the reasons why I like consoles better. I didn't go much into the performance side of things because it's something that doesn't really matter to me (especially when it comes to framerate and screen tearing).
You don't have to agree with me, hell it's more interesting if you don't, but keep it civil people! If not for me, then do it for the children. Those poor, defenseless children. All they ever wanted was to live and love... and live... and love... but mainly live...
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