The secret power of consoles is that the hardware doesn't change over the course of the console's life in a significant way. If I buy an XBox 360 on ebay, I know that ANY xbox-360 game will run on it. In contrast, PC gaming is a mess of compatibility questions.
If I want to play the new Wolfenstein, or Watch Dogs, or any "new" game, chances are my 2 year old PC will not be able to run it well (unless I spent $$$$ on it, rather than $$). If I want to play a new game with all the dials turned up to 9 (or 11), I basically expect to spend $1200-$1500 on a new PC every two to four years.
If I look at OLDER games, it's even worse: Will this game even install? I have a giant library of games which I would love to play, but I can't figure out how to get them to run on a current version of Windows. (Sea Dogs, Starfleet Command 3, etc.) These games are ten years old, and I can't even get the installers to run correctly -- or if I do, the game crashes for other "win 8 >> Win XP" reasons. I would pay money _again_ to be able to play some of these games in a reliable way (and have re-bought things for Steam), but most of the time they're not supported anymore.
My Wii will still play Windwaker (11 years old), and I can buy an XBox and any copy of Halo and be pretty confident that it'll run, even if ten years old (assuming the hardware hasn't failed).
I can guarantee that if you spend $1000 on new PC today, you'll be able to run all games at console quality for at least next 3-4 years, almost all in the next five years, and then still most of the games beyond that range. You'll also be able to run any of the thousands of games that have already been released on PC, a feat no console is able to do.
I bought my PC 3 years ago for around that much (in country with higher import cost and higher sales tax, so it would cost 700-800 dollars in the US), and I encountered only a single game that refuses to run smoothly at all times (Mirrors Edge).
> I can guarantee that if you spend $1000 on new PC today, you'll be able to run all games at console quality for at least next 3-4 years, almost all in the next five years
Or I could spend $400 on a console and play every single available game at "console quality" for the life of the console, which is a good deal longer than 5 years. That, coupled with the fact that console games in general look pretty good, is the reason PC gaming is in something of a decline.
Here's the thing: all the games you buy for that console will also be playable on that PC, as long as they're not console-exclusive, so if you buy PC today, and 7 years from now a new game will be released on both XBox One and PC, you'll be able to play in it on your PC. The 3-4 year mark is for the PC-exclusive games.
Funnily enough, on PC, you'll also be able to play in previous generation console games (provided they've also been released on PC), and even in some next generation games that will be released on XBox Two or PlayStation 5. You will also have better video quality on PC for some games, you'll get a solid workstation useful for more activities than just gaming, and any additional cost you'll bear buying the PC will be recovered on the games prices.
You're missing the point: if you buy a PC that is capable of playing games with console-quality graphics today, you will be able to play games with console quality graphics until consoles become more powerful. The fact that consoles are a fixed target means that multi-platform games almost necessarily include that fixed target as a lower bound.
I game (infrequently) on a 2010 MacBook Pro. It has a 512MB GPU, not enough to play new PC-exclusive games by a long shot, but if the game has a Xbox360 or PS3 port then I'm good. Turn everything as low as needed (as close to console quality to be frank) and off I go. Hook up a PS3 controller and my TV and I couldn't tell you the difference - I played Skyrim that way.
> if you buy a PC that is capable of playing games with console-quality graphics today, you will be able to play games with console quality graphics until consoles become more powerful.
OK, but it's not economical by any stretch of the imagination. Given the $1000 example above, you can by 2 entire generations of a single console and get halfway to the third for the same amount of money. That'll keep you playing the "latest games" for what, 16 years if you go by the Xbox360's 8 year lifespan per generation? The numbers really don't add up for PCs anymore.
Mirror's Edge has a poor implementation of Nvidia's PhysX, so many people need to disable that in settings in order to run the game properly on AMD's Radeon graphics cards. This could be the case for your rig.
This is an example of a conversation console gamers don't need to have.
If I want to play the new Wolfenstein, or Watch Dogs, or any "new" game, chances are my 2 year old PC
My 5-year-old PC, which was nice at the time, hasn't hit a problem yet, with the exception of some games from the 90s. How many console games from the 90s does the XBox 360 take?
If I want to play a new game with all the dials turned up to 9 (or 11)
That's an unfair comparison, because the XBox most certainly, most definitely, and most absolutely does not have 'all the dials turned up to 9', let alone 11. The simpler, coarser graphics on the xbox are a common meme that's made fun of.
That is true, and it's one of the reasons I like consoles. There is just no thinking required, which is really nice.
On the other hand, I think the rate at which PCs obsolesce compared to consoles is often exaggerated. For example, I played Bioshock Infinite at max settings on my circa-2010 MacBook Pro, which was 3 years old when the game came out and was never exactly a gaming machine. And people with fairly mediocre PC setups are able to play Watch Dogs with better graphics than I get on my Xbox One.
More powerful? No. But they are still better in some ways:
* No DRM. I have been burnt several times by PC games on this front.
* No viruses or malware to worry about
* Far fewer updates to install and in general less maintenance
* Warranty - if I build a PC myself and it breaks, I need to fix it (I recognise that for more technical users and/or people with more time, it's a plus that you can fix a PC yourself - but that isn't everyone)
* Compatibility. It's hardly rare to run into issues if you try to play a PC game on launch date, and often graphics card driver updates fix some games and break others.
* Noise and size (it's hard to make a small quiet and powerful PC on a budget)
* Peripherals - there is a standardized set that "just works" for a console. On the PC, maybe half of my Steam library supports my controller out of the box.
And one non-technical aspect which isn't a concern for everyone, but is for many:
* My friends are all on [XBox Live|PSN] and I want to play with them
My stance? I game on PC, PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, iPad, and occasionally on an Android phone. They're all great in their own way. I wouldn't say any of them was better than all of the others on all axes I care about - but if pushed to have just one, I would pick the PC.
* No DRM. I have been burnt several times by PC games on this front.
True, sometimes drm is an issue. To me drm hasnt been an issue for quite a few years.. I think it was with the last game I bought a hardcopy of. If you are talking about the gaming services everyone has different views on different vendors. It can be argued that the need for the console itself, created by a single manufacturer with sole control, is drm in itself.
* No viruses or malware to worry about
If you dont click suspicious banners or run spam executables you wont run into viruses (If you are a legit customer, if you download from piratebay or similar you can only blame yourself). I have been an active gamer most of my life (31 years old now) and I think I ran into my last virus back in windows xp.
* Far fewer updates to install and in general less maintenance
So you live with bugs for longer? Must suck... The awesome thing about pc gaming is that whenever you log on some issue you had in the past might be gone. Updates are there to improve your gaming. If you are talking about your OS, you forget that your computer is not just a game station, it is also a tool. The updates are there to keep things running smoothly.
* Warranty - if I build a PC myself and it breaks, I need to fix it (I recognise that for more technical users and/or people with more time, it's a plus that you can fix a PC yourself - but that isn't everyone)
If it breaks, call a repair guy. I refer again to my point about the computer not being a dedicated gaming platform.
* Compatibility. It's hardly rare to run into issues if you try to play a PC game on launch date, and often graphics card driver updates fix some games and break others.
What does launch day have to do with compatibility? I have never suffered not having up to date drivers if a high profile game using some weird functions not covered by previous drivers is about to be released. Again, I am an avid computer gamer.
* Noise and size (it's hard to make a small quiet and powerful PC on a budget)
No its not. Have you tried? It is cheaper to make a powerful and noisy computer, but silence is not super pricey, ya see. Your little console is partly built with pc components, so you should be able to create an equally powerful machine with the same noise level for just about the same price.
* Peripherals - there is a standardized set that "just works" for a console. On the PC, maybe half of my Steam library supports my controller out of the box.
Not every game uses a kinekt. Not every game uses a joystick. I have a pretty beat up x-box clone gamepad, a cheap joystick and a track ir at home. Never had any issues with them. For most games I prefer the keyboard tho so this might be a bigger issue for others.
And one non-technical aspect which isn't a concern for everyone, but is for many:
* My friends are all on [XBox Live|PSN] and I want to play with them
And there we get to the meat and potatoes of your post. You game with your friends, all your friends are on other platforms, so you do as well. That is fine. There is nothing wrong with it. You shouldn't listen to the hype that tells you consoles suck. They don't. They have points about them that are very valid (ease of use, portability, instant gaming). Just dont buy into the hype and use arguments made by 12 year old youtube jockeys to make your point. You do not need to excuse your gaming habits. Just go play, its fun.
