Personal Computers vs Console

Personal Computers are much more advanced than any console available on the market today or any other day. In the PC world players reap many more benefits in online and offline gaming. These benefits keep growing in numbers as developers of the consoles continue to argue between themselves about who provides the better support or who offers more games at better quality. Actually, there is no contest as Ed Ricketts of Techradar. com states, ”While Xbots and the Sony Defense Force argue among themselves, and Wii-ers throw even more ridiculous shapes pretending to play he tambourine or something, there is another group of gamers who quietly, and happily enjoy the best of the gaming platform yet. The PC”. Ed makes a strong point here.

As Sony and Xbox developers argue, we PC gamers continue to offer outside support for games in Beta or even full-release games. Games that are no longer supported by the software developer due to outdated games or recently shut down companies, are still supported by the online gaming community through constant and tedious efforts. This is a showing of the true dedication to improve the experiences for everyone who enjoy PC aming. Personal Computers do not suffer from the hardware restrictions of a console, they can be easily fixed, upgraded, and maintained. Consoles are delicate and difficult to service. If there is hardware failure on a game console it has to be sent to the company for repairs. This can take weeks, or it can be serviced locally for a heavy fee. Although most PC’s are used only for simple processes such as; Microsoft Office, a multitude of browsers and e-mail services, they are not restricted to the same limitations as consoles.

Consoles can only use software provided by the developers, or require illegal emulators to run out sourced software. The advantages of a PC are not limited by anything but the continuous evolution of technology. When a new technology is released gamers in the PC world are the first to experience it, as companies such as Sony, Xbox(Microsoft), and Nintendo, struggle to keep up with modern technology. Consoles suffer from the inability to upgrade until the release of the next new console, which is still typically outdated technology. When the

PS2 and the Xbox first came out their technology was already two years old! Aside from the PC supporting higher resolutions and soon-to-be exponential refresh rates, it can adapt to both newer and older games as it is reverse compatible always! Another statement by Ed Ricketts that is well founded was, ”With the aforementioned higher resolutions and textures, chances are a new PC game already looks better than its console counterpart right now. Even if one cannot run a PC with all the visuals tweaked to the max, processor and graphic cards prices drop so quickly that it is hardly ank-breaking to refit a personal computer. “(2008) Ed has a valid point, we in the PC world can suffer from heavy expenses to upgrade a computer but, as technology is outdated almost every four months the prices drop quickly for new but slightly outdated hardware. These hardware updates will always take the PC beyond the limitations of any console. User interface is a very important aspect of electronics. As such, a lot of time and research has been put into controller and keyboard designs.

Computers use the same. QWERTY key layout that was first patented in 1868 (Liebowitz, Margolis 1996). Because of this, the keyboard that you find on your computer has had more than 140 years research and development to find a suitable style for users. This has resulted in an almost universal keyboard design and layout that is virtually identical across the market making it very seamless and almost unnoticeable when you switch from one Keyboard to another, regardless of what the brand on the computer is. On the other hand, the first gaming console introduced to the public was only released in 1978 (Kirby, 1982).

Since then many gaming consoles have been developed and released to the public, each with its own take on how a controller should feel in the hand. With this, every console on the market with the exception of PlayStation 1, 2, and 3, have completely different controller design which makes switching from one console to another sometimes tedious. With time all consoles developed will eventually conform to a single design. There is no doubt to be a single interface device for all console games but until that time if one eeks the comfort of familiarity, the keyboard is a reliable source. As one looks back on the times and the changes that the country has endured, in regards to electronics, there has to be some thanks given to those who have made society’s lives easier. Obviously, life is simplified by the advances that have been made to PC’s and gaming consoles. Look back at the times and appreciate what the “nerds” have given to the world. Life will never be the same and it will be forever advancing. PC VS. console gaming is by far a different world. Be it PC or console, there is lways going to be people who prefer one over the other.

References

Ricketts, E. (2008). TechRadar. Retrieved from http://www. techradar. com/news/gaming/12-reasons-pc-gaming-is-better- Liebowitz, S. , & Margolis, S. E. (1996). Typing errors. Reason, 28(2), 28. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Kirby C. Odyssey? (North America Philips — Magnavox): The Lost Opportunity. Black Book – Video Game Industry (December 1982) [e-book]. Bernstein Global Wealth Management; 1982:57-58. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 7, 2011.