|
|
|
Consoles versus PC gaming
Now I know what it feels like to be in the rival hood. I am a console fan boy tip-toeing into the pages of Geekspeak. But I shall be brave, and I will today enlighten you all on why console gaming rocks and PC gaming doesn’t.
Let me clarify that I respect the PC as a machine for great non-gaming applications. Loaded with 2.8HT processor, an FX 5600 and 512 DDR RAM, I couldn’t have asked for a better tool to churn out my gaming experiences in such an orderly format.
I have a very long gaming history; starting with an Atari in1990, switching to a Super Nintendo in 1992, then to getting my first XT PC in 1994. This PC was comprised of 10MHz clock speed, no hard drive and CGA colours. This box served me well with dozes of Dangerous Dave, Digger and J-Bird.
I then moved onto a 586 133MHz in 1996. This joint entertained me with gems such as Chuck Yeager’s Flight Combat, Doom and System Shock. I later upgraded my machine to a P3 with a built-in 8MB 3D card in 1999. It was not until I got the Playstation in the same year that I first felt my insatiable thirst satisfied. My concept of gaming was struck by a pleasant lightning bolt.
For the first time I felt genuinely moved when I saw Cloud laying Aeris in her watery grave at the end of the first disc of Final Fantasy 7. My mind churned with the awe inspiringly twisting storyline of Metal Gear Solid. The music, the graphics, the in-depth storylines, and the inspired game play were all relatively new phenomena for me in spite of having played PC games for the last five years. The experience was further enhanced with the introduction of Playstation 2 that I bought for video gaming fulfillment in 2002. Since then there is no looking back, here are the reasons:
— Console games have sold and will continue to sell a hell lot more than PC games. The average console lasts for about five years before being replaced. Consoles cost a lot lesser than their PC counterparts. Consider a Playstation 2’s price tag of $200 and the tag of the latest Canterwood Mack 5 gaming PC- $4000! These facts have tremendous implications on the whole gaming environment.
— Consider the top-ten best selling games of all time and there is only one game that has PC origins- The Sims — a game dejected by the PC’s own deviants. Due to their greater market, console games have a higher budget and the programmers are able to use the latest technology, and the most qualified staff to make a great game. Although on the face of it, more money doesn’t directly imply better games but it offers more room for innovation.
— The gratuitous use of cinematics to drive the story forward in Final Fantasies. If you thought WarCraft CG is something to behold, wait till you check these out. The games for consoles appeal to a much greater and diverse audience. This pushes developers to make games that are user-friendly; games that can be played by an inexperienced gamer and whose difficulty can be increased to satisfy veterans. PC gamers scoff at the lack of challenge in consoles; obviously blinded by their own egotistical aura. If they find a challenge is to be navigating dozens of keys on a keyboard then we are certainly happy to be without it! Furthering their sense of self-importance, they generalize console gamers as having short concentration spans; an obvious effort on their part to highlight their non-existing superiority. A greater market also means that console games themselves have a greater variety, encompassing a wide variety of genres such as beat-um-up, racing, bemani, platformers, sport games, and what not.
It is important to note that consoles have been made from the ground up for gaming and gaming alone. What this means is that every aspect of the experience is geared towards gaming nirvana. The controllers are ergonomically designed; the console itself is a reliable machine (viruses? crashes? Never heard of ‘em!
Speaking of the controllers, all current console controllers are fitted with pressure sensitive buttons, with a mandatory vibration function, a really involving mechanism especially in sequences such as the Omaha Beach landing in Medal Of Honor Frontline.
Consoles are much simpler to operate, without all the strings attached with computers. Importantly, the whole gaming experience is more comfortable; anything beats sitting with a stiff neck with your face inches from the monitor.
Since not all of us were born with a silver spoon, monetary factors are of much importance to most if not all gamers. The initial cost of the computer is substantially higher and this doesn’t even start to show the hidden costs that most of us are well aware of. I am talking about the cost of upgrading a PC. Nowadays no PC remains the king of the hill for even six months and is obsolete in about a year and a half. Compare this with an average console that lasts a good four or five years at its prime. Even after this consoles such as the Playstation 2 have backwards compatibility, meaning you can play all your old Playstation games on the new one. Consoles also don’t have any compatibility issues that are so often faced by PC gamers, meaning every game you buy will run on your console.
I for one feel that the people driving console gaming into the future are much more dynamic, innovative and forward looking than their PC brethren. Today the Playstation 2 has but a dated 300MHz processor with 4MB (yes this is printed correctly) of video RAM. The mere fact that the upcoming Playstation 2 game, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake-Eater, manages to look better than uber-game Half Life 2, speaks volumes of the hard work that console programmers are putting in their work in spite of the performance constraints that restrict them.
The main difference here is that due to inter console competition, as well as the incentive for much greater revenues, the console programmer gives his all to make a swash-buckling game.
An important factor that plays greatly in the favour of consoles is the role that the Japanese play in this scene. The gaming industry in Japan have introduced their own flavour of artistic expression and an addiction to detail in the gaming biz. For instance, in Metal Gear Solid 2, when you shoot a bucket full of ice cubes, the ice cubes will be thrown randomly to all parts of the floor. On the floor they will start to melt. The individual cubes will melt faster than those in clusters. Feel free to try this out. How’s that for attention to detail!
I can feel a tidal wave going through the PC gaming community. My time here in PC Gangland is up; the console community has always kept an eye on you, through the rear view. The war has begun; we have fired the first shots. We eagerly await your pitiful retaliation. Enjoy.
The writer
|
|
|
|
