What system is right for me? It’s an age-old question that will only get more intense in the coming year as the Xbox 360 is in full swing and the PS3 and Revolution are released. Which is better? Well, I would suggest both, but you must consider a few things if you have to choose one or the other.
Price is a big issue. When’s the last time you didn’t even bat an eye when buying something 500 bucks or more? The bottom line is that computer gaming is more expensive. Why? Because computers aren’t made just for games. Calculators, word processors, Internet navigators, music players, movie watchers, and photo editors. They are much more than a gaming machine. Consoles, on the other hand, generally aren’t. It’s only recently that consoles have gone online, starting with the Dreamcast, and I haven’t seen anyone printing off spreadsheets or book reports from one yet. Consoles are purely for gaming and run between 100 and 500 bucks. On the other hand, PCs are much more than gaming machines and run between 1,500 and 3,000 dollars. They need to be upgraded repeatedly to play the newest and greatest games.
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The genre is an issue. I mourn for you if you are a Real-Time Strategy fan and only have a console. And if you are a platformer fan, computer gaming will be a sad mistake. Genre makes a big deal because of the controller vs. keyboard/mouse issue. Different games play much better on the different configurations. Computer gaming is best for Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games, First Person Shooters (FPS), Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORG), Flight Simulation games, and Point and Click Adventure games. On the other hand, the consoles are better for fighting games, action/adventure games, platformers, role-playing games (RPG), and sports games.
Tech-savvy can be an issue. Computers are a little more unstable than consoles. When did you last see a PlayStation lock up or get a blue screen of death? Never, right? The same thing comes in here. Some computer games might be a little stubborn to set up how your computer likes it, or your computer might not meet the system requirements. Consoles, on the other hand, don’t have that problem. The people designing the games have to fit the needs of the console so that you don’t have a problem. If you have a basic knowledge of computers, you’ll be fine. If you don’t, then a console might be better for you.
So, as I’ve explained, I would go with a PC if you want more than a gaming system for school and work or just like gaming genres like RTS and MMORG games. If you love platformers, action/adventure, sports games, or your wallet is on the empty side, I’d go with a console. It won’t be able to surf the Internet or help you with anything else, but it’ll play some great games.
If you want a console by the end of this article, you have three options. You could buy a Gamecube if you like innovation, an Xbox if you like the best graphics and FPS games, or a PS2 if you want a huge library of games or love fighting games, Action/Adventure, platformers, and RPG games. You also have another option. You could wait until the Xbox 360 comes out this month and get that, or wait for the Nintendo Revolution and PS3 to come out next year.
