I only have consoles at the moment. Assuming equal specs: what’s different about playing on PC in your words?

[BAD]

Titles says it all really but I'll dive deeper. I've always been a console player. Outside of a few games like The Sims, Star Wars Galaxies, and Roller Coaster Tycoon, I never really touched PC for game time. And in that time with old PC gaming of the early 2000s, controllers weren't really a thing on PC I knew of. So I clicked around and had some fun, but the fun died as console graphics went HD.

I look back and there were some weird issues that startled me on PC. Error messages and crashes. We even hired an IT company to come figure out how to troubleshoot Star Wars Galaxies when it stopped opening at random. We never understood the issue even when he explained it.

Fast forward to what I know or think in 2019. Gaming on a PC of similar specs to consoles can yield a few benefits. Graphics can be customized. With some setup you can stream to a TV. With customization can Come priorities like frame rate or graphical fidelity. You can use a controller or a Mouse + Keyboard.

Is that the gist? What else is fun about it for you?

Because my fears are: PC gaming equipment is more pricey than consoles (as someone who lives off a MacBook Pro happily and owns zero PC equipment I would need to buy everything). Takes more setup, settings, drivers, and more to get ideal playability - especially on TV. Is more likely to hit startup, stutter, or crash performance issues with tricky problem solving. I fear I'd be one of the many people I see in "[Insert Game] PC Performance Thread" saying they're having stuttering, crashes, booting problems, modding problems, problems with graphics, etc.

But I'd like to know from people who have done both consoles and PC - what's the real difference in 2019?

 

[vestan]

The biggest differentiator for me is being able to go back and play older games. Aside from the Backwards Compatibility scheme on Xbox and NES through Switch Online , this isn't nearly as prevalent on current-gen systems. Not to mention the plethora of emulators available to play games from fifth gen and back. Games are usually way cheaper to buy at launch on PC too which is a great thing because I'm a bit of a cheapskate.

Being able to play any game I want with any controller I want is also a blessing. And finally, mod/cheat support for single player games. Even something basic like a Cheat Engine table allows me to fuck around with SP games to my heart's content. Dishonored 2 for example, I'd get up to some crazy shit with infinite mana and Corvo + Emily's powers on one character before they patched that in. I'm also a huge fan of graphics mods for older games, I mean, you wouldn't be able to get something like GTA IV looking this good on a console due to the nature of its closed platform.

 

[Deleted member 32374]

Control.

I can choose the settings, input, modifications and output.

I can choose to run the latest games at max settings or settling comfortably into games 2 to 25 years old with older, weaker hardware and still count myself as a pc gamer.

My GPU is going to be 7 years old. (GTX 660TI) I'm still a PC gamer. I'm still with it thanks to indie and lowering settings. That's what so great about it.

 

[Platy]

Brazilian steam usually have more localized prices (aka cheaper because our money sucks) and Family share.
...and steam is better to stalk people =P
That's it.

Ok, some mods are fun.

People usually use pcs BECAUSE they can have better specs and all the 4k 120fps that comes with it

 

[Hektor]

Backwardscompability.
Modding.
Cheats in singleplayer games.
The ability to disable headbob, motion blur and chromatic abberration.

Those are the primary reasons for me at least.
Thise, and strategygames.

 

[smart patrol]

Main draw to PC for me is the backwards compatibility/emulation capability as well as game genres that are superior on PC (simulation, strategy, etc.).

 

[Deleted member 42]

I can fuck with all the settings and ruin it
An absolute abundance of games
I can crank up my settings to big boi 4K level

 

[alosarjos]

Backwards compatibility.
Being able to choose between keyboard + mouse or gamepad.
RTS genre (Basically because the KB+M).
Free online gaming.
Being able to Alt+Tab while loading/waiting a multiplayer game to start

 

[Puggles]

I have a library of 1200+ games from the past 30 years that I can play at anytime.

 

[Windu]

consumer choice.

 

[BAD]

Are emulators hard to run or pretty lightweight?

 

[bbq of doom]

Speed, flexibility, breadth of choice, and pride that comes with building your own machine.

 

[Deleted member 42]

Are emulators hard to run or pretty lightweight?

Click to shrink...

*cocks shotgun*

 

[alosarjos]

Are emulators hard to run or pretty lightweight?

Click to shrink...

Most of them are pretty easy to use and do not need heavy machines (But depends of the console you want to emulate)

 

[diablogg]

The biggest benefits for me are being able to install mods in my games. Community game fixes when devs are patching slow. Final Fantasy 9 background retexturing mod , or the wonderful Resident Evil 4 HD project. Also randomizers for games I have played before to keep it fresh.

 

[catboy]

backwards compatibility is one of the best feelings of pc gaming

18 months ago I played the mass effect trilogy at 4k60 with enhanced textures (and not gross garish textures, they were really faithful updates). all I had to do was download a controller support mod + the texture pack and that was it.

 

[AfropunkNyc]

The freedom with no restriction, at least thats what it means for me vs console. i tried getting a Ps3 back then to accompany my PC. It was a bad experience. it literally felt like i was locked in a box playing video games. On the PC platform it felt like i was open up to a whole world with a selection of so much to choose from. Needless to say i owned a ps3 for 2 months and sold it.

 

[Guaraná]

It's cheaper.

 

[SquirrelSaysNuts]

WIth PC I'm in control of everything.
On console I feel like a goose being force-fed.

 

[Hentailover]

Ability to modify things, settings choices, loadingtimes. (yeah I know same specs blah blah, but my laptop has no SDD and is overall about same or slightly weaker than ps4 and it loads 4-6 times faster, in equivalent games)

 

[BAD]

*cocks shotgun*

Click to shrink...

I don't get it? People are mentioning that as a main draw but should we not? I understand if we should avoid talk about it if that is what you mean?

 

[astro]

Visuals are better.
Performance is better.
Customization is better.
Back-catalog + emulation options.

It just doesn't feel hamstrung in the many ways consoles are.

Sometimes you have to troubleshoot things, but that's the price you pay for a better overall experience.

 

[Era of not Yakuza]

I can play games from the first generation of consoles to games launched this month
Mods
Complete control of configs
Mods again because a total conversion exist, making a complete new game
Better prices

 

[Arulan]

You have control over every part of your experience.

 

[Mona]

the main draw for me with PC gaming is and will always be control, backwards comparability, and forward compatibility

i have a hard time believing that consoles will ever be on the same level of BC as PC

 

[Deleted member 10629]

-Infinite Backwards Compatibilty
-Keyboard and Mouse
-Regional pricing on Steam and third party key sellers
-Better performance all around
-Free online play
-Tons of mods for tons of games
-Use any controller you want

 

[Deleted member 4072]

Control. You can use pretty much any peripherals you want. You can tailor games to your setup and choose whether you want them to have better IQ and Res or go for faster framerates. Better backwards compatibility than what consoles can do. Pretty much anything before 2013 is really easy to run at max settings and high framerates.

 

[Bradford]

Nearly limitless backwards.compatibility is huge, which also counts things like Emulation and such. PC is such a large platform that you can do so much with that it is worth the price of admission.

I like that most games, even if their ports are 'bad', can be usually fixed by simply installing fixes and fan patches. I love that the PC gaming community basically maintains older games or fixes issues in their games. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is essentially the best it's ever been now that fans have been fixing and upkeeoing the game for like 10 years.

Also, high refresh rate. Nothing can really be said about this that hasn't been said but 1440p at 144fps/hz is a crazy experience.

 

[Butterworth]

It's simply the best place to play games. Visuals, performance, customisation, catalogue, modding, emulation etc etc

 

[ArnoldJRimmer]

Driver issues and crash issues (that aren't due to a well-known development bug that affects many - a thing that happens on consoles too, even if less frequently) are not something you really need to worry about with PC gaming nowadays. Assuming you have a modern system, with a modern version of windows and you have your drivers auto-updating. The only caveat is when trying to run really old games. Usually you want ot find a rerelease of them using proper wrappers for modern OS's like form GOG, or maybe a user made mod to fix compatibility issues.

But yeah, the library on PC is gigantic, much larger than any console. As you mentioned the flexibility in performance and other details like FOV. Mods and other customizations. Load times being sometimes orders of magnitude better as well... they all add up to a fundamentally better gaming experience, IMHO. Also the flexibility fo input devices is a fantastic perk. I can use an Xbox 360, Xbox one, or PS4 controller on most games. And the Steam controller has made it possible for me to play some mouse and keyboard games from my couch (like Civ) without giving up all the other great things about PC gaming or having to downgrade my experience on a console - lower performing CPU's, long load times, etc (assuming the title is even available there).

I've owned consoles. I still own an Xbox S. I would never go back to them exclusively and hate going back to them on occassion when I need to play an exclusive.

 

[Deleted member 42]

Get prepared to put a lil' sweat equity into things too to get them exactly how you want
I usually tinker with my settings a bit to get them the way I'd like

 

[stumblebee]

It's a PC at the end of the day, so I can drop in and out of a game and go back to my regular workflow of video production and other kinds of things.

 

[Akibared]

Being able to runs games at both higher framerates and visuals than the consoles can. Loading times being basically non existent in most games has also been the biggest thing to blow my mind since switching over to PC gaming 2 years.

 

[Godfather]

Modding games. I played so much of the Long War mod for XCom for example. Steam workshop in general just makes every compatible game have so much more potential.

Also strategy games in general. I can't play Total War on PS4 or xbox for example.

I can also control my graphics if I want to max frame rate

 

[BAD]

Get prepared to put a lil' sweat equity into things too to get them exactly how you want
I usually tinker with my settings a bit to get them the way I'd like

Click to shrink...

I don't mind settings much in game, but I worry about stuff like messing with drivers or files.

 

[Deleted member 42]

I don't mind settings much in game, but I worry about stuff like messing with drivers or files.

Click to shrink...

Worst scenario for me lately is having to either uninstall/reinstall a driver or roll it back

That's about it mostly

 

[jph139]

Way, way cheaper. The upfront cost is more than a console, but I have the past 10 years worth of games available on Steam, and you can get them for incredibly cheap. Even new games I get from places like GMG for 25% off at release.

Free online play, lots of bundles and sales, can use whatever controllers or other interfaces I have on hand... there's sticker shock with a new PC and upkeep costs but it's cheaper overall, if you're willing to put the work in and be a little patient.

 

[Anno]

Performance gains are generally pretty far down the list of reasons I prefer playing on PC, despite having a pretty decent computer. It's mostly having an endless backwards catalog, being able to mod many of the games I like to play and being able to control games how I see fit.

I also mostly like genres that just don't exist widely on consoles yet.

 

[Deleted member 49535]

PC can play every single genre because it's the only platform that has all the input methods available (controller, mouse & keyboard, etc).

 

[Deleted member 50949]

There are no online subscription like PSplus or Xbox live membership. Better performance (or if you want specific performance and graphics depending on your hardware), varying control options with Steam API, and the abundance of so many games that usually are on sale every week. You don't need to wait for a remaster for a game to come to current gen consoles, you can just get it immediately.

 

[Tetrinski]

Same specs? worse performance and optimization, and a lot of headaches with drivers and things like that.

I was a console gamer all my life, tried PC in 2011 for games like Battlefield 3, The Witcher 2 and Skyrim. I went back to consoles as the current gen released despite having made a big investment putting together a gaming PC.

One of the things nobody tells you is how your rig will evolve. While the games of a console improve over time, on PC you experience the opposite. For instance, the evolution in graphics between Gears 1 and 3, or between FIFA 07 and FIFA 13, or Uncharted 1-3, is very noticeable. However, in PC, you get the best graphics and performance during the first months or couple of years after making the investment, and then slowly start having to decrease resolution and other specs. I think a console delivers its best five years after release while a PC will have become almost obsolete for the games releasing at the time unless you kept investing in it.

Personally, I think having a modest gaming PC is great if you like experiencing old games from any platform at their best. If you enjoy playing the latest releases, a console offers a better overall experience, in my opinion, and requires much less investment in money and, particularly, time.

 

[bigtarget]

Ultrawidescreen.

 

[Deleted member 10629]

I don't mind settings much in game, but I worry about stuff like messing with drivers or files.

Click to shrink...

Honestly it depends on what is 'good enough' for you. Some people don't mind capping their framerate on certain games at 30fps if they can crank up the settings, while others find this unacceptable. Just think about how much you want to bother moving settings around.

I'm not much of a tinkerer myself, but I rarely stumble while trying to setup good settings on my PC. Usually takes about half an hour.

 

[theusedversion]

Mods and CheatEngine are the big things for me.

 

[Mr. X]

Options for settings, input methods, game choice

Alt tab to a google doc for my fighting games notes

 

[MadMike]

Backwards compatibility is pretty nice on PC, as others have mentioned. Last Gen games in particular look fantastic running at 4K/60.

Downside is nothing works as easily as consoles. Swapping to my TV from my monitor always gives me trouble.

 

[Deleted member 1849]

Being able to tinker with anything you want to get things to work how you want them, and when I mean tinker I mean it. There are so many options at your disposal.
Backwards compatibility going back - in many cases - decades.
Those old games often looking better than they did when you first played them, because you can run them at higher framerates and resolutions than on your older PC, or modding them with texture packs.
Talking of which - Mods. Tonnes of mods.
Free online, cloud saves, etc.

 

[Gelf]

The fact that even with equal specs I'll still have those games and they'll run even better when I update in the future was always a big deal to me. My PC was at a maybe slightly lower level to the base consoles for most of this gen and I still would get the PC version because of that. Also I like the freedom with controller use, with virtually any pad you can probably find a way to get it to work on PC, great for me as I always want a Sega Saturn pad for 2D games.

 

[astro]

Same specs? worse performance and optimization, and a lot of headaches with drivers and things like that.

I was a console gamer all my life, tried PC in 2011 for games like Battlefield 3, The Witcher 2 and Skyrim. I went back to consoles as the current gen released despite having made a big investment putting together a gaming PC.

One of the things nobody tells you is how your rig will evolve. While the games of a console improve over time, on PC you experience the opposite. For instance, the evolution in graphics between Gears 1 and 3, or between FIFA 07 and FIFA 13, or Uncharted 1-3, is very noticeable. However, in PC, you get the best graphics and performance during the first months or couple of years after making the investment, and then slowly start having to decrease resolution and other specs. I think a console delivers its best five years after release while a PC will have become almost obsolete for the games releasing at the time unless you kept investing in it.

Personally, I think having a modest gaming PC is great if you like experiencing old games from any platform at their best. If you enjoy playing the latest releases, a console offers a better overall experience, in my opinion, and requires much less investment in money and, particularly, time.

Click to shrink...

Except the vast majority of those games will be at 30fps and low FoV and other things.

Plus this isn't quite accurate, while you will turn things down as your pc ages, it will take a LONG time to fall below console level of output.

 

[Knight in Shining Armani]

More options, more worries.