I’ll never forget my first computer. It was a Packard Bell and it was as simple as computing technology could possibly get. If I’m not mistaken, it had 16mb of RAM and had to later be upgraded just to run Age of Empires: The Age of Kings. (And it did a poor job of doing that.) Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly the cream of the crop. I used to joke that there was a hamster inside who powered it or that I had to start it with a pull string. While that might have been a bit of hyperbole on my part, it wasn’t far from the truth.
PC games at the time were beginning to pick up, but it was no match for the high powered consoles. The PS1 and N64 were vastly superior in both functionality and graphics. Fast forward to 2014 and that gap has closed. As a matter of fact, it’s debatable that the PC is vastly superior to both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
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4. Price: As technology improves, the price for a decent gaming computer has steadily declined. The price my parents paid for my gasoline powered Packard Bell back in the 90s could purchase one Hell of a gaming PC today. However, consoles have done the opposite. Look at the Xbox One for example. It was released with a $500 price tag, but does very little that a computer can’t do. For users who either don’t have a computer, or needs a new one, the computer seems to be the better choice due to the fact that it provides so much more functionality.
3. Pc Games Have Caught Up: Not only have they caught up, but many games simply look better on PC. As a kid, console games were vastly superior; that has changed. PC games are now much more common with only the main franchises for each big player being off limits. For this reason, gamers are just as inclined to play on their monitor as they are their TV.
2. Free-to-Play Models: There’s no denying the booming “free-to-play” market at the moment. Just look at the success of games like League of Legends. As a gamer myself, I can say that my loyalty with consoles has dwindles over the past few years. I’m either playing League of Legends or some free Steam game rather than AAA console titles.
1. Speaking of Steam…: Downloadable gaming services are doing excellent. People who were once so determined to have the case and booklet have now traded that determination for digital keys and cheaper prices. If you have a PC capable of running games, it’s possible to buy an entire year of releases for the price of just a couple release-priced games; it’s a no-brainer.
With that being said, yes, I know there are features such as Kinect, motion controls, exclusive titles, and the ability to play on your big screen. (Although the PC can do that, too.) Regardless, at this point, I’m of the opinion that PC games are the wave of the future and consoles better find a way to keep up. What say you?