pc vs ps3 vs 360

[T-Bag]

The PCs pros are:
1. Mouse/keyboard much more accurate for FPS and more convenient for strategy games.
2. Graphically far superior.
3. Steam.

The cons I have already found are:
1. The PC doesn't have the "casual community" like consoles do. PC gamers tend (and I don't mean this in a negative way) to take their gaming a lot more seriously. That's not aimed at DNW but PC clans/communities in general. So many require try outs, almost interviewing potential new members on forums etc. There are the odd console community that do that but they are the minority.
2. Configuration. Hardly a game I have tried has worked out of the box yet. On a console you just pop the disk in and play. PC gaming is a headache in comparison.
3. Gamepad support in many games is poor.
4. Comms. Console comms just work. PC comms require TS or Ventrillo or Steam etc. It's so much hassle.
5. Some games just don't work properly. TF2 still won't run properly on my PC. You don't get that problem with consoles for obvious reasons.

The Pros are correct but VERY understated. Mouse and keyboard will dominate even the most experienced console player. They have separate servers for a reason. Well two reasons, the controls and the fact a PC can handle far greater numbers of players. Upto 64 players in many games, whereas consoles often top out at 16.

Graphically yet, VASTLY superior. When the XBox came out anyone with a PC worth £1000 would beat it in performance. £500 vs £1000 looked pretty good. But in computing things move fast, after a year anyone spending £500 could match it, but the console had barely budged in price. Now laptops can match the performance. If you look at a game like Battlefield 3, it is being shown on the PC as that shows it off best, consoles are limited in both resolution (22" PC monitor is 1920 x 1080 -AKA 1080p just like a 46" TV but a 360 will output 720p to it  - but if you go bigger with a PC monitor you get more detail), and technology (when 360 launched DX 9 was the rage, now PCs are on DX 11, You can't buy a DX 9 card any more. Each version of Direct X has more features to make things look better). Factor in a better processor for physics simulations etc and you have a much better all round experience.

Steam is great, it's the best PC gaming has to offer, but it still doesn't match the plug and play nature of a console. It does however let you play anywhere without picking up a disk which is cool.

As for your Cons list. There are plenty of friendly communities, but generally you have to find them through a forum of some sort. Tech news forums are full of gamers, and many are easy going sorts.
Configuration is generally not an issue in most games. Installers pick low settings to get you started. If you're struggling it will probably be something very straight forward like graphics card drivers go to ATi or Nvidias website and get the latest versions if you haven't done so already.

Gamepad support is typically standard in modern games (except for FPS and strategy games) if you load up GTA or Dirt 3 with a 360 controller plugged in you'll have no problems (make sure it's plugged in and recognised before launch).

Comms, many games have built in comms, but they generally don't work as well as TS or similar. Valve games are the only major exception, in game comms in those work, others tend to be a waste of time. Hopefully this will change in time, but it's one of the biggest annoyances in PC gaming in my opinion.

Games not working is almost always graphics. If you have two monitors or outdated drivers there can be issues. Sometimes there will be strange issues with games based on setting things to high or a random conflict between components (I had to unplug a drawing tablet before playing a game once). If a game is on steam first step if you have problems, graphics drivers, second is to browse the steam forums, chances are someone has had the same issue and knows how to fix it. It's not perfect, but shouldn't happen that often.

[DrunkenZombiee]

I've been an avid XBox gamer on both XBoxes. However, I recently lost patience with how many had packed in on me. A work mate offered me his PS3. He was selling it after the security breach on the PSN. I wasn't sure so he let me borrow it so I could decide if I wanted it. TBH I didn't really like it although it was mostly the controller that put me off. The 360 controller is a much better controller for me. I decided to try PC gaming but I must admit to struggling with it at the moment. The PCs pros are:

1. Mouse/keyboard much more accurate for FPS and more convenient for strategy games.
2. Graphically far superior.
3. Steam.

The cons I have already found are:

1. The PC doesn't have the "casual community" like consoles do. PC gamers tend (and I don't mean this in a negative way) to take their gaming a lot more seriously. That's not aimed at DNW but PC clans/communities in general. So many require try outs, almost interviewing potential new members on forums etc. There are the odd console community that do that but they are the minority.
2. Configuration. Hardly a game I have tried has worked out of the box yet. On a console you just pop the disk in and play. PC gaming is a headache in comparison.
3. Gamepad support in many games is poor.
4. Comms. Console comms just work. PC comms require TS or Ventrillo or Steam etc. It's so much hassle.
5. Some games just don't work properly. TF2 still won't run properly on my PC. You don't get that problem with consoles for obvious reasons.

It boils down to this for me. So far, I have spent more time trying to get games to work on my PC than actually playing them. That is just wrong especially for someone like me who works all week and has little time to to play anyway.

I'm not giving up with PC gaming but it's wearing me down.

I completely agree with you about the Casual gaming community. But this isn't console specific its an Xbox only thing which really came about because of party chat and lobbies in games such as Halo3 which bucked the trend. Microsoft got that right =) while Sony got it very wrong. A gaming experience shared is always better than a solo experience IMO.

I still once in a while jump on my Xbox (particularly if i have had a bad day) for a night Yankie bashing with some friends on COD, Halo or GoW. The only problem is that as everyone has a Mic you mostly only hear the worst in people =(.

For casual chatter, join the BC2 server just after 6pm in the evening when the server numbers are low and the juniors are on. All of the guys enjoy a good bit of chit chat, particularly when we are all on a 10 mins drive in ARMA the back of the MEV. While it may be more serious on the PC, dMw has a strong sense of community which takes presidence over "being the best" like other gaming communities who take no prisoners. That isn't to say that the members are not good at games as many members are very talented (to my annoyance during the deagle match at the LAN on CS). You really only need to turn up to a LAN to see this as people rarely take themselves and the competitions that seriously.

As for setting games up and generally getting them to work: The PC is designed as a multifunctional tool capable of as much as possible; this is possibly the biggest strength for a PC but also its biggest weakness. PC's come in pretty much every flavour based on their uses while a console is very much one flavour. As many components in PC's are optional and have different performance, uses and price tags its very difficult for a developer to cater for all users. You also need to remember that a MAC OS and LINUX/UNIX/BSD are also used by many, not just windows!

This mish mash of kit can cause problems but enables everyone to be able to have their own custom experience e.g. Netbooks, Nettops, Gaming PC, Laptops, Business PC, Server, Server Farm etc...

The joy of gaming on a PC is that your experience is always changing with new technology constantly coming out a new frameworks and implementation techniques evolving over time. This means you have a better and more immersive gaming experience as developers are not tied to hardware and software. A good rig will beat any console (even at launch) hands down in all areas as there is nothing that a console can do that a PC can't, however there is alots that a PC can do that a console cannot.
You need to remember that an x86 or x64 PC will not always be the quickest at executing small instruction when compared to the PS3's PowerPC IBM chips or RISC architecture but it is able to perform more complicated inspections due to this to make it a jack of all trades and master of none.

Getting games to work and bug fixing is a dark ART and can be hard and frustrating with each developer and game having their own quirks sometimes. I have a good degree in Computing Sciences and am a programmer myself for a living and I often have to spend time debugging games. ARMA 2 in particular is sometimes temperamental.

All I can say is that if you spend long enough gaming with the guys here you will re-kindle your social hop on and off games attitude on teamspeak. All of the guys here are great and there is no trash talk on TS like you will get on XBL. All of the good bits socially and none of the bad as Admins will kick players miss-behaving and dMw retain control over the the gaming experience! As for getting games to work, people are always having issues so put a post on the forums and the resident techheads will try and help you out. Feel free to send me messages if you are having issues.

The good thing about fixing the issues on a PC is that you learn more about the science and technology behind it, in turn making you a better user of the hardware and software. I certainly appreciate the kit more when I know how it works =) but an am an Uber nerd!

Add me to Steam for a chat =).

Hope this helps.

DZ.

[ArithonUK]

Sorry to hear you're finding PC gaming hard going Gunnzie.

1. The PC doesn't have the "casual community" like consoles do.

It depends on how you define casual. There's a million Facebook games which are as casual as it gets. Plus you've got free to play games like BattleField for Free, Battlefield Heroes, Quake LIVE, etc.

2. Configuration. Hardly a game I have tried has worked out of the box yet. On a console you just pop the disk in and play. PC gaming is a headache in comparison.

Odd. I've never had a game in the last two years at least that didn't run perfectly first time. Are you running Windows 7? Are you using a current game or a really old title from PC world? That sounds like a stupid question, but my son likes trains and he picked up a train sim from PC world for 99p and had to set Windows to be "XP Compatible" on the game icon to use it. Once set, it ran fine.

3. Gamepad support in many games is poor.

That's unsurprising, since nobody wants to use gamepads. However, it is worth noting that ANY game marked with the "Games for Windows" Microsoft logo will support the XBOX controller.

4. Comms. Console comms just work. PC comms require TS or Ventrillo or Steam etc. It's so much hassle.

Not true. in-game comms work, it's just few people use them. e.g. BFBC2 comms work, but we use our own server in order to exclude the "noob" screaming rager's you get online. I've listened to comms on XBOX and it should come with parental advisory!! Using TS or other software removes this element, hence the community preference to NOT use in-games (public) comms.

5. Some games just don't work properly. TF2 still won't run properly on my PC. You don't get that problem with consoles for obvious reasons.

Gunnzie, if you need any help getting stuff working, please feel free to ask the dMw community. We'll help. It might be an idea to post what OS, and PC spec you have as this helps.

[Gunnzie]

Looking at it like that I can see the advantage of teamspeak over xbox comms.