Console Vs PC
Until a few years ago, video game consoles led the video game market. Basically because developers focused on releasing games directly to the two big devices at the time: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, so games were often not even released for PC. Another big reason is that PCs used the 64-bit architecture for x86 instructions: x86-64; this architecture was different from that of game consoles, so porting a title to PC was an odyssey for developers.
With the arrival of PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, equipped with x86-64 processors, PCs began to have greater prominence, and it is that when the processors of the main consoles evolved, the portability of games on computers became easier. During the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, buying a console was much cheaper than building a dedicated gaming PC.
Today it is possible to find and assemble a PC equivalent to PS5 or a PC equivalent to Xbox Series X; this means that for a few years now it has been possible to buy computers that have the same performance as game consoles.
Console advantages
Exclusive games
One of the biggest dilemmas for gamers when choosing between console or PC is related to games, specifically exclusive games. For example, Sony offers titles that can only be purchased for its video game consoles; although, very gradually, it is trying to enter the PC world and offer these exclusives also for computers. In the case of Microsoft, its Xbox One X games are also available for PC; Microsoft’s only restriction is that the games must be purchased from the online store.
Compatibility
Another advantage of consoles over PCs is that most of the new consoles allow you to play titles from previous editions. Except for the PS5, which does not allow you to play PlayStation 2 games, something you can do on Xbox X and S Series.
Gaming
Price and configuration
Buying a console is relatively cheaper than getting a PC, because you only need to get the device, which already comes with its own controller. The price increases when you buy games (something that also happens with the PC), and also when you buy other accessories such as new controllers, and so on. The PC, on the other hand, has to be purchased in parts. Not only the machine itself, but also the keyboard and mouse that are compatible for gamers.
In addition, setting up a console for gaming is not a big effort. It is enough to turn it on, add some very simple parameters and insert the game disc or run it from the online platform. On the other hand, the PC requires a series of knowledge to be able to assemble it, install the operating system and configure it.
Benefits of playing on PC
The price of games
It is true that setting up a computer for gaming can be more expensive than getting a console. However, the PC has an economic advantage over game consoles. When you play online on a console, you have to pay. Whereas, on the PC, playing online is totally free.
On the other hand, PC games are cheaper than games for game consoles, because the big console companies take a percentage of the sales of these titles, something that does not happen on computers; not to mention that online stores usually have sales and offers on these titles all the time.
Updates
The problem with consoles is that when a device becomes obsolete, it has to be ditched for the new model on the market. While many titles from previous consoles can still be played on the new one, a title from the new console cannot be played on the old one.
In the case of PCs, these can be upgraded at any time. It is possible to assemble a computer combining processors and graphic cards of the latest generation, which, moreover, arrive first to PCs than to consoles (such as NVIDIA or INTEL), and, eventually, to upgrade the cards if a new one is released.
Gameplay
The titles are adapted to the quality of the consoles on which they are played, while on the computer the quality of the games can be whatever the user wants. Thus, a game that can only be played in 4K on the console can be played in Full HD on the PC and the quality of the graphics is unbeatable.
The PC offers the advantage that you can play with any Xbox or PlayStation controller, and you can even mix between them in multiplayer mode. Something that certainly does not happen with game consoles, where you have to play with the console’s branded controller.
