PC gaming is 'double the size of consoles'

17. @ psyfur.

Yeah, I know, but idiots bother me.

16. You don't have to spend thousands on a gaming pc though? Mine cost 600 4 years ago, I upgraded the graphics (wisely, that being the key) 2 years ago and the games still look and play better than the consoles. The key point is that you don't have to buy the most expensive (75 for my upgrade) and play with all settings maxed for it to look and play superior. It just takes some time and thought which seems to horrify to many people

15. Are we not forgetting the cost of a high spec Gaming rig, I used to have 2 cost in excess of £2500... consoles cost £200.00 and although are not quite as easy with a keyboard and a mouse to master are way better value for money, especially if you factor in the like of xbox live etc, an all round better experience and i have stopped wasting £468.00 in the latest gpu that will be current for the next 6 months then be worthless in a year... get a grip people PC gaming used to be the latest and greatest but consoles are far more portable and much more value for money...

14. @lovlid calm down dear it's only an article! ******

13. I used to be a PC gamer, but I got fed up with getting super excited about how gorgeous the next mega title was going to be, and then looking on the back of the box and discovering I'd have to be playing it at NASA to see the graphics at their peak or at least go out and spend a few hundred quid on upgrading my computer to play it at a reasonable level (For me this was the original Half-life, I was 16 and couldn't justify to my folks to go out and spend that amount of money on a PC me and my bro were supposed to be using predominantly for schoolwork, it took me 2 years of asking to get a tiny ram increase) - so instead I ended up playing it on the very lowest settings, juddering along at a terrible frame-rate, which killed the immersion (although being half-life it still kicked ***!).

At least on consoles the games are optimised for that system, whereas it seems on PC you have to optimise your system for the games by upgrading every 6 months - 1 year if you want to play the latest titles with all the bells and whistles (which are usually their selling points). Eventually you HAVE to upgrade or just buy old titles. Now I'm quite happy justifying to myself spending £200-300 on a console every 3-5 years which I think roughly equates to a new graphics card on a PC which is only a small part of the upgrade equation.

I also appreciate playing the first games released on a console and then seeing just how much the devs can squeeze out of it by the end of its life cycle which is far more interesting to observe, and no doubt more challenging for them to program than just ramping up the brute-force computing power required.

My final point in favour of consoles is multiplayer (at home) - Nothing on PC has ever come close to playing Mario Kart or Goldeneye after a few beers with 4 of you round the telly heckling each other (and hopefully someone passed out by your feet if it was a good night).

Finally I will concede, RTS on anything other than a PC = ****.

I think PC gamers are NOT more hardcore and the games don't necessarily have a steeper learning curve, they just spend more money on their rigs than console gamers and feel they have to justify this somehow. I can justify me saving that money in that I spent it all on the soundsystem and TV in my front room rather than the PC in my bedroom/study...Also aren't sofa's comfy?

12. Caimbuel. I meant a gaming advantage over an online opponent with an inferior pc, of course the higher the settings the better your own gaming experience. In my eyes the pc will always have the edge in terms of performance because of the upgradabillity, but if the piracy continues as it is now, then as a gaming platform the pc will become so unattractive to developers. I know piracy happens in consoles but no where near the levels within the pc gaming software. Pc gaming is, in my eyes far superior, but with no pc only games being developed (maybe in the future).

11. @ funkmaster. If you tired of all the upgrading then fair enough.

To be a little pedantic, your comment about the PS3 is not correct. They (original PS3 & Slim) are certainly not the same. The slim is less capable than the first PS3 as it is unable to playback PS1 & 2 games by way of backawrds compatability as it no longer has the PS2 emotion engine. less USB ports, also does not have capacative touch controls.

@ Delboy - how can you say there is no difference in having graphics settings at med/low or high....??? one looks like a poor console port or worse, the other looks far superior to consoles and provides an even more emmersive experience. I have all consoles and some games I have on both PC and console such as bioshock 1&2 , Mass Effect 1&2 the list goes on. In each instance the PC version is superior in every way.

10. @ Delboy - I agree That piracy is an issue for PC (but it is also a huge issue for Consoles - its just not as widely advertised). intrusive DRM is NOT the way forward cloud gaming will never work unless for turn based games or games that do not require much accuracy.

9. "PC gaming is great if you're a pirate"

Coz I don't know anybody with a chipped console.Prat.

They both have their advantages.Give me an FPS or an RTS on my computer any day.The rest I'll play on my consoles.

A console gamer calling a PC gamer a nerd? Stupid boy.

8. You’re absolutely correct, it’s a double edge sword. I really like having to upgrade, keeps me on my toes with all the new tech out.

With PC gaming you have to put the hours in, whether that be on the hardware side (money) or the steeper learning curve of the games or gaming controls (Civilisation/MS Flight Sim). It depends on what kind of gaming you’re into as well, arcade style (consoles) or realism (PC). Generally I think the more hours you put in the deeper the experience becomes, though I do love a bit of left 4 dead 2.

Let’s be honest, this is a personal preference debate that there isn’t a definitive answer to. That’s why it’s great to have all these different platforms doing well in the end (except smartphone gaming, rubbish!)

7. Sure PC gaming is huge ... but to be honest, I got tired of trying to keep up with the evolution of technology.

As soon as I walk out the door the a new graphics card or motherboard or CPU, there is already a newer and better on available.

Where as with a gaming console, that only comes around every couple of years ... sure there was the original PS3 (which I have) and then a new slim one came out - but they both the exactly the same thing ... play the same games with no need to upgrade my CPU or Memory or what ever.

6. I’m thinking about the look and feel of the gaming experience rather than the peripherals. There very is little advantage in gaming when having the graphics options on very high to medium to low (GPU/CPU/Memory difference). Also with consoles, can you not upgrade your joypads and headsets etc?

Within PC gaming it’s your choice, whatever budget you have to spend. I love the fact that I can over clock the components or upgrade to get more FPS (framerates per second) but this won't give a gaming advantage over a basis pc just my satisfaction/enjoyment really.

Yes, before anybody says. I’m a geek!

5. I disagree that PC gaming is more "fulfilling and rewarding". As a console gamer I know 100% that everyone I'm playing against has the same kit, so there are no advantadges to be had by having a better gfx card or mouse/keyboard, etc.

4. I would agree with psyfur, there is a huge problem with pirating within the pc software industry (not only gaming). Going forward, Like X-Box Live platform etc, Steam and Onlive will slowly make the physical DVD extinct and all games will need a constant internet connection. The PC gaming community is quite "set in its ways" in relation to DRM and constant connectivity but I think we need these solutions to make PC gaming as lucrative for the developers as other platforms and as a consequence more PC only gaming.

As a rule I think that pc gaming is a lot more fulfilling and rewarding than consoles, firstly you can tweak or mod your system with all sorts of hardware (GPU/CPU/SSD etc) whereas if you were to do this with consoles, I understand your breaking the law? Secondly when you have done the relevant work the games often look and play remarkably better.

Anyway, hold in there pc gaming!

3. Who cares..

In other news the world is round.

2. Nerd patrol rebranded themselves PC Gaming Alliance? Lol's

PC gaming is great if you're a pirate ;-)

1. So, basically, the PC Gaming Alliance (chuckle) is saying "look, we're not dead, lots of people play games on PC, it's just that no one ever talks about it in the press".

OK, and...?