Gaming is a fiercely competitive and fast growing industry. The global gaming market was recently valued at an incredible $162.32 billion US dollars and is expected to grow to $295.63 billion dollars in the next five years.
Games can be played on a variety of devices, from smartphones, handheld consoles such as the Nintendo Switch and larger consoles like the Xbox One, to desktop PCs and gaming laptops. There are many factors that influence what technology we use to play games, while the majority of successful games have been adapted so they can be played on a number of platforms – for example, online slots were typically enjoyed via PC, but providers like Draftkings have adapted them so they are fully functionable via mobile as well as you can see here https://casino.draftkings.com/online-slots
However, many games are best suited to computer screens and haven’t made the transition quite as well. The majority of people prefer to play shooter games using controllers on a console, suggesting it’s a tough market to master. Other factors to consider include cost, technical capabilities and graphics as well as game selection.
Both PC gaming and console gaming have their many benefits and drawbacks, before investing in a new gaming device or upgrading a current one, it is important to think about all of your options. Let’s breakdown some of the top considerations you should make when weighing up PC versus console gaming:
Pricing – consider the price of the device and all the games you will want to buy in the long run
Firstly, the price points between consoles and PC do vary significantly. Consoles come with standardized hardware meaning each has its own price that does not differ much, whereas gaming PCs are made up of a whole range of components and there is more flexibility in what level of performance you can choose.
Entry level and budget computers are not ideal for playing games and will not run newer or more demanding games. Nevertheless, they are a fine low cost option for players of online in-browser games that have low software and hardware requirements.
A typical gamer will be looking to purchase a mid or high-range computer that has superior performance and better graphics.
PCs aren’t your only option as gaming laptops are also widely available and have much better processing power than they once did. However, gamers on laptops are likely going to need to rely on an external graphics card, which is a large additional cost, and bandwidth limits will mean that the GPU is still not as good as that on a desktop computer.
Alternatively, you can look at purchasing a console. There are a great variety of console types, for instance is for more powerful games you should be looking at later models of the Xbox or PlayStation or a handheld console like the Nintendo Switch is lower priced and known for its selection of innovative fun games.
Consoles are definitely cheaper than gaming PCs, unless you are acquiring refurbished or very basic models. Consoles are also lower cost in terms of game purchasing in the longer term as most titles tend to be cheaper.
Backwards compatibility
While also related to price, backwards compatibility is also a whole other issue in itself to consider. There is nothing worse than buying a new system and realising that your favourite games that you played on your previous device are no longer compatible for playing.
This is where the PC is usually superior to consoles. A PCs library spans much further than the existence of certain consoles like the Nintendo, there are also in built compatibility modes and bug fixes.
You can use emulators on a PC too, these will emulate almost any game with the correct hardware requirements, even those played on older consoles like the PlayStation 3.
In terms of console backwards compatibility, the Xbox is probably one of the best in this arena. The Xbox One offers backwards compatibility of nearly all the big title Xbox 360 games.
However, on PlayStation, gamers that upgrade to a PlayStation 4 cannot play their old PS3 or PS2 games. Although if you pay to subscribe to PS Now, you can emulate some of your old favorite games.
Game selection and acquisition
This is probably the most important consideration of all for the most serious gamers and is often the reason why people have more than one device type. Game selection on both PC and console has widened greatly in the last few years.
Many games developers these days do produce games with consoles in mind. However, these days you will often find that console games are released to PC too around the same time, but in some it is obvious that the design priority was given to consoles.
On the other hand, PC gaming really has the advantage for certain types of games. For example online casino games like poker, slots and roulette are all made for computers, there is a huge selection of these types of games and they can be played without software downloads.
PC is also much better for those who enjoy MMO or MOBA gaming, they also tend to offer the best indie titles.
On balance, both PCs and consoles have their advantages for gamers. It really does come down to the types of games you most enjoy and the budget you have to spend.
