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Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
That depends. :D

What I have noticed is that each avenue has their advantages. For example if you want to do offline coop and you don't have two Mac/PCs, then a console is your ticket if the game has offline coop which can be a big IF. ;) The other reason might be having a community of friends on the xbox network, but I'd argue that much of that can be accomplished for free via Steam or the game's built in MP abilities.

If you want to have more controls and varieties of input devices, more flexibility, then a desktop computer is the way to go especially if the game your playing has an active modding community. I can give you two examples of when a Mac/PC is better.

In ElderScrolls 3: Oblivion, there were TONS of mods that changed game play quality, changed the quests, and changed the A.I. Not all mods were great, but some of them improved the game significantly. My example would be things like the Saddle Bag on a horse that allowed you to have portable storage; a companion mod, which gave you company; if you hated the Main Quest, a mod that got rid of it, a mod called No Psychic Guards, which stopped guards from catching you in someone's house even if you were an expert sneaker.

The other example is Bioshock. I found this game much better on my Mac/PC because the controls in combat on the Xbox were cumbersome imo. For example when fighting the Big Daddy, he would throw stuff at you. It was extremely difficult to change your psi weapons so that you could use a telekenisis power to catch the item and then fling it back at him. In the PC version, because I was using a Nostromo controller, I could program it so that with one button click, I could change my PSI power on the fly and catch the item for the purpose of flinging it back at im.

Despite these advantages, I still find myself now and then purchasing games for my xbox just because I want to play it on my big tv. :)
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
PC all the way for me!

Mods, better graphics, more control options, free online play (for non-MMO games), choice of communication hardware and software, cheaper, built-in overlay (Steam).
I likes me PC! There's just a lot more going for it. I like consoles and there is nothing like Smash Bros Brawl on PC - but unless a game is console exclusive then I'll get it for PC.
 

JackAxe

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2004
1,535
0
In a cup of orange juice.
Despite these advantages, I still find myself now and then purchasing games for my xbox just because I want to play it on my big tv. :)


And what exactly is stopping you from plugging your PC into your big tv? ;)

NOTHING? :D

It's not like before, when TVs were TVs. Now days they're pretty much just monitors with built-in tuners.
 

dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,420
5,159
NYC
And what exactly is stopping you from plugging your PC into your big tv? ;)

NOTHING? :D

You don't have a wife, do you? :p

All kidding aside, I've thought about doing this, but the only way it'll get spousal approval is to find a way to hide the gaming rig somewhere. Once I buy a house this will get easier, but as a renter, you can't do the proper surgery to the room to do it cleanly (i.e. no visible wires).
 

TheShinyMac

macrumors 6502a
Apr 3, 2009
660
0
I am in the same situation sort of. My CoD 4 cd for xbox cracked, I lost access to my steam account with CoD4 and Cod2 which I got on sale for 4 dollars each, I am thinking about buying CoD 4 on the Mac App store with an Apple giftcard i recently got. I don't know why I'm just hesitant.
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
A consol is the one and only way to play games and its much cheaper too.

A Crysis-capable PC goes for £300 these days. (built one 2 years ago for £400)
A PS3 costs £250.
An Xbox costs £150.

Factor in games being cheaper on PC, no subscription to play online and the whole system doesn't need to be replaced whenever one piece breaks and that console is looking more expensive.
 

AlexM-1997

macrumors member
Dec 31, 2010
31
0
A Crysis-capable PC goes for £300 these days. (built one 2 years ago for £400)
A PS3 costs £250.
An Xbox costs £150.

Factor in games being cheaper on PC, no subscription to play online and the whole system doesn't need to be replaced whenever one piece breaks and that console is looking more expensive.

Ps3 has free online and with the xbox £30 for a years subscription and you can get free dlc's

and to the person who said to connect it to a tv sure you may have a cable but you will have to have the laptop in your hand whilst looking at the tv and limited to the length of the cable. you could get a wirless keyboard and some overated gaming mouse that costs around £50 alone but you could have got around 2 games or download them off the xbox live market place for around £12 (for mw2 o live market place)
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
Ps3 has free online and with the xbox £30 for a years subscription and you can get free dlc's

and to the person who said to connect it to a tv sure you may have a cable but you will have to have the laptop in your hand whilst looking at the tv and limited to the length of the cable. you could get a wirless keyboard and some overated gaming mouse that costs around £50 alone but you could have got around 2 games or download them off the xbox live market place for around £12 (for mw2 o live market place)

PC's have free DLC too. They also have mod support, user created content. AFAIK only UT3 on the PS3 has mod support.

Modern Warfare 2 isn't on XB Market Place and it certainly wouldn't be £12. MW1 is £20 (same price as Steam). It's dropped down to £9 in Steam sales in the past.
 

Mackilroy

macrumors 68040
Jun 29, 2006
3,921
585
Steam offers incredibly cheap sales (think five games for $30, or two games for $3, they vary wildly but you can get a ton of games for very little), and you'll always have access to those games, no matter how many times you switch computers.

And indeed, there are far more mods for the PC than there are for any console game.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
And what exactly is stopping you from plugging your PC into your big tv? ;)

NOTHING? :D

It's not like before, when TVs were TVs. Now days they're pretty much just monitors with built-in tuners.

Well then I'd have to sit there with my lap top on a table or in my lap. :p
 

JackAxe

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2004
1,535
0
In a cup of orange juice.
You don't have a wife, do you? :p

All kidding aside, I've thought about doing this, but the only way it'll get spousal approval is to find a way to hide the gaming rig somewhere. Once I buy a house this will get easier, but as a renter, you can't do the proper surgery to the room to do it cleanly (i.e. no visible wires).

I've been married since 96. :eek: If Huntn hadn't mentioned he was already playing the XBox on his TV, I would have not suggested it.

My wife doesn't mind about what I do with my PC, but when it comes to the TV, she has control. :)
 

JackAxe

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2004
1,535
0
In a cup of orange juice.
Well then I'd have to sit there with my lap top on a table or in my lap. :p

BUT!!!

You could always put it someplace close and situate your controls with longer cables and some games on the PC do support THE gamepad thing. :)

If I could game on my larger TV all the time though, I would just situate my G13 or my Nf2te, along with my mouse on a lap-tray. =O
 

Sol

macrumors 68000
Jan 14, 2003
1,564
6
Australia
Why make it an arbitrary choice? You can play on a console, PC and your phone. If it is the issue of a limited budget, play on your phone because software is much cheaper on that.
 

R94N

macrumors 68020
May 30, 2010
2,095
1
UK
Why not go with all three! Then you win ;) You could run a partitioned system and then something like a 360.
 

Bacong

macrumors 68030
Mar 7, 2009
2,607
1,109
Westland, Michigan
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iPhoneCollector said:
A consol is the one and only way to play games and its much cheaper too.

so wrong it's unbelievable.
 

statha

macrumors newbie
Feb 2, 2011
3
0
PS3 is the best for gaming, before I use Xbox360 but nowadays use new PS3, Better graphic and amazing features, Amazing enjoyment to play games in this console. Better sound effect and clarity result.
 
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