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It's always a battle of what to choose: The PC or the game console. Which one is better? Well I can't honestly say what is the best product is since that falls on you, but I can leave you some points to think about.

The game consoles are great for a variety of reasons. There are a wide variety of games for consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3. It is true that PC's have a wide variety of games too, but the one thing that makes it easier for game consoles than PCs is trade. It is far more easier to lend a console game to a friend than it is for a PC game. PC games have certain specifications that have to be met or the game won't run. Unless you intimately know the hardware and software of your friend's computer, it's usually not worth lending games since there is the good chance the computer will reject it. It's good that game consoles have a set standard so hence all games should work on them unless you have a hardware failure or a damaged disc.

The cost of game systems tend to be cheaper than computers though with at our current rate of technology, this factor is rapidly becoming obsolete. This would be closer to the truth if you were buying gaming pcs, an extremely expensive computer made to play numerous hours of games. You could play a pc game on a computer, but the problem is home computers are usually made to handle lesser functions such as e-mail, word processing, music, etc. Playing pc games on a home computer will shorten it's lifespan unless the computer is built to handle frequent gaming.

One of the most annoying factors about PC's is software compatability. Unlike game consoles where you pop in the disk and it starts to play it, that isn't necessarily the case with games. Sometimes the game could be too old for the operating system you are using and thus you need to modify the system. I speak from personal experience in this area since I've attempted to play games from the Windows 98/2000 era on a Vista home premium machine. I actually had to configure the CD drive so that when the game was inserted, the Vista system would be operating as an older version of windows in order to run the program. It was a pain, but it worked. However, computers are random so this could never happen to you but you never know.

Upgrading your computer to play games is not as simple as it sounds. The installation of the hardware parts is not too bad, but there are other issues to worry about. All computers are not the same, so each computer has specific parts they will take. Any thing else on the computer and it won't run. Second, you have to research your computer and see whether it can be upgraded or not otherwise you run into the previously mentioned problem. Third, even if your computer can upgrade, sometimes it's better to buy a new computer since the odds are the amount you have to pay for parts equal to the price of a new computer. Unless you have built your computer from scratch, it's easier to buy a new computer to your specifications.

While it doesn't seem pc games are that attractive an option, there are some good things about playing on a pc. You get more privacy playing on a pc as opposed to a tv. people do get tired of watching a person play on a pc as opposed to a tv. In terms of upgrading, it is easier to keep up with current standards as opposed to gaming console standards. Looking at the PS3 blu-ray capabilities, sure it's nice but in order to enjoy that blu-ray quality, you would have to have a hi-def tv. Unless you are willing to drop about $3000, it's not worth keeping up with standards.

Hopefully that helps you out somewhat.

Learn more about this author, James Shimoda.
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