by Ashley Shankle

Created on: December 16, 2009

The debate over PC vs. console gaming has been going on for quite some time. Though both sides are heated and vehemently swear that their preference is the right one, the fact of the matter is that both platform types have their own benefits.

Console games have been the poster boys for the industry for years. Most people started out on consoles, so it is entirely understandable that so many people just feel that gaming feels better on a console than on a PC. It's a matter of familiarization and adjustment, and the fact of the matter is that the control schemes for PC games often confuse people who are not used to having to deal with both the keys and the mouse in something as fast-paced as games.

Controllers definitely have the advantage of being easier to use. The analog sticks, triggers, and buttons are plainly laid out. With PC games, you must get used to whether you use WASD or the arrow buttons, and must adjust to using those keys along with the mouse and any other control keys. In most games it is possible to bind keys, but for many console gamers the transition from streamlined control-schemes to those that force them to learn a whole customized control scheme is overwhelming.

Because of keyboard and mouse control schemes, the PC is several leagues above consoles in some genres. For instance, first-person shooters and real time strategy games are generally best on the PC, their native environment. This is because of the dynamic use of the keyboard and mouse to play, which many games allow to be customized to fit your play style. Not to mention the fact that a mouse gives much more control than an analog stick, which is the main benefit of playing first-person shooters on the PC as opposed to consoles.

Consoles are better for games that do not require precise control and micro management. If anyone who has played Starcraft on PC ever played the Nintendo 64 version, then they know exactly how big the difference is in control and play styles between the two platform types.

Another benefit that PC gaming has above that of its console brethren is the custom mod scene. There is a thriving and dedicated scene of mod programmers for many of the most popular PC games, which can greatly change the whole experience of a game. A very simple example of this would be map-making communities for real time strategy games or first-person shooters, though a far better example would be whole character model replacement in games like Oblivion.

Compatibility is an issue with

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