Podtacular: The Unofficial Halo Universe Podcast

Podtacular Episode 201: Around The Ring – Computers Vs. Console Debate
for the week of August 23rd, 2009

Hosts: Lancelot, Lono, Facehead, TheCrazyCommie


Intro


Submissions

Nic

Hi. My names Nic. I’ve been following and listening to Podtacular for about a year and a half, and this is my first submission. Here is my opinion on console and computer gaming.

Console games are usually simpler, and more strait forward. This limits them to pretty much just Shooters, and arcade games, whereas PCs can run RPGs, RTSs, and most importantly, MMOs. This doesn’t mean that the PC is superior. Console games aren’t bigger, faster, or necessarily more popular, there just, ... well, better. I have yet to play an Xbox game that I didn’t like, (aside from GRAW 2), yet have found countless horrible PC games. It’s hard to browse through the Xbox, PS3, or Wii section of a gamestop without seeing something you can’t see yourself spending 15$ – 60$ on, but PCs have some of the worst games ever made.

There are of course cross platform games, like Half Life 2, Left 4 Dead, and Fallout 3. These are generally very good games. Probably because game publishers were willing to spend extra money to make them cross-platform.

In short, both PCs and consoles have there ups and downs. I personally prefer console games, most likely because I just have an xbox and a Mac.

Goodbye Podtacular. I look forward to submitting more often, and will see you later. For those interested, my Xbox Live gamerteag is HunterNic. I play Halo 3, Halo Wars, Half Life 2, Fallout 3, and Battlefield 1943. I also play WoW on my Mac, just to let yall know.

So long, and keep on fragging truckers the cut you off when you going 50. It’s annoying as hell.

SamerS600

Hey guys, it the shotty guy SamerS600 and I’m here for the Hardware debate. I’ll try to make sure I don’t sound like a fan boy.

I must say that consoles vs. computers is like try to decide between chocolate or candy.

With consoles you have a something that will last you at least 4 years and a PC lasts a 1 or two years since games need more and more resources.

I must say that PC/source games last a long time because of free user created content. For example, Portal. I downloaded so many maps for it off all these sites and made sure to beat them all. Soon after Portal: Still Alive came out on the Market Place. The demo just had two maps put together. That’s what tured me off of it. (And the price)

I’ll try to keep this short so list FTW

I got a $800 computer, some games still lag
I find much more Creativity for PC
Sitting next to someone multiplayer
And finally, PC games can look amazing!!!

Hope this is good and can convince Lance join us on the console side of the wall.
Shoutouts to Optox for being the best team doubles partner and Razza 119 for not kicking me out of the clna.

Funnyboy78

Ahhhhh…what a hard topic for me to try to discuss. At this moment I’m stuck in-between console and pc. Failbox and tower. Valve and bungie.tv and moniter. Keybord and controler.adws and left thumb-stick. Mouse and right thumb stick dr. Hax and the ban-hammer. Anyway I’m just gonna share my opinions on some of the topics listen for debate on this wonderful show. First off: user generated content.
The pc is an auto-matic win. The one game with a good sence of user creation onthe xbox is halo3. Portal has no UCC, nor does l4d, nor does half-life,nor does team fortress2. Now on the pc side, halflife has mods. MODS!! On the console, hl2 has….hl2. But on the pc, hl2 has: hl2 deathmatch.(wich I now have lance, but my pc’s memory went bad and I get a new pc in about 5days so no steam :(. ) hl2 ctf, synergy, and many many more(I left gmod out for a reason ;). So, the pc beats the console in the tearms of UCC. Now hardware!! The pc,once again, dominates the console in tearms of hardware. Consoles have a video card that can’t be changed out for a different one Pc’s have video cards, that can be taken out at any given time, and replaced by a different one. Xboxs only get a max of 120gb’s for harddrives. My pc harddrive is 725gb. Large difference mutch? Also may I point out that with a supported Nvidia graphics card, you can play your games in 3D! The pc, kills the console in hardware. Next I’m going to touch up on a subject of my own. Security. Xbox live can easily kill hackers and spammers, and crack down on law breakers. Pc’s…not so much. Torrent downloads, product key generators, wall hacks,aimbots,god mode…the list goes on. Dr. Hax is a good man, but even he can’t kill off all the hackers of the pc world. So, the console wins my custom catigory, security. I know I say wins, and I mean, they win in m opinion. I don’t want alot of constructive critisism jammed down my throught about that. Big thanx to Lancelot for getting my pc gaming Carreer in the right path. Add me on steam:funnyboy78. Don’t. Use. Hax. Fag. Lol. And remember. Whene were not eating,drinking, or pooping…were SPY CHECKING!!!

Chickenfoot089

Hey podtacular, chickenfoot here with an analysis. In console and comp wars I don’t know much , but I can say that pc wins in machinima but consoles win in security, and are easier to adapt to because you have controllers. But graphics can be better on PC and you have more hard drive space, and it has awesome games like spore and ehhhhhh…... Spore galactic adventures. But if your into RTS games PC wins. But FPS games and RPG’s are good for consoles. Anyways there’s my two cents in the matter, Keep on Hackin’ trucks. That could be the ATR signoff

razza 119

waaazzz up podtac i am back from my dodgey internet problems 2 say that consoles r better than computers on the point of controls. in my opinion consoles have more easy 2 use controls for shooters.
well that is all i have 2 say on this so shout outs 2 bboy 155, kid brent, mushu736,
funnyboy78, giffyboy92,
stall me please,
dust storm,
jp oliver, lancelot,
and glewis
keep on fraggin trucks which carry folding bikes, special assault rifles, super special asault rifles and red hot spatula launchers
razza out

PunxsatownyPhil

Hey guys, it’s PunxsatownyPhil, writin’ in yet again!

Here’s how I see it: Consoles and Computers both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Consoles are solely for gaming, so you can play plenty of good things and not clog up space for reports or papers. Okay, not a great example. But all their processing power is devoted to playing while computers need to support a large OS and such. Consoles run fast with hard drives a fraction of the size of a computer, and can cost less than a good gaming rig.

Computers have free, well not necessarily free (you don’t have to pay your provider AND Live) internet and online gaming. They maintain space for plenty of games, and Steam is cool. There is also more of an opportunity to mod (though many game makers don’t see that as a plus), and you have more buttons and keys to work with.

Sorry for the long submission, Keep on PunxsatownyPhraggin’ trucks!

Bai!

Pr1v4teChurch

Yo Podtac its Pr1v4teChurch here to talk about two things controls and Machinima Capabilities. First off i find that the controls for console games are smoother and are generally the same so its easier to play different games whilst the computer games theres different controls for two different Need for speeds.
Secondly for the machinima capabilities i think that the computers you only have to download certain programs while the consoles you have to buy hardware to install and is more of a hastle to deal with all of the cords. Thats all i have for now. Shout outs to:
Obsidianchao
Dusty
Lance
The king of sammiches,GLewis
ChuckieJ
Razza 119
Funnyboy78
RiceSnakRozz
Arbitaion
Fungus Oz
TheSlayerMayor
moose0030
C0NF1IC7
Optox
SamerS600 and
White light 1.
Keep on fraggin Little kids who keep on yelling “1v1 me” into there mic and if you beat them they want you to be in their clan.

This is Church signing off(and ps tell chickenfoot089 that im the other 100% Irish person in the forums).

Masterdeathcode

Hi, Masterdeathcode here submitting for the first time :)
So to get started:

Community capabilities: Well if we take XBL who is the most advanced console gaming community and steam the most advance pc gaming community, i would say XBL would win just for the community games,playdates,avatars.etc.

Machinima: While the consoles requires a capture card aswell as the pc or some program like Fraps, the console has barely any if not no film editing whileas the computer has tons of programs to edit filmclips.

Hardware: Now the hardware on the 360 only varies from 3 different types of xbox’s
the elite,arcade,and the normal. The pc has an enormous variety of computers, notebooks,laptops,desktops.etc.

Graphics: while the pc’s graphics evolve by just changing graphic card, the console doesn’t so you’ll only be happy for a year with those epic graphics until the pc becomes the next best graphics and you have to wait for the next-gen console.

Controls: The computers controls are simple; one key for each action. The console on the other hand leaves you pressing combinations which i am so bad at pressing.

User created content: No argues here, impossible for the console to win here, you cannot mod on the console!
Online: the xbox360 has a lot more secure servers and has a few family settings which are great if you have a family and you do not want you’re kids watching bad stuff.
verdict: Pc, expensive but it is the ultimate gaming maching, you can upgrade all the time, simply epic!
Masterdeathcode signing off :)

Old Regime

YAY!!!!Around the Ring is back :). And I would like to weigh in on this week’s debate. One of the biggest differences between PC and console gaming is the control settings. On a PC there are over 50 buttons alone, and many maneuvers require a combination as well. On an given controller, there is way less buttons to push. Thus my verdict for easiness of use on the PC vs. Console is CONSOLE. It seems like it would be more annoying than fun to use a PC layout than a controller.

It’s the master of Laser betrayals signing out: Old Regime

p.s. I’d like to hear from the horse’s mouth (Lancelot): What is Gary’s mod?

slowhandt71

hello its slowhandt71 here to give you my opinion on consoles VS computers…this is my first submmission so go easy on me _

graphics: the pc wins here. if you have a monster pc you can run with many different effects such as anti-alising, motion blur, and better lighting and shawdow effects. all of which the 360 or ps3 can run because of slow processing (compared to some pc’s or mac’s). example: CRYSIS lolZ

controls: the consoles win here. a controller is way more fluid than any keyboard or mouse. also the controller has one more advantage over the keyboard…you can sit on the couch and play!

online capabilites: its a definate tie lol. the consoles have xbox live (which is awesome) and the pc has steam (which is equally awesome). steam makes online just as fun as live. with friends lists and achivements.

games: well its also a tie. consoles got halo and gears. pc has L4D and Half-life 2 (both better on pc). and both have games such as COD4 :D

final: i love them both for different reasons. but if i had a monster pc (which i dont lolZ) id probley favoure the pc…...lolZ

well this as been my first post of hopefully many. (BTW half-life 2 is better than halo 1 and 2 on pc _)
KEEP ON FRAGIN TRUCKS!!

jammin57CP

Hey hows it goin guys.My opinion of consoles vss. pc is that pcs are better for online and console are better for shooters and computers for rpgs and rts’s, but the down side to pcs are that for some game you need very good computers,and with consoles live costs money (x-box anyway) and with a pc its mostly free.Also with a pc if something goes wrong and your not to tech savy it can be difficult to fix.Anyway shout out to Lancelot,Glewis,Dustorm,Death666,and guest or guests this week.And DON’T forget to get to zee Choppa!!!

moose0030

Hey, y’all Podtacularians. This is moose0030. First off it’s great to see Around the Ring back on the Podcast Rotation. I’ll try and make this as easy to read.

Community Capabilities
Both the PC and the Consoles have the same potential to have strong communities. Doesn’t matter what you’re on a community can be just as good with a PC game as a console game or both like Podtacular.
Winner: Both? None?
Machinima
Machinimas for the Consoles require you to have some type of capture card while on a PC correct me if I’m wrong you could use mods more easily and use just programs on your PC to create a Machinima.
Winner: PC
Hardware
The capabilities for better performance is definitely the PC but another factor is price would pay $2000 for a PC to run a game that a console could run for just $200-400. The PC can be more powerful but “with greater power comes greater” … cash. But technically the PC is more capable.
Winner: Tie
Audio
Both can have the same quality it just depends on how you set up your devices.
Winner: Tie
Graphics
Like above with the power for price it depends on how much you’re going to pay for a PC to the $300 consoles.
Winner: Tie
Controls
For me the controls depend on w you play the most. If I play on the PC and it gives me a choice to use a 360 controller I will. The one thing that hurts the PC is all of the peripherals the system has. Flight Stick, Racing Wheel, and a regular game controller. The consoles also have things like the racing wheel and band instruments but I think the 360 controller can be used for a more variety of games than a mouse and keyboard. Personal Preference in the end wins it.
Winner: Consoles
User Content
User created content has been in the PC world for awhile with mods and map editors but has been recently injected into console games like Halo 3 and Little Big Planet. The quality of the content depends on the skill and ease of the application. Which in Halo and LBP are apparently easy to use but hard to master. There are hundreds if not thousands of great Halo maps but there are also many terrible maps and stuff. PC created content ,I think, is more leaned to creating mods which can be pretty interesting like Fallout 3 with light sabers=awesome!!! In the end its code versus actual use of the content creator.
Winner: Tie
Online Experience
The online experience in both the PC and the consoles varies depending on the game. I think that the online experience on a PC would be better but I do not know because I would hope that people that could spend 1000-2000 on a gaming PC would be a little more mature than the tweens that ask mommy and daddy for a console. (BTW that’s how I got my consoles) But really you can’t say that the consoles definitely have a better online experience. The biggest difference is that each console has a sole online service well except Nintendo while PC’s can have many online services like Steam or Live. The last factor that comes into this is that if your friends have an Xbox you can talk to them or just go join a party and just sit there while if you have a PC you have to use Skype or some other program and for that the console wins this round
Winner: Consoles

PC Console
Community T T
Hardware T T
Machinima W L
Audio T T
Graphics T T
Controls L W
User Content T T
Online Exp. L W
In the end the winner is the consoles the combination of affordability and performance and ease of use gives the edge to the console over the PC.
BTW I do not game on the PC to often a love my 360 so therefore if some of my facts are incorrect please correct me. There you have it my 646 word review . Hahhaha whovever has to read must be so tired of talking. Take a 5 sec break now. Yah that’s it. So keep on fraggin’ she because she sells seashells by the sea shore(x2)

ODST EJY

Hey Lance and other guests! I personally think consoles are better because of the controls for FPSs. It feels better pressing the right trigger than pressing the “z” key. I like the fact that they are simple and inexpensive where as a gaming PC could cost up to three-thousand dollars. I also like how consoles don’t slow up my computer. When I install a game on my computer, because it’s not a gaming PC, it slows it down. Although, I do agree PCs are great for RTSs. I love Halo Wars, but it is kind of a fail RTS. Thanks Guys! Keep on fraggin the hosts on the 200th episode, because they didn’t play Ads voicemail. :(

Nemisie

Hey there everybody in the Podtacular World.

Do not read out loud—>( Podcast Reader note: I apologize for the length of this submission.)

I submit this argument of the great Computer VS Console Debate.

Topic #1(community capabilities)
The computer in my opinion wins this fight because of the multiple application that can be downloaded exclusively for gaming. examples: Steam, Ventrilo X-Fire excedra. These Allow players to join severs,chat,and speak to each other even if they aren’t on the same sever. Also these applications use a small amount of bandwidth which allow for better game performance. Where as the the console, (from what I have experienced) you can only see what game your friend is playing and join the game server they’re playing on making it fairly limited in what its capable of doing.

Topic #2 (Machinima’s)
I am fairly split down the middle with this subject. The capabilities of a computer and what you can manipulate and what you control is far superior to the console. Platforms for Machinma such as Garry’s Mod is an easy tool for any machinma maker. The downside of using the computer is if you don’t have the right capturing device the quality of the video can be horrible and can really throw off the tone of the machinma. Making veiwers not willing to pay attention to the story of a good machinma. This is where the console comes in. What it lacks in controlling the machinma set, it makes up in video quality. So personally I think that if you use halo 3 forge as a platform for your machinma, you’ll have a good combination of both quality and control.

Topic 3 (Hardware,Audio,and Graphics)
As previously stated the quality of a console is better than the your out-of the-box computer but if a your a hardcore computer fan than there are many upgrades for both video and audio that even the playing field of the Graphic/Audio battle. But these upgrades cost a pretty penny making the console a better out-of-the-box gaming platform with great Graphics and Audio.

Topic 4 (Overall)
In my opinion computer and consoles are for two different type of gamers. Computers,for the most part, are for the gamer who enjoys spending time learning the controls and learning the mechanics of the game. The console, for the most part, are for the gamers who enjoys a instant action, instant entertainment,and likes games where the controls are instinctual and are easy to learn.

Thanks for letting my opinion be heard and Keep on fraggin trucks, which are being driven be purple alpacas, who delivers the anus armor to the infamous watch stealer G-Lewis.