This topic has been debated and discussed to death, each side unshakable in their faith that their chosen platform is the best platform for gaming, but few take into consideration what is really important
People are different and so are their needs, everyone has their own way or choice in doing things, including gaming.
There are up sides and down sides to both categories of platforms, everyone here knows I play on both categories of platform and there are specific reasons for that.
Let's take a practical example like Ghost Recon Future Soldier, PS3 version vs PC Version
Ps3 Version, takes two minutes to install after inserting the disk (Some Game Data and Trophies etc)
After that the game starts (1080p Resolution and runs at 60 FPS)
PC Version, installs in 10 Minutes, requires me to update my GFX Drivers and has an issue starting up the first time due to Xfire being on.
After this the game launches at max resolution with max detail at my Laptops specified resolution
I spend 10 minutes tweaking graphics to turn off all the stuff that gives me a skull splitting headache and THEN I can start playing
For, me, with only 1 hour to play per day this has eaten away so much of that time that I can't help but feel that the console version is a better solution. This same situation happens quite often and can be much more complex, take BF3 Ps3 vs PC versions and consider what all of has to do to get the PC version installed and running in a stable manner.
SO time and ease of use is a major selling point for consoles.
Yes, LIVE and PSN can't compare to Steam, but when you have physical disk distribution of all the major titles on Steam on the console platform anyway, do you really miss it ? No Steam Updates for one thing, no messages telling you you have to redownload 5GB of Data to play the same game you were playing the night before (Game Cache Issues) etc
Barrier to entry is something else everyone needs to think about, when reading a viewpoint like the one quoted, stating that Consoles are really crap PC's you have to look at what the average home user will be spending to buy something better and keep it upgraded and on standard over 5 years.
The same GFX Card you bought 5 years back for your PC will not run a specific title, the same console you bought 5 years back will run the latest titles and will continue running them for the lifetime of the console system.
Cost of console versus mid range PC, 3k vs 5k +, the console will outlast the PC in terms of longevity every time.
DRM, I can say form personal experience that although the consoles are not as limited by DRM as the PC platform at this stage, they will be in future, LIVE Purchased DLC requiring sign in is just the first steps to making this category of platform eventually conform to the world wide trend of screwing the end user.
That said though, I don't mind signing in once to be able to play ALL my DLC for every title I happen to be loading up, in stark contrast to this are games like Diablo 3, where you can't even play SP without an always on connection
Sometimes it feels that PC Developers and Publishers are purposefully making the playing experience unbearably difficult for PAYING customers.
I recall having to download a Crack EXE for Gears of War one on PC to get my retail version to run on Vista as the retail version had a limitation on it that did not allow installation on 64 Bit Vista at the time, I got so frustrated I went out and bought the game on Console, inserted the disk and played the game
Or a game like Bioshock that had to have a CPU Timer Service installed and run on the first AMD 64 Bit CPU's as the game would not start up unless it could read that both CPU's were running the same timing.
How many end users were faced with this issue and simply did not know how to solve it?
A lot, compared to how many end users could not figure out which side of the disk to load into the tray of their consoles, which was the only issue a user faced when attempting to play the console version of the same title
I therefore think that to debate this topic we need to look not only at which platform offers the best value for money, but also which one offers the easiest, least frustrating experience to end users.
Then factor in all the contributing factors from 3rd party Developers and Publishers and ONLY THEN decide which platform works best for us as individuals.
