This is a simple question for you PC gamers, what would your argument be for PC gaming to an open but skeptical console gamer? Wish I could make this post longer but that's about it.

If you're not a computer geek and you wonder about PC gaming, it's a bit harder to manage than a console. If you want to PC game on a laptop, it's even a little harder because you'll have to deal with your OEM more often if problems come up. The best benefits of PC gaming is modding games and being able to upgrade components. You'll also spend less on games if you join Steam.

Are you looking for someone to tell you to ditch your consoles and buy a better PC?

Well. I'll say this, I like console gaming better, but consoles are changing to be more like PCs. Glitches, patches, updates, more DRM. That's not good. On top of that digital games cost far less on PCs than they do on consoles.

And if you're worried about trying to build your own PC, I'd wait to see how much the Steambox costs before you give it anymore thought.

I was never a PC gamer until a year or so ago. The discovery of Steam really changed everything for me. I had a decent graphics card installed on my desktop by a friend, and then a few months ago I purchased a really nice laptop for under $1000 (Canadian). I can play pretty much all modern games on respectable graphics settings and I can even hook my laptop up to my plasma TV for a great picture. I've got an Xbox 360 controller and it's almost like I have a console to some extent. I am not a computer geek at all, I just like the variety of games that the PC offers. PC gaming has sort of a stigma attached to it where people believe that you need a fair amount of computer knowledge to have a good time. I have very little computer knowledge and I love to play PC games.

I can't stand PC elitists that claim PC gaming is infinitely superb to console gaming though. It isn't. It has both downsides and upsides to console gaming. But there are a lot of things to like about it.

There are thousands of great games available on a PC, the hardware isn't 7/8 years old like this gens consoles so graphics and performance can easily be better than a console, great sales on services like Steam and GamersGate mean that timing it right you can get even the best games for 75% off, and it can be portable if you have a gaming laptop. Not to mention you also use it for everything else in your life - just more convenient. It's the only platform where MMORPG's can really exist at their best, and there are plenty of great models you can choose from. It's also the most convenient platform for keyboard and mouse controls which opens up a lot more possibilities in the game you can play, and if you don't want to you just stick your controller in - many of which are of course usable.

Additionally, I often hear arguments about how PC gaming is so much more expensive. I have about 30 games on Steam and I have not paid more than $5 for any of them. Just off the top of my head, that includes Left4Dead, Portal, Batman Arkham Asylum, the Half-Life games, the Hitman games, KOTOR, a ton of indie games, and lots more.

@Gamesake
I completely agree that consoles should stop trying to edge in on PC territory. Consoles should focus on the things that PCs do not do well. Consoles that are more like PCs are just going to lead more people away from consoles and towards... actual PCs.

I paid $500 for my gaming PC, and it can run anything on the market. How much was PS3 at launch? Same pricing? Now, for me to upgrade, it would cost me roughly $100 for a better CPU and $100 for an additional video card (currently I use crossfire with two cheap cards to get good performance). $700 oughta get me through the next generation, and how many times did a bigger PS3/Xbox360 model come out?

Alright, let me list some of the positives;

• Ridiculous deals (Steam, Green Man Gaming, etc.)
• If you get a good graphics card and a decent monitor, you can play games in glorious 1080p.
• Access to tons of indie games
• Modding
• The entire meta-genre of MMO games

I want to be clear and say that I'm not holding PC gaming as something above console gaming. I can see the advantages of playing a game on consoles there are a slew of annoyances that only reside in the realm of PC gaming.

It's an open platform.

I don't know what else needs to be said.

Usually when people make that point they're not talking about the price of games (Which are much cheaper than console games in most cases); they're just talking about the price of getting a good gaming PC. To be honest though, if you buy one of the best gaming PC's available now you can bet that even the PS4/Xbox720 wont end up being that powerful when they come out. So unless you're willing to wait another 8 years for another console generation then you can bet that PC wont be replaced by any console anytime soon.

I don't think people who complain about that care one bit about the graphical power of their system. My problem with PC games is the longevity of the platform. Console regularly last 4-6 years before they're replaced by the next generation. PCs are technically out of date by the time they hit store shelves, with a year or two, will no longer be able to run some of the latest releases. I got a Mid-level gaming PC that wasn't that old, and there were games it couldn't run within the year, not even on the lowest settings. It's on it's 5th year, and there are indie games it can't run now. I'm seriously considering getting a new PC, but another Mid-Level PC would cost me $600 USD (admittedly, that's far cheaper than my last PC was 5 years ago, but it's still more than I'd like to spend). Meanwhile, the last generation of consoles are on their 7th or 8th years, and they're still likely to get more support for at least a year after the next consoles are out. I simply don't want to have to upgrade so frequently, just to play some freakin' video games. It's not worth it. Not while I have other options.

Cost. It's cheaper, if you shop smart.
Say you buy a console for...$300. Say the average price you pay for a game is...$45.
Say you build a PC for $500. Pay an average of $15 for the same games.
Console plus one game is $345
PC plus one game is $515.
Console plus six games is $570
PC plus six games is $590
Comes out pretty even, but who buys just six games? My Steam Library alone has 83 games, and I believe the most expensive game I bought was Torchlight 2 for $10 on sale. And I have stuff like New Vegas, Dirt 3, Arkham City, Human Revolution, all bought for less than ten dollars. This is just counting Steam. On other platforms like Origin or Green Man Gaming, I have stuff like Battlefield 3 ($16), Dragon Age Origins and 2 ($10 altogether), Dead Space 1 and 2 ($10 again).
For PC gaming, you pay more for the hardware (which is also more capable, you don't see consoles running in 1080p with all these nice effects like AA and stuff) but much less for the games.

...a lot more people than those who buy 83+ games.

And the price of these games was at most $10, most were bought in bundles where I ended up paying a pittance for each game

Cheap or not...you're talking from a collector's or hardcore gamer point of view. Most people wouldn't even have an interest in that many games.

Really, I'm just surprised you'd talk as if most people have a lot of games.

I dunno, it's pretty reasonable to have a ton of games on Steam. The main reason that people have so many games on Steam to begin with is because of the incredible deals. I have never bought a game that wasn't on sale. Every game on Steam goes on sale. It's just a matter of waiting a month or two for it to show up at a reduced price, because it certainly will. I have 34 unique games that I've amassed in the under 2 years that I've been a member on Steam. I don't even game that much; a couple hours here and there if I have time.

So then PC gaming is for the hardcore gamer with a ton of games, not the person who buys one or two.

I won't argue with that. I was complaining about his wording, is all.

Um. Why are people comparing Steam (a digital download service) with full-priced retail boxes with console gaming.

Let's make this game more interesting.

PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Plus.

Say you buy the console for $300. PlayStation Plus for one year is, what, $AU70? So, $370. And that includes something like 24 free games through the year. That would be enough for many people, but let's be generous and say there are four games that you really want to play that aren't Plus, and you pay $AU60 for each of those off the PSN.

So $610

Now gaming PC at $500 and 28 (24+4) games at an average price of $15

$920

Same number of games.

PS3 wins. Effortlessly.

PC's are just way too hardcore for Bankai and yourself... Probably better off to just stick with the kasual konsole krowd I refer to them as the KKK.