PC Gaming Is Superior to Console Gaming

Rebuttals1. Console Exclusive Titles PC also has a wealth of exclusive AAA titles in many genres of game. I do not think that exclusive titles are a key factor in determining which method of gaming is better. Since both PC and Console have exclusive titles I would say this point is moot lest we let the debate devolve into which has better exclusive titles which is another debate entirely. That being said, I already addressed this as well in my previous arguments by way of emulators. Console exclusive titles are not truly exclusive as they can be emulated on PC. Therefore, PC exclusive titles cannot be played on consoles but console exclusive titles can be played on PC. This makes PC better in this regard. 2. Equal Hardware = Equal Playing FieldMy opponent falsely assumes that consoles are all equal in their online gaming experience in regards to performance. This simply isn't true. Console gamers can suffer from a lack of similar equipment as well. For example, the Xbox 360 originally came out in 2005 and since then has had multiple processor upgrades [1]. It has had 8 in total. This means that a person who has an Xbox 360 from 2005 has a different (and less powerful) processor than someone who has a new one from 2014. Furthermore, many PC games cap their frame rates in order to prevent people from having distinct frame rate advantages. While people can still fall below the frame rate cap this can happen on consoles as well. This is called lag and many online players on consoles suffer from this from time to time as well. 3. Hackers My opponent wrongly implies that there are not bots and hackers during online play on console games. This is simply not the case. In fact, PC is more optimized to deal with hackers and bots due to the ease of access and use of PC game files and networks. I would argue that consoles are less equipped to deal with bots and hackers than PC networks. If you log into older titles such as Call of Duty: World at War or Grand Theft Auto IV you will find the networks completely overrun with hackers, modders and bots [2]. Aim bots are used in all manner of newer titles as well on console. It is actually more difficult to detect a bot on console than it is on PC due to the coding restraints. Therefore, consoles do not have the perceived advantage in regards to hacking over PC and in fact may be at a disadvantage.4. More SocialPC gaming is plenty social. MMORPGs are some of the most popular games in the last decade and are exclusively on PC are some of the most social games ever made. Programs like TeamSpeak and Hamachi have been designed to make PC gamers very social in that you can talk to multiple people at once and join into the same game. While people can come and pick up a controller and play on your console you are limited to the traditional 4 people per console which limits the sociability of the game. Even if you bump up the limit to the size of your living room (lets say you can fit 10 people in around the TV to play) it is still much smaller than the social potential of the Internet. People in MMORPGs partake in 30 player raids. A typical online game of Planetside 2 or Red Orchestra 2 can have 30 players or more. At the very least PC is just as social as console but I would argue that it has the potential to be more social. Most PC games have the option to type or voice chat while in game while consoles only host voice chat for base users. In person social interactions are limited to four people. Though PC users would need to bring their own laptops to play with another person in person LAN (Local Access Network) can host far more than four people per game during a session. Therefore, PC is just as, if not more, social than console.5. Hassle-freeThis only becomes an issue for uneducated people in regards to their PC. Most PC gamers know the limits of their system just as a console gamer knows that their Xbox 360 cannot run a PS4 game. There are certain limitations that people must know about before purchasing a gaming system and continue to know while maintaining it. The same situation could happen to the owner of an Xbox One who buys an Xbox 360 game for the system only to find that Xbox One does not run Xbox 360 games. This person can just as easily fall prey to this hassle as a PC gamer out of ignorance and be denied a return. Game return policies have no bearing on the system in question. Therefore, consoles have similar constraints that can lead to the same hassles as PC if the people are ignorant to such constraints. 6. StigmaMy opponent uses a highly satirical TV show as his sole example for PC gaming being a stigma. The show in question, South Park, also has an episode stigmatizing console gaming via an episode about the Okama Game Sphere [4]. In this regard South Park equally stigmatizes PC and console gaming. That example aside there is no prevalent social stigma surrounding PC gaming and such is only a matter of perspective. Those who prefer PC gaming believe that console gaming is a stigma [3]. It is all perception. 7. Health Benefits and Wider Audience I will concede that fitness games are unique to consoles. However, the technology is not as it merely runs of webcam technology meaning that active health games could be ported to PC with ease. Also, this again falls into the category of comparing games and game genres rather than system and platform.As for the wider audience I have to disagree. In a recent census report it was found that PC ownership in people ages 15-34 was 92.1% [4]. I highly doubt that 92% of people in this age group own a game console. PC gaming has a MUCH greater potential audience as 92% of people already own the system on which to play games. All they have to do is buy a few which they can do directly from their PC. Thus PC gaming can reach a far greater audience than console gaming right from the get go.And since most people already have a PC they don't have to invest in a console which saves them $300-500 which makes PC gaming a much greater value as most people will just have to purchase games. Or not. Many PC games are free or extremely cheap. I have successfully countered my opponents arguments and my arguments still stand. Therefore, with my opponent's arguments rebutted it leaves PC gaming as the superior method to game. Thank you. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org...[2] http://www.gamespot.com...[3] http://i.imgur.com...[4] http://www.census.gov...