It has been an ongoing battle in recent times about who is better — PC gamers or console gamers. And now, mobile gaming has been added to the list.
We’ve all seen memes depicting how advanced and geeky PC gamers are or how casual and non-competitive console gamers are, or how mobile gamers are amateur mobile gamers.
In this post, we break down all barriers separating these three gaming genres and help you decide what’s best for you.
Selecting which platform you want to game on can seem intimidating, but it’s simple. There are several factors which can influence what platform you play on.
Let’s take a look into what separates these three genres of gaming.
Also read: Is it worth becoming a Pro Gamer in India?
PC Gaming
Perhaps the most common and oldest form of gaming ever, PC gaming, has been around as long as games have been. Not to mention the first video games were made for the PCs.
According to Intel, out of the 1.8 billion gamers worldwide, 1.2 billion are PC gamers.
Why is PC gaming so widespread?
Well, to begin with, it offers unparalleled flexibility. Are you going too high on the budget? Perhaps get some cheaper parts. Want to make your PC truly your own? Throw in those RGB Fans and light strips. Even motherboards and RAMs have RGB lights built into them nowadays.
Building your PC can be a very satisfying experience. Besides, you can upgrade a specific part whenever you want — a luxury console gamers can only dream of.
PC gaming offers you the most bang for your buck
Chances are you already have an old PC lying around your house. All you need to do is swap out some parts, and you’re ready to go. Unlike a console, you’re not hogging up the TV, so your family’s entertainment time goes undisturbed.
PC gaming also offers you the most bang for your buck regarding performance. PC parts usually last longer than entire generations of consoles, and you get better graphics and better framerates.
While consoles have been working hard to reach that 60FPS+ mark on a 4k or even a 1080p resolution, PCs have done that quite some time ago.
With new higher refresh rate monitors (120Hz and 144Hz), PC gaming has reached the next level of immersion. And speaking of immersion, PC gaming is the way to go if you’re looking for VR gaming too.
PC has better peripheral accessories
On the hardware side of things, the number of PC peripherals available for gaming will blow your mind away. Steering wheels, gamepads, joysticks, don’t even get me started on the keyboards and mice.
While this may be more of a personal preference, a keyboard and mouse offer much better reaction time and accuracy than a standard console controller.
PC offers a broader range of gaming titles
PCs offer a gaming catalogue which,h frankly saying, leaves everything else behind. There are hundreds of thousands of PC games released every year. Consoles don’t even come close.
PC gaming also has platforms such as STEAM to offer. Some competitive eSports titles are available if you want to get into professional gaming. Besides, games are just way cheaper as compared to consoles. Also, you don’t have to pay to play multiplayer.
Beyond gaming, PCs have a lot more to offer. Coding, learning, entertainment, development, browsing, and more –name one thing you can’t do on a PC.
Also read: The rise of eSports in India
Console Gaming
Ah, the good old days when we were glued to our CRT TVs playing Mario and Contra all day. If you want a complete entertainment system that lets you play multiplayer games for when your friends come over, consoles have your back.
Console gaming has been synonymous with entertainment systems and TVs for decades now. The Nintendo GameCube or the PlayStation y provide numerous functions apart from just playing games.
Consoles have their exclusive games and their hardware. However, console hardware gets outdated pretty quickly as compared to PC hardware. Consoles also have slightly poor quality graphics than the PC, and you might bump into some performance issues.
Games are expensive but exclusive too
Buying games on consoles is comparatively more expensive than buying them for PCs or mobile. In a few instances, you might even pay extra to play multiplayer. Not to mention all the disappointment as you cannot modify the games.
But it’s not all darkness. Consoles also have some great exclusives to offer, e.g. The Last of Us, the God of War franchise and the recently released Spiderman are some mind-blowing games you can only get on consoles. Besides, nothing equals the joy of playing FIFA on a big, beautiful screen.
Most consoles also offer features like Netflix and YouTube built-in along with a native web browser, effectively turning your ordinary TV into something of a ‘smart’ TV. You might also get the option to play Blu-ray discs as well.
Overall, consoles are the way to go if you want to have a good time playing games and don’t want to stress about the technicalities and hitting the 60 FPS mark.
You will get a satisfying gaming experience and an extension to your existing TV that we bet you’ll like.
Also read: FIFA 19: Pre-order, How to get Early Access and How much does it cost?
Mobile Gaming
Mobile gaming is the most readily available and cheapest way to play games. Most of the popular titles are available free of cost.
Besides, most major gaming titles from PC and console are now being ported to mobile versions, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, Minecraft, FIFA and even PUBG; all these games are available on your smartphone right now.
Most smartphones have the horsepower to run almost all the top mobile games. The good part about these games is that they are not necessarily competitive.
You can play them how you like, from a casual 5-minute match to intense sessions lasting 2-3 hours. Multiple events hosted for PUBG mobile in India offer cash prizes as high as INR 2000 for winning a match.
Indian gaming startup GamingMonk has an exclusive mobile gaming league covering top mobile games like Clash Royale, PUBG, Asphalt and more.
Companies like Razer have also launched new gaming smartphones on the market. These phones pack quite a punch performance-wise and have high refresh rate screens that entirely change gaming on a smartphone.
Many gamepads and smartphone gaming accessories are available right now, and the best part about them is that they’re dirt cheap.
Mobile gaming can be a pretty good option if you want to start in gaming or eSports and don’t want to spend any money initially.
Mobile gaming is in its infancy and indeed shows a lot of promise as the technological advances in the world of smartphone sales are unprecedented.
Also read: Understanding and Utilizing WoW Classic Gold
Which one should you choose?
What platform you should choose is governed by several factors and,d more importantly, personal preference. Here are some key points that you should keep in mind though
- Overall budget
- Long-term usability
- Whether or not you’re looking to get into professional gaming
- Whether or not you’d like to be a streamer (Twitch/YouTube)
- Your current attitude towards gaming in general
Happy fragging!
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