Argue like its the 90s! PC Gaming vs Console Gaming

[BlueBMW]

I grew up a PC gamer.  At around age 6 I started playing video games.  I first played games on an Atari 800/810 and a 386 DOS PC.  I did not get a regular Nintendo until around 1992 and a Super Nintendo and Genesis until around 1994.  So basically I grew up playing PC games, and have always like PC gaming a bit better than console gaming.

Some reasons why I like PC gaming better than console gaming:

1. Graphics:  PC games always seemed to have sharper, more detailed graphics than most of their contemporary consoles
2. Sound: Give me a Sound Blaster 16 or give me death!
3. Controls: I personally thing the Mouse Keyboard input is the best out there!  FPS with a controller?  
4. Strategy games: PCs seem to be king of strategy games like Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic.  Console versions of such games just dont stack up

So what do you guys think?

Edit:
I should point that I do love console games too, so dont take this post the wrong way 

[HercTNT]

Graphics i'm divided on. some classic 16 bit games looked amazing compared to comparable games on the pc. Overall though the pc had the edge.
Sound once again i'm divided on. it depends on the time frame. Some early 90's pc games had pretty good sound, alot of them had basic sound. It was not until SB became the standard that everything improved.
Mouse and keyboard rule for every fps on the planet. gamepad rules for most platformers, its a toss up.
Pc hands down destroys any console for strategy games.

I was into classic and pc gaming at the same time so i got the best of both worlds overall.

[Tatsujin]

arcades and consoles, nothing else

PC = WC

[vestcoat]

PC gaming IS better, which is exactly why I prefer consoles. I had some brief bouts of PC gaming in the Nineties and it wasn't good: I pulled all-nighters playing Civilization, weeks of my life evaporated playing Might and Magic III and multi-player Quake, and, when I played my first online game (Graal), I logged forty hours a week for two months until I almost lost my job.

So, yeah - I've learned to stick to consoles, and old ones at that.

[BlueBMW]

I suppose I am biased as Strategy games are probably my favorite genre.

[HercTNT]

Not many people know of graal. i liked it better when everything looked like the zelda characters. its to bad he had to change it.

[vestcoat]

Haven't checked it out in a long time. I played it Winter '99-00.

[BlueBMW]

PC gaming IS better, which is exactly why I prefer consoles. I had some brief bouts of PC gaming in the Nineties and it wasn't good: I pulled all-nighters playing Civilization, weeks of my life evaporated playing Might and Magic III and multi-player Quake, and, when I played my first online game (Graal), I logged forty hours a week for two months until I almost lost my job.

So, yeah - I've learned to stick to consoles, and old ones at that.

Hahaha!

I know when I was in elementary school, I didn't have to get to school til almost 9am.  I'd wake up around 6 and play Civ for a few hours before school each day.

[HercTNT]

I suppose I am biased as Strategy games are probably my favorite genre.

nothing wrong with the, pc's shined with strategies.

Haven't checked it out in a long time. I played it Winter '99-00.

its still around, but looks nothing like the original

[Jibbajaba]

Much like Herc, I played both.  In the 90's, I had a NES, Genesis, and a 386 DOS machine.  Once VGA and SVGA became standard, top-tier PC games definitely had the edge graphics-wise over console games.  But one thing to remember is that here in the states we were playing our consoles on TVs using RF or composite.  A lot of my old games look much better now that I can see their full detail in RGB.

Sound-wise, again I'd give the edge to the PC.  I had, and still have, a Gravis Ultrasound.  This allowed me to play games like X-Wing using sound blaster emulation for sound effects, while simultaneously using Roland emulation for music.

As far as gameplay is concerned, it just totally depended on what kind of games you liked.  This is the reason that I can't say that one is better than the other.  The PC was AWESOME for simulation games, strategy games, FPSes, adventure games, and American-style RPGs.  To me, consoles were better for platformers, action games (like beat em ups and shooters), arcade ports, Japanese RPGs, etc. 

So my point is, how can any gamer live without both?

Chris

[HercTNT]

yea pretty much, and i will give you my address to send that gravis to me 

[BlueBMW]

yea pretty much, and i will give you my address to send that gravis to me 

No I want it! 

On the note of computer game music, I've been doing some recording.  The SB16 definitely wins out over the Rolands for this game.  Plus with SB you get digitized effects which are lost when using either Roland sound module

[HercTNT]

sound blaster did not make truly great sound until the awe32. What made SB so good was its industry standard compatability that was sorely needed in dos games. Its not that SB sound was bad, it wasn't, jut not great. Digital on the SB was pretty good, but MIDI was terrible.  That gravis on the other hand was light years beyond most other cards with the exception of commercial grade stuff.

(we don't need another midi is not actually sound, interface, bla bla bla whatever. other threads have been derailed by this. "midi sound" is what the industry referred to it as, and thats how people know how to refer to it.)

[Tatsujin]

I was the 100% arcade guy, so a PC was the absolute no-go for me. period

i rather still had an amiga and c64 around me than a pc.

no offense here

sure played some stuff on my friends pcs, but it could never appeal to me. my best memories still going to alley cat and captain cosmic..lol.. and some larry and indy jones stuff.

[BlueBMW]

I know for a long time we had this Ensoniq Soundscape card, which was supposed to be fantastic but had some bad compatibiliy issues, so it got dumped in favor of a SB16/AWE32.

Gravis Ultrasound is something I've heard and would love to get someday!

Lol tats   I'd lump C64 and Amigas in with PC gaming... they're personal computers are they not?