Gaming on PC vs. Gaming on consoles . . . a thoughtful and measured discussion.

But those games you have no choice but to play on the PC with m+kb. The original question was if you have both a PC and a Console why would you play on the PC. So as far as posture required for PC gaming, you could use a controller on the PC for any game that is also available on the console. The only games that would require a m+kb and thus hurt your back, are games you couldn’t play on the console anyway.

Um, you win?

YES!!!

Next up for pizzaddict: world hunger!

You know the best thing about PC vs Console wars these days…

How cheap both entries really can be. I mean sure you can blow 32k on a dream machine, Maximum PC loves showing those, and you stick your console on a 2k TV with a 2k receiver set-up but the reality is… you can pick up a modern console with a game and controller for like… 200 dollars. And that game, combined with any free game you can tolerate could last you for… a long time. If that’s not enough you can pick up, on PS4, last year’s games or older for sometimes as low as 12 dollars, and these often have add-ins for them.

On PC, easy, easy to pick up up gaming rig for around 500. It’s not going to win any benchmarks but bam, you’re playing and you might not even have to pay a single cent for a game. There’s free games… everywhere all the time.

Disability… probably got some neat accessories designed or being designed for that. Color blind… I see settings for that too.

It’s a great time to be playing games. But yeah I still choose PC over console at the moment, most of the time but not always.

If everyone I knew had a PS4 and Overcooked 2… telling yah.

Well there’s just games that feel right playing on PC, versus games that feel right playing on console. Now obviously that’s as YMMV as a thing can get, but right now I have the option through Game Pass of playing the original Bard’s Tale trilogy on either PC or Xbox. But I would never play that on Xbox because it would feel weird, crazy even. That game needs the glow of a monitor 12 inches from my face, bent over mouse and keyboard. Bard’s Tale is an experience, maaaaan, and you’ve got to live it!

How many people are responding to this thread using a console? I prefer pc games, though the issue of back stress is a factor. Of course I own consoles and play games on them (who doesn’t own both?), and I have gamepads for my pc (again, who doesn’t?), but the limited number of buttons on a controller versus the multitude of assignable keys on a keyboard keeps me on pc for all my strategy needs. Hell, I play all the Souls games on a pc with a wireless controller, plus a few other third person games, so I feel like my consoles (PS3, PS4) exist only for a few exclusives, and of course Madden.
This vs argument always seems pointless.

Already solved it… 🍕 for everyone!

Hmmm, that looked better on my phone. That is supposed to be a picture of a slice of pepperoni pizza.

Pizza for everyone!

I have an opposite problem - I can’t do extended gaming sessions with a pad in my hand on the couch, the ergonomics of it just wreck me. I can watch TV shows/movies for 2h if needed but with a pad in my hand I have to shuffle every 20 minutes. Gaming with a pad in my office chair is a bliss though, I can go for hours.

Not to beat a dead horse, but man, I cannot stand M&KB any more. It’s just terrible. I tried playing a PC game the other day and it’s so infuriating and frustrating hunting around pecking at keys, and trying to memorize whatever keybindings they came up with or even worse, remap everything. When designers pick M&KB as the primarily UI input it really makes them lazy with the controls. With a controller it’s sooooooo much easier, tighter, and better. I don’t want to play anything on M&KB anymore, the 80s are dead. Long live the controller!

My new criteria for Steam games is if they have good controller support. If not . . . no sale.

I started playing Control and opted to start with a controller even though I much prefer aiming with a mouse. Controller movement is so much better though, along with using abilities with controller button pressed.

If you can adjust to the steam controller, it’s the best of both worlds. Buttons and stick to move, touchpad to aim.

Bullshit. Almost every pc game uses a standard set of buttons (WASD, ctrl, space, enter, q, e, r, v, f, c, LMB, RMB, MMB). Controllers have absolutely no advantage in this regard because developers don’t follow a standardized scheme which means that A in some games is jump, in others evade and in some cases even attack.

To me this is even worse because controller schemes/layouts in most games can’t be reconfigured while keybinds in a lot of cases can be.

Yeah i’m still primarily a keyboard gamer with zero issues, gamepad for driving games mostly

Pushing back on this. PC game designers use a “standard” set of keys, which means the keys on the left hand side, figuring your mouse is on the right. But in no way is it standard. Plus, keys are far inferior to a control stick for analog movement, feedback, gradient input, etc.

I can only imagine you haven’t played many PC games beside shooters, because this statement is full of inaccuracies. Try playing a strategy game or a simulation or any other genre. It’s all different. Controller layouts allow and encourage designers to come up with innovative and efficient controls, UI, and much more. The large number of on/off keys on the keyboard are a huge design disadvantage and make developers/designers lazy. Try looking through the RDR2 PC thread and see the complaints about the controls. On consoles they are perfect.

Also, on consoles most shooters have a very standardized scheme for shooters. Usually it’s trigger to fire, A to interact (or jump), x to reload, Y to change weapons, etc. I can only assume you haven’t played many shooters on console.

Where are all these strategy and simulation games that have full controller support? MMOs? They’re few and far between and generally have to make major compromises. RTS as a genre is more or less unplayable with a controller.

You could easily say the same for shooters on PC. The basic controls are fairly standardized, and if you don’t like them you can remap to match your preferred game.

I say all this as someone who plays most games with a controller these days.

You assume too much, champ.

Oh boy. Are we doing the controller vs mouse & keyboard debate again?

Let’s tackle save anytime versus limited saves too.

Save anywhere vs. limited saves is a design choice regardless of platform.

The thing is, I understand mouse for clicking buttons on an interface. Or using the scroll wheel. Or a mouse with many buttons. It’s the keyboard I have a problem with. It’s just so, so, so bad for immersiveness and ease of use. It’s like driving a 70s beater instead of a modern day car with all its ergonomic and comfort improvements.

I can use a controller without looking at it, ever. Not the same with a keyboard, I am always looking down for the right key. My opinion is it’s terrible. Your opinion may vary. I just don’t understand! :)

Do you also look down at your keyboard when you type these posts?