PC gaming is alive and well.
With so much attention being paid to consoles like the Xbox One and the PS4, it’s no wonder that people might be thinking that PC gaming is on the way out or that its heyday has passed. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth! PC gaming is alive and thriving and new games are released for PC every day. So what keeps people playing on a PC when the option to use a console is so popular? What are the games most worth looking at that are due out soon? Let’s take a look at the reasons why PC gaming is better than console gaming.
Anticipated Games
Let’s talk about the games first, because there are some really awesome looking releases coming out in 2016:
The Secret World
The Secret World online game takes everything we love about MMOs like creative and interactive story telling, surprises, fighting, solving problems, etc. and ditches the stuff we don’t like, such as having to level up or sticking to a certain class. This game is dystopian fiction that deals with modern day conspiracy theories as well as old school mythology and magic. It looks wicked cool and we can’t wait to play it.
Mirrors Edge Catalyst
Everybody who played the first Mirror’s Edge, a first person parkour game, loved it. The biggest complaint was that the game was too short–most players were able to beat it in just a few hours. It was starting to look like we might not get to continue our freerunning adventures but now, thanks to DICE, we get this awesome looking reboot, due out in February.
Street Fighter 5
Who doesn’t love Street Fighter? This new iteration of the classic game offers three new attack designs and each character has its own distinct fighting style and gimmick. You’ll get lots of play out of this game.
Why is PC Gaming So Great?
There are plenty of reasons to prefer gaming on PC to console gaming. Here are just a few of the reasons that people choose to game at their desks and in their headsets instead of on the couch:
Control
You have more control. Using a mouse and a keyboard offer you more accuracy than you’ll get from most console controllers. Plus, unlike console controllers, you can custom program “hot keys” into your keyboard to help speed up your game play and make controlling your character easier to do. Plus, there are specialized keyboards and mice for gamers if you want to go that route, whereas console gamers are pretty much limited to whichever controller the console comes with.
Better Graphics
The graphics tend to be better on PCs than they do on consoles. This is because you can keep updating your video card on your PC to give you the best picture while that option isn’t available on a console unless you know how to hack into it (which will void the warranty so if you mess up, you’re stuck). The graphics also look smoother on PC than on consoles because PC video cards are designed for scrolling and movement and quick refreshes. Console graphics often lag or are jaggy.
Customization
PCs are customizable. Piggy-backing off of being able to upgrade your video card as needed, PCs give you the freedom to upgrade the rest of your computer however you want, whenever you want. You can build your PC to be a game machine if that’s your prerogative. With a console you get what you get and you just have to live with that until the next release. Plus, you can easily hook your tower up to your television and sprawl on the couch with your keyboard and mouse just like you would a console controller.
Steam
Steam and Valve. Yes, Valve has started releasing some of its games for console and playing Portal 2 on XBox is a lot of fun. Steam however, is dragging its feet about joining the console revolution. There are rumors that players can now install steam on a console but it still works best and is designed for PC. The gaming library of Steam is vast and the games on there tend to be incredibly good. Remember Gone Home? That game was so well received the developers will be releasing console versions in 2016. Steam also lets you play and publish your own games, unlike consoles which have a strict vetting process.
The point is this: there are plenty of reasons to choose your PC over a console when it comes to gaming and there are lots of fantastic games being released to keep you at your desk.