Console vs. PC vs. Cloud — Which Will Be The Best Gaming Experience?
I stare at my old PS2 console and look back at how much utility I derived from it. For many years it was the best consumer electronic product I owned, allowing me to play games, connect online and watch DVD. I had a sea of cables hooked up to it from my TV, and it never seemed enough. I was hooking it up to a receiver that was driving an external surround sound system to deliver the best audio. I also had a switch that connects an entertainment system next to the PS2, but I ended up using the PS2 more often.
Gaming consoles like the PS2 have aged quite well, but now it is time for a much needed upgrade. I out played NFS, GTA and Tekken and look to new titles that offer something new. Getting a new game console or building a gaming PC is the first thing that came to my mind. However, I am also considering the idea of playing games over the cloud. That makes perfect sense in the “Cloud Era”. It still seems like a far fetched idea, even though Google Stadia and the xCloud (beta) have launched gaming platforms over the Internet. There is still the question of reliability since you are playing a game over an Internet connection, and not locally like with a console.
Which system would offer the best gaming experience?
Let us analyze the systems to see which would offer the best experience at the moment and looking ahead. I intentionally did not include mobile (i.e. smartphone), or tablets/portables (e.g. iPad, Gameboy, Switch) among the gaming systems because it doesn’t utilize the same type of screen area (it is much smaller) that the three systems use. When discussing the cloud, smartphones can be used for gaming so they are still relevant to the discussion.
The Ideal Gaming System
Before we compare the three systems (console, PC, cloud), let us take a look at what makes an ideal gaming system. It is about having a high refresh rate monitor, a fast graphics card (GPU), powerful processor (CPU), plenty of RAM (DDRx memory), high-speed storage (SSD) and high-end motherboard with fast data paths and high performance chipsets. Let’s not forget the peripherals like headset, microphone and wireless keyboard and mouse or game controller pad.
Of the three systems, only the cloud requires a fast Internet connection during gameplay. A console and PC can download the game first, install it on a storage device and run the game locally. All the components that make for an ideal gaming system work together to deliver the best gaming experience in terms of performance. If there is weak link in the system, it can affect the overall performance.
There are also new gaming experiences that can be applicable across platforms. The devices are now available, but quite limited. VR (Virtual Reality) has long been a concept, but there are now games available on both PC and mobile platforms. Using the Oculus or Vive provide the UI/UX for these types of games. These can also be used on consoles and the cloud. Another gaming interface that builds on VR is AR (Augmented Reality). We still don’t see many titles using these features, so they are rather a niche than the overall mainstream when it comes to games. Thus, these will not be considered as a factor in the gaming systems. It will focus on the more general typical gameplay experience.
Consoles
The next-gen consoles, PS5 and the Xbox Series X, will offer GPU acceleration with ray tracing support from the AMD RDNA2 on a Zen 2 processor. This delivers faster graphics using a high speed data bus with high bandwidth memory. Ray tracing will provide a high level of realism when it comes to lighting on virtual objects. It will give the game a more realistic look when rendering, with depth and contrast. The average gamer, who doesn’t have discerning eyes, may not even notice it though. It is more noticeable to those who actually know how it works, but nonetheless it produces stunning imagery.
Once you load the game on a console after downloading, it is very much running in memory locally. It is further accelerated by the console’s sub-components like the main memory and storage speed. Additional features include haptic controllers like Sony PS5’s Dual-Sense and the Xbox Series X “Quick Resume” allows gamers to quickly switch between games they are playing. All components are local (including those who use disc), but playing other gamers requires a decent Internet connection to connect to the server.
Gaming PC
To game on a PC, you either have to buy a specific PC for gaming or build your own. The standard PC available in stores may not offer the best performance out of the box. Buying a standard PC is like getting the basics, which are the display, CPU, graphics, memory and storage. However, if you want the best performance it will require additional components as well as upgrades. A console provides those components already, but a standard PC does not.
An important consideration with gaming PCs is an efficient cooling system. While consoles have their own cooling system provided by the vendor, a PC does not since the vendor did not install the additional components. The only cooling system a standard PC has is the fan on the CPU. With a gaming PC, the system is pushed to its peak many times, thus producing more heat from the computer system’s components. It requires more processing, which stresses out the components to their peak performance per watt level. Installing a cooling system, either liquid or air cooled (even hybrid types) becomes essential.
Since a gaming PC is customizable, there are many different combinations available for gamers. What is important is that the components work together to improve performance. It is not always about buying the best and most powerful components when building a gaming PC. For example, most games only require single core performance so a multi-core CPU will not really help if you only play the typical game offerings. Gaming PC’s will also require an Internet connection (preferably wired ethernet, not wireless) in order to download games and play online.
The Cloud
This is the most intriguing because it sets itself apart from the console and PC. According to cloud gaming platforms like Google Stadia and Microsoft’s xCloud, you don’t need a dedicated device to play games. Like Netflix for movies, these platforms are the Netflix for games. Streaming games is a great idea, since it allows the user experience across multiple supported devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets, etc.). There is no more need to purchase a GPU or upgrade to more memory, all the components will be available on the cloud. If ever an upgrade is needed, it can be done virtually on the fly.
Mobile gaming statistics are a primary mover of pushing gaming systems to the cloud. Games like League of Legends mobile version can be played online, but still requires an installation on the device. What cloud gaming systems offer is no installation and no additional hardware. Everything the gamer needs is already installed from the cloud. It can save costs tremendously and brings on-demand gaming services to a larger market, since it can be used on different types of devices. Smartphones are being used more often among consumers and that is ideal for cloud gaming.
Unfortunately, at the moment most games that can be streamed from the cloud will not support advanced features. They work best on consoles or gaming PC due to the components. If the cloud provider does not provide these components, it will not work. Another point is the layer of abstraction the cloud provides does not translate everything to native hardware features that can be found with consoles and gaming PCs. If your display is only 720p, you won’t get the benefits of the game’s 4K resolution feature. Certain graphics also render best with a locally installed GPU.
The most important requirement for gaming from the cloud, is a fast Internet connection. I don’t feel confident about using these platforms on slow Internet connections that are barely 1 Mbps due to lag. Looking at the average Internet speed, it should work fine above 10 Mbps (per Google Stadia) for download speed and for 4K resolution the requirement is a minimum of 35 Mbps. This won’t be good for areas where the fastest speed they can attain is 4 Mbps for downloads. Using tools like speedtest can give gamers an idea if their Internet connection is fast enough to support cloud gaming. The good news is that data speeds continue to increase with Gigabit Internet, WiFi 6 and 5G. It is just a matter of where and when it is available to consumers.
Synopsis
The best overall system for price value and performance, would be the console. It provides everything needed to get up and running, with the specifications required. It also offers good performance and great value for the money. Gamers who are not particular about the specifications, should consider a console like the PS5 or Xbox Series X. This is for the average gamer who plays more for fun, without too much emphasis on the technical specifications.
The best overall system performance is from a gaming PC. This provides the highest performance level, but also at the highest cost. This is because gamers can spend upwards of $1,000 just to upgrade their components to the best available in the market. A GPU like the Nvidia RTX 3080 (With ray tracing features and DLSS) starts at $699. Upgrading basic components like the memory and storage device also cost more if choosing the best performance. Adding the best available PC cooling system adds a few hundred dollars more. This is for the serious gamers who look at quality from the pixel perspective. It is the best overall performance with the best devices and components that are available.
The best ideal user experience would be from the cloud. Now this is “ideal” because it would be the best thing, once it reaches the point where you can replace the console and PC. That will be the time when Internet connections speed allow most services to be run directly over the cloud. With everything running from the cloud, there is no more need to worry about upgrades or the device breaking down. Everything will be taken care of by the gaming platform provider. You pay a subscription cost and you get to play all the games you want online from any device (e.g. laptop, desktop, mobile, tablet) and from anywhere in the world. This is for everyone, regardless of their type of gaming.
