Opinion
Console Versus Desktop
The age old question
People have been arguing over whether consoles or desktop computers are better for video games probably since before I was born. There are many polarizing arguments and opinions pertaining to both arguing why consoles are better and why desktops are worse, and why desktops are better and consoles are worse.
Both sides have very stagnant positions, and neither are wiling to budge. The only way to come to a conclusion is to look at the facts, and drop any prejudice, and bias.
Price
Both sides of the argument like to argue that their preference is the cheaper one; but the answer is is that neither of them are cheaper. I am not basing my argument off of pure speed, because desktops decimate consoles, but rather the price needed to stay updated with the technology of the game. Console games are almost always optimized to be played on the console that it was released on; wheres on desktop, game companies understand that gamers can buy cheaper upgrades, and see little reason to not upgrade the processing power needed to play the game.
The new Xbox One S costs $249 plus the screen that it is played on; but desktops are more create-your-own style, so the price varies drastically. I will estimate that the body of a desktop costs around $25, and a decent graphics card costs $100, and there still needs to be a motherboard, which I will estimate at another $100. and there has to be a screen, which I will place at $75, plus about $50 worth of other components like a mouse and keyboard, you end up with $350 for a desktop.
Note that I have never built a desktop in my life.
On top of that, the player has to pay to upgrade the components, but they can always sell the old ones; albeit, for a lower price than which they got it. However, I have seen videos of people who build a desktop for under $50, but I don’t know about the reliability of those computers.
Graphics
Many people who use consoles argue that consoles have wholly superior graphics than desktops. Many people who use desktops argue that desktops are better than consoles because the graphics settings aren't locked in, and you can get way higher frame rates. Consoles have graphics that are optimized for the processing power of the console, but that does mean that consoles will get outdated very quickly when a new one comes out. Desktops have graphics that are completely reliant on what graphics card the player has; but graphics can usually be made less intensive through the settings menu, or more intensive if the video card can handle it.
Controls
The controls don’t really matter, the preference varies from person to person. Personally, I like keyboards because I can actually type messages, instead of having to navigate the weird menu that consoles have; but it is really up to each individual person to decide.
Usability
Both consoles and desktops are arguably very useful. consoles can be used as a streaming box, and desktops can be used for anything that a normal desktop can do. Whichever one that is more useful varies between who the gamer is. But console can always be emulated on a desktop computer for free; so a desktop is guaranteed to be more useful.
Titles
There is no objective way to say whether console or desktop has better games, but consoles can always be emulated, so desktops have all of the titles that console has, and remotes can also be used through Bluetooth technology.
So which is better? Consoles or desktops?
Desktops.
But consoles are not useless. Consoles are great for playing games with the family; a principle that has allowed Nintendo to dominate sales in consoles, and consoles don’t require a lot of extra parts; except for the screen it is played on, and an outlet to plug it into. Consoles will probably never die out, as long as the ability to play with people in the same room does not.
There are also other things that I hate about consoles, like how you have to pay to play multiplayer; which is the whole point of some games. There is also the thing that all games immediately become obsolete as soon as you upgrade consoles; whereas Steam games can be virtually used forever
