Whenever some idiot on a forum decides to say he prefers playing on his 360 or someone else mentions how much he prefers playing Call of Duty with his keyboard and mouse (as God intended), a flame war will erupt and one of the first charges made is that, simply put, a PC capable of playing modern games costs more than a console. This will purely be a price comparison. For a point of order I will compare the Xbox 360 with a hand-built Windows gaming rig. I will assume the user will purchase three games with their new system, Mirrors Edge, Left4Dead, and Call of Duty World at War.
The Xbox 360
Console- XBox 360 Elite bundle, $398 (And how can you pass up Kung Fu Panda?)
Xbox Live subscription- $50/year
Display- $129 (up to $199 or more for an HDTV)
(Reader Crash Override insists that both use the same TV/Monitor. A fair concession and serious oversight on my part.)
HDMI Cable- $41
(Crash also points out this is redundant with the Elite)
Extra Controller- $38
Mirror’s Edge- $59
Left 4 Dead- $57
Call of Duty World at War- $56
Total cost of Xbox 360 gaming experience: $787
The PC
Mobo/CPU- AMD quad core with mobo, $199
Memory- 4 gigs, $39
harddrive- 500 gb, $69
video card- GeForce 9500GT -$59
case/powersupply- 500w powersupply and case, $64
dvd drive- $17
monitor- 19” LCD, $129
speakers- 2.1 logitechs, $22
keyboard/mouse- Combo keyboard and mouse, $20
Operating system- Windows Vista Premium, $99
Mirror’s Edge- $48
Left 4 Dead- $49
Call of Duty World at War- $48
Total cost of PC Gaming experience: $862
Cost difference: $75
Assessment: At first I had thought that PC Gaming was cheaper, but it was pointed out that I factored in the cost of an HDMI cable, which comes with the 360 Elite. This makes PC gaming less than $100 more expensive in this comparison. More accurate to the results I expected to see. PC Gaming is not vastly more expensive, and it’s not prohibitively so. It costs more or less just as much, and with both options you can make things cheaper. (Buying the Arcade instead of the Elite, using your old monitor, etc)
The Xbox user pays about $8 more per game, and has to pay for his online multiplayer. At the same time, he gets two free games (Lego Indiana Jones at the least is nice to get for free). Over the lifetime of the set up, the combined cost of a live subscription and higher priced games will catch the 360 up to the cost of the PC, and eventually surpass it.
Now, most people will already have a TV (lowering the Xbox cost by $200). At the same time, most people will have speakers, keyboard/mouse, and a monitor (lowering the PC cost by $171), and will likely have a usable hard drive as well.
Obviously, this isn’t something that applies to every, or even the average user, as building a PC like this is something of a major time sink. Seeing as I spent about twenty minutes putting together that theoretical PC, it’s probably going to have hardware issues and will require buying new parts, shipping something back, etc. The console will probably work (until it red-rings. Or whatever the new Xbox code for system failure is, as I hear they’ve changed it).
This isn’t Console vs PC. To get into that you have to ask the personal questions of “which kinds of games do I like more?” and “which control scheme do I like better?”. There’s no right answer, as it’s all personal. That said, stop fucking lying.
Console gaming is only more expensive because you added a redundant $41 HDMI cable when the Xbox 360 Elite is packaged with one. Not to mention that the Elite is the most expensive SKU.
Comment by Crash Override — December 21, 2008 @ 8:55 pm
The Elite is the most expensive SKU, yes, but I also didn’t choose the cheapest option when it came to the PC’s hardware. 500 gigabytes is a nice hard-drive size but hardly necessary either, the Geforce 8800 is still good enough to run every game on the market, and most users will suffice with Vista Home and 2-3 gigs of memory.
Comment by cybren — December 21, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
Of course you have to remember that PC’s require constant updating to keep up with software and consoles have hard limits on capabilities. You’ll rarely find a console game that requires an upgrade (obvious examples being Rock Band instruments or other such peripherals).
Actually, though, PC games are cheaper now than console games. It probably won’t be long until the PC Gaming market belongs exclusively to indies and MMOs.
Comment by d8alus — December 21, 2008 @ 9:32 pm
PC’s require frequent upgrades. Considering the last time I upgraded, an unscientific guess would say that the theoretical PC I posted will last to or almost to the next console generation.
Comment by cybren — December 21, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
PC’s only require frequent upgrades if you’re stingy. A dual core processor can go a long way to date and still be exceptionally inexpensive compared to many things. The console however. Can not be upgraded period. The xbox being notorious for problems as is. And if you wanted to be even more technical buy a play and charge kit and extra headset for the second controller plus extra xbox live gold memberships for multiple people in your home.
Comment by Zierkem — December 22, 2008 @ 1:59 am
PC gaming overall is less costly, and more reliable because you can fix it yourself. Waiting for microsoft to get your console, fix it or tell you to go to hell. Risking it getting damaged, lost, or stolen in transit. Then if it breaks when the warranty is up then you’re out 200 bucks. Mind you this goes for any console. A self built gaming PC doesn’t need to be upgraded for 3-5 years easy. Hell I’ve used to be running on a 3.4GHz single core processor that can run Crysis on high easy. So if you need frequent upgrades for your PC you’re doing it wrong and earn my Failure stamp of approval. [FAIL]
Comment by Zierkem — December 22, 2008 @ 2:05 am
With ordering the PC, you will also need to factor in shipping of these items. I really only play games on a PC (only console game is Gran Tourismo 4 that I play often.)
I think you also have more versatility out of a PC. I can burn CD’s (Who even uses CD’s anymore?)chat with friends, skype, listen to music, surf the web, and of course play games. Many of these you can do all at the same time.
It’s still nice to be able to just pop the game in, and play. No installing, no patches, no online follies. I would still never trade my PC for a console, any day!
Good topic, btw.
Comment by DarthHat3r — December 22, 2008 @ 3:08 am
mooooooOOOOOOooouuuuuse
Comment by Chairman Yang — December 22, 2008 @ 6:53 am
“PC Gaming Isn’t More Expensive”
“This makes PC gaming less than $100 more expensive in this comparison.”
“This makes PC gaming $100 more expensive in this comparison.”
“PC gaming is more expensive.”
QED.
Comment by DaftVapor — December 22, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
The Xbox only had problems with the initial batch. I’ve had mine for..what..three years now? With no problems.
Comment by d8alus — December 22, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
Daft, “PC Gaming is only slightly more expensive” is about as compelling a title as “I guess Left 4 Dead is okay. Kinda”
Comment by cybren — December 22, 2008 @ 2:24 pm
Xbox 360 still has the Red Ring problem to date. Less common due to the falcon chip but it’s a heating issue. Heats itself to the point where the solder melts and shifts out of place and screws up your console. And as for the argument a good barebones bundle for far cheaper and normally just as good.
http://www.portatech.com/catalog/viewitem.asp?ID=25350&O=26608
would be a good example.
Comment by Zierkem — December 23, 2008 @ 1:13 am
So I need to get a cooler kit for my 360?
Comment by d8alus — December 23, 2008 @ 9:54 am
A cooler kit for your 360 isn’t needed really. Some of which may actually end of voiding your warranty just keep it off of the floor and on a hard surface. never on carpet. Should be fine. Maybe blow it out with a can of air every so often.
Comment by Zierkem — December 24, 2008 @ 4:59 am
haha, I spoke too soon!
My xbox RRoD’d last night. Luckily my brother decided to go ahead and make a replacement xbox my Christmas present, so we went out to the store and got an Arcade version and then plugged the HD in and I’m good to go…but still.
Comment by d8alus — December 24, 2008 @ 8:48 am
Heh. Yeah it happens. Thankfully microsoft has a 3 year expansion on the warranty for the RRoD problem. Just need to keep it cool blow it out every now and then and play in increments.
Comment by Zierkem — December 24, 2008 @ 10:29 pm
I will never buy a console again. THey are just a ripoff. I havent upgraded my PC in years, it still plays the newest and greatest games
Comment by Chicago Web Design — January 7, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
I prefer PC gaming, but having a console for certain games is sometimes necessary. That said, it’s only worth it if you really like the console, or the games that you can play on it.
Comment by Bex — January 15, 2009 @ 3:47 pm