As a person who has never played games using game consoles, getting used to newer consoles was not as easy as I’d thought it would be. I have always played video games on the computer, and the controls for a game console are significantly different. After playing video games on a few different consoles, I have decided that I still prefer to play games on the computer.

I feel that for the most part, computers offer simpler controls; however, console game controllers have a nice feature that allows you to rotate your in-game view fairly easily. Unlike computers, there are many different game consoles, and they are replaced in a few years by a newer version. When this happens, new game releases for the prior version generally decrease. For a computer, you’d only need to upgrade your hardware if you want to play the latest, graphic-demanding games. This can be very expensive, but in my view it is more expensive to buy one, two, or more different consoles and the games for them.

In some cases, I have noted that the computer version of a game is much better than it’s console counterpart. A great example of this would be my experience with The Sims 2: Pets on the computer, versus The Sims 2: Pets on the Playstation 2 console. Some of the console controls for the game were very awkward, and the loading times were worse than my computer – and I definitely do not have a top-of-the-line computer. Despite the unfortunate glitches that accompanied the PC version of the game, it was still better than the Playstation 2 version.

Not all console games are worse than their computer counterparts, and a great benefit of the console is that there seem to be more games for them. There are also certain games that are exclusively for console, which is a shame, since I prefer the computer. Games like Karaoke Revolution have only ever been released for the GameCube, XBox, and Playstation consoles. It is also much easier to play a two-person game, such as a combat or racing game, on a console than on the computer.

Even though I prefer to play games on a computer, consoles have their benefits, as well as their disadvantages. I would hate to buy a new console just because games were no longer produced for the “older version” of that console. Computer games are constantly produced, though a downside is having to check if your computer meets the game graphics specifications. It can be very frustrating if you don’t have a somewhat new computer, or a computer with the hardware to meet the game requirements. Fortunately, I’m not really a “hardcore gamer” and am satisfied with playing not-so-new games, and my personal favourites, which work well on my machine. Conversely, I know of others who are strict console fans, and they have their own valid reasons for preferring consoles over computers. In the end, it boils down to a matter of personal preference, what works best for you, and what results in the most fun.