Within the interactive gaming industry personal computers (PC) and consoles are at the forefront for playing the array of titles available on the ever expansive market. Although both can immerse their player in virtual environments, they are both unique for creating a gaming experience. Each time the new generations of console systems are released into the market, the demise of the PC gaming industry is predicted (Rouse, R. 2001:5). Although the PC industry does temporarily drop in revenue, due to the new release of console systems, it has survived and evolved, maintaining its position as a distinctive form of interactive entertainment.
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There is an obvious difference between input devices which console and PC gaming uses. The primary device for the PC is a keyboard and mouse, while all console systems come with a game pads used to control movement within the game. These game pads are designed specifically for game play, meaning that the layout of the pad lends itself to game-style manipulation (Rouse, R. 2001:5). The computer keyboard and mouse is used primary for navigating around the computer operating system and this can make controls clumber sum.
The most commonly cited difference between console and PC gaming is the eqiuptment. Technically, a computer game can be thought of as a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe. A video game is a computer game where a video display is the primary feedback, which is displayed on a telvision screen (wikipedia, 10/10/ 2005). The computer monitor displays clearer images than a television screen, this discrepency effects the typs of games which tend to look good when viewed on a televison set, which in part has lead to the bright coloured and simple cartoon worlds which the older and some of the newer console games contain (Rouse, R. 2001:5).
It is the console system which takes advantage of the plug and play feature, this means that there is no need to install the software or worry about acquiring different graphics cards, faster processors or CPU (central processing unit) chips. Although video game consoles may be powered by similar CPU chips as desktop computers, the hardware is under the entire control of their respective manufacturers, and the software is specifically geared to the machine's capabilities (Rouse, R. 2001:5). Disadvantages to this are the fact that the developer of console games is restrained to the power of the specific console, as appose to the PC developer which can create games for the very forefront of technological developments.
A major difference between the social aspects of both PC and console gaming has to do with the placement of the device in the household. Generally the console is set up in the living room near the television set, this space is a social space as people are accustom to watching television as a group. The social multiplayer aspect of the console typically means playing with friends in the same room, using one console and multipule controllers. The PC social experience is played in a very different way, due to its general position being in the home office. Modern multiplayer gaming on the PC means networked gaming over the internet, competing with multipule people all connected to the system via their personal computers. Although there is no physical connection with the other players many games contain chat feature which can be in the form of text or voice. With the release of the next generation consoles, the inclusion of networked multiplayer games, PC style, is avaliable with services such as ‘Xbox Live’ and the Playstation online (Rouse, R. 2001:5).
Yarron Frauenfelder 11:47, 11 Oct 2005 (EST)
Wikipedia (2005) Computer & Video Games. Retrieved 10, October 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_games
Rouse, R. (2001) Gaming & Graphics: the console & PC: Separated at birth?, SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 35(2): 5-9
