Three years ago, lured by the promise of better graphics and cheap games, I built my first gaming PC. Until this point I had been primarily a console only gamer buying almost literally every system from the NES onward (even the Jaguar CD). But the more I thought about it the more it seemed to me that the PC should be the default system of enthusiasts. Please don't misunderstand, this is not one of those silly "PC master race/console peon" arguments. This argument is not about looking down upon anyone's choice of gaming platforms but rather exploring the reasons why for people who are true enthusiasts, who dedicate large parts of their lives to thinking, talking about and playing videogames, the PC is the most natural fit of platforms. Here is why:
DYI: Build Your Own Ultimate Gaming Machine
Enthusiasts generally like to be hands on with their hobby. Anyone who is into cars loves to customize their ride. If you are a skater, you probably buy and/or replace your own high quality ball bearings and dream of custom paint jobs for your board. If you are into model trains you probably build your own tracks and model towns, into Warhammer, you probably paint your own miniatures. There is something genuinely satisfying about knowing the details of what makes your hobby tick and customizing it to your liking.
Gaming is no different. When you build your own gaming PC, you customize the look and the guts. Do you want a big hulking monstrosity or a small quite box that fits under your TV and has a small footprint. You decide on the amount of power and the upgrade path and "future proofing."
This even extends to the control mechanism itself. Want high accuracy, find your ultimate keyboard and mouse and configure to your heart's desire. Want comfort? Grab a controller. Want to tool around with weird new hardware? Throw a Kinnect or a Leap Motion Controller, or an Occulus Rift. Nobody is going to force feed you a control mechanism or even a control configuration. Customize your heart's content. Or don't. The choice is yours.
In short, building your own gaming PC is like somebody giving you keys to the parts factory and saying "build your ultimate game console; whatever you want."
PC & The Gaming Indie Underground
If you know people who are really into movies or music or any other medium, they probably have a healthy appreciation for the less mainstream stuff. This is not because they are just trying to be hipsters or anything, it is because people who are really into any particular hobby know that hobby well and the people who cater directly to enthusiasts are by default catering to a smaller audience. There is an intimacy and special connection to be had when and artist and audience are speaking a specialized vocabulary that serves as short hand communication for complex ideas. Underground labels, small publishing houses, self published media and enthusiasts websites help connect and key in hobbyist to these smaller, more intimate experiences.
When it comes to the indie gaming scene, PC is unquestionably the strongest platform. There are almost literally no barriers between the creator and the audience. Anybody can put up a game as an .exe file on their own website and immediately start sharing their work. That's how Edmund McMillen of Super Meat Boy fame got his start. That's how most inde developers get their start. There is nobody to stand in your way and say "you can't publish that." Innovative games like The Stanley Parable, Papers Please, Cart Life, Amnesia, and literally thousands of others are only available on PC for this very reason. Not because they are trying to be biased or without their work from anyone. Rather, for the exact opposite reason. Because PC provides no barriers between them and their audience.
Moreover, PC is the one platform that gets "platform exclusive" indie titles from both ends. As the platform holders rush to sign indies to claustrophobic contracts of exclusivity, the PC is often the platform that benefits the most. Fez, Iron Brigade, Dust: An Elysium Tale are all published my Microsoft and will never show up on PS3. But they are all on PC. On the other side, Papa Y Yo, Pixel Junk Eden, and Every Day Shooter were all published by Sony and will never appear on Xbox. But they are also all available on PC. These are just a few examples.
Know Your Roots: Infinite Backwards Compatibility
It may take a bit of tinkering, but a game released twenty years a go, will run on a modern PC. There is no wiping the slate clean. No sacrifice of the old classics in order to obtain the new hotness. And let's be frank, it's not just PC classics either. Grey area, black or white, whatever you want to call it. PC is the place where you can almost guarantee those old roms and iso files will be archived safely whereas modern platform holders slowly release some of those old games a few at a time in attempts to get you to pay for them once more, all while totally ignoring others and leaving them to be forgotten and lost to time.
Third Party: The Director's Cut Version; Yours and Theirs
Though it gets a lot of the "exclusive" indie titles, one obvious downside is that the PC gets far less of the first party exclusive software. However the number of games published by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo is absolutely dwarfed by the number published by third parties and PC is where the definitive versions of most third party games end up. It is the place where developers don't have to compromise in terms of technology or high end assets. They can offer the ability to customize anything they want. If they think Achievement systems are stupid or would compromise the vision of their game, they don't have to include them. If they want to offer high quality assets that wouldn't fit on a disc, they can offer optional texture pack downloads.
Moreover, mods offer the ability to fix any problems that get in the way of the enjoyment of a game or just to address a particular beef you have. And they frequently keep old games updated and relevant with new graphical effects years after the original game's release. You don't have to wait for a $50 badly upscaled port to show up. You can go download the S.T.A.L.K.E.R complete mod right now for free and make the game look like it came out last year rather than 6 years ago.
A Truly Open Marketplace: No System Wide DRM Policy
On consoles, the system manufacturers dictate the rules you have to abide by if you want to play games on their system. The Xbox One requires you to log onto the internet once every 24 hours, has stringent and convoluted DRM policities which dicate usage and ownership.
On PC you get to decide what DRM you support and what DRM you don't want to specifically because there is no unified system wide DRM policy. Don't want to buy games with DRM? Don't. Like Steam? Buy all your games there. Hate the Origin interface? Never use it. Want to trade in your games? Use Greenman Gaming. On PC you get to decide what kind of DRM you are willing to put up with and what DRM you aren't. On console's you are held hostage by whatever the console makers decide.
The same is true of pricing. With price points that bottom out way lower than their console counterparts, you decide when you want to buy in. Microsoft is notorious for telling developers that they must charge for DLC (see the Gears of War saga) or "strongly suggesting" an MSRP and not allowing titles to bottom out below a certain amount. There is nobody stopping any developer from charging the cheapest of the cheap for their titles or just flat out giving them away if they want.
But What About the Cost?
If you are an hobbyist of any sort, you undoubtedly spend more money on your hobby than people with a casual interest do. In gaming, there is no real reason this shouldn't also extend to the hardware itself. When you build a PC, yes, upfront you are spending more money than a casual fan who would just walk into a store and buy a locked down console box. But this is no different than any other area. When you are an enthusiasts you generally are more invested, intellectually, emotionally, and financially. You probably buy more $50 and $60 games than the average person. It is no different to say you also spend more money on your gaming hardware than the average person who justs walks into a store and buys a $399 Xbox.
More significantly, perhaps, is that in the long run, you really do save money on the cost of games. A friend of mine just built his first gaming PC two months ago. Before that, the last two games he bought were Tomb Raider and Far Cry 3 for his Xbox 360. He paid full price for both totaling $120. Since owning his PC, he has spend less than $120 on games and he already owns 72 games on Steam, including big new games like Bioshock Infinite, Blood Dragon and Crysis 3 (all which came free with his videocard), last year's games like Hitman, Deux Ex and Witcher 2 (which he paid $5 each for) and bunch of humble and indie bundles (Double Fine, Alan Wake, Indie Gala etc.). He's actually in disbelief about how much cheaper games are and how fast they drop in price.
Furthermore, you are no longer at the mercy of console developers in terms of how much you are willing to spend on your hardware or determine when your hardware is obsolete. Upgrade as you go or simply lower some settings until you are ready to spend some more cash. Your system becomes "outdated" when you decide it is, not when a console maker stops releasing games for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Links to Articles and Resources
The Amazing NeoGaf Thread on Buying PC Parts (Check the OP: it's frequently updated!)
TechReport's Guide to Building a PC
Durante's OP on the Value of Open Platforms
DYI: Build Your Own Ultimate Gaming Machine
Enthusiasts generally like to be hands on with their hobby. Anyone who is into cars loves to customize their ride. If you are a skater, you probably buy and/or replace your own high quality ball bearings and dream of custom paint jobs for your board. If you are into model trains you probably build your own tracks and model towns, into Warhammer, you probably paint your own miniatures. There is something genuinely satisfying about knowing the details of what makes your hobby tick and customizing it to your liking.
Gaming is no different. When you build your own gaming PC, you customize the look and the guts. Do you want a big hulking monstrosity or a small quite box that fits under your TV and has a small footprint. You decide on the amount of power and the upgrade path and "future proofing."
This even extends to the control mechanism itself. Want high accuracy, find your ultimate keyboard and mouse and configure to your heart's desire. Want comfort? Grab a controller. Want to tool around with weird new hardware? Throw a Kinnect or a Leap Motion Controller, or an Occulus Rift. Nobody is going to force feed you a control mechanism or even a control configuration. Customize your heart's content. Or don't. The choice is yours.
In short, building your own gaming PC is like somebody giving you keys to the parts factory and saying "build your ultimate game console; whatever you want."
PC & The Gaming Indie Underground
If you know people who are really into movies or music or any other medium, they probably have a healthy appreciation for the less mainstream stuff. This is not because they are just trying to be hipsters or anything, it is because people who are really into any particular hobby know that hobby well and the people who cater directly to enthusiasts are by default catering to a smaller audience. There is an intimacy and special connection to be had when and artist and audience are speaking a specialized vocabulary that serves as short hand communication for complex ideas. Underground labels, small publishing houses, self published media and enthusiasts websites help connect and key in hobbyist to these smaller, more intimate experiences.
When it comes to the indie gaming scene, PC is unquestionably the strongest platform. There are almost literally no barriers between the creator and the audience. Anybody can put up a game as an .exe file on their own website and immediately start sharing their work. That's how Edmund McMillen of Super Meat Boy fame got his start. That's how most inde developers get their start. There is nobody to stand in your way and say "you can't publish that." Innovative games like The Stanley Parable, Papers Please, Cart Life, Amnesia, and literally thousands of others are only available on PC for this very reason. Not because they are trying to be biased or without their work from anyone. Rather, for the exact opposite reason. Because PC provides no barriers between them and their audience.
Moreover, PC is the one platform that gets "platform exclusive" indie titles from both ends. As the platform holders rush to sign indies to claustrophobic contracts of exclusivity, the PC is often the platform that benefits the most. Fez, Iron Brigade, Dust: An Elysium Tale are all published my Microsoft and will never show up on PS3. But they are all on PC. On the other side, Papa Y Yo, Pixel Junk Eden, and Every Day Shooter were all published by Sony and will never appear on Xbox. But they are also all available on PC. These are just a few examples.
Know Your Roots: Infinite Backwards Compatibility
It may take a bit of tinkering, but a game released twenty years a go, will run on a modern PC. There is no wiping the slate clean. No sacrifice of the old classics in order to obtain the new hotness. And let's be frank, it's not just PC classics either. Grey area, black or white, whatever you want to call it. PC is the place where you can almost guarantee those old roms and iso files will be archived safely whereas modern platform holders slowly release some of those old games a few at a time in attempts to get you to pay for them once more, all while totally ignoring others and leaving them to be forgotten and lost to time.
Third Party: The Director's Cut Version; Yours and Theirs
Though it gets a lot of the "exclusive" indie titles, one obvious downside is that the PC gets far less of the first party exclusive software. However the number of games published by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo is absolutely dwarfed by the number published by third parties and PC is where the definitive versions of most third party games end up. It is the place where developers don't have to compromise in terms of technology or high end assets. They can offer the ability to customize anything they want. If they think Achievement systems are stupid or would compromise the vision of their game, they don't have to include them. If they want to offer high quality assets that wouldn't fit on a disc, they can offer optional texture pack downloads.
Moreover, mods offer the ability to fix any problems that get in the way of the enjoyment of a game or just to address a particular beef you have. And they frequently keep old games updated and relevant with new graphical effects years after the original game's release. You don't have to wait for a $50 badly upscaled port to show up. You can go download the S.T.A.L.K.E.R complete mod right now for free and make the game look like it came out last year rather than 6 years ago.
A Truly Open Marketplace: No System Wide DRM Policy
On consoles, the system manufacturers dictate the rules you have to abide by if you want to play games on their system. The Xbox One requires you to log onto the internet once every 24 hours, has stringent and convoluted DRM policities which dicate usage and ownership.
On PC you get to decide what DRM you support and what DRM you don't want to specifically because there is no unified system wide DRM policy. Don't want to buy games with DRM? Don't. Like Steam? Buy all your games there. Hate the Origin interface? Never use it. Want to trade in your games? Use Greenman Gaming. On PC you get to decide what kind of DRM you are willing to put up with and what DRM you aren't. On console's you are held hostage by whatever the console makers decide.
The same is true of pricing. With price points that bottom out way lower than their console counterparts, you decide when you want to buy in. Microsoft is notorious for telling developers that they must charge for DLC (see the Gears of War saga) or "strongly suggesting" an MSRP and not allowing titles to bottom out below a certain amount. There is nobody stopping any developer from charging the cheapest of the cheap for their titles or just flat out giving them away if they want.
But What About the Cost?
If you are an hobbyist of any sort, you undoubtedly spend more money on your hobby than people with a casual interest do. In gaming, there is no real reason this shouldn't also extend to the hardware itself. When you build a PC, yes, upfront you are spending more money than a casual fan who would just walk into a store and buy a locked down console box. But this is no different than any other area. When you are an enthusiasts you generally are more invested, intellectually, emotionally, and financially. You probably buy more $50 and $60 games than the average person. It is no different to say you also spend more money on your gaming hardware than the average person who justs walks into a store and buys a $399 Xbox.
More significantly, perhaps, is that in the long run, you really do save money on the cost of games. A friend of mine just built his first gaming PC two months ago. Before that, the last two games he bought were Tomb Raider and Far Cry 3 for his Xbox 360. He paid full price for both totaling $120. Since owning his PC, he has spend less than $120 on games and he already owns 72 games on Steam, including big new games like Bioshock Infinite, Blood Dragon and Crysis 3 (all which came free with his videocard), last year's games like Hitman, Deux Ex and Witcher 2 (which he paid $5 each for) and bunch of humble and indie bundles (Double Fine, Alan Wake, Indie Gala etc.). He's actually in disbelief about how much cheaper games are and how fast they drop in price.
Furthermore, you are no longer at the mercy of console developers in terms of how much you are willing to spend on your hardware or determine when your hardware is obsolete. Upgrade as you go or simply lower some settings until you are ready to spend some more cash. Your system becomes "outdated" when you decide it is, not when a console maker stops releasing games for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Links to Articles and Resources
The Amazing NeoGaf Thread on Buying PC Parts (Check the OP: it's frequently updated!)
TechReport's Guide to Building a PC
Durante's OP on the Value of Open Platforms
