PC Gaming vs Console Gaming - Which Is Better

Video games have come a long way since the
likes of Ataris Pong, a kind of two-dimensional table-tennis game that at the time seemed
like an incredible innovation. In the next decade of the 1980s, video games
really took off, with titles such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong becoming household names. These could be played at home on a personal
computer, or played on a dedicated games console. In the 70s and 80s such consoles didnt
attract the audiences they have today, although 1977s Atari 2600 and 1983s Nintendo
Entertainment System were proof for the industry that indeed these machines could be a mainstay
in any house.

But some people it seems wont touch a games
console. Why is that? Thats what well find out today, in this
episode of the Infographics Show, PC Gamers vs Console Gamers. First of all, we are not saying its a matter
of if you prefer one to the other and dont crossover from time to time, but it does seem
that gamers to an extent have a preference. Lets take a look at some statistics.

The global video games market in 2018 is said
to be worth in the region of 82.44 Billion dollars. Its expected to go over 90 billion by the
time 2020 comes around. This was according to the website Statistica. A Global Games Market Report shared different
results, stating that the entire global games market by 2020 would reach $143.5 Billion.

The mobile games market alone in 2017 was
said to be worth just over $50 billion. As for the PC market and the console market,
they were almost neck and neck, with expected revenues for the former being $32.3 Billion
and the latter $33.3 Billion. Such high growth in the industry was mainly
down to the Chinese, U.S. And Japanese markets.

According to the same report, which was widely
cited, it seems PC gaming  including a small part of people playing in the browser
and console gaming will stay neck and neck in terms of market share for the next
few years to come. Its anyones guess exactly how many gamers
there are in the world. Are we counting someone who bought a console
and hardly ever played it, or someone who is glued to their PC day and night. For that reason, its difficult to say how
many gamers there are out there.

We can find some industry statistics that
tell us in 2016 there were 1.8 Billion active gamers in the world. The 2017 Global Games Market Report tells
us that it was 2.2 Billion active gamers that year, with the lions share of players using
mobile and tablet. Again, statistics differ, but its thought
that more people play games on a PC than a dedicated console. Its said to be around 62% of gamers use
a PC, while 56% use a console.

This is not a split. It just means 62% of gamers in the world play
on a PC, and some of those will also play games on a console. But why do more people prefer PC-gaming? Well, there are a whole host of reasons we
can find. Well give you a short rundown: The main reason, and it seems this is the
reason why most hardcore gamers prefer the PC, is the power of the machine.

Your PC packs a punch in terms of hardware,
and this means better graphics and smoother playing. This, however, comes at a cost, and is likely
the reason many players are content with what their console provides. Still, you can save some money playing on
the PC, too, as you might have to pay extra when using a console to play multiplayer games. It all adds up.

Another main reason people prefer the PC,
and another way you can save money after paying for your powerful and expensive machine, is
by getting your hands on cheaper games. The Steam platform, for instance, regularly
has sales that are much more enticing than console game sales. Not only that, but you have a much wider selection
of games to buy. The one feather in the console hat here is
that some games for, say Playstation, are exclusive to the console so you cant get
them for PC.

These games are often very popular. We might also add here that there are PC-only
games, too. There are also a bunch of other reasons, such
as you can control games on the PC in all kinds of ways. For some games it might be easier to play
with a mouse, and if its not then just connect your controller.

At the same time, when you have a PC you might
be able to modify the game, which could mean enhancing graphics or adding special content. Now, lets look at these super-powerful
consoles out there. Yes, we know they are being called the best
ever made, but you know full well that not long from now another best ever made will
appear on the market and your old console will end up online for sale. Thats not the same with your PC, because
its easy to upgrade and wont cost you an arm and a leg.

Your PC has staying power. So, in the end all that money you saved buying
a console may not be such a good thing when you take all this into account. Over time, especially if you are a dedicated
gamer, spending big on a PC might not be such a bad idea. But now lets take a look at some forums
and see what you thought about this.

Browsing through various threads where this
question was asked, it seems players mirrored much of what we have just said. Most people prefer PC for the freedom of control
you have, backwards compatibility, better graphics, modifications, and some say the
fact their PC is just more accessible. As for the few that chose console, they said
the exclusives for their machine were things they just couldnt live without. A few other respondents we found said they
just liked the simplicity of a console.

Another respondent that didnt really add
to the debate, but we like his answer, said, Started on consoles, grew up on consoles,
now getting older on consoles, will die on consoles. Actually, we could find quite a few people
that said they started on consoles but have since moved to PCand that they would never
go back. In fact, it doesnt matter where you look,
it seems PC gaming aficionados give pretty much the same reasons. Perhaps one of the more original points someone
made was that he said the PC online gaming community was more mature and less annoying
than the often younger players that use consoles.

Another person added that the PC community
was thriving, welcoming and kind. Just to turn that around, one supporter of
console gaming said on PC there are way too many elitists. There is actually a big debate out there as
to who is the more skilled and mature gamer, with PC gamers seeming to say they take that
prize. Some people divide gamers between elites and
peasants, but that seems more of a joke.

Still, some gamers take it seriously. The best thing we can do now is turn this
over to you and get your thoughts on the matter. Which do you prefer? PC games or console games? Let us know in the comments. Also, be sure to check out our other video
called Minecraft vs Roblox! Thanks for watching, and, as always, dont
forget to like, share, and subscribe.

See you next time!.