The Unofficial Console vs. PC debate

[d3bruts1d]

While I'm still a fan of console gaming, one major issue that I have... both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 the developers tend to build the games for those using HD TVs. My old 36" CRT TV still works great, but with a lot of the newer games reading menus, sub titles, and other stuff in the game can sometimes be a real PITA. It's really frustrating.

[Fogel]

Game Informer estimated in ~2005 that the failure for the Xbox 360 is around 54.2%. No numbers have been posted by Microsoft, though it is obviously significant considering the issue caused MS to extend the warranty on ALL 360s. SquareTrade (who handles the warranties) said in 2008 that the failure rate was 1 in 6. In 2009 SquareTrade projected it was around 4% with the new chipsets.

 

I've had to send my 360 back twice. The 2nd time it came back, Microsoft (well, the repair center who really isn't MS) broke the front panel on my 360. I know several people around the office who have also had RRoD.

 

The PS3 also has a version of the RRoD, error code 80010514. It's not as common as the 360 RRoD, but still a major issue.

 

The NES had issues all of its own. Ever get a dusty cartridge? Had to spend countless hours in my life blowing in the cartridge just to get an NES game to work. Then there were issues (I assume were heat related) where the game would just lock up, and the screen would get pixilated.

I'd like to see how they came up with that number, but i'll buy it anyway.

 

I haven't heard of the PS3 version, but no company is error free. I'm not saying no one has ever returned a PS3 or a Wii, as lemons happen, but for the most part both the PS3 and Wii are doing just fine. For the most part, consoles have a very good track history. If you kept good care of them they continued to work. The original NES games came with dust covers - should have used them.

 

It wasn't until the SNES days where Nintendo got too cheap to continue providing those - those were indeed sad times. Only game that I played into virtual disintegration was Metroid. Considering all the games I've owned over the years, I can't complain. I can't even say the same thing about DVD movies and I spend less time with them.

[Desktop-pro]

Game Informer estimated in ~2005 that the failure for the Xbox 360 is around 54.2%. No numbers have been posted by Microsoft, though it is obviously significant considering the issue caused MS to extend the warranty on ALL 360s. SquareTrade (who handles the warranties) said in 2008 that the failure rate was 1 in 6. In 2009 SquareTrade projected it was around 4% with the new chipsets.

 

I've had to send my 360 back twice. The 2nd time it came back, Microsoft (well, the repair center who really isn't MS) broke the front panel on my 360. I know several people around the office who have also had RRoD.

 

The PS3 also has a version of the RRoD, error code 80010514. It's not as common as the 360 RRoD, but still a major issue.

 

The NES had issues all of its own. Ever get a dusty cartridge? Had to spend countless hours in my life blowing in the cartridge just to get an NES game to work. Then there were issues (I assume were heat related) where the game would just lock up, and the screen would get pixilated.

I am not making any excuses for those said problems, they are indeed problems. Just thought i would explain the root of the problems. Seeing how you have had to return your xbox from the RROD i am sure you already know what causes it. But i'll explain it anyway for people who might not know. The RROD is is an engineering problem caused by the GPU separating from the board. The xbox 360 also has another will known problem, disc scratching. It can happen on certain earlier models of the xbox 360 if it wobbles or is moved while in vertical position. I would imagine Microsoft is extremely frustrated by these problems and I am sure there next gen system will be problem free.

 

The PS3 has some issues but they are well within respectable tolerances unlike the Xbox 360.

 

The problem with the NES was the pins that push up against the cartridge would get worn out and stop making a good connection. It can be solved easily in less then 5 minutes and costs less then $5. Also cartridges in general don't really get dusty but rather dirty. This can also be solved easily with some q-tips and some rubbing alcohol/metel cleaner.

 

Now you can bash the xbox 360 reliability all you want, but the NES is well over 20 years old, give it a break.

 

NES 72-pin fix

Edited December 30, 2009 by Desktop-pro

[d3bruts1d]

@Fogel: Sadly, the dust covers didn't help much. I've always taken care of my electronics... with the exception of a router I blew up, and a few fried PCs (but that's another topic!).

 

@Desktop-pro: I'm not bashing anything. I was just saying that no console has been without issues of some kind. Some issues were simple and others where complex and frequent.

[Pilliy]

Well here's a good point about computers. How do you beat someone with a controller? Not as easily as with a keyboard that's for sure!

[Krieg1337]

Wait since when do consoles not have hackers and cheaters? Yeah they might be harder to find but they do exists.

 

+1

 

My friends keep complaining(PS3 and Xbox 360) about "speed hacked" servers and those "noob tube hacks" servers on the consoles. How they screw your console up for a few hours with things moving too fast and what not.

 

Hacker exist on both.

 

BTW, my Xbox 360 was in a horizontal position and never moved, so it can't be that the "moving in the vertical position" scratched my disk. And what is with it being so insanely loud now? Its louder than my DVD drive when its reading disks(Yeah loud, but goes away after like 5-15 seconds).

 

And all of my friends (10+) have had the RRoD, so yes it happened a lot.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Krieg1337

[tkrow21]

I bought an Xbox 360 Elite that was refurbished for $200 (when new ones were going for $400) and it RROD'd on me in the first week. I sent it to Microsoft and got back a new one with a free month of live. It's been working great for four months now.

[Silverfox]

I bought my 360 in March, so have a newer generation. Thankfully, no RROD for me, but installing games to the HDD reduces noise a huge amount! Expect future consoles to be much quieter (I hope!). That said, with big cans on, I can't hear anything other than the noise from games/music anyway.

 

Sucks when my PC is near silent!

[Deman Risu]

Against consoles: There ARE viruses for consoles (Trojan.DSBrick for one, there are some for the iPhone as well)

Of course there are hacks and cheaters! For one, Ocarina for Wii lets you hack/cheat in Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.

There is definitely copy protection on console games. This has been around since forever.

 

One for PCs: You can repair them yourself without having to buy rare/expensive/hard-to-get parts. PC parts are (for the most part) standardized. You can do literally everything on a PC! You can emulate current-gen consoles on a PC (Dolphin)!