Despite Halo on PC, Good Reasons for XBox Gaming

Community General Discussion
1

I was just typing an answer to the post asking “With MCC on PC, is there any point to XBox now?” when it got locked. But I think I made a good list of reasons for XBox Gaming, so I’m going to post it anyway.

Of course, for a start, MCC, Reach and Halo 5 can be all be played on XBox One right now (!), but MCC and Reach will take time to arrive on PC, and though presumably Halo 5 will follow, that’s not confirmed yet. But even after they do arrive on PC, consider these ideas which apply to different groups of Gamers:

(1) PC Gaming at a desk with KB/M is a different experience from sitting on a sofa to do Console Gaming on a TV with a Controller. Some prefer one, some the other, some do both.

(2) Console Gaming with 2-4 player splitscreen round a large TV is also different from what you can do on PC.

(3) Console hardware is far cheaper than a decent Gaming PC and increasingly even an entry level one. If someone only plays Campaigns and Campaign-only games and not Multiplayers, they don’t need the extra expenses of XBox Live, making it the cheapest way to play mainstream AAA title Campaigns. The price of a One X ($500 or less) would only buy a basic entry level Gaming PC for many new titles. Meanwhile, 4K Halo MCC (now with Reach incoming), 4K Halo 5 and 4K Halo Infinite can be played on a One X which costs less than $500/£450. A 4K capable PC that could play 4K/60fps Halo 5 Forge for PC costs 3-4 times the price or more ($1500 - $2000+).

(4) Most PC games don’t release on DVD or Blue Ray disc any more, are download only, and require anywhere from 3GB (Ori) to 100+ GB downloads (Forza 7). Many people don’t have unlimited or superfast internet plans, so being able to buy an XBox game on disc is great (including many games for One X that have the Campaign in 4K HDR on the disc, such as Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed :Rogue Remastered and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to name a few).

(5) Apex Legends can be played at 60 fps on XBox One (OG, S and X, though the S could do with a performance improving update). But the PC version requires a 3.8 GHz capable quad core processor that Steam’s Hardware Survey suggests only a third or so of PC Gamers have, and that’s the minimum even just to play the game, then a $279 GTX 970 graphics card or above to play it at 60fps (970 is 3.5 TFLOPS, just below PS4 Pro at 4.2 TFLOPS)! Seems the XBox One, even the OG, isn’t quite so “underpowered” as some claim, as it can do AL at 60fps!

(6) Consoles are far more portable for visiting friends with, or going to LAN Parties.

(7) Perhaps related to (1), last but not least, a sofa is often sooo much comfier than even a good PC Gaming Chair, LOL! :slight_smile:

So, yes, I predict there will be continued demand for XBoxes, Playstations and Switches. It’s a different experience from PC Gaming at a desk with Keyboard and Mouse, can be a lot cheaper, has discs still, 2-4 player splitscreen, are consoles are more portable.

Finally, whatever graphics power it is, someone’s Gaming Rig (Console or PC) is often their “pride and joy”, and for people on lower incomes (i.e.most people) may have taken a long time to save up for it, so it’s not nice to insult it. But I have a saying for when someone claims your Console or PC is “underpowered” - just reply “Don’t rag on my Rig, man!” :smiley:

What do you think? Any more good reasons for XBox Gaming I’ve missed?

2

Number 1) this could be a big push for the rumored keyboard and mouse support to finally happen on Xbox, sure mouse and keyboard has its benefits and I play certain games using those controls, but a lot of games on PC I use my Xbox one controller and the wireless usb receiver adapter for it

Number 2) Split screen and hot seat still exist on PC, it’s just up to devs (of any game) to include it for PC. My “monitor” for my PC is a 4K 43" Samsung TV which is plenty big enough for some old school split screen

3

Every time I see a previously xbox exclusive game come to PC I also see a slew of “xbox doesn’t have any exclusives” and “one less reason to own an xbox” comments. I think people are still in this console war mentality of Xbox vs Nintendo vs PS in terms of exclusives and to a lot of people, if an xbox game isn’t ONLY on xbox, it then makes the xbox obsolete. This is not the case. There are millions of people who only game on one platform. If you have a gaming PC and are looking for a console to buy on the side for exclusives, xbox is obviously not for you if the games are all you’re looking for. If you don’t own a gaming PC or don’t care about gaming on a PC, like me and many others, xbox then becomes an option to weigh in terms of games. It’s that simple.

4

A lot of these reasons boil down to ease and price. There’s no real reason why you couldn’t have (1), (6), and (7). Setting up a living room PC is absolutely no different from setting up one at a desk, you can absolutely play most PC games on a controller, and these days there are plenty of small form factor options both for plug-and-play and DIY PCs. It’s just that the console generally comes out easier and cheaper.

I also have to point out that (3), (4), and (5) are a bit disingenuous. You absolutely don’t need to spend 1500$ on a PC that can match the Xbox One X. One can pretty quickly throw together a build which matches that, and includes a 1070, for half that price. It’s absolutely true that console gaming, at least in the year or two following a hardware refresh, often is cheaper for the same performance than PC gaming because the console manufacturer gets to buy the hardware in bulk that you’d have to buy off the shelf, and can absorb some of those hardware costs in game and service sales. However, the price difference is often exaggerated, especially when one counts in the cost of online play on consoles. There is also the issue that if console hardware refreshes become too sparse, as happened with the last generation of consoles, there will be a significant amount of time when the equivalent powered PC is not more expensive than the console.

As for (5), the minimum and recommended specs on PC games are often absurd, and not at all representative of what is actually needed. Obviously, console versions have some optimizations which allow them to run on the less powerful hardware, but the difference is less than the recommendations would make you believe. For example, it seems like the GTX 150Ti which is only slightly more powerful than the Xbox One GPU can average 60 fps in Apex Legends at minimum settings, which are realistically probably close to what the Xbox One runs at. It’s again that the difference is there, but it is less exaggerated than suggested in the OP.

(2) is the unfortunate reality of PC gaming, but really only because split-screen is traditionally not part of PC games. There’s no reason it couldn’t be. In fact, if I’m allowed to go on a bit of a tangent here, I think more PC games (and more multiplayer games in general) should support split-screen. There are some advantages I sometimes wish PC had, such as being able to dedicate a display to each player in a multi-display split-screen setup. This is something I believe PC developers could learn from the console world, and improve upon.

In any case, I think that if you really have to ask yourself “is there any point in Xbox now?” then, for you personally, there probably isn’t. However, in general, the needs of people differ. Buying, setting up, and using a console is so easy that for people who are not at all technically inclined, or for people who have zero tolerance for technical issues, a console is a great option. If all you need is a device in your living room that you can play games and watch movies on, then there’s no real reason why you shouldn’t get a console.

Furthermore, for many gamers, the greatest influence for your platform of choice will probably be your friends. If your friends are on Xbox, you’re more inclined to get an Xbox. If your friends are on PC, you are more likely to get a PC. And that’s a perfectly legitimate reason to choose a platform based on. And if you and your friends are already invested in Xbox, unless there’s something on PC you really want, there’s really no reason to switch.

I don’t see the need to have such an attachment to a platform that one should worry about whether there’s any “point” to it anymore. You either play on a platform, or find another platform that better suits your situation and preferences.

5

> 2533275031939856;3:
> Every time I see a previously xbox exclusive game come to PC. . . .

The first 2 Halos were not exclusive to original Xbox, Halo 1 and 2 were released on PC, Halo CE released on Xbox in 2001, it was released on PC in 2003 with the included Custom Edition mod that let users create custom maps and game modes to host servers with modded content.

6

> 2533274815335892;5:
> > 2533275031939856;3:
> > Every time I see a previously xbox exclusive game come to PC. . . .
>
> The first 2 Halos were not exclusive to original Xbox, Halo 1 and 2 were released on PC, Halo CE released on Xbox in 2001, it was released on PC in 2003 with the included Custom Edition mod that let users create custom maps and game modes to host servers with modded content.

I wasn’t specifically talking about H1/2 or OG xbox, meant the xbox consoles and their games in general. For example: Ryse and Sunset Overdrive this generation. My bad if I didn’t make that clear enough.

7

I really don’t see how console gaming is cheaper, especially long term .

PC gets games cheaper because of apps like steam for example, you’re also not paying for gold, internet is all you need. You also don’t need to be an entirely new PC every do often just to stay current on games.

One also doesn’t need to upgrade every 4-5 years like console if you build it properly, build it right and you’re easily saving more money than you would on console, again, especially if you take the long term approach. You don’t need a beast, but average PC’s will beat the most advanced consoles like say the X🤷.

This console war thing is nothing but preference to me, if we want to be objective and you’re not blind to the truth, PC is superior. It’s cheaper, hardware is better, and they do outnumber console gaming. The only reason I even play on console most of the time is simply cause most of my friends are on it, if they weren’t, I’d be PC almost all the time instead.

Things like couch co-op can definitely be a thing with PC, you just don’t see it much, for the record I don’t sit at a desk when using my PC, I sit on my bed👍 I don’t see what’s wrong with a desk though.

8

> 2533274923562209;7:
> One also doesn’t need to upgrade every 4-5 years like console if you build it properly, build it right and you’re easily saving more money than you would on console, again, especially if you take the long term approach. You don’t need a beast, but average PC’s will beat the most advanced consoles like say the X🤷.

From the Steam hardware survey, only about 10% of users have graphics cards with better performance than the Xbox One X GPU (i.e., a GTX 1070 or better on the Nvidia side, and RX 590 or better on the AMD side). That is not a portion I’d regard as “average”. The median Steam user seems to have along the lines of a 950.

While I completely agree that PC gaming can be very affordable, there’s a significant amount of exaggeration from both sides of the argument. You don’t need to pay 1000$ for a PC that beats the Xbox One, but neither does the average PC gamer own such a PC that does.

I guess a recent wrench in the price argument that I didn’t take into account either is that now with the Games with Gold program the value calculation of XBL Gold isn’t the same, and a fairly active gamer could probably make up for the price of Gold with it if they’re not too worried about getting games when they first come out. Of course, the gamer would likes to keep up to date on the newest titles, or who just doesn’t play that much will still be bleeding money on Gold.

9

I just don’t tend to enjoy pc gaming. I don’t have anything against it, but it’s just not for me. Everyone has a preference.

10

I think it just comes down to what you want from each platform. I know shooters are more precise and stuff on PC, but I just prefer how they play on console. It just feels better to me. On the opposite side, out side of Halo Wars 1, 2 and Supcom 2, I play all RTS games on PC and see Java Minecraft has the best version of them all. I think it’s just what people prefer, I worry my friends may not think the same. But who knows. Even if speaking for more than me, I know for my group the console are the easier way to go.

11

I love my PC, but it was expensive AF and time consuming to build. I don’t see myself ever buying another Xbox console but I think for most people who aren’t into tech, just wanna play games, or simply don’t have the extra money to throw around, the Xbox One is still a compelling platform. It’s not going anywhere soon.

12

Keyboard and Mouse support on XBOX and Crossplatform play with the PC and we are up for something great!

13

> 2533274969976326;12:
> Keyboard and Mouse support on XBOX and Crossplatform play with the PC and we are up for something great!

I know a lot of people might not like the idea of cross-platform play because keyboard & mouse will be better than using a controller. I guess the solution to that is to allow cross-play only in player matches & lobbies instead of ranked. Just because keyboard & mouse support could be used on Xbox doesn’t mean everyone would want to use it to stay competitive.

14

Most of these can be easily refuted.

You can hook a PC up to a television of your choosing, acting like it is a monitor. (You can sit on your Sofa again!)

Most PC games have game-pad/controller support. (Most games base it off of Xbox controllers, too.)

Considering the time-frame in-between console releases, you can build a PC for a decent amount. If you are worried about it not lasting long enough, you can upgrade certain components that you need to, and keep others, something you can’t do with consoles. By the time you have a decent PC, with good parts, it will most likely add up to be less then 3 console generations.

Depending on what kind of PC you have, it is possible to be portable.

Even so, I still choose to game on my XBox. I guess I’ve stuck with it for so long, mine as well stick with it even longer.

15

I feel like PC will be more optimal in the long run. Able to run at higher frame rates and if programmed well it’ll have huge potential.

16

> 2533274793057577;13:
> > 2533274969976326;12:
> > Keyboard and Mouse support on XBOX and Crossplatform play with the PC and we are up for something great!
>
> I know a lot of people might not like the idea of cross-platform play because keyboard & mouse will be better than using a controller. I guess the solution to that is to allow cross-play only in player matches & lobbies instead of ranked. Just because keyboard & mouse support could be used on Xbox doesn’t mean everyone would want to use it to stay competitive.

I think it wouldnt be too hard to filter people by their periferals in general. GTA 5 did it on PC. If you played with a Gamepad you could select if you wanted to be matched with people only using gamepad or if you wanted play against people with mouse and keyboard

17

We needed all the PC gamers the complete collection of Halo to be able to play games coop and multiplayer of all the saga of Halo. :slight_smile: