Thinking of Getting a Gaming Console

Flavus Aquila

Flavus Aquila

Finding My Place in the Sun
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I'm thinking of caving in and buying a gaming console. The last console I had was an Atari, when I was about seven years old. I have questions:

* I presume the choice is between Xbox and PlayStation? Which is better... or do you have to get both?

* I'll probably want to get some pretty gory games. The last game of this sort I've played was Doom II, back when I was finishing school. I'm worried about there being a slippery slope effect with these games. Is it a problem, for people to get obsessed with the violence?

* I have an internet connection with 79Mb/sec nominal speed, but realistically only about 2/3 that speed. Will this be sufficient? (I don't even know if I'll want to play online).

* Are there any things a complete noob and ignoramus to gaming might need to be aware of?

* More personally, for those who know me sufficiently to form an opinion: Do you think it's better if I keep off gaming consoles?

(Don't expect answers to all the questions, but some opinions to help me. I seldom spend anything on myself which is purely for entertainment... and I'm uncharacteristically hesitant/unsure/anxious about this. I'm also a little embarrassed about being anxious about it.)
 
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If you are mainly interested in Doom, it is better optimized on the PS4.

I'd recommend the PS4 Pro as it is the newest thing. A bit better than a plain ole PS4.
 
Wyote said:
If you are mainly interested in Doom, it is better optimized on the PS4.

I'd recommend the PS4 Pro as it is the newest thing. A bit better than a plain ole PS4.
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I don't know if I'd want to get Doom again, unless there's some creative difference with the old game.

I was erring on the side of PS, because Microsoft products have been getting on my nerves lately.

What worries me most, besides the almost totally unfamiliar technical side of things, is that it was an ad for Gods of War that triggered my interest. I don't want to end up a full-blown psychopath from playing these games.
 
If its just gory games you want id still consider just adding up some hardware for a gamer pc. PS4 titles became more like movies than games to be honest and XBOX is and will allways be just some exclusive microsoft stuff. If you like Halo and things like that go with that. If you love Movies, Singleplayer and awesome graphics go with PS4. If you want to play games? Go with everything released from 1992-2006 ;) On top of that older games gain value over time if you keep them unscratched.

Im sad about how the game industry lost creativity. The most exciting things are indie titles and those you get on Steam also. So no need for a console.

EDIT: You can connect your steam games to your TV with SteamLink. Why do i mention that? Both the Steam Link and the Steam Controllers are sold cheap right now thanks to winter sale. You might consider that.
 
Wyote said:
Oh I see, you're trolling as usual.

K bye.
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I am not trolling.

I haven't played any violent video games for close to 20 years. In fact, until my sister in law asked me to help her complete some candy crush saga levels a couple years ago, I hadn't played any games besides mine-sweeper and spider-solitaire since I left my parents home, after I finished school.

I've never had the time to look into games till this last year, and it's a very different thing from my last experience. It's not as though I've been unaware of the existence of consoles; they're all lined up near the section where I buy consumables for my computer/printer.
 
RyuTech said:
If its just gory games you want id still consider just adding up some hardware for a gamer pc. PS4 titles became more like movies than games to be honest and XBOX is and will allways be just some exclusive microsoft stuff. If you like Halo and things like that go with that. If you love Movies, Singleplayer and awesome graphics go with PS4. If you want to play games? Go with everything released from 1992-2006 ;) On top of that older games gain value over time if you keep them unscratched.

Im sad about how the game industry lost creativity. The most exciting things are indie titles and those you get on Steam also. So no need for a console.

EDIT: You can connect your steam games to your TV with SteamLink. Why do i mention that? Both the Steam Link and the Steam Controllers are sold cheap right now thanks to winter sale. You might consider that.
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Thank you. I'd never even heard of Steam... I'll look into it. On balance, I'll probably get the ps4 pro @Wyote mentioned, because you are confirming what I suspected about the Microsoft product.

I presume old games will work on new consoles?

Edit: I don't know about setting up a PC for games. My recall of fiddling around in a 486 motherboard is not a happy one.
 
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Flavus Aquila said:
I am not trolling.
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I apologize. It's just that the evidence regarding video games and violence (against it being a thing at all) is pretty overwhelming.

You should watch out for addiction, which is a real thing, but there is no evidence of games causing violent behavior.
 
Get a Super Nintendo :)
 
Interesting thought: Do you need those games? Why do you want to buy them.

Edit: i also want to mention i do use games to distract me of problems and i think thats fine but if i had to choose a game while actually thinking about how that game got here and why it was created, i'd always choose the game made by an independant developer over a course of years beeing creative instead of buying that sony/nintendo/microsoft product where hundreds/thousands of people are poured together to make a sequel to an already used idea just to let the machine move on and generate money. Support those who limit their own life needs to generate something new innovative and creative as they express themselves in their games.
 
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Wyote said:
I apologize. It's just that the evidence regarding video games and violence (against it being a thing at all) is pretty overwhelming.

You should watch out for addiction, which is a real thing, but there is no evidence of games causing violent behavior.
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I recall something termed gamergate, and a controversy about censorship... but it didn't register with me at the time.

Also, my question about subjective effects is more a concern about how I react to violence, than about general public policy/censorship. Something of the foundation for that personal concern I posted in an unrelated thread, which a couple of members helped me with. For this thread I'll just leave it at simply saying that I have concerns, but would like a harmless outlet.
 
Oh and another thing i want to mention steam itself takes in a lot of the money you pay for games on their platform. If you want to support the developer directly buy them at https://itch.io/ . The developers on this site can choose the prizes and taxes themselves.

It's a bit like buying food directly from a local farm instead of going to the supermarket ;D
 
RyuTech said:
Interesting thought: Do you need those games? Why do you want to buy them.
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No one needs these games. Ultimately, they're an indulgence and that is what makes me hesitant. I am by no stretch of the imagination puritanical, but the things I indulge in are both familiar and not that exciting: I'll have a nightcap most evenings, I'll choose cars and holidays according to whim; but certain things hold an allure which I don't think can be indulged, out of deference towards the good of others.

Drinking can become habitual for some people... I would say that I have a very regular habit of taking a neat vodka before settling down for the evening. I'm worried that indulging violent tendencies may become habitual as well.... combined with a deficit of empathy, and an emotionless conscience (albeit a very personally strict conscience), I would hate for this to become a problem. On the optimistic side, I can foresee getting a lot of satisfaction from indulging in some types of games... and if it were nothing more than a legitimate outlet, for something which ordinarily has no outlet, I'd be on the console every Saturday morning.
 
Uh...this is really tough. Pluses and minuses...then there's always the PC route. Or a Stream machine. My next console is absolutely going to be a Steam machine.
As a note my brother has every system for the most part because of his son. He uses the Xbox One himself the most though. Perhaps because of the online features. I've stuck with Xbox through the years. Not that it's better just never found that defining reason to leave.
 
RyuTech said:
Oh and another thing i want to mention steam itself takes in a lot of the money you pay for games on their platform. If you want to support the developer directly buy them at https://itch.io/ . The developers on this site can choose the prizes and taxes themselves.

It's a bit like buying food directly from a local farm instead of going to the supermarket ;D
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The potential for unmarketable games on that kind of platform is alluring: the kind of games that are a product of creativity/passion, rather than economic demographics.
 
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