Why do gaming consoles even exist?

[Gizmo j]

I feel like they should just make every game on the PC and it should have always been that way.

Wouldn't that be easier?

Even if you target is couch gaming you could just make controllers compatible with the PC.

 

[sdifox]

You know electronic gaming started on consoles right?

 

[rh71]

For the younger gamers. My 12yo kid finally wants a PC this birthday.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Tecmo Bowl and NBA Jam were both good examples of fun 2 player games. Madden isn't bad these days...the main reason I own consoles. Sports games.

PC wins FPS.

 

[OccamsToothbrush]

You know electronic gaming started on consoles right?

You know humans started living in caves, right? When you find better ways to do things it's okay to let go of the past.

 

[sdifox]

You know humans started living in caves, right? When you find better ways to do things it's okay to let go of the past.

I prefer pc gaming myself, but that is not to say I want console to go away.

 

[highland145]

For the younger gamers. My 12yo kid finally wants a PC this birthday.

and the shizzle begins...

You know humans started living in caves, right? When you find better ways to do things it's okay to let go of the past.

Shut your dirty mouth.

Jacked up a guy's Atari controller because I held the fire button down. Late 70's.

 

[shortylickens]

You know electronic gaming started on consoles right?

No.
It didnt.
It started on government and university computers.

Unless you mean games made for a profit, in which case yeah I think that started on arcades or home consoles.

 

[sdifox]

No.
It didnt.
It started on government and university computers.

Unless you mean games made for a profit, in which case yeah I think that started on arcades or home consoles.

Pretty sure op is talking about home gaming.

 

[BoomerD]

Console gaming is for people who don't want on can't play the "upgrade my pc for the latest game" game.

 

[shortylickens]

Pretty sure op is talking about home gaming.

I guess that varies by family. Some people had those crummy little pong systems. Some people had Colecovision or Atari.
Some folks had Commodore computers, or Amigas.

to me the real start of home console gaming was after the big video game crash when Nintendo decided to produce their NES and then it seemed like gaming just exploded.

 

[VirtualLarry]

For the younger gamers. My 12yo kid finally wants a PC this birthday.

PM me if interested in a custom pre-build entry/mid-level gaming PC for cheap.

 

[sdifox]

I guess that varies by family. Some people had those crummy little pong systems. Some people had Colecovision or Atari.
Some folks had Commodore computers, or Amigas.

to me the real start of home console gaming was after the big video game crash when Nintendo decided to produce their NES and then it seemed like gaming just exploded.

Atari came out a lot earlier than PCs... Amiga is a whole lot later. I started on Atari, then Apple II clone.

 

[Midwayman]

Atari came out a lot earlier than PCs... Amiga is a whole lot later. I started on Atari, then Apple II clone.

No. The 2600 was Nov 1977. Apple II- June, 1977, PET Oct 1977, TRS-80 August 1977.

 

[nakedfrog]

Modern consoles are pretty much just PCs anyway, and PCs have been compatible with controllers since pretty much forever. Longer than OP has been alive, I'm sure.

 

[sdifox]

No. The 2600 was Nov 1977. Apple II- June, 1977, PET Oct 1977, TRS-80 August 1977.

I guess I don't know my history. I definitely got an Atari first back in Taiwan. and the Apple II I got was a clone so that would explain the time frame difference. The Atari I had only had 4 modes.

Maybe I didn't have an atari at all. Mine had like 4 games no cartridge and it was a wheel. I guess that is not an Atari 2600 at all. Or maybe I got both and don't remember

 

[nakedfrog]

Fuckin' old people.

 

[IronWing]

No. The 2600 was Nov 1977. Apple II- June, 1977, PET Oct 1977, TRS-80 August 1977.

Odyssey was released in September 1972. My dad bought one for Christmas that year.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Consoles have historically been way easier to use, quite a bit cheaper, lower-powered, more reliable... I mean, the benefits are obvious if you're trying to sell a mass market device to a nontechnical audience. Especially back in the '80s when most people actively didn't want a computer in their homes.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

PS 3 is the last console I owned. Utter disappointment and waste to purchase. We barely used it for anything. All the games were crappy shooters or crappy platform games.
The PS3 followed the wii which wasn’t a waste because it was cheap and we did have some amount of fun with it for a brief time. Problem was every single game purchase past wii sports and some other activity game we had sucked, they sucked really bad.

 

[Midwayman]

Odyssey was released in September 1972. My dad bought one for Christmas that year.

There were earlier examples of PC's too especially if you want to get into 'kit' computers that were the real early days of the PC market. 1977 was just just the first year anything was worth talking about. I had the Odyssey 2. My parents bet wrong on that one.

 

[sdifox]

Fuckin' old people.

Just turned 50

 

[highland145]

Fuckin' old people.

Your Mom started it.

 

[OccamsToothbrush]

Just turned 50

It's time to get on the boat with Bilbo and the elves. You have no place in this world anymore.

 

[nakedfrog]

Your Mom started it.

I'm inclined to think humanity goes back a bit further than that, old people have been boning for ages.