Why do gaming consoles even exist?

Gizmo j

Senior member
Nov 9, 2013
883
240
116
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.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,853
1,048
126
For the younger gamers. My 12yo kid finally wants a PC this birthday.
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
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.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,654
14,928
126
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

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,678
11,017
136
Console gaming is for people who don't want on can't play the "upgrade my pc for the latest game" game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: brianmanahan

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
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.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,654
14,928
126
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

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
325
126
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

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
58,054
12,239
136
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 Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,654
14,928
126
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 :p
 
Last edited:
Feb 25, 2011
16,776
1,466
126
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.
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,494
15,729
136
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.

1591282654808.jpeg

7FFE1EFE-525C-472A-A5AA-A7731C2D02A8.png
 

Midwayman

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
325
126
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. :D My parents bet wrong on that one.