Today I went to GameStop to continue paying off my preorder of Ghostbusters for PC. The associate assisting me said I owed only $26 more dollars. Shocked, I asked why, considering I had only payed the $5 downpayment for the reservation. He also thought this was a little strange. Upon looking the game up in the computer, he found it was only $29.99 (not including tax)! Now, this was news to me. Not that I minded, of course; but talk about a bargain.

While many may disagree with me, I find that PC Gaming offers the most economic and versatile gaming experience any "console" can offer. Currently I own a Nintendo Wii, XBOX 360, and my XPS; and in my past I have owned or played often SNES, Sega Genesis, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, XBOX, Nintendo Gamecube, DreamCast, and PlayStation 3. All of these systems were and still are great systems, but unforunately I find that companies today exploit the owners of said systems.

I am fairly certain that whoever is reading this has played games such as Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Halo 1-3, etc. All great games; but are all exceedingly better on a PC than console (yes, I realize Halo 3 isn't out for PC yet, but in due time. Not like it was THAT good of a game anyway). Playing Left 4 Dead with a controller made me want to vomit. How an I supposed to get into the intensity and unexpected events of that game when I can barely keep myself calm through the frustration of proper aiming. The same can be said for Halo or Call of Duty; these games on PC FAR surpass that of their console counterparts. Not only that, but these games are at LEAST $10 MORE on the 360 or PS3 than on PC. Now I don't know about you, but $10 is a lot to a poor college student. Non PC games are so absurdly expensive that it is not even funny. I payed $100 for Resident Evil 5 Collector's Edition when the game itself was worse than 4! AND it will be coming out for PC. Holy Hell are gamers like me getting screwed.

However, one may suggest that the game "looks better" on a console such as PS3 or 360. Well, for me at least, that is VERY incorrect. Yes, I agree that PS3 and 360's graphics look wonderful, my computer blows 360 out of the water and is AT LEAST on par with PS3. I sat in my dorm room while my roommate and my friends played Dead Space on the 360 while I played it on the PC. Not only did my version look better (as noted by numerous friends watching both), but I wasn't constantly screaming and the difficulty of aiming (back to L4D and CD:MW). The same can be said for Mass Effect, Rise of the Argonauts, etc. Just look at my game list and you'll understand how many games I have had and played over the years to compare console versions to PC.

Also, computers (really laptops) are much more portable than an XBOX or PS. I can play a game on my XPS during the three hour plane ride from home to school. I'd love to see an XBOX or a PS do that. Similarly, games that aren't dominated by the Microsoft servers, almost always offer FREE ONLINE PLAY. I absolutely love playing CD:MW on the internet. It's just as good as the Halo servers for XBOX (minus the frequent lag) and IT'S FREE. I had an XBOX Live account until I realized I was wasting my money for a service I had in my house already on a computer that looked and played better anyway. At least PS3 offers free online play. Geesh.

Now, I am sure many of you are thinking: "Yeah he probably sucked at them (Halo, CD:MW) and that's why he hated them." Well, actually, no, I didn't. Within a few days of playing Halo 2 online (XBOX) I was a level 34 before deciding to stop wasting my time and patience on a game that soon later came out for PC.

Also, my computer, like many of the computer's all of you are on right now, can play DVDs, search the internet, watch movies, play music, and have voice chat JUST LIKE CONSOLES. I can even check e-mail, torrent files, AND type my philosophy essay (amazing, it's magical)!!!!! Why the hell would you pay more money to watch internet movies on your XBOX when you can do the same thing on your COMPUTER. I am ashamed I payed $400 for an XBOX 360 Elite when I would also have to pay at least $60 per game (more if collector's edition). I want to sell it ASAP because I never use it. At least Wii has an incredibly unique gaming experience (GO SSBB!); more so than XBOX at least. With the price of consoles what they are, even buying one just to rent games is just ridiculous. $400 is just too much for any console.

*If XBOX announced the release of a WindowsMail kind of program for the console for $10 I am sure many people would go "WOW! A new feature to buy!" and buy it. Even when they had a computer on the desk right next to them and are paying $30 a month for Comcast.*

But while some console games may have somewhat superior graphics, that is hardly something to base purchasing a game on. I haven't met one single gamer who would rather play a better looking game with inferior gameplay, than a less beautiful game with superior gameplay. So many game developers today almost force the graphical aspect at the expense of the game as a whole. For some reason, they think gamers would pay money for a poorly made game that looked good. Thus, graphics mean, at least to me, nothing.

Thus, Ghostbusters for PC, the same game as for PS3 and XBOX 360, will look better on my computer, play more smoothly, and will offer free internet play. So I will pay half of what console buyers will. How embarrassing. $30 vs $60. Even the GameStop employee felt sorry for those people who had to pay that much of a difference. Similarly, as Prototype is released for PS3, 360, and PC in a week, I will be paying less money for me, a better product, while others will be paying more.

I hope that gamers understand I am not condemning consoles. As I said, I have several and, for the most part, enjoy them. I only wish to express the fact that as console games remain overpriced, computer games are becoming more and more reasonable (even $50 for Prototype is a little much, but it's certainly better than $60). Also, there is really NO BENEFIT to console gaming. The few games that aren't released for PC I can play at a friend's house and then be done with it. Consoles will come and go, just as so many already have, but computers will continue to evolve and develop and never become obsolete.