General / Off-Topic Cultural differences between PC and console players?

[TopCat160]

Genuine curiosity here...

I didn't find this forum until relatively recently, so I don't know what it was like here when the game was new and most of the PC players were clueless like the PS4 ones seem currently to be.

But it seems to me that console players expect to be spoon-fed a lot more than PC gamers - from many of the threads I've seen they seem to be a lot less patient when it comes to game difficulty and bugginess.

I'm sure this is something of a generalisation, but hopefully not too wild.

Is that a fair assessment? I've only ever been a PC gamer so I can't compare.

 

[verminstar]

In my experience, its actually the other way around with consoles being used as an easy scapegoat fer some game issues. Console gamers are all COD players who expect the game to be COD in space bla bla bla...heard it all before and so much more.

I call it the master race mentality because thats literally what it boils down to...pc players believe themselves to be special. They are...just not the way they think they are.

Ive been a multi platform gamer fer 30 years, owned almost every console and have been playing online fer as long as online gaming has existed. I play this on two accounts but play the console more because gameplay is a lot smoother...comes down to money in the end. I cant afford a top end gaming pc ergo the xbone gives me a better game than my antique pc. Twas a good system 7 years ago, whereas now its a standing joke.

Not expecting this thread to last long but, Im always up fer a surprise ^

 

[jasonbarron]

Console gamers are basically the same as PC gamers, except differently abled.

 

[goemon]

as there are quite some players active on both pc and one or even two of the two consoles, i don't think your assessment makes sense (so neither fair nor unfair ... logically ex falso sequitur quodlibet (EFQ))

 

[FoxTwo]

To me, the difference is simple.

One plays when sitting on a couch, the other one plays in a home-made cockpit

 

[EdzUp]

weirdly I seen it as the opposite console players are more friendly to each other than PC players yes I play PC games more than consoles but over the years PC players have always had a percentage of insanity. Games like Delta force where your team decide's to test grenade throwing Dwain Dibley style.

Console players that I have played games with tend to enjoy the game more.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Uhm ... There have different stereotypes attributed to them?

 

[Ozric]

I don't agree with Verminstar's points as I think that's as much a generalisation as they are asserting PC players put onto console players. The players themselves are individuals and as such there's always going to be some who make the rest look bad.

I too have been consoles and PCs since the inception of both really (BBC and Atari 2600), but I guess it starts really around the PSX / pentium era. My view of it is that you have always been able to do more things manually on a PC. There's always been ways of tweaking things, or editing code, getting more information once the internet started expanding. So consoles have always had to do everything there and then out of the box, especially as patching console games is a relatively new thing. This is, I believe, where the perception comes from.

The only thing I dislike about consoles is how it is easier and cheaper for developers to make games on consoles and the returns are much higher, so PC tends to end up with more ports these days rather than the other way around.

Mind you, saying you've only found this forum recently when you registered so long ago is a strange statement

 

[AsukaZ]

The only 'cultural difference' I see is more related to age group rather than the hardware used.

I played consoles for years, I got sick of PC hardware compatibility problems.
Now back to a PC for ED. I'm still the same type of player on either platform.

 

[shadragon]

But it seems to me that console players expect to be spoon-fed a lot more than PC gamers - from many of the threads I've seen they seem to be a lot less patient when it comes to game difficulty and bugginess.

We're all gamers. Each platform has it's ups and downs, but at the end of the day we're all in the same galaxy.

Segmenting E: D players does little.

 

[Arry]

Of course there are differences between groups of players, but that has nothing to do with what type of machine they use to play the game. More to do with the type of game they generally play and how they go about playing it. How they have programmed themselves to play games and therefore, what they expect, from the games they play in the future.

There is not one single demographic that singles out a difference, when it comes to the machine used to play this game.

 

[Whitehair]

There are noob killers on all platforms.

 

[Marklar_]

The main difference between PC and console is how much money you spend on gaming. A good video card or HOTAS is about as much as a console.

 

[znôrt]

I didn't find this forum until relatively recently, so I don't know what it was like here when the game was new and most of the PC players were clueless like the PS4 ones seem currently to be.

practical problems:
- this forum is actually a very small population sample (not that it's negligible, but keep it in mind)
- the sample is also not random (i assume a pc player has easier access to the forum than a console user)
- elite dangerous is a fairly niche game. to have really meaningful insight on cultural traits by platform you should look at data across the full range of games and genres.

that said, the levels of whining (entitlement, rage, etc) on pc have been fairly high in the past, so i wonder if the difference can be really noticeable here on the forum. if there is one, it's not really obvious to me.

the point is, two people with low levels of resistance to frustration (take the classic spoiled kid) will probably react similarly to a problem on both platforms. then the issue becomes 'what kind of population does this game attract'.

the clearest divide i think is backers / early adopters / all the rest (steam+xbox+ps4). at least we know for sure these groups approached the game differently: backers placed a bet on a game that didn't even exist, early adopters somehow caught the news, 'game platform' users just saw the thing pop up in their 'market' caroussel. of course there will be many execptions (i.e. pc players that wanted to play on console for whatever reason (see verminstar )) and players that have been long waiting for a ps4 version (thar-god knows why!) but i'd say these differences are more telling than the actual piece of hw used.

 

[GG7]

To me, the difference is simple.

One plays when sitting on a couch, the other one plays in a home-made cockpit

I own the game on both PC and XB1, and I play them both from the comfort of my Living Room on a 55" HDTV with full 7.1 Surround Sound, using my XB1 Elite Controller. -- The experience is far more immersive than sitting at a computer desk in my opinion.

I obviously prefer the PC version thanks to my overclocked 1080ti and 6700k.

I own all the consoles including a PS4 Pro. I think there are more casual gamers on console, so that may be where the extra hand holding expectations come from, but that doesn't mean all console gamers need everything to be a paint by numbers experience.

 

[Stealthie]

To me, the difference is simple.

One plays when sitting on a couch, the other one plays in a home-made cockpit

That's all I really think about too.

Can't recall what it was but I remember buying something a bit like ED for the original Playstation.
It was supposed to be a superb game but I could never really get into it properly, sitting on the couch twiddling a gamepad.
I need to be shut away in my man-cave with all the BBTs to really enjoy a game.

 

[Wyaston Hypatia]

Doesn't matter what system they are using. I've seen the same problems, rants, questions, learning and development from PC players as we are now seeing from the PS4 players. The only difference is that as the PS4s have all started at the same time so there appears to be more of them at this time. I don't think there's any difference, some get ED, some don't, some expected something else, some take the knocks and get back on the horse whilst others resurrect it for another flogging.

 

[Martian Successor]

Genuine curiosity here...

I didn't find this forum until relatively recently, so I don't know what it was like here when the game was new and most of the PC players were clueless like the PS4 ones seem currently to be.

But it seems to me that console players expect to be spoon-fed a lot more than PC gamers - from many of the threads I've seen they seem to be a lot less patient when it comes to game difficulty and bugginess.

I'm sure this is something of a generalisation, but hopefully not too wild.

Is that a fair assessment? I've only ever been a PC gamer so I can't compare.

Actually the Xbox section of the forum is one of the most chill parts of the forum. Also keep in mind that many people own both a console and a PC, some of them even play ED on both. So it would be innacurate to assume that the platform one uses somehow denotes their personality and vice versa.

 

[Andovar]

console players have three eyes and six fingers.

uh wait, nevermind... that's a physical difference, not cultural.

 

[Roberts701]

As a Pc gamer originally & gone to Xbox through lack of funds i have found that "the" console community is usually just the console and maybe a mobile phone or pad which takes away a lot which can be done on & with a PC, also the console community seems less inclined to be active via forums/discord and other web things that need written text and tend to be more microphone/xbox live partys. Everything is a lot easier even with a mid range PC (2nd screen)(multiple windows)(multitasking)(easier manipulation of commands) (3rd party software) etc.

The game itself is pretty much the same apart from the graphics which are better on pc and the possibility of VR use.

*To walk a thin line* Just in my opinion and for the cultural differences: A lot of gamers cannot afford a high end pc to play games so buy a console, at the same time one could put into question the "social class" of players who are "less fortunate" in real life and grew up south of the tracks. (education)(social education). Is there a cultural difference ? (yes there is) at the same time if you are an @sshat then it does not really matter if you are on PC or console