The gaming industry has reached an unprecedented peak in our time, when many projects raise billions of dollars after the release, overtaking the highest grossing films of Hollywood. And after all, this is only the beginning - consoles are sold in huge quantities, and accessories on the PC are becoming more progressive and modern. Below we will talk about the best gaming platforms on the market. Well, let's go!
Personal Computer
The most popular platform in the post-Soviet space, which is why it is sometimes called "Slavic". On the objective side, a PC has both advantages and disadvantages, which we will discuss in more detail below. So, the advantages of computers are as follows:
- In our area, PC games are much cheaper, due to the commercial system. As a rule, in comparison with console games, you will have to pay 30-50% less for games than for a similar copy on Xbox or PlayStation.
- An equally important advantage of a PC is the ability to upgrade it. The fact is that the life cycle of consoles is very long - 6-8 years. Manufacturers do not upgrade them, which stops the engine of progress. In turn, more powerful video cards, processors, RAM memory and other components regularly appear on the PC, which allows the owners of this platform to enjoy a much better and more detailed picture at 60 FPS, and even in high resolutions: FullHD, QHD, 4k and more.
- A huge number of manipulators, which are not available for consoles: keyboards, mice, steering wheels, gamepads, joysticks and others.
- Exclusives This is another advantage of the PC, which, however, is true for consoles. Many projects go exclusively to computers: the Civilization series, Total War, XCOM 2, STALKER, World of Warcraft and others.
However, there are also drawbacks, which are very sad for PC owners:
- Many developers make a priority in developing games on consoles, as sales on them are much higher. The reason for this is piracy, which thrives on various torrent trackers. Of course, many manufacturers try to create the latest types of protections, but they are not always effective.
- The high cost of the upgrade. Here is the drawback that slowly "spills over" the advantage for computers. Nowadays, games are becoming more beautiful and more demanding on hardware, which is why gamers have to upgrade their PC every 2-3 years, buying expensive components. However, on consoles, the iron remains unchanged, and the picture corresponds to the PC settings in the medium-high interval, and even without annoying suspensions or subsidence. Finally, the cost of the console corresponds to the price of a top-end video card. Here everyone makes a choice for themselves, deciding what is better for him to buy.
- Inaccessibility of some console exclusives. And this is not about individual exclusivity, as it was on a PC (release on only one platform), but on a multi-platform. These games include Red Dead Redemption, many parts of Final Fantasy, Dragon's Dogma and others.
And be that as it may, when comparing gaming platforms for games, the PC remains one of the best of its kind.
Xbox
The game console from Microsoft is also very popular, due to excellent exclusives and relative cheapness. Currently there are 3 consoles: Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The latter, unfortunately, significantly loses to the main competitor from Sony, which we will discuss further. A distinctive feature of the console is the presence of the Kinect game pad, with which any user can interact with the console without additional accessories using gestures and voice. In addition, specially for this device, many projects have been developed that are fun to play with friends and relatives.
As for the exclusives available for the Xbox, you can cite several of the most popular series: Halo, Gears of War, Forza, as well as several others for Kinect. The current cost of Xbox One in Russia is from 18 thousand rubles.
Playstation
Another popular console, which began its life in the distant 1994. The latest version of the console, which came out from under the wing of Sony, is the PlayStation 4. The last one from the date of sales was sold 40 million times, overtaking similar figures for the Xbox One by almost 2 times. It is not surprising, because on the Japanese device higher-quality exclusives come out, and their number is a cut above. In addition, the PS4 filling is also much more powerful, which makes the quality of the graphics on it better than in the X1. As for the exclusives, the following projects are currently the most popular: the Uncharted, Gran Turismo, Killzone, infamous, God of War series, as well as the single games The Last of Us, Heavy Rain and The Order 1886. The average price in Russia is 23 thousand rubles. Comparing the best gaming platforms, many gamers around the world prefer the Japanese brainchild.
Android and iOS operating systems
These OSs are now installed on most smartphones available on the market. There is also a Windows Phone, but there are significantly fewer games on it. Regarding the main competitors, Android was developed by Google employees and at the moment it has the highest market share - 80% against 15% for iOS. The latter, in turn, is installed only on devices from Apple.
Unlike consoles, smartphones are only gaining popularity in the video game market, which is why developers are increasingly focusing on mobile platforms. So, on phones you can play the GTA trilogy (3, Vice City, San Andreas), the Modern Combat series, Need for Speed series and many other titles. Previously, smartphones did not have such power in order to reproduce a gorgeous picture and sound, but now everything has changed, and on mobile devices, toys look no worse than on PCs or “adult” consoles. So, in recent years, gaming platforms have gone beyond stationary devices like computers or consoles.
Varieties of PC platforms
Once on the PC there was only a couple of platforms that united the community of players, and also offered to purchase licensed copies of the games. The most popular was and remains Steam, developed by Valve. Steam is a distributor of games from many developers, and also presents an extensive platform for gamers, which boasts a system of achievements for games, numerous forums, guides, trading platforms and much more.
Some time ago, the largest publishers on the market began to produce their own platforms, similar in functionality to "Steam." So, at Ubisoft the game platform is called UPlay, Origin at EA, RGSC at Rockstar Games and others. Of course, this somewhat loses gamers, forced to download numerous clients to install purchased games, but the market indicates its own rules.
A very interesting platform can be called Gog Galaxy from CD Projekt, where old games from the late 90s and early zero years are laid out, which will provide you with proper nostalgia for old projects. After the release of the third Witcher, attention to the Polish studio became more focused, which increased the popularity of their own platform. Today, “The Witcher 3” has collected more than 300 awards, including the “Best Game of the Year 2015”, which gives CD Projekt an incredible credit of trust from the players.
Game platform "Playtech"
In the last section, we indicate a client that is slightly different from its predecessors. The fact is that the Playtech gaming platform is a special platform designed for playing in online casinos. Of course, there is the possibility of playing for "live" money, which puts it on a par with popular online platforms for gambling applications.
PlayTech is a young, aggressive software company, which is also extremely international in nature. So, the owners are immigrants from Israel, developers from Estonia, and the domain is registered in the Netherlands. Entered the market in 1999, the company quickly gathered its original clientele, and even crowded out its inveterate competitors. The casino itself constantly pleases its visitors with regular tournaments, bonuses and incentive systems.
Finally
Gaming platforms are an extensive list of millions of fans gathering at the TV screens and monitors. Video games have long ceased to be children's entertainment. Today it is rather an art that can be safely compared to the cinema. Amazing graphics quality, strong plot of individual projects, strong-willed characters - what else is needed for a true masterpiece of art?