This post was most recently updated on February 22nd, 2019

In this article, we will be discussing in-depth why gaming on game consoles is better than playing video games on PC or mobile phone platforms. Before this, we need to familiarize ourselves with the phrase “Video games” and all that attach to it. Game addiction is synonymous to gambling, betting or drugs in the sense that you can easily get addicted. So, play games sparingly only. By game consoles, I mean gaming platforms such as “handheld game consoles(PS Vita, Nintendo)” and “dedicated game consoles(e.g: Xbox and PS)”

What is a Video Game?

To start with, A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a two- or three-dimensional video display devices such as a TV screen, virtual reality headset or computer monitor. Since the 1980s, video games have become an increasingly important part of the entertainment industry, and whether they are also a form of art is a matter of dispute.

The electronic systems used to play video games are called platforms. Video games are developed and released for one or several platforms and may not be available on others.

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Here are the top Benefits of Playing Video Games

Playing video games encompasses so many benefits at the same time. So much in fact, that I can’t think of another medium on the same level. Here are some of the many things that games offer with respect to their genre or play style:

• Entertainment – obviously people generally play games because they’re entertaining and fun. A good way to unwind.
• Critical thinking skills – puzzle games, real-time strategy; problems are presented interactively and players must work their way through them
• Teamwork and Social skills – local multiplayer games strengthen the bonds between people (or can tear them apart if it’s competitive). Online games provide limitless, borderless social interaction with friends, family, or complete strangers. There’s something about online gaming that just can’t be compared to anything else.
• Moving experiences – Playing an utterly fantastic game just feels like being part of a movement bigger than yourself. Which brings me to the next point…
• A sense of community and socialisation – As far as I know, gamers have and always will be able to relate to one another. It forms a common bridge where people can relate due to their shared experiences at possibly completely different times and places. Just look at the myriad of game discussions, forums, fansites, etc.
• Immersion – While you could argue that other forms of entertainment immerse you in their stories. There’s nothing (virtual) quite like experiencing it for yourself. Video games transport you into their world and, for all intents and purposes, that is where you exist while you’re playing.

• Video gaming affords the opportunity to let Gamers know About our ancestors or Refresh Our History in front of Youth.

• Playing Games can also earn you Money if you bet or enter into a gaming competition. 

• Some peoples Say that It reduces mental Stress and makes them Chill.

• Video Games help children who are ill or have injuries. Absorption in a game distracts the mind from pain and discomfort. Many hospitals are encouraging children and others undergoing painful treatments to play games.

• It has also been medically proven that playing games could help children with attention deficit disorders.

• Many medical departments are using computer games as a form of physiotherapy. Games help people who are recovering from physical injuries gain motor skills.

• In addition, video games and computer games are known to improve hand-eye co-ordination.

• Also, games induce decision making and teach players to think on their feet.

• Suffice to say games can enhance creativity and inculcate a taste for graphics, design and technology.

• Especially relevant, many games can improve language and math skills as players have to move at a great speed along with the heroes of the game.

• Finally, games teach players problem-solving, motivation, and cognitive skills. Most games inspire players to strive and reach more difficult levels presenting challenges at each stage.

The dangers of getting addicted to Playing Video Games

It doesn’t actually matter whether you are playing the game solo, with your friends or online. Spending more than 5 hours on video games daily can be called addiction. If you are in such a state already, you need to cut down on time spent playing video games for the following reasons:

1. Psychological problems that can arise from addiction to video games

Psychological conditions can lead to addition to games. Unfortunately, addiction to games doesn’t solve the issues in the long run. Some people dealing with an addiction to video games may also struggle with issues such as depression, low-self-esteem, high-stress levels, and shyness / social anxiety. If they recognize the problems that excessive gaming is causing yet are unable to control it, they may also experience feelings of shame, guilt, or a sense of powerlessness.

2. Physical and Health Problems as it Relates to Game Addiction

Obviously, if one’s weekly activities largely comprised of playing video games, health (and occasionally personal hygiene) may be neglected. People with an addiction to video games may no longer take part in previously enjoyed physical activities or exercise. Gamers may find it difficult to have their bath. Also, they may develop poor sleeping habits, and may often choose unhealthy foods that simply are convenient to eat while gaming.

Other health/medical problems that can arise from gaming include:

• Headaches as a result of over-exposure to dangerous rays from the TV screen
• Computer Eye Strain

3. Family Bond Suffers When you have Game Addiction

An addiction to video games can cause problems within the family. For example, parents of a teenager who is addicted to video games may tolerate excessive gaming for a while, but if their child shows no signs of getting his gaming under control they will eventually demand change. The teen may become angry at his parents for “interfering” in his life, and claim that it is “none of your business”. Parents with a child who is addicted to video games often have daily arguments about time limits on games and the neglect of other responsibilities.

4. Financial Implications of addition to Video Games

Even for players who are not addicted, video games can be a very expensive form of entertainment. It is very easy to spend a huge amount of money on computer upgrades, new gaming consoles, subscriptions to online services, newly released games, and the latest expansion packs.

Occasionally, people with an addiction to video games may be fired due to poor performance on the job (for example, prioritizing gaming over job responsibilities, playing games while at work)

5.Video Game addiction and its effect on School/University Performances

Gaming and academic success are at two divides of different extremes. Academic success is often one of the most obvious causalities of video game addiction. Children, teens, and university students who spend all their free time to play video games will almost certainly see their grades deteriorate.

6. Interpersonal Impact

A game addict may overtime become irritating to people around him. This happens as someone addicted to video games spends more and more hours in front of a computer or television screen, time spent with other people (friends and family) necessarily decreases.

Important Warning:  I would Suggest Gamers Not to play Game continuously for more than 3 to 4 Hours. Otherwise, it can make the brain works slow as in real-time. 

Various Platforms/devices on which you can Play Video Games

As mentioned earlier, a video game on its own is an applications software. Every computer software depends on corresponding hardware to function. When you want to buy a video game disc, you will be asked for which platform? is it for handheld, or consoles or for a Pc? In summary, a video game needs suitable/compatible hardware to run. Below are some of the popular video games platforms. We have just 3 major gaming platforms today.

1. Personal Computers as a Platform for playing Video Games

When it comes to convenience, your personal computer is one of the most convenient types of video game platforms. A PC can be desktop PCs or Laptops. If you want to enjoy playing video games on your computer, your computer must come with a special hardware configuration that helps you load up and run these games on it. We have general computers and gaming computers. Gaming computers are designed with special hardware in the department of the CPU, GPU and hard disk.

A welcome development with the PC(especially modern laptops is that you can connect it to big TV screens with the help of cables like HDMI or VGA cable that the TV supports.

2. Video Game Consoles Platforms

Mario on Nintendo Switch

Playing video games on Android Mobile phone platform

Basically, this is the direction we are heading in today’s article. Video game consoles are devices that are specially designed just to play video games. They normally come with input devices such as a joystick or controllers and the main unit that does all the processing work. They usually are connected to TV screens in order to see the visual output of the consoles.

There are several types of consoles available. The popular ones are The Xbox, The Wii, the PlayStations. There are also handheld consoles such as Nintendo Switch, Nvidia shield and PSP Vita. These handheld consoles are light in size and feature their own display unit. Therefore, video game consoles are the best devices for playing video games. You will soon learn why.

3. Mobile Phone Gaming Platforms

The rise of mobile devices introduced mobile gaming to the scene. Mobile games are played on cell phone devices or handheld tablets. These two are the main platforms for playing mobile games.  The mobile games are normally built for the operating system that the phones have. Today the popular ones are Android Mobile Operating System and iOS for iPhones.

Without any equivocation, mobile phones are currently the most popular platform for playing video games. Little wonder there are thousands of games are available on the mobile platform.  Games are available for free or for a fee. They can be simple or even be filled with complicated high graphics.

14 Reasons why gaming on game consoles is better than gaming on other game platforms

Now that we have already learnt one or two things about the benefits, dangers and various video games platforms. The next thing on the agenda is the actual subject-matter of this discussion which is; “Reasons why gaming on game consoles is better than gaming on other game platforms such as PC and mobile”. To help us with this, we need to highlight the comparative advantages game consoles have over other game platforms.

Also within the context of this post, both dedicated game consoles and handhelds would be grouped as one while PC gaming and mobile game will represent the other category.

1. Game consoles have better graphical rendering/intensity than PC or mobile

When it comes to graphical intensity there really is no comparison between gaming consoles and other platforms. Yes, I know that we have computers that are very powerful and dedicated to gaming. But have you tried to play the same title on a console and a pc? Something would just seem off. Xbox One X is currently the most powerful game console on earth. Ironically, it was developed by Microsoft(the maker of window OS). game lovers can’t compare games on the Xbox with that of PC. They are close, but not the same or never would be.

Similarly, Handheld game consoles are over and above their mobile phone counterparts. The gameplay is beyond that of mobile. Yes, it is a close one on the iOS, but can you compare gaming on Android or iOS with gaming on the best handheld game console that is the Nintendo Switch? Consequently, game consoles win the department of graphics and display. You may argue this out but the majority agrees that the representations of games on a console are better than that of other platforms.

2. When you play your game on a console, you are seeing things the way the game developer wants you to see them: There is no denying the fact that the major game consoles receive the games before any other platforms. Most of these games are better optimised for games consoles because the developer has them as the top priority when designing the games. We have minimal lags and bugs.

3. Video game addiction can be controlled more easily on a game console

A big problem of video games is the addiction. However, you can easily control game addiction on a child that is used to a game console when compared to one that plays the game on a PC. The reasons for this are:

• A smartphone is considered a personal property of the owner meaning when your child is used to playing games on phone, you may be violating his or her rights trying to pry into what he is doing at all times. On the contrary, a handheld game console is meant for games only. You can always conclude with 99% accuracy that when every your child/ward is busy with a console, he or she is gaming,
• Similarly, for a personal computer. A PC is a multipurpose machine, gaming on a PC can foster stronger addiction unnoticed as you won’t know when your teen has abandoned other meaningful tasks in favour of games on his/her PC.

4. Pirated games are more rampant on PC and Mobile

Ever wonder why games developers prefer channelling all their energy into the production of games for consoles? The most meaningful reason is that the games for PC and that of mobile phones can easily be hacked. As for consoles, up until today, there is no public hack for PS4, PS4 Pro, Xbox one, Xbox one s, Xbox one x, PS Vita and Nintendo Switch. Do you now see why gaming on game consoles is better?

5. Length of gameplay can be cut down easily on game consoles compared to other platforms

This can be achieved in two ways: For one, there are other things you may be doing in the background which can interfere with your gameplay on PC or Mobile phones. This serves as a natural interference in your gameplay on mobile and PC. Secondly, every PC or mobile game avoid running their battery all the way down by just playing games.

Similarly, the fact that you can’t play without a TV on your dedicate game consoles considerably reduces your play time. I mean other members of the household will want to use the TV for other things. The exception to this is when you live alone or own a tv of your own.

6. You can’t play by chance or Accident on any Game Console

Another reason why gaming on game consoles is better is that you can’t play on them by chance. I mean when you power on your PlayStation or Xbox, you surely know what you are doing. The same is not true of PC gaming. You can start by sending an email on your PC and ended up running your battery down playing games.

Similarly, if you pick up your PSP, PS Vita Shield, Nintendo switches or similar handheld consoles, it means you are prepared and ready for gaming. On the contrary, you can use your phone for a variety of things before stumbling upon games.

7. Your PC’s or Mobile phone hardware can deteriorate faster if you use them for excessive video gaming

Honestly, this is the reason why I personally stopped playing games on my phones and PC. Well, i do play like an hour or two on my laptop occasionally but i play majorly on consoles. If you are not careful, you will burn out your computer’s logic board by installing and running a game that is beyond its specifications. You can easily kill your computer’s CPU or GPU by running games that do not align with your system spec. Besides, even when you are running compatible games, you can make your hard disk fail fasters.

As for mobile vs handheld consoles, some games are buggy and can cause problems for your phone since you install them as hardware. By contrast, your handheld makes use of either a disc or cartridge which means the worst case scenarios is for you to eject the disc when problems shoot. In a nutshell, games that are not compatible with a game console can hardly ever be played on them. This restriction is a lifesaver and a reason why you need to stop using your mobile phone or PC as a game console. The exception is if you have a dedicated PC for gaming which you don’t use for other normal computing.

8. Virus attack, identity theft, hacking are easy to come by when playing a game on PC or Mobile

Only your carelessness or failure to secure your account can make any hacker to hack your game console accounts. Unfortunately, a lot of things can cause problems for you when playing games on PC or mobile. For one, if you download a pirated copy of a pc or mobile game, you can lose a lot and gain nothing. First off, you can download a virus, malware, adware or even get hacked. To compound your pain, you can’t seek redress since you have used the game illegally. When you play on a console, you have little to worry about. I mean even if you get hacked, you only compromise that specific account and your balance(which can even be recovered).

9. Game consoles are less convenient to move around which is a blessing in disguise

We all know how big a PS4 pro or Xbox game console is. Also, the PS Vita and Nintendo switch are bigger than any normal smartphones. In addition, these gadgets are heavier. All these specifications call for controlled gameplay for users. I mean, unlike your phone, you can’t just carry your console everywhere you go. If you enjoy playing on console alone, all you need to do to put a check on your addition is to go places without them. Can this be said of your PC or mobile phone?

10. Play with a physical joystick or controller is more convenient than

One of the huge benefits of playing your games on a game console platform is that they come with physical controllers out of the box. I am a hater of virtual buttons. I love to feel what I am pressing so that i won’t accidentally press a wrong button. All the handheld game consoles that I know also come with their inbuilt joystick. Conversely, I am yet to see a PC that is sold with an Xbox controller. Mobile phones are also not sold with one just yet.

11. Accidents are more likely to happen to your PC or phones when you are gaming

You can drop your phone, or break your Laptop’s screen accidentally when you are carried away with your gaming. handheld consoles are built to be more durable and with better shock resistance. If you keep dropping your phone, you will end up damaging it and losing all your data including your games.

12. Faster support, updates and upgrades for games on consoles compared to PC

Developers released patches, bug fixes and updates faster for games for a game console.s I don’t blame them as they get better value for their money designing for game consoles.

13. Most PC is not designed for game same as most phones are not designed to play just any game

A game console is so called because all that its good at doing is to play games. Can you say the same of most computers or phones? Why not be the specialist games and acquire a game console for your gaming instead of jeopardising the longevity of your PC or Phone?

14. For the sake of your eyes, playing games on your console may be the better evil as your TV can filter out more blue light than your PC. Also, the lighting settings on most handheld consoles are in such a way that it is milder on the eyes when compared to phones.

Gaming on game consoles is better: Conclusion & Recommendation

This article was written with the aim of advising anyone who can afford to buy a game console to buy them and play video games on them instead of doing so on your PC or mobile. Now, let me break down the whole article for easier understanding.

• If you are a heavy gamer, you sure need the latest and most powerful game consoles. I mean both dedicated and handheld.
• Secondly, we will all agree that even when we have our game consoles, we cant still do without our PC and phones. I mean there are things your pc and phone can do that your consoles can’t.
• You may still need to play games on your phones or PC even when you have your dedicated consoles in emergency situations. For example, when you are not with your consoles
• Generally, play less on mobile or pc if you have a console.
• As advice, play safe and don’t get addicted to video games regardless of the platforms
• Try and wear blue light filtering computer gaming glasses before you play games.