And while Windows doesn't force updates on you, they definitely should be applied. Just as I expect my PS4 to be updated, I also would expect the same of my PC (and do).
Of course they should, but you apply them when it's convenient to you, and it in no way stops you gaming when you want to game. There's certainly an implication here that Windows updates have some impact on your ability to game on the PC, they do not. End of story (at least not outside of extreme corner cases). If that isn't being implied then I do apologize but then I'd also question why they were mentioned at all in that case.
Again, my PS4 does this automatically.
Windows also does this automatically where possible. However some updates do require a system reboot to become effective. I image the same is true of PS4 but on a far rarer scale, hence why I already said "It's certainly true that consoles are still easier to use than PC's - it probably always will be."
And still, the computer must be on to apply those updates. Those updates should be installed and they'll download while the machine is on. If I choose to not update my PC when they're ready at shutdown, they'll just have to be applied the next time I shutdown.
My PS4 will do this automatically.
So? I already said "It's certainly true that consoles are still easier to use than PC's - it probably always will be". Parading this very, minor inconvenience of "I occasionally have to perform a full reboot of my system at a time that is convenient to me" as some great reason why consoles are better than PC's for gaming, or worse, why PC's are unsuitable as gaming devices is silly.
And yet, you were the person that I'd referred to when I said:
" I know there are guys that love playing with settings and fair play to them"
As in one of our previous conversations you had mentioned that you enjoy playing with game settings. So if you provide the option of having settings in a game, is it not fair to say that a lot of people will be more obliged to look at those settings and readjust them to their needs than someone that doesn't have settings available? Since you enjoy doing it.
Changing in game graphics settings to suit your preferences and "constant tinkering with settings or drivers to keep PC gaming working" are completely and totally different things. I'm not referencing changing game setting at all in my post since I personally hold it as a big advantage of PC gaming like you say. I'm talking about drivers, patches, windows updates etc... that all occur outside of the game.
With regards to the internal game settings though, while I do agree, once again that consoles are easier to use in this regard, I thinks it's disingenuous to parade it around as some sort of problem with PC gaming that would make it unsuitable for less technical people. Even for people who don't want to fiddle with in game settings the process is ridiculously easy. 9 times out of 10 if you have a system that exceeds the minimum spec of the game then the games default settings will work just fine. If you want a bit more refinement then GeForce experience will handle that automatically and seamlessly for you in supported games (and I assume AMD offer the same service). In the rare instances where neither of the above apply, just turn everything down to minimum and move things up until you're happy. It's a one time only 10 minute process - so what?
This all comes back to the misinformation or general exaggeration which is spread about the "difficulties" of PC gaming by some people. I'm not accusing you of this at all, but you mentioned in an earlier post about PC gamers trying to "sell PC gaming" in these kinds of debates, but I think the opposite is just as often true. i.e. console gamers exaggerating or outright making things up about the difficulties of modern PC gaming (usually harking back to how things were a decade or more ago) in order to place unjustified emphasis on the relative ease of console gaming.
So if you're looking to play some old game that's not present on Steam, do you anticipate that your version of Direct X, Java, or drivers will exactly work as anticipated from the moment you place that disc in the machine? My previous experience tells me that I might have to update one or several of those things in order to play. So if I have to revert back to some older version of a driver and my machine is setup to download the latest driver, will it continue to do that automatically or will you have to tell it not to download that latest version?
No, I have never, not once, experienced this. Update Java to run a game? WTH? Like most people I tend to only play games that would be considered 'current generation' so granted, this may be a more common problem with much older games, but if your argument is that it can be technically challenging to run a very old game on a PC that would actually be impossible to run on a console since they aren't backwards compatible to the same degree then we may as well just leave it at that.
My experience with Java and some PC applications is that if my PC suddenly decides that it's going to automatically update to the latest version, that several common applications that I use in my job will stop functioning. Then I've got the faf of having to work out with version of Java I should be using with whichever version of the tool I'm trying to use.
There's a world of difference between work based applications that use java being effected by a java update and games. To the best of my knowledge you don't even need Java installed to run any non web based games. I'm not sure why it's even being mentioned.
Oh you think that mod looks cool, you'll have to go deep into the C-drive to find where the game is installed (or was it the d-drive? I can't remember) and adjust some files in there and add a few new ones. Not sure on how that's done? Look up a guide online and pray that it works exactly with your machine, considering all of the millions of possible configurations that it could effect instead. Fingers crossed, has it worked? No, there's something else I need to adjust, better check if someone has had the same problem in the past too...
My PS4, I just put the disc in and I play.
Yes. Without the mods. Claiming an advantage for console gaming from something that is difficult to implement on the PC and impossible to implement on a console based on how difficult it is to implement on the PC seems kinda ridiculous.
And on the PS4 I press the PlayStation button, then I press X and I'm in the game.
Awesome, so exactly how anyone can setup a PC to work with Steam if they wish. I personally don't wish because 9 times out of 10 when I turn my PC on, it's to use the internet, not to start a game, but you get the idea.
Yes, kudos on that. 1 time in 10 (realistically it will be much less if you're regularly playing a single or small set of games) your get to start a game a few minutes sooner than a PC gamer would. An advantage? Yes of course, hence why I already said "It's certainly true that consoles are still easier to use than PC's - it probably always will be". But a fundamental difference in the ease or convenience of usability that would justify claims of PC gaming being too complicated for the masses? Hardly.
Again this all comes back to exaggeration. As long as people are making exaggerated (or outright false) claims about the 'technical challenges' of gaming on PC then there are going to be people like myself and tongue_of_colicab trying to set the record straight - and probably being accused of trying to sell PC gaming for our trouble.
