The gaming industry is booming. This multi-billion-pound business isn’t showing any signs of slowing down its growth, but for the consumer, this can also be an overwhelming and confusing situation to be in. As of now, there are traditional consoles, handheld consoles, PCs, and even the regular smartphone has essentially become a gaming console! The only way to sort out the confusion is to decide what your priorities are and what can you expect from each of the gaming devices, which is precisely what we are going to discuss next.
The Basic PC
This is what most of us have unless you are a gaming enthusiast or a media professional. Low-end desktops are almost non-existent these days in the UK, as regular users have entirely shifted to laptops. Nonetheless, the laptop is still just a regular PC if it doesn’t have a dedicated GPU from Nvidia or AMD.
If you play on online casinos and mostly stick to browser games, any basic desktop or laptop from the last three-years should do just fine with such games. Depending on what the exact configurations are though, the PC may or may not have some difficulty while running somewhat demanding slot games like Jack’s World by NetEnt or Reef Run by Yggdrasil.
Test your PC out by visiting Stakers, which is a no deposit casino that has made many of the best looking titles available for players to check out without having to deposit anything. You may find your next favourite no deposit casino game, but you will at least get to know whether you need to upgrade your current PC to play the latest slot games.
The Mid- to High-End Gaming PC
These will cost you a thousand dollars at least and probably even more than that if 4K gaming is on your mind. You want a high-end gaming PC with a dedicated graphics card (at least a GTX 1060/RTX 580) if any or all of the following apply to you.
- You edit photos and videos and play high-end games
- You are into competitive online gaming
- You just want everything to run buttery smooth on your PC
A mid- to high-end gaming PC in 2018 should have at least 16GB of RAM, a Core i7 processor, and a dedicated GPU from AMD or Nvidia with a minimum of 6GB VRAM. Although these are expensive, once you buy a high-end PC, you probably won’t have to change it for the next 3 – 5 years. Do keep in mind that in spite of being large and heavy, gaming desktops are always going to be significantly cheaper and more powerful than their laptop counterparts.
The Xbox One X
The Xbox One X is the most powerful console in the world; there is no doubt about that. Even after being roughly half the price of a similarly powered gaming PC, the One X can actually support 4K gaming (well, somewhat!) at 30fps as well, thanks to some seriously powerful hardware and, of course, brilliant software customisations that consoles are famous for. It makes no sense to buy the older Xbox One right now, so the Xbox One X is the choice of console here, but is it for you? See if the answers to the following questions appeal to you and, if they do, the One X could be exactly what you need.
- Do you want the absolute best visual experience possible right now on a console?
- Do you mind the lack of Xbox exclusives?
A point to be noted here is that if you already have the Xbox One, don’t upgrade because the One X doesn’t offer enough value to upgrade from any version of the Xbox One. Also, the almost non-existent list of Xbox exclusives is very much a deal breaker for many people since a lot of people buy consoles instead of PCs because of the exclusives.
The PS4 Pro
Just like the Xbox One X, the PS4 Pro is a more powerful variant of the original PS4 and you don’t need to upgrade if you already have the PS4. However, if you are looking for a new PlayStation, you really should get the Pro for sure. Although the Pro isn’t as powerful as the Xbox One X, it just makes more sense to buy the Pro over the X because Sony’s console has an awesome roster of award-winning exclusive titles such as God of War, Spider-Man, Bloodborne, Horizon Zero Dawn, and many, many others that you simply can’t play anywhere else. The PlayStation 4 Pro should be your choice of console if the following appeals to you.
- An exclusive list of brilliant games
- The cheaper price tag
- Support for PlayStation VR
The Nintendo Switch
The Switch can be docked if you want to play it with a friend on your TV, but make no mistake about the fact that it is a handheld console first and that is what makes the Nintendo console nothing like anything that’s out there. Go through the following to know if the Nintendo Switch is what you are missing from your life!
- The ability to carry a dedicated console anywhere and everywhere you want
- Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (yes, those two games alone are reason enough)
- A unique gaming experience that cannot be had anywhere else
The Smartphone/Tablet
We all have smartphones and some of us still use an iPad or the rare Android tablet occasionally. While both iOS and the Android OS has always had games, the popularity of mobile gaming has soared to new heights recently. You can play even popular multiplayer games such as Fortnite and PUBG on smartphones and tablets these days because developers have realised the potential of the platform as a way to reach out to a massive number of gamers all across the globe. Use the trusty smartphone as a gaming device if you are okay with the following.
- In-app purchases in most games
- A limited experience in terms of gaming depth
- A huge number of casual, fun games
Most gamers don’t stay limited to just one platform, but if you have to choose just one, at least now you have a clear idea on what to expect from each of the available options.
