{sidebar id=3}{sidebar id=1}As of last count, I have 6 PCs and 1 Macintosh in this house, ranging from working-and-used to down-and-very-out. I also have probably 10 or 15 sticks of RAM and several hard-drives. Only 3 or 4 monitors, since we have always had good luck with quality monitors.

Oh yeah, and 1 Xbox 360.

Now, I am a PC MMO lover. We have logged more time in virtual worlds than with our own families. We write about MMO's, role-play about them, and have met thousands of people because of them. Needless to say, we are a PC household. However, since the additional goodness associated with owning a console has become too much to ignore within the last 2 or 3 years, I am starting to think that as a gamer, I should try both. But what are the strengths and weaknesses of both? Which is more affordable? And which provides the most accessibility?

This comparison began when my older PC, a 3 year old AMD 64 dual-core with 2 gigs of cheap RAM, started to hit hard times. Not that this was the first time this has happened. The old tower that had provided me with so many hours of entertainment started to have issues running programs that it had run for years without a hitch, and simple things like running a flash-based game began to shut the machine down. I knew that either a wipe was imminent, or a purchase of another machine. My graphics card then decided to burn out, making me wonder if I were ready to spend another 200 dollars on this aging machine.

Meanwhile, my wife played happily on her nicer and newer PC in the living room. Her machine was hands-off, though, so I was on my own.

So, I decided to break from the PC a bit and stumbled upon something I hadn't been with in a few years: quality RPGs. Years ago on the PC I fell in love with Morrowind, a chapter in the Elder Scrolls story. It's do-as-you-wish game play sucked me in and didn't let me go until I exhausted most of the content. My brother even referred to the game as one that "destroyed his marriage." I picked up the next chapter in the series, Oblivion, for 20 dollars on the Xbox 360.

Immediately I felt that immersion that I had been missing while tinkering in the oh-so-real territory of D.I.Y hardware repair. As I had literally taken one fan from a graphics card, and glued it onto another to try to make a working card. It worked, though, but barely.

Then I started noticing all the wonderful things about the console: the casualness in which I plunked down after work with a coffee, started a new download for a game demo and played in a game that required no log-in, no hopes for hardware compatibility, and no worries about annoying players interrupting my session.

Can you say "Darkfall?"

I would quit playing a game to stream a movie in HD, then would play a little bit of the demo I had just downloaded. I spent my time messaging online friends and would watch different videos about more features coming out for the console. It was a happy time.

Meanwhile, my PC sat quiet. I had no desire to try it again, to spend more money on it or, as the Mac vs PC commercials put it so perfectly, to trust Microsoft again. Let's face it, we don't use PCs because they're reliable. We use them because they are cheap.

Annoying upkeep required?  Yes. But cheap.

But then my wrists started hurting in places they hadn't normally. My hands would ache worse than ever on the PC. I had just become used to a perfect routine of playing on the PC to prevent such discomfort, and here was this new entertainment box that would take even more time to learn as well. I imagined it was like lifting weights for the first time in years: you felt aches in muscles you didn't know you had. I thought it would pass, and it has to a point.

See, the console did not allow me to customize nearly anything. The attacks were bound to certain keys, and settings for fonts or graphics were frozen. I began to play with the controller lying flat on my lap, like an old-school arcade game, but would have to lift it every time I needed to aim an arrow. It became annoying and limited my already precious game-time.

After a while, I broke down and bought a new graphics card, and reformatted my PC. It took care of the issues I had and I am able to play games better than ever.

So what have I learned after my recent affair with the console?

For customization of controls, something that many disabled players absolutely need, the PC wins easily. You can play games on the PC with a controller or keyboard and can usually find a way to remap keys or to change fonts. You could download programs that help with color-blindness and could find many games that have sub-titles. If you need accessibility, the PC wins.

But the console has the remarkable ability to do a lot with the few controls it has. A push of two buttons can freeze time, allow access to menu's, or can fire off a combo of attacks that require no further interaction. Depending on the game, the console can be a much more comfortable experience depending on the disability.

In addition, you can hook up a keyboard and mouse to the console to use for messaging, game-save names, or for accessing menus. A few games even use voice control that can take some of the pressure off of the digits.

While you are spending an easy thousand dollars or more for a decent gaming rig - (600 for the tower, 250 for the graphics card, throw in a monitor, sound card and power supply) - you could purchase two consoles and a 32" monitor.

If you are late to the console party like me or if you don't care about having the latest game simply because you HAVE TO HAVE IT NOW, the games can be dirt, dirt cheap. Heck, there are game rental services and game exchange chains all over the US!

To sum up, I am glad I discovered the type of games I like to play on the console. Otherwise, it would have sat there only to be used as a streaming station for Netflix movies. But I still find myself using the PC for, well, everything. While the console is much cheaper and easier to set up and use, the PC has literally billions of uses.

One day, I fully expect the console and PC to be merged into a single "box", one that you never have to add money to for it to run the newest games and one with all the features and customization that PCs provide.

Until then, I will balance my life between the two. But don't tell either one, they are both the jealous type.