History
The personal computer (PC) as we know it today was created in a garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer. At the time (1976), commercial computer manufacturers thought that the notion of a computer for the average person was absurd. The Steves turned the computer industry on its head with the idea of a usable, friendly computer, which home users could not only afford, but actually get utility from in a timely and intuitive manner.
Modern systems
Today, after various business purloins and financial tricks, the term "PC" is synonymous not with Apple (who at one time marketed their iMac systems as the "un-PC"), and not even with the IBM-compatible machines that became prevalent in modern times, but with the Microsoft Windows platform. Very few PC games are compatible with anything but Windows, although some developers and publishers have trends of porting their games to the Macintosh and Linux operating systems as well.
PC games
Console games are generally regarded as very different from PC games, a result of the different levels of control on each (a few buttons on a console versus an entire keyboard on a PC) as well as of the expectations of the end user. A typical PC gamer has spent more money on his platform, is more patient about errors which may arise as the result of incompatibilities or freak system occurrences, and therefore has a more relaxed and thoughtful taste in games.
However, the argument can be made that with twitchy first-person shooter prevalence on the PC, as well as recent consoles like the Xbox and Playstation 2 and their successors approaching the multi-use functionality of a personal computer, the line between the platforms is blurring.
See also
- Operating system, which limits which games a PC will support
- Microsoft Windows, a popular PC operating system
- List of windows games
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