Jesus Sotelo

Professor Jose Gomez

10/4/2015

Lately there has been a debate between gamers. Specifically PC users

vs console users. They go on and on about which system is better, and in an
article written by a guy with the name of Fahad Arif from WCCFtech.com
explains how in the past years computers have been a serious competitor for
consoles and the reason why. Also, a poster from wraltechwire.com compares
and contrasts certain things about PC gaming machines and consoles that
make PC look better than traditional videogame consoles.
The intended audience for both the digital article and the poster
focuses mainly in the gaming community, as they use concepts and specific
word abbreviations that only people who belong in this particular discourse
group would understand. A good example would be the comparison they do
in the poster of the characteristics of the CPU (which stands for central
processing unit) for gaming computers and videogame consoles. The article
in the other hand pretty much targets the same group of people as the
poster for the same reasons.
The main purpose for the article and the poster is to persuade that PC
gaming is better than console gaming in many ways; these include technical,
practical, and visual experience for the user. Besides persuading the targeted
audience, both genres also inform the reader about the specs about both,

PCs and consoles, but favoring more the PC side, as it reads in the article
This comparison proves that while the latest consoles have their own place
among gaming platforms, the CyberPowerPC Steam Machine is surely a
better option...

With both genres emphasizing the fact that PC gaming is much better
than any videogame console, both genres are clearly attempting to seduce
console users to change from either the PSN (Play Station Network) and
XBOX Live to Steam, which is software that serves as a platform to purchase
and download the same games that are available for consoles. It would be
difficult for the genres to be encouraging general awareness because when it
comes to choosing from a console and a PC for playing videogames, the
choice turns out to be relative to each of the players, regardless of the facts.
The audience, in this case mainly gamers, will likely be familiar with
some of the facts the article and the image throw at them, mainly the
anatomy of both, the consoles and PCs, as they go into detail in
wccftech.coms article, and the poster. However, the audience still wants to
find out more about other systems/networks to simply compare them with
what they already have, or who knows they might end up changing from
console to PC, as targeted by the genres.

The article was a short read and easy to follow, and the poster just
shows a table about the consoles and PCs specs and characteristics. With
that being said one could state that the audience would spend approximately
between 45 minutes to 1 hour of their time to fully analyze and understand
the information being presented to them by the article and the poster.
The language used in the genres is formal, and at the same time is
appropriate for the audience as they use some language that only gamers
fully understand, which is appropriate in order to connect with the audience
and get their attention. By achieving this, there would be a higher probability
for the genres to achieve their priority, which is to get more people
buying/upgrading to a PC rather than a console.
As mentioned previously, the article and the poster use certain words
and abbreviations when they refer to a component or piece of a console or
PC, for example they describe that both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
consoles are powered by AMDs Jaguar APU technology, note that APU
stands for Accelerated Processing Unit, which forms part of the processor.
This totally satisfies the genres purpose and totally fits with the audience.
The only differences between the poster and the article is that the
poster just shows the facts, which in this case happen to favor the PC, and
the article uses facts plus language to persuade the audience that PC is
better than consoles. As for the similarities in both genres is that they list the

same facts, in both sources they display the CPUs processing speed, storage
capacity, and the type of graphics processor each system has.
The use of facts in both genres contribute with the information
credibility, as well as citing from other well known sources, like they did in
the article, the author said Cinema Blend (a web page that features news
and updates about gaming) took the notice of how the Steam Machines are
going to be a threat to the latest living-room gaming consoles and published
a report showing how an entry level Steam Machine by CyberPowerPC
manages to leave the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One behind. This is an
effective technique to gain trust from the audience and to make them
believe that whatever information is given to them is actually true, when
theres a risk that it might not be true after all.
The genres might not evoke any emotional response from the
audience, as this issue is not as serious as an economic crisis or a war.
However if it did it, maybe by bringing a common image from a game that
was crucial in someones childhood and linking it to PC gaming it would be
an effective way to help with the genres main purpose, which is to make the
audience believe that gaming is much better in computers rather than
consoles.
The types of evidence used to support the claims of the information in
the genres are the facts. The basic facts about both gaming systems (PC and

console) support the idea that PC gaming surpasses consoles when it comes
to processing speed, HD graphics, and hardware.
Having the data revealing the truth nature of things helps the authors
of the genres prove that theyre right about their point. The main reason this
is appropriate for their purpose is because more than manipulating data to
support their thesis, the data itself shows that indeed PC gaming is better in
many things than console gaming.
Something in common from both genres regarding ethos, pathos, and
logos, is that none of them are able to evoke any emotions in the audience
from what it can be seen/ read in the genres. In the other hand, something
different among the two is that the poster doesnt seem too credible as its
just composed of arrays of basic information about both sides of the
argument, while the article cites other webpages that served as a source.
Lacking any of the components from above, the genres would fail to
deliver their message to the audience, and will also fail to achieve their goal.
In this case the genres lack of evoking any emotions, however it is an
issue where there arent too many emotions involved, but mainly facts and
personal preferences, so it can be concluded that by not having this
component in the genre, wasnt intentionally.
Since the genres issue involve a debate between computer users and
console users, certain information was needed. This included facts, pros and
cons, and details about the systems. In the poster the author displayed the

information in a table with two columns and 4 rows, each containing the
information. In the other hand, the articles information was shaped in a way
that was clear and easy to follow.
The article starts off with a few neutral sentences about this
controversy of PCs vs consoles, followed by an image of some consoles and
a customized PC. It mentions how the gamming community has crashed into
an infinite debate to determine whats better. After that paragraph the
author starts tilting things to one side, in this case the computer gaming side
and then little by throwing facts about the two gaming systems. The same
thing goes on in the poster, since its a collection of facts sorted in a table
comparing and contrasting PCs and consoles.
In the poster they use images from Batman and the Joker to drag the
audiences attention. The PCs side of the table has the Joker, and the
consoles side has Batman. The greatest detail is that the PCs side is the side
that has the most favorable facts, making it look bad in a good way. The
article as well follows a certain pattern. After introducing the issue and the
sides involved in it, the author starts talking first about the CPU that each
systems has, their GPU (graphics), and he continues to talk about their
characteristics and simultaneously supporting his thesis about PCs.
All these elements help obtain the readers attention. If the designs of
both the article and the image were too bland, nobody would take the time
to analyze it carefully to get a conclusion out of it.

Something different in the structure and delivery of both genres is that

one genre, the poster image, has more visuals than the article, which seems
logic since a posters main purpose is to illustrate something rather than to
explain something in a detailed way. Something both genres have in
common regarding the structure and delivery is the use of certain data about
the two things being compared.
The poster/image will be the most effective way in conveying its
message, mainly because a poster is more practical than an article, and also
because of the fact that it is faster to analyze and its eye catching. Also, it
was very clear the way they show, by facts, that PCs have better qualities
than video game consoles.
It is more than evident that genres have a big impact on different
views in many discourse communities. Many people could change their
personal beliefs if the genre theyre exposed to is very persuasive by having
a lot of credibility, and being designed in a strategic way.
References:
Arif, Fahad. (September 8, 2015). PC vs Consoles: Entry-Level Steam
Machine Out Shines the PS4 and Xbox One In Specs and Performance NextGen Consoles Worth it? WCCFtech. Retrieved from http://wccftech.com/pcvs-consoles-steam-machine-ps4-xbox-specs-performance/
Poster retrieved from:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/z_n3rmqsGDTVvv0xgoXEzyN4DtYOKi5ez
vXVkvhsIXtrTfGaG3Et4MGTl9qSVtzKDfoVRIlNcV3Ao45ObGPWCFkPEOQEgRaAi5X1LZac4ZRJkpuHVQG4QGo