Computer Gaming PCs Try To Stack Up To Consoles 411
bippy writes "RedAssedBaboon has what I think is the first review of a computer to feature the much lauded DISCover technology. DISCover basically turns a computer into a gaming console, allowing you to drop a PC game into a system and play it immediately on your television. The site reviews a new DHS (Digital Home System) by Alienware which will feature the technology and is due out next month. The article ends with this interesting comment: 'It's high time that the computer stop lurking in the shadows of dusty computer desks in forgotten rarely-used bedrooms. If PC gaming is going to survive it's going to have to do so in the well-lit family rooms and dens of America right along side the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox -- and this looks like a great way to start.'" We previously discussed the DISCover 'Drop And Play' PC gaming system over on Slashdot Games.
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Stay away from the light!! (Score:5, Funny)
Really now? that sounds like the perfect place to play doom 3 =)
A well lit room will just not do for such a game...takes all the scare right out of it!
Re:Stay away from the light!! (Score:3, Funny)
I'm told that I whimpered in my sleep for about two weeks.
We are the Many...
Re:Stay away from the light!! (Score:3, Informative)
Useful in a dorm situation (Score:4, Funny)
The advantage of using TV (Score:3, Insightful)
widescreen (Score:3, Insightful)
Price (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Price (Score:5, Insightful)
No kidding. $2000-$2700 Gaming PCs try to stack up to $100-$150 consoles?
I wonder who is going to win.
Re:Price (Score:2, Interesting)
gameshark doesnt count.
Mod Down (Score:4, Insightful)
Nobody doubts that it can be done on your own, but it won't come out looking as good, you won't get 1 year of 24/7 tech support, you won't get replacement parts (that you can reinstall yourself w/o voiding the warranty) and last but not least AlienWare will send a tech to your door who knows the whole setup inside out.
No twiddling Linux to get it working. No driver hassles. You're buying a top notch product, tech support and it's not priced excessively higher than a similarly equipped PC.
Re:Mod Down (Score:5, Insightful)
I think consoles thrive on (comparatively) simple games that don't require too much futzing about. Simple controls, simple setup. Computer games tend to be much more control-hungry, with many games using an entire keyboard. I can't see myself sitting awkwardly with a keyboard on my lap while watching low-res TV (yes, HD, blah blah blah).
Besides, most guys I know love console games because you can sit down with your buddies and blow the piss out of each other on one TV. There aren't too many PC games with this functionality.
Re:Mod Down (Score:3, Interesting)
All my PC-connected-to-TV is used for is emulating old consoles. I just have a couple of USB control pads and some nice emulators, some crappy software to provide an easy interface to it, and I can sit in my living room and play Super Mario Kart, Streets of Rage or one of many more games with my friends without having to have fifteen consoles all over the place.
The PC isn't good enough to emulate an X-Box, Playstation2 or a Game Cube but it can handle basically everything before that. Most games since the
Uh... but... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Uh... but... (Score:3, Interesting)
I too had a bigger monitor than my TV.
I recently bought a big TV (because it was cheap) and I didn't use it at all until I hooked up a pc and started watching my divx, xvid, et al. A TV that obeys my will and shows only things I like to watch is a good TV.
Re:Uh... but... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Uh... but... (Score:3, Funny)
Big screen goatse... thanks for the mental image. Now I gotta make a call and cancel that pizza.
Games on Your Television (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Games on Your Television (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Games on Your Television (Score:3, Interesting)
For game play or any computer use, I'd take a 720p display over 1080i anyday. I'm pretty sure that display can scale it. The displays I've looked at didn't do too bad at scaling to 720p.
I really hope to get a 1080p display though. Some FP CRT sets can do it, but they are expensive, hopefully the LCOS sets coming in the next year or two will bring that price down significantly.
Survival? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Survival? (Score:4, Insightful)
Space and weight... (Score:2)
Cabinets and monitors are a lot easier to handle and take up a lot less space than TVs.
Re:Space and weight... (Score:5, Funny)
Yes. Anything to get my game on.
You seriously underestimate the will of a console gamer. Go look in a dorm hall - you'll see people like us willing to find a couple TVs and take over a lounge for game time.
Re:Survival? (Score:4, Insightful)
From Super Bomberman to Golden Eye to Super Smash Brothers Melee. And I don't need CAT5 to tell my friend he's an idiot for kamikaze'ing just so he could take me out.
People who bring up "LAN party" as a pro compared to console gaming do not realize that console gamers have their own advantages in that respect. All we need is one $300-or-less console, 2-or-more controllers (and many bring their own controllers), and one copy of a game to enjoy multiplayer goodness. It's much more social to be sitting next to your competitor than across from them.
And Halo, as many have pointed out, offers that "LAN party" experience PC gamers seem to love. I can't see what's so good about it, though; Halo just doesn't do it for me. I'm not a fan of console FPS's.
Console game parties are a blast, though. Take over a lounge or rent some space for a night or two and share all the different systems and games you own with others, talk about past, present, and future classics, partake in a few tournaments, and just have a fun time socializing with other gamers. They don't happen as frequently as LAN parties do, I guess, but they're still fun and if you can check one out (or set one up!).
Mods extend the replay value of games (Score:3, Insightful)
How do I make mods of Bomberman, GoldenEye, or Super Smash Bros. Melee without violating the DMCA and without emigrating to a country that doesn't have the DMCA yet? Or let's put it another way: If Half-Life were a console game, then how could anybody have made Counter-Strike?
Re:Survival? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Survival? (Score:2)
Re:Survival? (Score:3, Insightful)
HD Recording a must (Score:5, Informative)
The 24" screen makes a lousy tv. The computer makes a lousy PVR -- because he cannot record HD like the cablebox allows. He cannot tune channels with the computer. And the remote requires lots of programming (very little in terms of autolearning or preprogrammed alt. system remotes).
-sid
Rarely-used bedrooms? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Rarely-used bedrooms? (Score:4, Informative)
Twister [latestbuy.com.au], actually.
YLFIRe:Rarely-used bedrooms? (Score:2)
Well...being able to intimately play it in the comfort of your very own bedroom with that someone special in your life! Heck, play it with your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband - even your cat or dog if they're flexible enough.
Hmm
Oh, great (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's see:
My computer monitor is higher-resolution than my TV.
My computer monitor is sharper than my TV.
My computer monitor has a higher refresh rather than my TV.
My computer monitor has more accurate color than my TV.
My computer monitor has fewer visual artifacts than my TV (shadowing, faint snow).
My computer monitor uses a better interface to talk to my computer (using a monitor cable running a VGA signal) than my TV (which uses NTSC).
My computer monitor can run at multiple resolutions, unlike my TV.
Really, the only things that TVs have going for them are that they're big.
Finally, it's not hard to get a sound card and video card that have TV out and audio out from the computer. As far as I can tell, this just loses the advantage of configurability that PC games allow.
Re:Oh, great (Score:2, Insightful)
I think the Xbox is showing that with anti-aliasing resolution is moot, especially with HDTV sets.
Re:Oh, great (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Oh, great (Score:2)
Re:Oh, great (Score:2)
The playing field will change even more with the next console generatio
Re:Oh, great (Score:2)
I'm currently lying on my bed and posting this from a desktop.
When I'm in my living room, I have a diskless X11 workstation set up that I use to talk to my bedroom computer. I sit on my couch and use it, eat chips, whatever.
Another person said "never underestimate the power of big".
I have a second computer in my living room up front, where everyone in the room can easily seem what is bei
Re:Oh, great (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, I'm a fan of saitek controllers for the PC. Nicely designed; buttons are just mushy enough, plenty of heft to t
Re:Oh, great (Score:4, Informative)
Perhaps you need a better TV. Newer HDTVs fix almost all of the issues you mention. Better refresh rates and higher resolutions are the only real benefits of a monitor now.
Perhaps your TV needs a calibration? Unfortunately, most HDTVs are setup out of the box to be used in a display room and not a home. The contrast is cranked up into torch mode, red colors are more emphasized, etc, because all of that makes the TV more appealing when alongside other sets at a shop. I'm of the opinion that all TVs should be sold with a free initial ISF calibration [imagingscience.com], but the calibration fee is cheap enough that you should still do it anyway (give yourself 6 months or so to break in the TV before calibrating, or you'll just find you have to do it again shortly).
Composite connections and even S-Video suck. You should use component (YPrPb) or RGBHV, or better yet DVI if your TV supports it. No more snow, and a much more vibrant picture. Oh, and NTSC is not an interface but a signal format. Snow and other artifacts you're seeing are more often caused by the interface rather than the signal format (of course, compression artifacting is the signal, and not the interface, but that's not what you were complaining about). The interface is RF coax (cable), composite (single RCA jack for video), S-Video (DIN connector), component (three separate RCA jacks for different channels of the video), RGBHV (red, green, blue, horizontal, and vertical all on separate RCA jacks), DVI (duh), and S-CART (for the rest of the world). These interfaces can carry different signal formats like NTSC, ATSC (the format for HD feeds), PAL60, PAL50, etc.
This is true, but HD sets do support several resolutions, from standard 480i/p, to 720p and 1080i (and in some cases even 1080p, though you'll rarely find that outside of high-end projectors). At 1080i widescreen, you're still talking about pushing quite a lot of pixels. In many cases, I'd rather have a widescreen 480p signal and dedicate the hardware to making what pixels I have available look better, rather than try to push as many pixels as possible. You'd be surprised how amazing visuals can look even at such a "low" resolution (see Project: Gotham Racing 2 on XBox, for example)
While that's true, I've not found any that can give the same visual or audio quality as an XBox. Sound cards that have S/PDIF output are still quite expensive. Video cards that output component signals are almost non-existant (ATI has a component dongle, but no other manufacturer does -- you'll have to get a VGA transcoder for anything else, and in either case you'll have to play with resolutions and refresh rates to get a good picture with little or no overscan).
Re:Oh, great (Score:3, Insightful)
Since the X-Box uses an nvidia chip, it stands to reason that an nvidia sound card should do the trick. Most of my sound hardware is 20 years old(hey, when you buy quality, it lasts.) so I couldn't use it, but my stock asus motherboard came with optical sp/dif in and out.
Just pointing that out.
Re:Oh, great (Score:2, Interesting)
Really? A HDTV monitor with the features I mentioned can be had for less than $2000. Add another $1000 for a decent home theater system supporting DD5.1 (that's upgradeable if you feel the need later -- ie, don't spend $3000 on a Bose when a $1000 Definitive + Denon system will sound better and be upgradeable in pieces), and $150 for an XBox, and you're at $3150.
BS. (Score:5, Insightful)
BS.
PC gaming will survive, even if it's a niche market. There will always be college students in dorm rooms with modern computers that they were required to purchase. There will always be IT professionals with the wherewithal to keep up with the latest trends.
Console and PC games combined do not make up the lion's share of the entertainment market. Neither do cinema ticket sales or DVD purchases. As long as there's room for someone to turn a profit, variety will persist.
Apple may one day solve this... (Score:5, Interesting)
Someday guys, someday............
Re:Apple may one day solve this... (Score:2)
Re:Apple may one day solve this... (Score:2)
What would make this different than a console? (Score:5, Insightful)
I play PC games for three reasons.
1.) The latest hardware is almost always superior to that of a gaming console
2.) I have a mouse and keyboard to use, which gives me much more control than a 12 button controller.
3.) Online play is simply much easier and more popular on the PC and will always stay that way, despite what MS and EA would like you to believe. I think that it's also more fun, because console games generally attract more immature children.
Doesn't anyone else realize this too?
Re:What would make this different than a console? (Score:2)
I'm dubious. I think that if anything, online play will eventually be slightly easier on the console, because it's a closed environment.
I think that it's also more fun, because console games generally attract more immature children.
Actually, I think that most onl
Re:What would make this different than a console? (Score:2, Insightful)
It also costs a whole lot more to stay current, even if you factor in the cost of buying a good HDTV and DD5.1 home theater setup. As well, upgradeability is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, you can easily increase the capabilities of your machine, and get a better play experience. On the other hand, it makes software exponentially more difficult to write, and adds external dependencies such as drivers that games need to
I already do this (Score:3, Interesting)
PC / Console (Score:5, Insightful)
First, rather than relying on a constant, single-purpose firmware OS designed specifically for the hardware you're running on, you have to rely on a third-party OS (designed to do a lot more than just run games), so it's inevitable that you'll end up with a lot more crashes, etc. Now, crashes and failures on "PCs" are generally accepted and tolerated, but on a consumer appliance, this is probably not the case.
Second, you also have changing hardware. A developer writing a game for the playstation knows exactly what hardware will be there, exactly what to expect, and (probably) knows the exact hardware specifics. But, introduce the ability to change or upgrade hardware, and the constant environment changes. Also, there's probably not going to be any standard "controller".
On a different topic, would most people going be using a keyboard/mouse with this,? If so, surely we're going back to needing a desk -- something most console users probably don't use when playing on their console.
Family Participation (Score:4, Insightful)
Having said all the above, the problem is not the lighting or forgotten bedrooms, it's the interior design of this computer room.
If there's a fridge, a couple of lazyboy sofas and a coffee table in this 'computer gaming' room, i'm sure parents might venture in and stay there watching their kids knocking themselves out. In another word, we need a inviting gaming room.
I have a 'movie' room, which is dark (for projector), a couch and some beverages, and everybody can't wait to go in there.
Warning: Console Gamer Bias (Score:5, Insightful)
The PC is suited to different kinds of games than a console, most notably RTSes and FPSes.
You still have to upgrade computers (I know my 1.47 Athlon would need a huge upgrade to play Doom, my video card's a POS). With the consoles I can buy a machine and play any game that comes out for it (the console cycle is beginning to go more quickly, which is bad for the industry, but that's another submission entirely).
It just works - I don't have to tweak framerates, graphic modes, whatever - console games just work. PC games have to be tweaked because they have to deal with weird (and sometimes misconfigured) hardware.
My PC is usually doing something else - on IM, downloading, whatever, so this instant on feature doesn't help me much in that regard.
Re:Warning: Console Gamer Bias (Score:2, Interesting)
On PC this isn't a
Re:Warning: Console Gamer Bias (Score:2)
There's a bug in Pokemon that causes some problems. Gamers could bring in their carts to have the game updated.
I agree though, console games need much more testing because with CDs there's less room for error.
However, the game companies can be good guys about it: When Super Street Fighter 2 came out for the SNES (yeah, I'm old
Really? (Score:2, Funny)
Not sure how one figures that -- it seems to have done quite well for itself hiding away in all of the nerds' bedrooms...
Phantom phantom console (Score:2)
I wonder what to 'lovely' people at Infinium Labs (why "Infinium" hasn't sued because of the name I've no idea) will think to that... a few upgrades later and you add broadband content (etc etc), mind the price gap makes the initial difference.
Plus, if the big companies decided to start doing the console PC thing (where the cheaper prices will kick in), the market might get a little crowded.... and in light of IL's slight issues of pissing off the gamers they were appealing to in the first place (the the l
biggest problem with pc games (Score:5, Interesting)
But, the reason I haven't bought a new pc game in over 6 months is because I'm sick and tired of having to upgrade something on my computer. I love consoles. I can get any new games that come out. I can play them without worrying about performance. It is really just that simple. And for the price of a new video card to play the latest pc games, or a new motherboard+cpu, I can quickly buy the latest console and a game or two.
That is the biggest hurdle for pc games. If they could come up with a standard where they say all new games must be playable on this minimum requirements without the minimum moving every 3 months then they might start doing better. They could quite easily control the industry to say the games must work on X until Y date when we upgrade the minimum standards)
Just my opinion.
Re:biggest problem with pc games (Score:2)
Also, when you get your PC it's bloody hard to keep it running well, software wise. Process
Re:biggest problem with pc games (Score:2)
Just play games that came out twelve months ago. Plus, you get all the bug fixes and good prices.
Computer game vendors just happen to release games
Go figure. This is news? (Score:5, Insightful)
Is it just that someone's figured out how to market the stuff we've all had (admittedly, some of us unwittingly...) for the past half a decade or so?
That said, I don't use S-Video out for gaming. I use it for movies...
-JDF
It does to much (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm assuming a hardware digital tv tuner & mpeg encoder because they aren't using ATI's AIW. You've got internet access on your TV, we all know how messy that can get. Sister is reading e-mail & chatting and Junior wants to play games.
This is just a setup for disaster if there's more than one child present. I'm sure families will use the fast-user-switching feature, what if it crashes? Shouldn't they wait for SP2 before shipping these out? God help you if there are porn popups while your parents watch TV.
Imagine how much of a mess it'll be trying to kick someone off the computer so you can watch tv. This is a great idea w/fast hardware.... but it's not going to work for everyone.
Re:It does to much (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not difficult at all. How do you think so many idiots end up with children?
let's compare (Score:4, Insightful)
Computer: most anything goes
Even though the diversity of the computer makes it sometimes troublesome, the personalization is why many of us like it.
Console: drop in and play
Computer: drop in, install, configure, and then play
Only makes a difference if the middle two steps are hard for you.
Console: played at the TV, using a controller
Computer: played at a monitor, using keyboard and mouse
I don't know about you, but I can't stand first-person shooters on a console, using a controller. Different types of games are controlled best in different ways.
Console: used for playing games, and maybe CDs and DVDs
Computer: used for playing games, and CDs and DVDs, and for productivity, development, Internet browsing, etc...
For all I care, they can roll back the clock on computer gaming. But I am not playing Doom 3, Halflife 2, Halo 2, or any other FPS on a controller and going to enjoy it.
PC's vs. Game Consoles (Score:2, Interesting)
At least in my situation, my computer monitor has much better resolution than my 27" TV, and has the ability to play games, audio, and dvd's. Not to mention it has a 5.1 sound system with some nice speakers, about the same or better quality than my stereo that's hooked up
Heh consoles (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Heh consoles (Score:2)
Consoles have a number of great qualities, including relative cheapness and easy "install." PCs don't have that because they are so multifunction. A game as to be really good for me to want to bother installing it and configuring it on the PC, whereas on a console I can just drop something in.
Also, PCs may become more ubiqitious, but not everyon
Re:Heh consoles (Score:2)
Perhaps you should let others decide how to use their mod points.
You sound like another nerdy PC/Xbox gamer looking down his nose at consoles.
Uh... if I were an XBoxer why would I be looking down at consoles?
PCs won't exist in 10 years? Where do you get that great fortune telling ability?
Uhhh. I said : Just as PCs in their current form will not exist in the near future... You need to pay a bit more attention. Already look at the number of people going for portab
Re:Heh consoles (Score:2)
Two inital responses:
1) Yeah! Just like Ultimate TV and Microsoft Bob!
2) Sony: "What am I? Chopped liver?"
Re:Heh consoles (Score:2)
Uhm. Sony is bigger than Microsoft. Not just in consoles, in general. Since Sony is 6 or 7 times as big in consoles, Sony can spend proportionately less per unit and still outspend Microsoft. Further, Sony not only has the US market, but the Japanese market as well. Microsoft's only advantage is that they have historically been more profitab
Re:Heh consoles (Score:2)
Hmmm... Considering the fact that you're bringing up areas in which Microsoft had tons of competition compared to the console market. Any mom and pop electonics company can produce a mouse, a gaming controller or an ISP. As for WebTV? Simply too limited, there is no one producing this at this point, which may only further prove the idea that Microsoft could very well end consoles as we know them. Set Top boxes we
Re:Unlimited funds? Hardly (Score:2)
Uh... Whatever dude...
Sony [yahoo.com] vs. Microsoft [yahoo.com]
Should the PC survive? (Score:2)
What? (Score:2, Interesting)
PC games will do just fine, because I'll be damned if I will pony up the money for any game that features cute characters or green blood.
Re:What? (Score:2)
Not to mention a lack of any type of real internet based multiplayer environment that has better play than RobotWars from my C=64.
Gentoo Games (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm not really following how this DISCover system works. (I only skimmed the article, sorry) It says it uses a custom BIOS and scripts, and it's being used on a Windows Media Center powered machine. So does it fire up a game whe
Wintendo finally becoming a real console? (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't intend to play games on my TV. Partially because I don't own one, but instead own a 27 inch monitor for TV watching. But I am highly interested in the tech behind it to just let me play.
235 hours of video? (Score:2)
Record, pause, and play back live TV with a
personal video recorder that works similar to a
TIVO®.
Create your own digital library by recording, storing,
and burning up to 5000 CDs and 235 hours of video.
So, what happens after 235 hours? Do you have to buy a new system>
Saying that, I do believe there is a market for something between the size of a laptop and a desktop system.
Personally, I wouldn't mind a laptop that came with a detachable 20" LCD, a
Re:Um... think about that for a second (Score:2)
I'd stick a webcam on the top, so I could see what everyone else was doing.
The system I envisaged would be for home use only, but light enough for the whole system to be carried out at once.
You haven't seen the latest laptops (Sony PCG-GRT range) - the largest screens go up to 17.1" and weigh around 10kgs. Since some airlines place the limit of handluggage at 5 kgs, it's already too heavy for air-t
prior art (Score:2)
This device was pretty awesome for the time. I worked at 3DO then, and thought it was tres groovy.
Wish I'd thought to shell out the mere $HUNNERTS it cost at the time. Production ended almost as soon as it had begun.
it's extremely rare now, and worth a purdy penny to collectors.
Um... not quite (Score:5, Insightful)
No, if PC gaming is to survive it needs to have good games that are written right the first time and don't require you to own hardware that only came out just last week to run them.
Console gamers don't do PC gaming not because the installation process frightens us, it's because we don't consider it worth the time and money. Just because the games are plug-and-play and hook up to a television doesn't make them good. Just ask Acclaim.
Re:Um... not quite (Score:2)
The lack of games by that company is enough to keep me on PCs forever anyway.
Oh yeah, and the cost issue is only relevant if you didn't plan on having a PC in the first place. Even now the new games which absolutely require pixel shading and such are few and far between, to the point where I use my toshiba satellite 1400 with a Cyberblade XP for almost all of my gaming needs. Granted, I'm not an FPS freak, but I can play most games, especially strategy games, without a complaint. If a h
PC Gaming is already there (Score:4, Interesting)
This is just Alienware trying to make a demand for something when there really is none.
But console games ARE grossly outselling PC games. (Score:2, Interesting)
Overall, 2003 U.S. sales of console games totaled USD 5.8 billion (186.4 million units) while computer games accounted for USD 1.2 billion (52.8 million units) in sales.
The strategy is all wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Granted, they added features like Tivo style functions and the ability to surf the web and what not, but look at the history of such all-in-one devices in the past. When was the last time you bought a combo vcr/dvd player or a TV with dvd/vcr built into it?
No sane person would buy into such gimmicks. if one part breaks, the entire unit will likely has to be replaced. At $2,000-$3,000 a pop to keep $500+ worth of hardware in one neat box, I just don't see what incentive they are offering to make it worth the extra $1,500-$2,500 in the price. (I do know I'm not that concerned about hiding a couple wires.)
If they want to pitch this item as a game console, fine... then price it competatively with rest of the console gaming systems. If they don't want to lose the profits, then promote it as a niche market item, instead of confusing the consumers.
While I don't want to discredit the "Discover" technology, I do predict this system will ultimately fail. No one is going to buy something that cost more than your average PC, just to play the latest games at NTSC resolutions.
This is good. (Score:3, Insightful)
The whole point is that PC gaming sucks. It really does. Complicated control schemes, techinical graphics settings, hardware incompatabilities, and 'we'll-fix-it-later' patching mindset really make the PC a poor gaming platform. This is supposed to allievate some of those problems. Which is good.
Re:This is good. (Score:5, Insightful)
But when I'm playing my first-person shooter at 1280x1024 on my flicker-free 21" monitor, getting 100fps at 100Hz refresh...
out of the closet (Score:4, Interesting)
PC to HDTV (Score:2)
I've a 34" Sony that can do 1080i and I'd love to get that working instead of my monitor.
I've heard ATI is much better at this but I'd rather stay with NVIDIA because of the linux drivers. Have an old Geforce 3 200ti at the moment. Would love to hear people's experiences.
Consoles are designed for gaming (Score:2, Interesting)
There's an article available on the subject here http://arstechnica.com/cpu/2q00/ps2/ps2vspc-1.htm l , for those interested.
As a note; that article discusses the PS2 vs. the PC. Now, there's something else than MS cheap ass approach with a stripped down x86. And PLEASE note the specs. on video memory and processor speed for the ps
Outdated consoles (Score:2, Interesting)
The low resolution on the TV was the first thing that bothered me. Some ppl have pointed out that HDTV is a significant improvment, but a very high majority of people do not have one and will not be getting one for some time to come.
All the games I played seemed to be far behind any current PC game for graphics quality, but th
consumer says... (Score:2)
pc games ARE better, but not so much more that it warrants dropping an extra 1500 on a gaming machine. some people have money to burn, but not me.
The Death of Gaming Redux (Score:5, Insightful)
Whoops, PC Gaming vs. Console Gaming misconception #1: "PC gaming will die off because consoles will eventially have the same horsepower for a lower price."
WRONG.
It's an utter falicy that the PC needs to fight for it's life against a console in the gaming world for one simple fact-- Gaming on the PC is completely different. First, consider the kind of games you play on the PC versus those you play on a console. It's all an issue of complexity, and half of that is the input devices availible to you. Information management is where the console falls flat on it's face, into the mud and stays there. And it's not likely to get up anytime soon because of the fundemental philosophy behind it-- All information must be accessed through a gamepad in order to make gaming as brainless as possible. Even in comparible (and simpler) games, like FPSs, you will never find a device equal to a mouse, and it's something that console makers give a wide berth in favor of the formentioned philosophy.
Also, the PC is the home of grass roots gaming. With a PC, you can become the next Counter Strike of gaming. Speaking of which, what was the last count of people playing that mod? Yeah, keep telling me PC gamin is in trouble 9_9 The PC will also always be the home of cutting edge gaming, since developers don't have to wait until the next full out console release 3 years down the road to push the envelope a little further. If it's good, people will upgrade their hardware right the and there just to buy your product, royalty free I might add. No console barons, specialized code/hardware required.
But I guess we have to break out The Death of Gaming myth just to keep things lively now and then, right?
are there no more gamers? (Score:3, Insightful)
It would seem to me that the following scenario might emmerge:
- gamers are being abandoned by game companies for the mass-produced consumer markets
- gamers will no longer have games that meet their interests
- new, innovative home-brew companies will pop up to meet the need, producing more fun games
THis might not be possible, due to the current situation with games where the development process is quite involved, but I still see it as possible. I personally hope it is, as I can't see myself playing many of the games made in the last few years...
Different controls, different uses... (Score:3, Interesting)
Is there any game on the PC that can be operated by 4 people, with only one machine? I doubt it. Two tops. The controls are hardly complex (which may be a good thing %-)... ) but it sure is fun. The PC is great if you're one person/PC, playing FPS/RTS/whatever. But for multiplayer without everyone bringing their own machine, it plain sucks.
Kjella
Re:What about the rest of the world? (Score:3, Interesting)
American PC games don't do well in Japan. My girlfriend (as a side job) translated Northland and Deus Ex 2 for Japanese release. They didn't do well nor were the games really that good.
Re:What about the rest of the world? (Score:4, Funny)
You girlfriend translates games? :)
She didn't by any chance translate a game called Zero Wing, did she?
Re:What about the rest of the world? (Score:2)
Re:What about the rest of the world? (Score:2)