Entrenched in The Console Wars!

[Jumplion]

Steve actually i found that a bit brutal towards PC owners.......not saying that your a brutal man but dude the PC is something everyone need's in the house. Its like one of the most popular forms of communication. I don't disagree because i get a bit fed up with the constant updates, and my computer complaining it needs something i haven't got but its all automatic Download all you need to do install it, PC these day's are easy to maintain.

Dell Tech Support would say otherwise. Hell, my dad's co-workers say otherwise.

Most people I know either have Hand-Me-Down PCs or their parents just bought one for them. That does not mean that they know anything about PCs, and if you are ever given a Hand-Me-Down you're pretty much screwed in the gaming department (IE Me, my computer has all sorts of compatibility issues).

Then you got the paranoid parents not letting their kids download anything or limiting their access to internet and stuff, and you've got a bunch of other random crap popping up on your PC, it can be overwhelming at first if you have no idea what makes the PC work in the first place, and that's just PCs in general, if you try to get into PC gaming OH BOY you better have a friend or find a good forum (The Escapist for instance) to help you out if it's your first time.

People are stupid, they don't want to put much effort into learning something they're not interested in (if they're not interested in PCs).

 

[adrenalinq]

I got all the consoles. I got PS3 and it is all covered by dust. I prefer to play multiplatform on xbox because of achievements (yeah - dont underestimate munchkinism) and better network. Yes, sony got free but awful network.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm just curious, every time someone says that the PSN sucks they never actually elaborate on what made it sucky (to them atleast) and they go on about how the 360 has better online without elaborating on that. I have few problems with PSN, it doesn't lag to much for me but that's just personal.

Did you read the rest of my post??? PSN suck because you cant communicate with other players! What the fuck is wrong with making voice support for PS3 games? I played Bad Company - no headset support. I played Army of Two - no headset support. Fuck Sony for this. And you - just own both consoles and compare, dont just post that I am a funboy because I am not. I choose quality - not hype. And fuck this "cell" that cant afford to keep 60 fps in Call of Duty 4 in 1080p - game runs at 600p with 25-30 fps.

 

[Altorin]

Thats why its personal computer gaming

That still doesn't strip Indigo_Dingo from his point.

you would need some sort of miracle to do that most of the time.

but that's ok.

I've come to love the bugger

And this will be controversial, but I still say that Valve should invest a bit more time in the console versions of their games (like actually doing something about the Ps3), such as instilling some measure of local multiplayer. I think some form of scaled down local multiplayer for TF2 would be really fun (cripple the spies, but are they able to convince anyone other than the sentries anymore?). And the co-op for Left 4 Dead has to be able to be local.

keep on truckin'

Huh?

you kept up your point in response and complete disregard for my post about you being a person impossible to knock off their point. I found this funny, and thought "keep on truckin'" was an apt axiom for the moment.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I'm not saying that you have to play on consoles; I'm just saying that you have no justification for telling others to ditch consoles as PCs can do it all, because it's obvious that the Real World doesn't agree with you.

Steve actually i found that a bit brutal towards PC owners.......not saying that your a brutal man but dude the PC is something everyone need's in the house. Its like one of the most popular forms of communication. I don't disagree because i get a bit fed up with the constant updates, and my computer complaining it needs something i haven't got but its all automatic Download all you need to do install it, PC these day's are easy to maintain.

The Internet is indeed an extremely powerful and popular communications medium, but you don't need a gaming PC to access it. Better than 90% of consumers would be served well by a $300 EeePC or $400 Aspire... or a desktop of equivalent price. You don't need PCIe to get to YouTube; you don't don't need a multicore processor to use Yahoo/Gmail or interact with forums.

To use myself as an example, my laptop is a Celeron 900MHz with 1GB RAM and integrated graphics and I can use it to browse the Web, run Outlook and OneNote, give PowerPoint presentations, play rich media and serve it too (to my Zune, my desktop, and my Xbox), and even do photo touchup. You can see that even with its limited hardware specs it can do everything reasonably well except play current-generation games. So the newer, cheaper, and even slightly more powerful netbooks would be ample for utilitarian computer use for the typical family.

For a lot of people, it doesn't make sense to pay the extra cost and make the additional effort to upgrade a personal computer into a gaming rig when they can spend the equivalent dollar cost (or less) and get a console that works with much less user maintainance and a much more straightforward installation process. (And no worries about rootkits or lost PC keys too boot.)

There are people who do enjoy the process of creating and maintaining a PC gaming rig as part of the gaming hobby, and I have no beef with them. It just annoys me to see people elevate themselves above other people on, of all things, a game platform... no matter which platform they use. The different platforms exist because different people have different tastes. Respect that, and I'm fine.

-- Steve

 

[Bored Tomatoe]

It's especially hillarious that the Sony fanboy site you posted has an Xbox 360 banner ad at the top of the page.

Yes, that made me laugh.

 

[LucanDesmond]

Alright, I've been keeping up with this thread since I started it. I'm glad to see that this didn't just deteriorate into a flame war. I'm sorry I forgot to include PCs in my OP. PCs are definitely a viable and great gaming platform. I was just thinking of the "consoles," as in, the Wii, 360, and PS3. PC definitely deserves a place in this discussion and I'm glad it was added.

I've recently rejoined the ranks of PC gamers again actually. I wasn't really able to game on my PC before due to a serious lack of a good graphics card, but I recently upgraded to a decent card. So I DLed Steam and will hopefully be adding TF2 soon. Anybody here that wants to send me an FR on Steam my name on there is "Lucan Desmond". I haven't been a PC gamer in quite a while and I'm really looking forward to getting back into it again. The last time I was a hardcore PC gamer I was playing Starcraft, Diablo 2, and Half-Life. Good times.

As for the "consoles" I still have to give my vote to the 360. The PS3 is a good system, that will become great over time, but right now it hasn't gained enough momentum for me. Aside from MGS4 and LBP, it doesn't really have any games that interest me that much. So the most use I get out of my PS3 at the moment is streaming movies to it from my PC. The Wii, well I wish I could say it was the best. I've loved Nintendo since I got an NES for my fifth birthday. But with almost no good third party games and only one or two first party games each year, the Wii just collects dust around here. I haven't used mine since shortly after SSBB came out, and with a Mario, Zelda and Metroid games already all out for the system, who knows when I'll be using it again.

Thats just my opinion though.

Now I have to go re-learn how to be a PC gamer again. I don't even know how to get around Steam... I'll get it, just give me a few days to get used to it. I'm back Valve. Where can I get some good mods? Do they still do that? Can I get a Half-Life 2 version of "The Opera"? Does anybody remember "The Opera" mod? Good times....

 

[Livi70590]

I stopped caring after SEGA pulled out.

 

[Jumplion]

I got all the consoles. I got PS3 and it is all covered by dust. I prefer to play multiplatform on xbox because of achievements (yeah - dont underestimate munchkinism) and better network. Yes, sony got free but awful network.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm just curious, every time someone says that the PSN sucks they never actually elaborate on what made it sucky (to them atleast) and they go on about how the 360 has better online without elaborating on that. I have few problems with PSN, it doesn't lag to much for me but that's just personal.

Did you read the rest of my post??? PSN suck because you cant communicate with other players! What the fuck is wrong with making voice support for PS3 games? I played Bad Company - no headset support. I played Army of Two - no headset support. Fuck Sony for this. And you - just own both consoles and compare, dont just post that I am a funboy because I am not. I choose quality - not hype. And fuck this "cell" that cant afford to keep 60 fps in Call of Duty 4 in 1080p - game runs at 600p with 25-30 fps.

Jeez, calm down dude.

Most games I have, have Headset support but I usually don't use my mic much since there's no real reason to and in most games I play we work fine without it (that and it's a cheap ass piece of plastic).

And none of that is Sony's fault, it's the developers fault for not including voice chat and not being able to keep a good FPS on their game.

I've played LIVE before (though admitedly not enough to warrent a good opinion) but if I had to put an opinion on it I'd say that PSN and LIVE to me are about on equal footing. On one hand it took forever to find anyone on LIVE and I have to pay just to play online on the other hand it was mainly lag free but with weird high-volcolized kids. On the PSN side it does stutter a bit sometimes (except for Warhawk, not ONCE has it lagged on me) and completely drop me from online on rare occasions but then again it's free and I get a good service without the sqeaky kids and I have a crappy internet connection anyway.

I was just asking for a comparison, no need to get your panties in a twist.

 

[Jumplion]

I got all the consoles. I got PS3 and it is all covered by dust. I prefer to play multiplatform on xbox because of achievements (yeah - dont underestimate munchkinism) and better network. Yes, sony got free but awful network.

I was just asking for a comparison, no need to get your panties nickers in a twist.

Damn you Americans! Foiled againDamn you all to hell! You blew it up!
*shakes fist*

I'm horrible at puns arn't I?

 

[Jumplion]

I got all the consoles. I got PS3 and it is all covered by dust. I prefer to play multiplatform on xbox because of achievements (yeah - dont underestimate munchkinism) and better network. Yes, sony got free but awful network.

I was just asking for a comparison, no need to get your panties nickers in a twist.

Damn you Americans! Foiled againDamn you all to hell! You blew it up!
*shakes fist*

I'm horrible at puns arn't I?

Not at allOf course you are! sometimes I chuckleyell at the screen, isn't that enough to make you keep on going?stop with the horrible puns?

Yes, I've got a new Forum game idea!

 

[GunslingerUK]

What i was trying to say, is that you do not need an expensive PC but a decent computer (or laptops) but something with access to the Internet i guess

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I agree completely that netbooks are ample for typical end users, but I'm curious, can your laptop play 720P movies?

Is it really that much more user maintenance though? How much user maintenance do you have to do with your gaming PC?

And are the installations that much more straightforward on the consoles? What about Steam? I would think not having to worry about losing your game discs (let alone PC CD keys) would be a lot more convenient than having to put a disc into a drive to play a game. Is the XBLM and PSN inconvenient too?

Isn't it annoying when someone exaggerates the "problms" with a platform too?

Yes, my laptop can play 720p video... admittedly my display is only a 7" widescreen optimised for 480p, because it was one of the first Origami models, but I've managed to get it to run 720p without stuttering. (Especially if I hook it up to an external display, so that the image doesn't require scaling.) More current hardware would do so much more easily... but we're talking about consumers here, not tech-heads, who'd resort to disc players on TVs (or PVR solutions like Tivo) and not bother with turning their "Internet" into an HD-content display.

As far as maintainance for a gaming rig, there's not much these days given all the autoupdate software built in but you do need to do some basic stuff like defragging and driver updates, as well as keeping game patches current. Consoles either don't or automate the process to a much higher degree. Admittedly I don't have any experience with Steam or much experiece with other online content delivery systems, so I don't know how much that has streamlined things, but it's a case of making a little effort versus making no effort.

Installation is vastly easier for console titles; you drop the disc in the tray and close the tray, and the console then launches the game. No installation files (though some PS3 titles took what I view as a backward step and require this), no fiddling with option sets to get it to work, no wondering which driver update is screwing things up. Drop-and-play is just as convenient for a game console as it is for DVD/Blu-Ray media, and most households are set up to store game discs in their standardised casings very well. And yes, no key code on a jewel case or stuck inside a box.

I can't speak to PSN, as I picked the Microsoft console for my HD system, but XBLM is reasonably convenient as a content provider for light game content or downloadable content. Hauling down entire discs (ie: Xbox Classics) is less convenient, but the price is right. DRM is an issue that XBLM is still working out, though, annoyingly enough.

As to whether I'm exaggerating the problems or not, I honestly don't think so; I think a lot of PC partisans are blind to the little things that really are obstacles for people who aren't as technically inclined.

-- Steve

 

[LucanDesmond]

And none of that is Sony's fault, it's the developers fault for not including voice chat and not being able to keep a good FPS on their game.

Actually thats only half true. It is Sony's fault really. The developers may be too lazy to put in these things for PS3 games and they can get away with it because Sony doesn't require it. Microsoft does. All games released on the 360 HAVE to have achievement support, voice chat for multiplayer, etc. All those bells and whistles that Xbox players take for granted and complain about the PS3 not having, Microsoft DEMANDS that they be in the games, while Sony does not. It's something that Sony should really change. Not everybody cares about it, but the majority of players would prefer it be available.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I like all the consoles. I couldn't care less which one(s) I have as long as the have fun games, I never got the whole Fanboy thing.

If there were more people sharing that sentiment, my friend, the Internet would be a much happier place. *sigh*

-- Steve