CrunchGear

A PC is a multipurpose device whereas a gaming console is made for one purpose only.
Being multipurpose the PC can never be as good as a dedicated gaming console.
Windows has to be all things to all people and incorporate a lot of services and functions that are unessential and not necessary in any way for gaming and can only slow you down.
Long live Colecovision.

The guy above who said that the PC can never be as good as a dedicated gaming console is a fanboy at best. A PC can be upgraded to play the latest and greatest, where as a console can not. That alone is invaluable. I’ll agree that the console is more of a complete experience, but the PC is fast catching up with the latest efforts from microsoft.

Who cares about the cross-platform 360 stuff? Everyone was complaining early about the PS3 not being a dedicated gaming machine like the 360 - now that the 360 is starting with live tv (and similar entertainment crap)? Seems to me like the 360 is becoming more like the dreaded PS3 then…

I’ll wait for my PS3 in March…I’ll get a 360 one day from cash crusaders…I’ve seen a couple of them there for less than half the price (half the new sticker price)…and most of them look brand new anyway!

Anyway, PC still rocks - any FPS game sucks on any console…no mouse = kiddie-lick bull. Who would want to play oblivion on a console? I tried it on a buddies 360 and it sux when compared to the PC version. Same applies to gears of war - what’s the big fuss about? I tried it for 20 minutes and it sucked. Same will probably apply to Resistance of man on PS3…watched gamespots video review and i could see the typical ‘jerking’ motions from the use of a console controller - well now there’s none of that crap when it comes to a PC!

I have already tried doing the LAN thing with it. and all i got were error messages. when it did connect to the network. anybody that didn’t have vista couldn’t share over the LAN, they also cannot see your files. cant transfer back and forth as well. this was with a legit copy of the beta. maybe they have fixed this i don’t know. but it was far from easy.

Try playing a strategy game like C&C or AoE on a console! LAME comes to mind. The PC rocks. Why you need to connect 360 gamers with PC gamers? I don’t know. But that seems cool.

1. My 360 Controllers already work with my PC. You don’t need direct X 10 or Vista for that. In fact, with XNA you can make games that work with the 360 controller and play on the PC and the 360.

2. Again, this has nothing to do with DirectX 10 or Vista and will work with previous versions.

3. I already covered this in topic 1. XNA allows you to build for PC and 360 already, and this doesn’t require DirectX 10. It may in the future allow you to use DirectX 10, it currently doesn’t and it would be foolish of MS to force you to target those platforms in the near future.

4. There are already enough ways for me to talk to people I know online. Team Speak, Ventrillo, Skype, etc etc etc. While it might be nice to have live integration on the PC side the truth of the matter is 90% of the people I’ve played with on live I wouldn’t want to talk to outside of that match. The people that I do talk to on live I already have other communication mechanisms with which to talk to them.

5. Game ratings are prominently placed on the box, and if you don’t let your kids download and install programs you won’t have this problem. There are other issues with the game folder, primarily for independent developers, but for the most part it’s addressing a problem that doesn’t really exist, and takes away some control from the end user. Which has historically been a bad thing.

6. While this is nice, there’s nothing specific to Vista that makes this work. It can be implemented on any operating system.

7. Nothing really good or bad about this one. Hopefully with parental controls built into the operating system there will be less oportunity for game developers to take heat for the content of their games, but I seriously doubt it. Also, this really doesn’t seem like something that should be a part of an operating system, but that’s just an opinion.

8. DirectX 10 isn’t anything special, and while there are some underlying changes to how the kernel handles video drivers and graphical output tying DirectX 10 to the operating system is an artificial method of forcing users to upgrade. Watch for games not using DirectX (OpenGL, DX9) to perform as well and look just as beautiful.

9. This isn’t an issue that is addressed as part of Vista, and in most cases the problems with connecting users outside of your LAN are due to firewalls. This isn’t a bad thing actually, you shouldn’t be able to just punch holes in your firewall any time you feel like it as then so would every piece of malicious software under the sun.

10. This is only applicable if the games implement the support for it. I don’t see it in the best interest of many developers to do so. Additionally, this has absolutely nothing to do with the operating system, but additional software that runs on top of it. You can do this with any OS, and tying it to Vista is another artificial method of forcing upgrades.

From your second set:

4. The 360 is not a PC. It’s a locked down fixed architecture that you cannot run any software you want on it. It is a console that is getting additional features in the home entertainment category, that’s about it.

Now for my points.

1. You have no idea what you are talking about and should stop writing articles.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you.

My article came out very similar to yours, in the end. I just had a few more things to add… the key being that NONE of his arguments really apply to Vista! LOL

ugh! I’m unconvinced. The demerits of that platform far outweight the merits.

From what I have read in tech rags, it sounds like Microshaft’s programmers took leave of their senses. Absolutely unfathomable lack-of-logic.

Suffice to say, I am not going anywhere near Windows “Vista” and its meager improvements.

More B$ from M$–who needs it. Their credit is up with me.

I assume that Peter owned PC in the era when m68k based machines were running circles around PCs.

Forgive me, but I don’t think the term “Cross-Platform” even begins to come into play when you’re talking about MS on BOTH sides.

Why not just give up and play solitaire on win 3.1?

When I hear “Cross-Platform” I think of different OSs. Not different machines.

Try playing a game on vista against/with someone on a mac, or linux and then I’ll start to agree.

The only thing you’ve mentioned that appeals to me is the 360 controller.

I hate having to configure every button for every game and this could simplify of even nullify that.

However I am not blind and see that this is nothing more than a ploy to get me to waste more money on more ms junk. I will not buy vista so I can buy a controller for it. If I see something actually worth buying about vista then I’ll consider buying it, but Ms has already raped me too much in the past.

I have head nothing about vista so far that sounds like it can do anything that I can not already do with Xp or any of a hundred linux distros.

The only thing they are offering is to nullify the usefulness of my copy of Xp by making it impossible to use new software.

You want to talk about “old school” stuff? How about the Amiga? It had a GUI and windows and never needed any patches or hotfixes to use. MS tried to sue several distros of linux for use of things they claim to have invented even though the same things are present in the Amiga OS.

No. MS can either adapt to what consumers want and need or they can keep this up and never see my money.

Buy what you want. If you enjoy vista then I’m happy for you but I’ll not be there unless they come up with something appealing.

Vintage: thats not true at all. The pc will always be better than consoles at gaming because A) it is more flexible and B) it is much more powerful. The ps3 and xbox360 were obsolete months before they were even released.

To the author: saying todays shooters are better on consoles is pure ignorance. No mouse and keyboard on consoles = serious disadvantage.

“DirectX 10. With the arrival of the Xbox 360 and PS3 games on the PC looked a bit last millennium, but check out a screen shot of Crysis or Shadowrun and you’ll change your mind!”

Thats not true at all, oblivion blows the $hit out of both of those consoles, it is a FACT it looks better on the pc.

This is retarted, itll take a 4000$ computer to touch console gaming, no question about it.

My $1,400 computer, which included headphones, mouse, keyboard, and 14” screen absolutely blows away any console graphic experience (looking at the same games, anyway, to be fair).

Not only can I play terrific games, but I can design maps for Crysis with Sandbox 2. Oh, and I have arcade emulators on here… oh, and tons of classic games you can’t get for consoles… oh, and San Andreas Multiplayer patch… oh, and I play PS/PS2/Gamecube/NES/SNES games on here as well. Oop! I almost forgot all of the free games, programs, and movies I can find in seconds with a good net connection!

But yeah, you’ll need to spend $4,000 to match what a console can do, lol…

Better work on your arguments/facts more next time.

Ha ha. Donovan’s commentary is what makes the article worth reading.

Oh yeah, and Crysis is both DirectX10 and DirectX9 compatible. Apparently it looks slightly better in DirectX10 mode, but at that level of graphical splendor it hardly matters anymore.

“This is retarted, itll take a 4000$ computer to touch console gaming, no question about it.”

Actually my computer cost about $1500 and it runs faster than both consoles. =/. I see your point though, still pretty expensive.

10. Xifre.

walmat had a good sale so i’s picked the ComPaq.

good for the Vista/.

I wwent to Best Buy and looked around. I asked some guy, but they tried to show it up my ass!

Too much pressures. So I just a guy at work get it. Running good now>

I’ll show you!!

Interesting article. I think Vista and DX10 will help improve the PC gaming experience somewhat, but the same basic problems that plague PC gaming will still be around. DX10 and Vista does nothing to stop developers from releasing unfinished games that might need patching the second you take it out of the box, for example. And as long as hardware manufacturers are still on 6-month cycles, the cost of entry to play the newest games will still be a problem.

What the PC needs more than anything is a single spec… but at that point you’re pretty much talking about consoles anyways.

What other alternative is there? You’ll buy it, she’ll buy it, we’ll all buy it. Because there won’t be a choice, see? Want your DRMed crapware that comes with Shiny Device 2.3 to work properly? Gotta get Vista.

Want Snazzy 9.7 to properly render shadows? Oh, gotta get Vista. That porn stream using a new codec? Vista, pal.

Alternatives? K. I could get a Mac. Sure, I can do everything…except play something other than WoW. Making Grandma a slideshow and setting it perfectly to tear-inducing music? Sure. Halo 2391 UltraFrag Edition? Not so much.

Linux. Okay. It’s free. And there about as much support as one would expect for a free operating system. Plenty of discussion boards, distributions, manuals, documentation, etc. But all salivated and lorded over by the Elite; the Uber-I-Run-Linux-Because-My-I.Q.-is-217 crowd. I’d have to spend 4 years of Solitary in an MIT server closet to be accepted into their culture. Um, no.

Just want to play great games for more than 2 years without having a discussion on how my current box will join my 2600 next to the sump pump downstairs.

So. I wonder at which Service Pack release I should make the purchase?

From the looks of it nearly everybody here are biased… it’s either consoles owns PCs or the other way around… To all the PC gamers who say FPS sux on consoles, well it is all about preference. Mouse and Keyboard does give more precision I won’t argue with that, but when you get used to playing with a controller you’ll get the exact same game experience. I prefer gaming on my xbox360 anyday.
I also believe that as a whole, you’ll get much more intense gameplay on a console than in front of a PC. Eventhough my PC has a 24″ monitor and a 6.1 surround speaker set, it’s just not the same as blasting away on my home theater setup (46″ LCD screen and a 1200 watt surround reciever with some bigass speakers and a kickbutt subwoofer that keeps knocking down my naboughers pictures from his walls) anyways you get the point.

I’m not saying the PC gaming sux, I would never even consider gaming something like starcraft on a console, games that really needs a mouse has to be played on a PC… and FPS games doesn’t need mice to be fun to play…

Sorry bout the kinda off topic post… I just hate PC gamers narrow sight on console gamming, just because they didn’t have fun the 15 mins they tried it.

@Lemmedasker
I know what you mean man. Personally I am no good at console fps. I need a mouse and keyboard. However, my friend kicks ass on a controller. So yes it is all about preference. But that being said it could be a problem that mouses ,on average, are a lot faster and more accurate than a controller. So how will that work when you have a PC gamer vs. a 360 gamer on a fps? I dunno. Just have to wait and see. But it looks like mouses will have the advantage.

But don’t get me wrong, I love consoles as much as PC’s. And theirs defiantly games I wouldn’t want to play on PC.

Thx for the support Toast

I really hope that M$ keeps the online gaming separated, so only PC vs PC and console vs console is possible, except for maybe mmorpg games… If PCs gets to intrude on e.g. xbox live, console gamers are gonna get their asses kicked in FPS games hands down, they won’t even know what hit them…

But if M$ really does make this move, I think it most doubtfull they will, it will be an alltime low… there will allways be some lameass PC gamers that’ll use every cheap-shot/trick/aim-bot/wallhack/cheat available just to get online-cred!
And even just the mouse and kb is a huge advantage over a game controller…
The reason why I like playing online on my xbox360 is that everybody is having fun and nobody has an advantager over anybody, here it all comes down to skill.

To get back on topic… I seriously doubt that Vista is going to improve PC gaming all that much… yeah the insta savegame loading is nice, but thats about it… DX10 is in my opinion just a trick to get people to buy vista, old games aren’t going to look any better and the new ones… well Crysis does look good, but it is not all that much better than Gear of war on the 360…

you all suck

The author clearly doesn’t have a clue, as Donovan pointed out. Vista will be good for gaming simply because it contains DirectX 10. The other stuff he mentioned is mostly completely unrelated to Vista itself.

There are technical write-ups on the web explaining why DirectX 10 is a very good thing… as a 3D programmer I can tell you that it will make a big difference to future games.

Also, I hate to sound like a PC fanboy, but a PC can do everything a console can do and then some. It’s not too difficult to hook a PC up to a TV with surround sound and use a console controller. And in a year or two, the PC gaming hardware will make console hardware look like a joke.

Well…

The PC can to everything a console can to and better, but at a more initial expense.

Consoles can just do games but is cheaper.

Lemmedasker:
If i like plug my tv and use my suround i can with a PC so this is no different.

I bougt my PC for about $2000 and almost have the latest and greatest. dual core 2 and radeaon 1950 and can upgrade. And can get almost everything i need for free software/game wise.

You forgot the REAL ten largest concerns about gaming in Vista:

1) DRM
2) Needs special hardware to be compatible with DRM
3) A lot of performance loss because of DRM procedures / polling / etc.
4) No lending to your friends, thanks to DRM
5) No easy hardware upgrade, thanks to DRM
6) No privacy at all, thanks to DRM
7) Incompatible formats, thanks to DRM
8) DRM
9) DRM
10) DRM

As long as people do not change to Vista, good games will keep arriving to Windows XP… and we all know… people will NOT change to Vista, because DRM really sucks!

I thought vista would suck ass until i used it, i will never ever use XP again. Oh and to the idiots who said itll take a billion upgrades on your P.C to run vista, my home P.C runs it easily, with full settings and i am in no way a hardcore P.C gamer (i own a 360 and a Wii and haven’t bought a P.C game since the original xbox came out) and even our two sub-2000 dollar (australian dollars) laptops run it at full power with no noticeable lag.

i believe the term is pwned?

Josh

Skit Skit Bang Bang

Josh, stop use drugs. Even a power PC lost performance when using Vista! Vista, as not was XP, don’t gain performance when running in new PCs comparing with the older release.

i think ms have not say a few thing about vista yet. ’cause beside dx10 i see no reson for vista either. i’ll just wait and see. for now 360 all the way.

Ooooooooooo, vista lets you use a 360 pad. Big deal. They’ve had game pads for the PC for decades, and they already have several wireless ones.

Finding what games your buddies are in? Try Xfire.

Want to “LAN” with people on the internet? Use Hamachi. (Granted, everyone would need to get it, but its free so no biggie)

Well, the real reasons to choose PC gaming really does not have a whole lot to do with anything they noted above. The 360 controller? No thank you! That is why I have a PC - so I do not have to play on the 360. (I do own a 360 too though!)

SupCom, Command and Conquer 3, Crysis, SimLife.. the list continues. Those are reasons to want a PC.

Not to mention the fact EVERY game looks better on the PC than the 360 due to its limited NATIVE resolution of 720p - the game just look better on the PC. Add that to the fact the consoles do not support DX10 means the PC will blow the consoles out of the water.

That is assuming you want to spend $800-1000 to build yourself a new computer. If not then the 360 is your best bet. But the ultimate gaming experience is the PC. The 360 is the “poor” mans computer.

yes u can use a mouse and a keyboar to play GEARS OF WAR

Xfire? Skype? Team Speak?

That’s great Donavon. So I have to run more crap in the background. And I can hope I can convince all my buddies to download and run all that crap too. “OK guys we’re going to play, launch Xfire, launch Team Speak, launch the game. OK what server are you on.” I think the author just explained that not all of us enjoy this crap.

And I’ll let you in on a secret Rainman, I’m not the only one who has had Xfire bluescreen my PC.

The author just pointed out a few reasons why Vista might be good for gaming. If you think you can do it better why didn’t you write the article?

Yeah vista is……..not going to be good.

Usually gamers want an operating system that uses LESS resources. Really the only thing thats appealing (to me anyways) is DX10 and the Areo theme (no more of that Fisher Price theme).

But even thoes two don’t sound that good right now. Expecially when you have to drop about $600 on a new card. I just bought a new card! Why should I go out and buy another? Really unless they come out with a direct x 10 exclusive game (which doesn’t seem likely at least for a while) than I’m happy with WinXP and DX9…

@FanBoy Killa:

Xfire, Ventrilo, and Team Speak do run in the background but they are light weight. The great thing about them is that they always work with ANY game. Only certain PC games will support voice chat in game.

Also, LIVE will limit the number of friends you can have in your friends list. Xfire give you more friends (not to mention “friend of a friend” functionality). And, Xfire will work with more games that LIVE will work with.

For organizing matches with your friends and for communicating with them, Xfire, Ventrilo, and/or Team Speak will be the best option until LIVE changes.

FanBoy Killa, xfire is not needed, TeamSpeak is all that is needed, and there is no way Vista is going to be able to do even half of what TS does. Vista is just a joke and the DX10 thing is a scam. We saw what happened when Sony tried to scam playstation fans by pushing blu-ray onto them. M$ is doing the same thing, and for that they will only succeed at holding themselves back. Nobody in their right mind is going to pay more than $99 for an OS. Sadly, DX10 development will stagnate because of what M$ is doing.

duh, george… my pc is better than an xbox. Not only that but if i wanted to, I could turn my xbox into a pc, thanks to gentoo. Now, if anyone else says there’s a difference between pc and console, You’ll have to let them down gently. The only real difference between the 2 now is that one is cheaper than the other.

I would rather have C&C 3 on the 360 cause windows ruins gaming, so much stuff going on in the back ground it lags games up, plus I have guaranteed good graphics on the 360, i have to have a top video card to touch the 360 graphics.

The old games do work. I ran vista RC2 for 6 months.

Looks like someone needs to check their facts and their grammar. This article, though somewhat interesting, is wildly inaccurate and opinionated. Let’s correct a few of the more glaring stupidities, shall we?

1. Nowadays the best shooters are NOT on consoles - true, Gears of War and the Halo series (though not my personal favorite by any means) are strong, good games that ARE on consoles (though Gears is clearly coming to the PC eventually) but PC gaming still has easily, by far, the best shooters not only in variety and complexity but also in ease and precision of control. A gamepad, not matter how much auto-aiming is provided, will never rival the simplicity and elegance of the mouse & keyboard combo for aiming and shooting. Not to mention that this year alone sees some gigantic, big-name shooters all coming to the PC - Crysis (recently confirmed as not coming to any consoles ever), Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, UT2K7, BioShock, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and GRAW 2 all show that the PC still gets the majority of heavy-hitting, well-respected PC First-Person Shooters.

The other glaring stupidity is implying that the PC, in general, isn’t as valid of a gaming platform as it once was. This is wrong as well. If you look at release data focusing on sales, number of different titles, and creativity of games released, you’ll find that the PC is still extremely strong in each of these areas. Even more so in the sales category if you include subscription-based fees and downloadable sales figures.

Come on fellas, if you’re going to shove your article onto Digg, at least ensure that it’s of reasonable quality (spell-checked, grammar-checked) and somewhat factual - not this opinionated drivel.

Nuff said.

I think that Vista is just new…
I HATED XP when it first came out, and most people (including us gamers), thought that it was going to ruin us. But look what happened!

I think that Vista will probrably suck when it comes out, but that Microsoft will fix it up, patch some issues, and about a year from now, it will probrably be a worthy OS.

And as for th whole PC vs Console thing:

PC’s will always be better, faster, smarter, and technologically advanced, while Consoles will always be dwarfed by a PC’s power.

But when it comes down to it, a PC costs a ridiculous amount of money to put together to play games such as the un-released “Crysis”. Consoles are meant to be cheap, whic is one reason why the PS3 isn’t being pursued by as many people as the PS2, 360, or Wii. $400 for a 360 is the best deal that you’re going to get for a machine that can at least look spectacular on some levels. Not to mention that its an even playing ground. Everyone has the same controllers, same console, and same games. Noone has an advantage over another, making for an even, equal playing field. So, while consoles have game-play down, PC’s will always be ontop of the lastest tech, and will always have beautifully detailed games that can look photo-realistic.

Either way, Consoles and PC’s are both worthy pieces of hardware, and they both perform their duties well. Why else would PC gaming be so popular, and why else would consoles start showing up on the news, and become an everyday necessity in a house?

–General Rap

Can you use Team Speak to just chat with your buds? Not easily. Live will mean that you can save the cell phone minutes and use this as a VoIP. Let’s see Team Speak to dat.

Console games as a whole are better for the following reasons:

1) No upgrades, buy the console plug it in and it works.
2) Multiplayer games just work. No monthly access fee for each title you own just one fee that’s it.
3) Can go rent a game play it for the weekend and return it once you’re done. No need to buy the game clear it in two days and be out 50 - 60 dollars.

I am sure there are many more but these ones come to mind.

“2) Multiplayer games just work. No monthly access fee for each title you own just one fee that’s it.”

Thats WoW only, and WoW is an RPG, which like every other one out there, requires a monthly subscription.

“3) Can go rent a game play it for the weekend and return it once you’re done. No need to buy the game clear it in two days and be out 50 - 60 dollars.”

You can rent PC games as well…

“1) No upgrades, buy the console plug it in and it works.”

Thats what happens with PC as well, only PC delivers better graphics, and better playability.

I own both a 360 and a PC.