Why game on a PC when I can buy a Xbox?

[Anonymous]

I think the PC's days are numbered, as the Xbox is the true alternative.

This is why I've given up on PC gaming:

1. no more upgrades
2. no more hardware conflicts.. no more driver downloads
3. no more bugs, bugs, bugs
4. no more unfinished games
5. PC games are dwindling. If it's on a PC it will more then likely be on the Xbox
6. future game development is going console. There is no denying it guys. The AAA titles will be mostly Console only, while PC gamers will get the left overs.
7. cost is a big factor: brand new PC = $1,200 (minimum). Console = $250-300
8. Consoles can now go online and the cheats are non-existent. No more wall hacks, bots, etc.. The Xbox is so much better to play online than the recent PC games out there.
9. I can play online and do not encounter any lag, because everyone on Xbox live has broadband. We don't have a 56ker slowing us down. And ... I love the voice headset.
10. I love gaming on my 35" hdtv w/ 6.1 surround sound, instead of a puny 19" Sony monitor.
11. Mouse and Keyboard? bleh... Unreal Championship and Halo has proven that this ancient setup is not mandatory anymore. The Xbox gamepad is well equiped for FPS games.

These are the main reasons why I've given up on PC gaming. but... I do realize that games such as AoM, Homeworld and Impossible Creatures are better played on the PC.

But if you look at the PC's other genres, especially the FPS genre you will see that it's game over. While UT2003 might look a little better than the Xbox's Unreal Championship, big whoop e doo! You need a P4 watercooled, Geforce 5 to play UT2003 at full detail. But on the Xbox I can play UC without any upgrades. And Xbox owners should be seeing mods soon, so take away that advantage.

And we've gotten Ghost Recon and will soon get Wolfenstein so.. PC who?

Oh.. and we will be getting Doom 3 also.. So why upgrade my PC?

I might play some RTS on my laptop, but for all other gaming genres the Xbox will be the only one.

:D

[Tyjenks]

So your deserting the PC. Accept for RTS's. WIll you not have to upgrade for that. You cannot give it up and still play one or two PC genres.

I am going to stop right here because you are either trolling or high.

[xahlt]

You sound like you answered your own questions (John not Tyjenks).

[Wholly Schmidt]

John, you sound like you're just trying to pick a fight. I've got friends who try the opposite approach to get me started, "But Chris, the Xbox is just a dumbed down PC in a box, console games suck because blah blah blah!"

Consider this. Are PC's in danger of being replaced by consoles? Of course not. As long as we've got PC's, someone will make games for them. Whether you think those games are getting better, worse, or whatever, is your decision but I think it's safe to say there's no overwhelming reason someone should give up on PC gaming, only personal reasons that are a matter of taste in games. I'm not saying someone can't rightly choose to play only PC's or only consoles, but that it's a matter of preference; both are still quite viable, and this is never the kind of thing you'll be able to argue someone into agreeing with you on.

[DennyA]

Buh-bye.

Don't let the browser window hit you in the ass on your way out. :-)

[SpoofyChop]

I have a feeling you realize that most people don't have HDTV at this point. That limits most people to playing at the 640x480 or whatever lo-res that Analog TV's support.

If somebody wanted to replicate your setup, based on some research at BestBuy.com, my guess is that it would probably cost at least $1000 for the TV, and $200 for the XBox.

That means that you are essentialy spending $1200 dollars to get a HDTV/gaming combo.

If you buy an analog TV of the same size, you'll probably pay about $500 to $600 by my estimate.

You can then get a mid-range Athlon based game PC for about $600 and a good 19" monitor for $250.

That means that for $1450, you will have two entertainment stations instead of one, and the PC will also allow you to do many other things that the XBox won't let you do.

I'm not going to claim that your post was a troll since it was reasonably presented, but I think you realize what the difference is between these two options.

It's a matter of personal preference.

[Tyjenks]

I'm not going to claim that your post was a troll since it was reasonably presented, but I think you realize what the difference is between these two options.

It's a matter of personal preference.

It is a legitimate debate, but.......this guy's a loon.

Super Big Happy Fun Reason Number One to never give up PC gaming: THE STRATEGY GAME GENRE

I waited in line for my PS2 on debut eve for 7-8 hours. No more PC trouble. The PS2 will be a renaissance that saves my pocketbook and my frustration from the PC treadmill. Now 2 years later, reality has set in. I have purchased possibly 7 or 9 games. In the same time I have probably bought 20 PC games. If you like a wide range of genre variety, one console will never be equal to that of the PC.

The very fact that he states he will play the occasional RTS on his laptop renders the rest of his post null, void, and moot IMO.

[Jim F.]

3. no more bugs, bugs, bugs
4. no more unfinished games


Tried playing Fellowship of the Rings yet? Both buggy and unfinished. Spent 2 hours on the phone with tech support before they had me blow away every single saved game from my Xbox and start from scratch. It fixed the problem, but it means that as long as I want to play FoTR, I can't save games from other titles. The game is also missing several features that were touted in the previews but later scrapped so the game could be released on time.

As long as I need a PC for work, I'll own PC games. And as long as my 2 main internet options are WebTV or a PC, I'll own a PC.

[runesword forger]

It's an old argument. For an avid gameplayer, it's kind of hard to see his points, even the financial ones. The $10 bargain bin at your local Best Buy or whatever probably has a dozen games that are just excellent. With some care, I could probably obtain 25 top notch PC games for $500. Bill Gates couldn't buy 25 top notch games for the Xbox because they don't exist, but even if they did, that $500 only gets 10-12 of them.

And it seems like PC gaming is still very strong. I'd put the list of terrific PC games up against the entire catalog for consoles, and it would probably be much longer. It would certainly be more varied.

My reasons for switching to console gaming are simpler. I like playing the games with my kids, and it's a lot easier to gather round the TV in the living room. Besides, my wife is secretly overthrowing the educational establishment via e-mail most evenings, so I gotta go elsewhere.

PS No more bugs? Go play Morrowind on the Xbox and report back. By the way, the PC version got patched.

[sellthekids]

Spent 2 hours on the phone with tech support before they had me blow away every single saved game from my Xbox and start from scratch.

are you kidding? this was the solution? :evil:

OMG that is just not right. i hope this never happens to me or i will be very upset. jeez, that just sucks.

was it just FoTR that caused this? or was it other save games that they thought were acting up in the middle?

[Anonymous]

PC sUckOrs.... the XbOx will rOckErs jOOze jOckErs!

:D

[Wholly Schmidt]

That first Bond game that came out for the Xbox resulted in the same thing for me. It's save file corrupted Tony Hawk somehow so that when I put in Tony Hawk, I'd get the intro screen and then just audio, no video signal at all. Luckily I had a memory card and was able to backup most of my files before the "reformat".

[Jim F.]

Spent 2 hours on the phone with tech support before they had me blow away every single saved game from my Xbox and start from scratch.

are you kidding? this was the solution? :evil:

OMG that is just not right. i hope this never happens to me or i will be very upset. jeez, that just sucks.

was it just FoTR that caused this? or was it other save games that they thought were acting up in the middle?

Apparently, from the little info the tech support guy gave me, FoTR expects to be able to find X amount of contiguous free space on the hard drive in a certain place while you're playing. If a saved game happens to be written in any of that space, it causes the game to lock up at very specific points.

Strangest thing I've ever heard and it doesn't make any sense to me. But deleting all my saved games did indeed fix the problem.

The problem, since I didn't specify it, was that I could play the game just fine for a while, but in certain places the game would freeze. The sound would keep going, but the graphics, controls, etc... would all lock up and I'd have to do a hard reboot. Never expected to run into something like that on a console. Shows what happens when a console starts adding in PC components :)

[Anonymous]

That first Bond game that came out for the Xbox resulted in the same thing for me. It's save file corrupted Tony Hawk somehow so that when I put in Tony Hawk, I'd get the intro screen and then just audio, no video signal at all. Luckily I had a memory card and was able to backup most of my files before the "reformat".
Jesus-- these are serious problems! Especially considering the number of hours of saved gameplay you'd have to trudge through again, just to get back to where you were!

Are console developers really that retarded? How hard can it be to write a save game file that doesn't muck up other games?

[sellthekids]

Are console developers really that retarded? How hard can it be to write a save game file that doesn't muck up other games?

esp. when you have "50,000 blocks" of memory free! :wink:

(this is a joke. i've had my Xbox for a year now, played prolly about 30-40 different games, done saves in all of them, and yet still have the same amount of save space as when i first brought the big box home. silliness!)

[Mark Asher]

It's more a game style choice than one being better than the other. If you leave the PC for consoles, you're leaving behind a lot of game types that you won't get on the consoles, and vice versa.

[Dirt]

"7. cost is a big factor: brand new PC = $1,200 (minimum). Console = $250-300"

If this is important to you, then pray Microsoft never dominates the field.

[Mark Asher]

"7. cost is a big factor: brand new PC = $1,200 (minimum). Console = $250-300"

If this is important to you, then pray Microsoft never dominates the field.

Heh -- yeah, though it's cheaper to be a PC gamer now. I've found I only need to upgrade every couple of years. We use our PCs for other things too, while consoles only have one use.

[Desslock]

Super Big Happy Fun Reason Number One to never give up PC gaming: THE STRATEGY GAME GENRE

...and the RPG genre, and the Flight Sim genre, and the Space Sim genre, and the Wargaming genre. And access to much better graphics, more first-person shooters, better input devices and better porn.

PCs number one!

[AIM]

guys.

Don't give in to this idiot. This is what he wants, a flame war. If he's happy, then so be it. Me, I'll stay with the PC.

[SpoofyChop]

7. cost is a big factor: brand new PC = $1,200 (minimum).

This isn't true.
I just built a new PC with an Athlon XP 2200+, 512MB, geForce 4 Ti 4200, and the total cost was about $900.

I could easily have built a VERY capable gaming PC for about $700 if I had downgraded the processor, the memory, and the video card.

Hyperbole doesn't fly well when everybody knows the prices of computer components.

[EDIT: I didn't catch this bit of exageration in my first response, although that response did mention that you could get a good PC for $600.]

[Ben Sones]

But if you look at the PC's other genres, especially the FPS genre you will see that it's game over. While UT2003 might look a little better than the Xbox's Unreal Championship, big whoop e doo! You need a P4 watercooled, Geforce 5 to play UT2003 at full detail. But on the Xbox I can play UC without any upgrades. And Xbox owners should be seeing mods soon, so take away that advantage.

And we've gotten Ghost Recon and will soon get Wolfenstein so.. PC who?

Oh.. and we will be getting Doom 3 also.. So why upgrade my PC?

...And you can play all of them at 640x480 with a pair of analog thumbsticks. No thanks. There are games that I think the console is ideally suited for. Shooters aren't among them. There are a few shooters that I have liked on consoles, but very few, and usually in spite of the controls and not because of them.

[Met_K]

You can build a top-of-the-line gaming PC for around $1400.

(That's using top of the line motherboard, cooling, cpu, parts, etc, everything)

[Tyjenks]

Can the X-box download porn? Until it can, this discussion is over.

[Tyjenks]

guys.

Don't give in to this idiot. This is what he wants, a flame war. If he's happy, then so be it. Me, I'll stay with the PC.

I don't think it so much a flame war as a ringing, near-unanimous endorsement of PC gaming. We have all risen up as one voice to support our gaming rig of choice. Hallelujah!!

[Anonymous]

Buh-bye.

Don't let the browser window hit you in the ass on your way out. :-)
Why? You can't read/post here about consoles?

[Anonymous]

You can build a top-of-the-line gaming PC for around $1400.
We have a $999 review machine here, from eMachines of all people, that's an Athlon 2200 with 512MB DDR, a 100GB 8MB cache Western Digital drive, ethernet, modem, DVD, CD-RW, VIA sound, mediocre onboard video, Windows XP, Works, etc....

Oh, and a Radeon 9700 Pro.

Yes, a $400 videocard in a $1000 (http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T2200SE) machine. Yow.

[Anonymous]

Yes, a $400 videocard in a $1000 (http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T2200SE) machine. Yow.
Oh, and a nice looking case, decent keyboard, and like three firewire and USB 2.0 ports on the front, plus more on the back. Double yow.

[Rob O'Boston]

Call me antagonistic, but I just gotta laugh at this insistence that the mouse and keyboard setup is the greatest thing to effective combat since the sharpened stick. I'm sorry, but I don't remember seeing any pictures of an F-16 being piloted with a guy using a mouse and keyboard (but it makes me chuckle to think about it). Would the mouse and keyboard have been more effective in the gun turrets of the battleship New Jersey? Well, maybe the latest M-1 Abrams are all decked out with an optical mouse and a carpal tunnel prevention keyboard? Call me crazy, but don't fighter jets use joy sticks? What are they nuts??? How can they hit anything?

[Mark Asher]

How many realistic flight sims are available today on the console, any console? If you're a flight sim fan you're a PC game fan.

[Met_K]

Yes, a $400 videocard in a $1000 (http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T2200SE) machine. Yow.
Oh, and a nice looking case, decent keyboard, and like three firewire and USB 2.0 ports on the front, plus more on the back. Double yow.

I was quoting from buying from a wholesale retailer. Maybe emachines is worth looking into. Yow indeed.

[Mark Asher]

Yes, a $400 videocard in a $1000 (http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T2200SE) machine. Yow.
Oh, and a nice looking case, decent keyboard, and like three firewire and USB 2.0 ports on the front, plus more on the back. Double yow.

Firewire and USB ports on the front? Cool.

Man, that's a nice machine.

[Tyjenks]

Jeez! I would rather every thread migrate/degrade into boob discussions rather than an eCOMPUTER SHOPPER'S guide. I saw it coming and tried to intercede with the porn crack, but to no avail.

B :o :o BS :!: and PCs kick ass. Woohoo!

[wumpus]

Boobs really do kick ass.

[Tyjenks]

Boobs really do kick ass.

I knew you and I were were right there.

****points two fingers to my eyes and then to the monitor where I believe wumpus' eyes are/or the one eye and the patch****

[Anonymous]

Using the low prices on pricewatch (I know, I know) the price of that emachines components comes to:

CPU 140
MB 58
HD 130
Drives 100
Video 310
Case 90
-----------------
828

So... considering you still have to pay for shipping, cooling, and accesories (keyboard, mouse, speakers); I'd agree that's a good price.

But.. for a few hundred more, you don't have to saddle yourself with last year's motherboard and memory, so I'd be hesitant to reccomend it without seeing some benchmarks.

I just don't trust eMachines... they've got to be hiding _something_.

[Anonymous]

And I'd be hesitant about RTS on laptops after this little gem

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5537969%5E15321%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

[Anonymous]

[quote="Bob-"]Using the low prices on pricewatch (I know, I know) the price of that emachines components comes to:[quote]
Don't forget Windows XP (non upgrade) and Works, plus some other software. And a warranty. And technical support.

And yeah, you have to get over the "emachines?" hurdle, but it's still an impressive little machine. Quiet too (no case fan... not sure how that impacts cooling, but most Dell and Gateway machines are dumping them too... and there is an open spot for one if you want to pony up the $10).

[Anonymous]

But.. for a few hundred more, you don't have to saddle yourself with last year's motherboard and memory, so I'd be hesitant to reccomend it without seeing some benchmarks.
Oh, and with USB 2.0 and firewire, I don't know that I'd say it's "last year's" motherboard.

Back on topic a bit, it is interesting that people don't consider their TV or sound system as part of the console cost-of-ownership. Yeah, a TV has other uses, but so does your PC.

[Mark Asher]

"Back on topic a bit, it is interesting that people don't consider their TV or sound system as part of the console cost-of-ownership. Yeah, a TV has other uses, but so does your PC."

Yeah, especially when I apparently need a more expensive TV to make my Xbox look a lot better than a PS2. If you factor in the cost of a nice TV than the consoles aren't that much cheaper. Let's say the early adopter pays $300 for a PS2, $25 for the second controller, and $25 for a memory card PLUS $500 for a nice TV. That's $850. And if it's a true hardcore console fan, add another $325 for the Xbox purchase and $250 for the Gamecube. That's $1425, and the upgrade cycle for consoles may go from five years to four or even three.

[Brad Grenz]

Using the low prices on pricewatch (I know, I know) the price of that emachines components comes to:

CPU 140
MB 58
HD 130
Drives 100
Video 310
Case 90
-----------------
828

So... considering you still have to pay for shipping, cooling, and accesories (keyboard, mouse, speakers); I'd agree that's a good price.

But.. for a few hundred more, you don't have to saddle yourself with last year's motherboard and memory, so I'd be hesitant to reccomend it without seeing some benchmarks.

Speaking of memory, you forgot to factor it in to your figures.

[Murph]

High-end memory from Crucial is in the $50-$100 range, and considering he was taking most of his prices from Pricewatch, you're looking at $28 for 512MB. So, add $28 to his numbers. :)

[Brad Grenz]

SDR? Blech! DDR baby! That's like $120-140 for 512, isn't it?

[wumpus]

Yep.

[Murph]

Don't think so -- it's cheap, too. I'm looking now, though...

Odd. Yeah, it is quite a bit more expensive. A few months ago, it was about the same price ($70-ish) at Crucial for DDR as it was for SDRAM, so I just assumed that would still be the case, and would be the case at Pricewatch, too. One of those was wrong...

Yep, it's quite a bit higher. My bad.

--Michael, still mentally stuck in the SDRAM age...

[Anonymous]

Hahaha. I had the best time of my life!!! And that only happened on the Xbox!! I was playing UC with a couple of dudes and i said "go left go left" and we hooked up and I won the game!

Xbox live rules dudes!

[Slothrop]

"Back on topic a bit, it is interesting that people don't consider their TV or sound system as part of the console cost-of-ownership. Yeah, a TV has other uses, but so does your PC."

Yeah, especially when I apparently need a more expensive TV to make my Xbox look a lot better than a PS2. If you factor in the cost of a nice TV than the consoles aren't that much cheaper. Let's say the early adopter pays $300 for a PS2, $25 for the second controller, and $25 for a memory card PLUS $500 for a nice TV. That's $850. And if it's a true hardcore console fan, add another $325 for the Xbox purchase and $250 for the Gamecube. That's $1425, and the upgrade cycle for consoles may go from five years to four or even three.
I would imagine that a nicer TV is easier to certify with the WAF (wife acceptance factor) than the latest video card though, as the TV could be justified as allowing her to better enjoy her Sex and the City DVDs, etc. Maybe now is the time to add to that credit card balance?

[Anonymous]

My hot and exoctic girlfriend loves the Xbox!! In fact, when i used to PC game I didn't have a girlfriend. Now that I'm a console player, the women go nuts. I'm an insider I guess.

Get a Xbox and you too can get hot women like me. Get real guys.. People love the Xbox, not the PC. especially the women!

[Anonymous]

My hot and exoctic girlfriend loves the Xbox!! In fact, when i used to PC game I didn't have a girlfriend. Now that I'm a console player, the women go nuts. I'm an insider I guess.

Get a Xbox and you too can get hot women like me. Get real guys.. People love the Xbox, not the PC. especially the women!

That was me!!!

[Alan Au]

Since when do anonymous posters make 'that was me' posts? Hehe.

Of course, the thing I find most ironic is that you can't post to the Qt3 boards from an Xbox. ;)

- Alan

[xahlt]

That's what his WebTV is for, silly.

[Anonymous]

Don't encourage this made-up John account. At least Johan Freeberg was funny.

[DangerMouse]

X-box = Great console for Sports games and 3rd person arcade adcentures. I own one and that is all I use it for.

PC - RPG, RTS, Flight Sims all rock on PC. As for a console FPS (normally a port BTW) ever being better than its PC original... You sir are either sniffing coke from your mothers thong... or are a smegging fool.

BTW - Boobs are wonderful - God bless 'em all!

[zabuni]

About the emachines: As dubious as it may sound. I have an Emachine for my main gaming machine. Of course, as I am a poor college student, its years old and couldn't run half of today's games. It is however, an extremely clean case. No hanging wires, easy access to all components, no folding or swinging parts (HP I'm looking at you :evil:). No real problems with it either. Doesn't play many games anymore, but serves as an excellent DVD watcher, file storer, and TV for my room.