V8VENOM :
Rob,
You can't be console-phobic if you want to continue writing/reviewing -- at a sales rate of 15:1 console titles sold over PC titles, consoles are continuing to dominate and do it in such a way that PC gaming is facing the worst market share it has had since the history of gaming on a PC.
I'm not a console fan, but one can't ignore the market share and the reason folks move to consoles. But apparently Microsoft and various GPU vendors feel it's a much easier sell on consoles platforms than on PC platforms -- the difficultly getting a PC to work well (especially Vista and DX10) with games is real reason most move to consoles. It's just too much effort to get a PC to work and your dead right, there is NO sign Microsoft are "really" trying to make gaming a better experience on the PC. And lets be realistic, they don't have any real vested interest to do so with the XBOX360 around.
But folks, don't call this console game a sim, it doesn't even come close to a simulation. Falcon series is a simulation, this is just another shoot'em up in a long list of shoot'em ups. I wish you folks would dig more and start a campaign to save PC gaming, rather than just shifting to consoles. It's like you've tossed in the towel already -- the Internet can be a powerful tool, at least expose Microsoft's lack of effort and put some public pressure on -- you want to get interested readers on both sides, then pick this story up and really dig.
Rob
The reason console gaming sells at a 15:1 ratio is because you can literally buy 4-8 consoles for the price of a PC that will display the same graphics as a PC and allow you to experience as minimal lag as possible while playing online. Looking at Tom's Hardware specifically on this one, it would cost you over $2,000 just to get a mere 35-40 frames in Crysis, and that is JUST to play the game! That's not even taking into consideration that you might not like the game, nor experiencing issues on the software side or hardware side of things.
Consoles own PCs when it comes to stability, no question about that. The reason companies prefer to make console games is simply because the market is so much more open. Think about it this way, would you rather spend $400 for an XBOX360 or a PlayStation 3, heck even get a Wii and a few games, and get GREAT graphics, stability, and just as large of a community, as well as one source for your technical support/trouble shooting? Or, spend over $2,000 to get equivalent graphics and stability, but having to call several companies for support, and not as large or as dedicated of a community?
The choice is rather clear when you compare price to stability and playability. Console games are just more appealing, they deliver great on all fronts, and the market is much better. You can grab any title for a console that you can grab on a PC, take them both home, pop the console version in and play it, get great graphics and not have to worry about anything but playing the game, than pop in the PC version, wait for the installation, maybe not play it on as good of graphics, and potentially not get as good of stability with the PC due to other processes running and random issues.
Comparing PC to Console is just a lose-lose situation hands down. The reason I stick to PCs is because I'm on my PC 9 times out of 10, so ease of access for my games is there. That and I like to have my own space when playing a game and not out in the living room or whatever.
To address an even larger subject, PC Games scale HORRIBLE these days in contrast to their Console gaming brethren. To play, say, Crysis, requires a LOT of power from your PC, and thus a lot of money. To play a console, it's a mere $50-60 for the game and the cost of the console. To play on a PC, well, takes a lot more than that, about two to three times as much. The only game out there that I personally see do well for scaling in hardware on the PC is, although I despise the game, World of Warcraft. Over 10,000,000 people play the game. Not for graphics, but because they can just play it and not have to worry about, "Hmm gee well I need a quad core this and than an 8800GTX, oh wait no, maybe an HD3870, oh wait maybe 2GBs of RAM, no 4GBs will have to do" etc etc. Consoles don't have to worry about scaling. Thus, anyone can grab it and play it. This can not be said for PC titles.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram