Having second thoughts.....

[steviep]

Civ 4 and Sims 2, Zelda WW, Ninja Gaiden (new one), etc etc are good examples of sequels that aren't rehashes (a la Halo 2 or GTA SA or Quake 4, etc etc).

 

[DarkSeraphim]

make Audio pronunciation of "make" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mk)
v. made, (md) mak·ing, makes
v. tr.

1. To cause to exist or happen; bring about; create: made problems for us; making a commotion.


Without the hardware, we wouldn't have Quake 4, or many other games for that matter.

Hardware is just a tool that is utilized. It does not "create" anything. Hardware is not the cause for existence either; the artist who designed that title is. Hardware allows us to see what already exists, which is code that has been written to a disk by the designers of the game.

Again; semantics aren't going to get you around the fact that you don't have a point. Especially not with me.

 

[-freon-]

You can't say FEAR raised the same bar HL2 did when they're about a year apart release date wise... : /

Obviously.. But they all did raise bars..even though HL2 wasn't real super, graphics wise. We can exclude HL2 and just say Doom3 and FEAR have set the benchmark for the next year or more. Maybe add in the HL2 engine with HDR enabled.

 

[JeanClaude]

If you have to ask us.....
get a xbox.

 

[Nuzzles]

Your posts are just begging for semantics though.

I wasn't trying to make a point. I just wanted to argue yours.

 

[Obi_Kwiet]

If you have to ask us.....
get a xbox.

It really depends on what games he wants to play. If he likes fps's he should get a PC.

Im not a big console fan, but you guys are killin me. Especially the ones who argue stuff like "buy a console and you will have better graphics for 6 months until the PC catches up". First off, it takes a couple years for PC graphics to evolve. Just because Nvidia and ATI release new hardware doesn't mean the games instantly start looking better. It takes developers a long time to take advantage of that new hardware. Then, when they do start looking better, its a mere couple games.

We've already seen what the console graphics have to offer. It's barely better than what they have on the PC now. Six months is a realistic estimate. Consoles may be able to stay about equal to PCs for awhile longer as programmers take advantage of the other threads, but from what we've seen, six months is a good estimate, unless PC graphics just come to a sudden stand still. Game devs. know what future hardware is capable of and they continue to chalange new hardware. Besides, with all the art made for the consoles, it will be easy to port it over and/or fix up slightly as hard ware gets better.

 

[TheoXT]

The good thing bout consoles is that it allows developers to make games for just the one peice of hardware wich allows them to produce a much better gaming experience than what would be possible on hardware the same level on a pc!

I love the fact that Xbox1 can play games like doom 3 , might not look as good as the pc version but its just insane to think what can be done with the specs of the xbox .

So just think , that $300 you spend on an xbox now , you'll still be able to play games 4-5years from now that will still look and run great rather than spending $1000+ on a pc that will only be able to play games at a decent level for the next year or so

 

[DarkSeraphim]

We've already seen what the console graphics have to offer. It's barely better than what they have on the PC now. Six months is a realistic estimate. Consoles may be able to stay about equal to PCs for awhile longer as programmers take advantage of the other threads, but from what we've seen, six months is a good estimate, unless PC graphics just come to a sudden stand still. Game devs. know what future hardware is capable of and they continue to chalange new hardware. Besides, with all the art made for the consoles, it will be easy to port it over and/or fix up slightly as hard ware gets better.

Launch games aren't a good example of what the hardware is truly capable of. Example? Compare something like Tekken Tag Tournament to God of War. Hell, for that matter, you could compare Tekken Tag Tournament to Virtua Fighter 4 (Which came out quite some time ago) and still see a huge difference. You're underestimating the amount of improvement that can be made. Consoles don't need new hardware to evolve. New methods of using that same hardware come along and completely trounce the methods that were originally used. It's said that the launch games for the Xbox360 are using just one core. That includes games like Project Gotham Racing 3 (Which looks phenomenal). That leaves a lot of room for improvement.

That said, consoles aren't about bleeding-edge graphics anyways. The fact that these next-gen consoles can deliver the kind of visuals that we've seen is just icing on the cake. Consoles are about ease of use. I, and many others, am tired of wondering why in the hell some games just don't work right on the PC. I'm tired of jumping through hoops to play certain games. I'm tired of paying for new hardware to play what is basically the same game over and over again. Rehashes do occur on consoles, but at least you don't need new hardware to be able to determine whether that is the case. If I want to know whether or not a console game is worth buying, I go down to the local rental store and spend a few bucks to check it out. If it sucks, I'm not out $30~50 for a glorified beta that can't be returned to most stores. If I invite some friends over to play, it may take around five minutes to get everyone ready. Can that be said for PCs? Do your friends even have gaming rigs? Would they be willing to go through the trouble to get them over to your house? If nobody will come over, I sign into Xbox Live and I'm immediately linked to every person I've ever had a good game with, regardless of what game they're playing at the time. If we make a party, they're linked to me. If I leave a match, they're right with me. If I join another match, they're right there with me.

 

[Allos]

Decide on how much you will be spending initially and how much you will be spending annually (counting both hardware & software), then you should know what will be best for you.

 

[-freon-]

We've already seen what the console graphics have to offer. It's barely better than what they have on the PC now. Six months is a realistic estimate. Consoles may be able to stay about equal to PCs for awhile longer as programmers take advantage of the other threads, but from what we've seen, six months is a good estimate, unless PC graphics just come to a sudden stand still. Game devs. know what future hardware is capable of and they continue to chalange new hardware. Besides, with all the art made for the consoles, it will be easy to port it over and/or fix up slightly as hard ware gets better.

So, what new graphics engines or even games will be coming out for the PC in the next 6 months that are any sort of leap over the current games? Honestly, in 6 months do you truely believe we will see anything THAT much better than what we have right now? It would be a major departure from the PC gaming norm if it came true. Most new games released in the next year will be based on current engines. The next UT engine/game will probably be the next leap.. It will be out sometime late next year, and I still believe it wont be that big a leap over current games.

You haven't really seen what the new consoles have to offer yet either. As others, and I pointed out, release games hardly ever show off what the console can really do. They are generally rushed to take advantage of release sales. The games that will really shine are still a couple months out, and even after that they will still continue to improve. It doesn't matter anyway, because some of the release titles already look better than PC games.

 

[[Fate]Doom]

Should I buy the 360, some games, and a really nice TV.

Or should I buy a PC?

A few months ago I was having the same problem.

My solution: I am buying an X360, four games, a new CRT, and a white Video Ipod instead and still saving about $300 compared to my priced out PC upgrade.

Until a game on the PC comes out I really want it doesnt make sense for me to keep upgrading anymore. Its not like said good PC game wont come to the X360 anyway unless its an MMO. I actually feel foolish for alot of the upgrades I have made in the past and except for Half-Life 2 and WoW they were wastes of money. Heck WoW doesnt even need much to run well. Spending $1000+ a year to play maybe 1-2 good games isnt a good place for me to dump money.

Im not saying I am done with PC gaming, but unlike the PSone days or N64 days odds are most good games will come out to your console of choice.

 

[DarkSeraphim]

A few months ago I was having the same problem.

My solution: I am buying an X360, four games, a new CRT, and a white Video Ipod instead and still saving about $300 compared to my priced out PC upgrade.

Until a game on the PC comes out I really want it doesnt make sense for me to keep upgrading anymore. Its not like said good PC game wont come to the X360 anyway unless its an MMO. I actually feel foolish for alot of the upgrades I have made in the past and except for Half-Life 2 and WoW they were wastes of money. Heck WoW doesnt even need much to run well. Spending $1000+ a year to play maybe 1-2 good games isnt a good place for me to dump money.

Im not saying I am done with PC gaming, but unlike the PSone days or N64 days odds are most good games will come out to your console of choice.

You're in the same boat as me, it seems...I noticed the same thing about upgrading eventually. I was upgrading and maxing out games that weren't even worth playing to begin with (Hey there, Doom 3).

WoW, HL2, and Battlefield 2 run flawlessly with high settings on my laptop. I have to scale back to play FEAR, but it doesn't seem good enough to own a desktop for anyways...

 

[[Fate]Doom]

You're in the same boat as me, it seems...I noticed the same thing about upgrading eventually. I was upgrading and maxing out games that weren't even worth playing to begin with (Hey there, Doom 3).

WoW, HL2, and Battlefield 2 run flawlessly with high settings on my laptop. I have to scale back to play FEAR, but it doesn't seem good enough to own a desktop for anyways...

Hopefully my new V-Ipod and my X360 get along well. I am going to make playlists in I-tunes for specific games. It seems so wrong and dirty for a MS product to interface with an Apple product.

I also hope there are more uses for the two in the future other than plug & play custom soundtracks. With a color widescreen and a fast transfer protocol I may have to mod my X360 if some cool application coms out.

 

[airiox]

The xbox has kept up with PC's for more than a few years. There shouldnt be any reason why the 360 wouldnt do the same. Just look at the games the xbox launched with and what the latest titles look like. 3 times better in terms of graphics. Can't even imagine what games on the 360 will look like in a few years.

 

[Yoblad]

If I can play Quake 4 online against the PC players with a keyboard and mouse on my pc monitor with an xbox 360, it would be no contest.

It all depends on the games you want. I really only like online FPS's like UT and Quake with the occasional need for speed or grand theft auto thrown in for good measure so I'm stuck blowing a ton of money on my PC for like 1 or 2 games.

 

[DarkSeraphim]

I'm willing to bet that Microsoft is eventually going to allow gamers to use the keyboard/mouse for gaming. As of now, it's just for text entry, but if enough people complain then they'll let it happen.

 

[steviep]

I'm willing to bet that Microsoft is eventually going to allow gamers to use the keyboard/mouse for gaming. As of now, it's just for text entry, but if enough people complain then they'll let it happen.

Won't happen. They've taken a stance on that issue, and it won't change - they need to sell joysticks.

 

[DarkSeraphim]

Taking a "stance" isn't going to change the fact that a company will change to suit it's consumers.

Last generation, Nintendo was dead-set against online gaming. Look what they're planning with the Revolution.

 

[steviep]

Taking a "stance" isn't going to change the fact that a company will change to suit it's consumers.

Last generation, Nintendo was dead-set against online gaming. Look what they're planning with the Revolution.

So you're saying maybe for the XBox 1080? Nah, seriously, they've taken a set-in-stone stance about it, which is unfortunate. They said text entry only, no exceptions. Games will all be programmed for the gamepad, by all developers. Though maybe you can look forward to using the keyboard on homebrews.