...Which would either have you squinting at the eighteen-incher from half the room away, or else sitting at a desk using the console in place of a computer tower. Either one would completely negate the "relaxation" argument towards console play, which, as far as I know, is the only angle you guys have got working for you -- and a weak one, at that, but I digress.

Also, that still won't do anything about the fact that you've got inadequate AA, probably no AF at all, and graphics settings are just horribly neglected.

Yeah, but it still allows you the experience of Oblivion as it would be on a PC at a lower price, which is also one of the arguments for consoles.

I wonder if that really is the case... I mean a computer gives you a lot more opportunities than a console, thus more for the money. But even if you're only going to use the computer/xbox to play games there is this limitation to xbox-only games for the xbox were PC often gets a PC-version of many console-games. Also there is the price, the incredible price of console-games today is far much higher than for the PC, so If you need to keep your xbox updated with games that is going to cost a LOT.

So, ok, xbox is cheaper to start with, in case you might only want to play oblivion, but if you want other games then the price is going to go up very fast and you'll soon reach a price you could have bought a nice computer for.

Oh yeah, and you contribute to Bill Gates domination of the world .

The price of console games is only really high in stores like GAME, EB, and other high street sellers. If you buy the games from the internet it costs alot less. for a £50 game in a shop you could get that for around £30 online. Which then makes it about the same price as the PC version.

I don't have an argument for your other points, Either I can't think of anything or you're right. probably the latter. But Bill Gates, come on, he's a loveable cuddly geek! lol. Nah, I don't have a problem with Gates. He seems like an alright kind of guy. IF you ignore his contribution to globalization.

This post has been edited by Smellslikepie: Feb 17 2006, 12:24 PM

Let's also not forget the whole upgrade cycle / planned obsolescence situation. I fully expect my 7800 GT to last until the "next generation" consoles (IE the PS3) come out, and wouldn't be suprised at all if it was just fine when the next X-Box comes out, thanks in no small part to the PC's superior option handling.

And when the time to upgrade does come along, I think you'll find that the trend of console prices increasing linearly won't stop anytime soon. Meanwhile, computer components are getting cheaper by the minute due to this hip new thing called a "competitive market." They're also getting ridiculously powerful, while consoles aren't encouraged to bring anything more to the table than getting their launch titles to run at 30FPS (a burden which, as the Oblivion delay proves, is increasingly falling into the hands of developers).

Additionally, if you've got an X-Box 360, but you don't already have a computer, you've got some skewed priorities. Thus, in the vast majority of cases, the price of the monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, the majority of the cooling system, hard drive, sound card, case, any additional controller cards, any additional peripherals, and DVD drive can be completely forgotten, in a few cases the price of the power supply can be cut back, and -- depending on the specific components used -- the power supply as a whole, the processor cooler, the processor, the mainboard, memory, and the video card can be salvaged, also.

This post has been edited by Marxist ßastard: Feb 17 2006, 12:47 PM

Wait.. I know AA is anti-aliasing, but what is AF? And also regarding Marxist honoured user's point, yeah, that's one thing I really don't like about consoles. You know that in a couple of years it'll be worthless because the next generation of consoles will have arrived. So yeah, although I don't agree with anyone about the 360 not being as good as a PC for gaming, I do now agree that It isn't all that cost effective because you have to replace it...

Anisotropic filtering. Observe:

My Xbox lasted me from release day to present day... and the last 3 years or so have been blessed with Morrowind. My PC has been with me for 3 years and it was top of the range. Now it struggles with even year-old games.
I bought a 360 and a HD TV and I have no regrets because this will last me for 5 years, even if a newer console comes out I would still hang back a while.
PC's are evolving too quickly while consoles develop based on PC developments, so Consoles can pick out the best components at the right times while your PC is inferior in 4 months.

I can understand that you could possibly conceive that the graphics capabilities of games are growing too rapidly -- in that case, I would suggest that you turn down the graphics settings of the game in question and be grateful that there's even the possibility of it looking that good. However, it is absurd to suggest that PC components themselves are evolving too rapidly, because, unlike consoles, you aren't forced into buying new ones.

Additionally, the point I raised earlier still stands, and remains relevant here: PC upgrades are getting cheaper, while consoles are getting more expensive.

This post has been edited by Marxist ßastard: Feb 18 2006, 06:47 PM

Well, I feel more forced to buy a new computer more often than a new console. Or at least better components. The prices add up. A 64 Bit graphics card costs say £100, New Processors, Sound Cards, etc. cost god knows how much while a 360 with that already built in is £210. I already bought a 360 for other games, so for me it is cheaper to get the console I was already going to get for Oblivion.
And I do think Computers are evolving fast. Components get cheaper as superior compenents to them hit the shelves.
I used to build my own PCs so I know why some people are backing the PC side of the debate, but for the people who ONLY use PC's for games and have no clue on upgrading, that either means hiring a professional and buying the new components, or buying a whole new PC and that can be of a higher cost than the lastest console.

im getting it for puter, i can hook it up to my tv and i have a very customizable game pad, plus i love mods, they made morrowind fun....

ohh and im a pc gamer.... yeah

ohh on the side note, looking at the post avove dont hire no proffesional its VERY easy to upgrade a comp unless its realy old

meh i hvae to buy a new one cus my chip sucks and im switching from intel to amd so i might as well buy the whole thing instead of buying a mobo and a chip..... and then a vid card cus i need 2 PCI express ports and my current card is agp..... meh

This post has been edited by LinkBOX: Feb 19 2006, 03:16 AM

Do you mean a 64-bit video acquisition card?



64-bit PCI wasn't ever implemented in an actual video card, I don't think. It was used mainly for SCSI and Ethernet controllers, back in its day -- and rightfully so, since I don't think that there's a huge untapped market of hardcore gamers in the server administrator audience. I'll just assume that you mean PCI express, in which case yes, a card can set you back that amount, if you buy something brand new and top-of-the-line. Then again, you aren't being forced to buy it.

Perhaps the reason why you paid so much is because you had forgone any critical research into what you're buying.

This post has been edited by Marxist ßastard: Feb 19 2006, 10:54 AM

[removed] Next, PC upgrades are not getting notably cheaper, i recently got a new computer and was going to keep the graphics card in my old one up to date, but i didnt have 2-3 hundred dollars to buy a decent card with. Also, nobody forces you to buy anything, whether its a shiny new console, or a Gig of DDR2 RAM, and as far as im concerned, ive spent way more on PC's than on consoles. I got a 52 inch HDTV for $999, and the 360 with games and a controller for around $550. That equals about $1600. Take that $1600 and see how far it gets you with a top of the line computer. I just did, i got this sweet Pavillion for $1550. Anyways, an Xbox 360 is not the only reason i got an HDTV, its the way the market is going with media, and soon you will all own one because their prices are falling. Oh yea, in a year or possibly even less when the graphics card in this computer is just not enough to run the newest game on high settings <oblivion maybe> i will be shelling out $300 for another sweet card, and then hoping i can install it right the first time. Whereas in a year or so my 360 will be running great looking games at the same high graphics level with, guess what, no new graphics card! So console bash all you want, but PC component parts are still as expensive as they always were and still need to be replaced every so often if one wants to avoid buying another PC, and you dont need to upgrade consoles. What a concept!

This post has been edited by Alexander: Feb 21 2006, 07:01 PM

You definetly aren't old enough to remember the 486, I would think. Just be advised that there is a general downward trend with computer components, and a completely linear trend with consoles. This is due to the way that the market around each of them is organized.

Since your post contained only one paragraph, I'll just assume that was the only point you made.

This post has been edited by Marxist ßastard: Feb 21 2006, 03:56 AM

This is the first place I have seen someone have to be edited by the admins for flaming, would someone like to tell me exactly what flaming is? I usually play very nice and behave in general, but I would like to know what, specifically, it is I am supposed to avoid. (Sorry this is slightly off topic from the original posts in this thread)

I think the poll may be a little off balance... Maybe people who prefere console gaming wont be browsing the web as much to find the poll... Just a suggestion, but Morrowind sales were something like 50.5% Xbox sales and 49.5% PC sales. So, with all the new people Oblivion is appealing to, what direction will the scales tip?

Flaming means swearing, believe me, i know, i got "warned" for it twice because Marxist was actually bieng a...well, you can imagine.

I cant wait to get my hands on the AI in modding so computer all the way

If you need to add mods to a game with over 200 hours of game time to it, then you must question the integrety of the game laid out for you! The only mods I would touch would be official ones (hey look, which they are releasing for both versions!).

Also, the 360 is not why they're dumbing it down. The 360 is more than capable of running Oblivlion. Hell, one of the devteam guys posts on a forum I go to and he's utterly baffled where PC gamers got that idea from. Must be their egos.

I have ordered a VGA kit for my 360 and will be connecting it to my 19" CRT monitor which can display into the 2000+ pixel width... then I will be getting a HDTV when they eventually drop in price. All it'll cost me to get the same res as you is like, $30.

CRT monitors weigh about 10 kilos at best. Last time I checked, it's really quite easy to pick one up, put it on a table about 1 meter away from your couch and connect it to your 360. It's not PERFECT for asthetic reasons, but it's 100% functional and will do me fine.

Er, dude... you buy PC Hardware you're giving your money to IBM, Nividia, ATI and Crucial + many more... corporations rule our economic world mate, you're not going to avoid giving money to "teh evil corporation$" unless you steal stuff. Which is bad.

I have a PC in my room which has a 2000mhz processor, 256mb ram, 128mb graphics card, etc etc... all of which was hand built from bits off online stores, and purchased AFTER my xbox, which I got on the release date of. Said PC ran games at full spec for all of two years, if that. My xbox was still going strong. By this time, my PC ended up unable to play the best games out there whilst my xbox was still playing games with great graphics...

That PC is now dead in the corner. I shoot it with my airsoft rifle out of spite. I hate the damned crashtastic heap. Maybe in the future I will strip it out and build it anew, but not any time soon. I'm quite happy with my laptop I purchased for work (which I have logged 200 hours of morrowind on... too bad I get about 15 CTDs a DAY when playing morrowind).

Maybe I just have bad luck with PCs. Hell, I had a storebought one which was custom made for me and that failed to work properly at all! It went back to the store 10 times in as many days before they gave me my full refund.

Then I look at my 360. I've owned it since late December and it's crashed once... ONCE.

The other thing that bothers me with PCs is that when a devteam makes a game, they can't optimise it for one specific processor make and speed, ram size or graphics card clock speed... no, they have to scale it from the minimum requirements and then go up from there. Pentium and AMD processors, Nvidia and ATI graphics cards, all with different clock speeds and size.

I play BF2 on medium settings across the board on my laptop. My friend plays his on high. Upon comparing these two, the differences were tiny.

In short, PC gamers need to get off their high horse and respect the fact that us console gamers are here to stay, are NOT mentally retarded and are actually quite nice folks. If you don't like it, fine. Go play your precious FPS or MMORPG games.

Cheers,
Tom