heathens the lot of you! play your silly console games.

PCs are still my system of choice. i have a 17" widescreen laptop, it plays games beautifully, and when i feel like upgrading the video card(s) (and have the money), it will kick the crap out of any consoles on the market right now. already does in most respects.

I can play anywhere (literally, i have a car adapter for the power supply), and can play titles unavailable for console, or seriously dumbed down (half-life, bioshock) for the console.

i alos like that i can drop out of a game, do some work or email, or surf the web, thenpop right back in. Some games i can even run windowed so i play, do some other things, watch a movie or show int he same window, play some more.


Ludites.

I've played Half-Life on the PC and am playing now on the 360.....I see NO difference.

I smell marketing.

Sort of like the "vista ready" computers that were put out before Vista was released. Sure, they ran Vista... but some of them ran it like a dog.

The point is, that the goal posts are forever changing with computers, not least in the arena of gaming.

Game makers push the hardware, hardware manufacturers respond by bringing out more powerful hardware, and the cycle continues.

So what is a "certified gaming PC" today is a Solitaire box in a few years' time. That is both the beauty of, and problem with, PC gaming. Continuously improving and stretching the boundaries is an expensive hobby.

And as for the debate re: console vs PC gaming - this isn't the first forum I have seen that war waged, and it won't be the last.

As one who partakes in both console and PC gaming, I really think they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Consoles are great for sports games, "social" games like Buzz, Singstar etc, multiplayer games (eg. split screen etc), and driving games.

PC's are great for RTS, RPG, MMORPG, FPS, driving games, and modded games. I would much rather play an FPS with a keyboard and mouse than a gamepad. Much more precise.

But hey, that's just me. Do whatever your own preference is - it's all good. Personally, I enjoy both.

thats it exactly.

i used to be a champion of PC gaming over consoles - until i got tired of the bullshit.

consoles are definately maintenance free.

its funny, the very thing that draws console fans to consoles is the thing that keeps most pc fans away: upgrades. I want to be able to improve my machine over time, not just to play newer games, but to be able to revisit the old ones and play them with more bells and whistles turned on.

That used to be fine, I loved it in fact. Unfortunately games seem to be requiring us to upgrade more and more and within less time. Not only that but there are more problems with drivers, theft protection, and patches than ever before. Last time I wanted to play HL2 on my PC I had to wait forever for the Steam platform to update, then the game... I didn't even play it.

I love the FPS.....computers are much better to play them on than consoles. It just a matter of cost for me. I simply can't afford to keep up with the technology.

damnit I got kids to feed....and a beer habit thats a bitch:D

I do enjoy building/upgrading my PC, it's nice to be able to give it a bit of a "boost" every now and then when you feel it is a bit lacking. Hell, it's nice to give it a boost even when it isn't lacking... :) And mods can add a whole extra dimension to a game (eg Half Life ---> Counterstrike).

But I still feel consoles do some types of games better.

And as Despare mentioned, security/anti-piracy "features" can become a pain in the ass. Eg Starforce, Bioshock authentication.

i know, but if you know where to look, they can be bypassed or done away with.

I have learned to live happily with steam, the updates suck, but i consider it a small price to pay to not have to re-install from cds every time my pc needs to be rebuilt (which isnt a commentary on their ability to be a gaming platform, i am a programmer who uses his pc for work and play)

Sure, I know that. But the average game buyer that goes into EB or similar probably doesn't. Or if they know noCD cracks etc exist, they don't know how to apply them properly or download them from dodgey sites that give them trojans.

So people that are set on pirating will get around these systems.

The average honest consumer will be inconvenienced.

The only people that will be stopped from pirating are the opportunistic pirates who would copy their friend's or family's disc if there was no absticle.

And if protection gets too inconvenient, more people are either going to abandon PC gaming for consoles, or expend the energy to learn how to crack games. Then they start thinking "if it's that easy to crack, why bother paying" and everyone loses.

A while ago I felt like revisiting Unreal Tournament. It was fun in its day. I still had the install CD, but don't know where the manual got to. So it appears the CD key is on the manual.

Really wasn't that desperate to play it to go looking for a crack. But it does seem inconvenient having to keep documentation etc for old games just to be able to play them in the future.