PC to Console. Making the switch...
 

And here's why.

Maximum PC has an article this month rating your current PC up against Half Life 2. Now, I've seen the E3 developer's video that shows about 20+ minutes of the game, and it looks sweet -- very sweet.

But Maximum PC basically shows us that EVERYONE (ok, 95% of us) is going to have to upgrade before playing it up to par. In order to get everything you can out of the game, you'll probably need to invest in the top of the line graphics card, bump your processor, etc. Basically spend another $500+ including the cost of the game...

Now, I know by design PCs are supposed to be upgraded over time. I've been gaming now for probably 15+ years, and on PCs for at least 10, starting back in the day with the amazing LucasArts releases of yesteryear (Tie Fighter, anyone?)

But, I've never - never - upgraded my PC solely on a new game coming out. And I guess maybe if I was 10 years younger, I'd be bugging my parents that "Half Life 2 and Doom 3 are coming out and I *NEED* this new video card!!!" Or if I was hardcore gamer dude. I know you're out there, and I want to see what you're doing for these games coming up.....

As for now? Not worth my hassle. I'd rather just get a system like the Xbox or PS2 without all the upgrading and game. Yeah, the games might not look as slick, but they're winning the battle of the dinero. And unfortunately, that's where it counts for me.

I only get a few hours a month to play video games. I moved away from the PC market because I hated having to troubleshoot, tweak, upgrade, research, to play a video game. I spent more time doing all that other stuff instead of playing.

I'm not sure I understand your argument for switching. They have worked very hard to make sure even very old systems can run HL2. You may not have the hardware to run it on full settings, but it will still look better than any console on most gamers machines. Also, it is usually considered a benefit to have the option to push the settings farther.

You don't have to upgrade, but even if you feel compelled to, keep in mind that new consoles come out every few years also. You may be set for a year longer, but the best you can achieve is set in stone.

Good luck to you in whatever you do. Like I said, I just don't see those points as being valid in my case.

(P.S. I change PCs on the rate of every 2 years. When I do upgrade, its for all sorts of software, not just gaming.)

PC games and console games have different types of advantages. PC games have had the capability of being online for a long time now. Console gaming is just now getting popular with it; Dreamcast started the online console community and now PS2 and XBox are keeping it up VERY well. Over 450,000 people in the US alone play XBox Live every month.

As for PC games, they have a different style of graphics than console games. Not many people know that the PS2 has a core processor of 400 MHz. Try playing today's games on a PC with a 400 MHz processor. Ha ha. The fact that the entire system of a PS2 (or any console) is based soley on graphics and gameplay determines how good the graphics will be. Take Halo, for example. When Halo came out for XBox, I had never seen graphics that good, PC or console. The graphics war is just about equal now with PCs only winning the frames per second battle with consoles in a CLOSE second. PCs are made to do things besides games, and that's why I find PC gaming frustrating when compared to console gaming. Why won't my game work? The screen is black. Oh, I have to search for video drivers! Now it still won't work. Oh, my ram isn't fast enough! I actually need faster ram AND 128 MB more! Oh, and my videocard isn't good enough. Crap, I need a new OS.

Crap like that is why PC gaming is frustrating for non-super dorks. Consoles can be frustrating too, but nothing hides the fact that it's always going to work, no matter what. How good a game works is totally in the designer's hands. How good a PC game works is basically in the user and PC's hands. Hence consoles usually deliver a better gaming experience.

I play Battlefield 1942, MMORPG's, and more Battlefield 1942 on my PC, simply because it's not out on console right now. That, and the fact that using a mouse helps out a lot in most FPSs. What the hell is my point? Consoles and PCs both have major advantages and disadvantages. You'll always be promised a good game experience on a console while playing a good game. You aren't always promised that on a PC for different reasons. You can play with other people very easily on PCs, but you have to subscribe to all sorts of services and have a broadband connection to play with other people on consoles.

I guess it all boils down to the fact that consoles have controllers for easy gameplay, and no technical problems while playing. PCs have better multiplayer experiences, and the ability to have games that simply wouldn't work as well on console.

Neither gaming situation is better than the other overall. That's why I'm always open to computer gaming and console gaming, even though I'll always be a hardcore console gamer in the end.

-Lasereth

It is a pain in the ass upgrading, but it's only because games and technology's eveolving at such a rate, playing Doom 3 or HL2 at full graphical settings would be worth the upgrade though you have to admit :D

the minimum requirements for Half-Life 2 are a 700MHz computer with a 32 Meg vid card and 256MB of RAM. From what i hear, you can run Half-life 2 at max settings(maybe not resolution though) with an XP 1800+, a geforce 4 Ti4400 and 512 MB of RAM. That certainly doesnt seem like the latest and greatest pc hardware out there. The team making half-life 2 specifically set out to make the game playable for people with low end computers just like they did with original half-life. They do not want to just limit the number of people who will be playing the game to the people who can afford brand new computers, that wouldnt be good marketing strategy.

I personally love both consoles(besides the Xbox, what a piece of crap that is) and pcs but i did dish out a lot of money for a new computer but it did feel like it was time and hell i get lots of money back from my college so why the hell not.

So you guys don't think my G4/400 will run it? Dang, maybe it's time to buy a G5 and hope for a port =D.

Oh, and Lasereth, the SNES started the online console gaming thang (just read it in a CUBE magazine)

You'd be surprised what $500 will get you these days. Shop around, look for rebates, and you can make a full-fledged power house from scratch. No kiddin. For HL2, you'll prolly want a 9500 Pro, 512MB RAM, and a 2GHz CPU.

And you won't just need it for Half-Life 2. There's also Doom 3, Deus Ex 2, Thief 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Lineage 2, Soldner and several other beefy games coming in the next six months which would benefit greatly from that hardware. The next generation of visuals is really almost here. Jeez, I sound like a magazine. But it's true. The performance pendulum is swinging back to the games, as it did in the days of Quake III and Unreal.

but it never made it to market (in the US at least)

will my new AMD 2400, Dual 256 DDR RAM, 160 Gig HD, and GFX 5900 that I'm going to finish fixing up tomarrow (today) work with it? :D

BTW, I'm not upgrading because of it.. Upgrading cause of... problems... with my old computer... Mobo got partially disabled.... Video card had a "car" accident with my CPU Fan.... :(

A console will NEVER look as good as a PC with a good video card. And developers are able to do a lot more and add more to a game created for the PC.

Example...Red Faction: Made for the PC and it was great.
Red Faction 2: Created for the Console machines first, they cut back on some things and when it made it to PC, it sucked huge. You could tell that they did nothing to improve the game for PC...they just coded it so it would play on PC.

And you mentioned not having to upgrade a console?? How many people with A Playstation have purchased a Playstation 2 to play the new games, and how much did that cost you???

Same with every generation of Ninteno machines. If you wanted to play the latest Zelda, or Metroid game, you had to buy the new console.

but its cheaper to upgrade a console.

I am upgrading my stuff for reasons other than the video games but i also want to be able to throw in any game and be able to run it at full everything at 1600x1200.

getting a 2.8GHz p4 with Hyper threading, a radeon 9800, and 512 MB of pc3200 Geil Ram, all crammed into the new shuttle SB61G2 mini pc. gonna be sweet.

Hrm, looks like this x-band modem for the snes and genesis was sold in the u.s. and predated the dreamcast by at least a couple years . . .

Sure you have to upgrade but its not just for "That one game". More games will be coming out that require similar specs. More games will be built off of those engines. Personally I love PC gaming bcause you have control over how well your games run, and what you can do with them.

The thing I absolutely hate the most about console games is the crap-tastic resolution of a television screen. Everything looks blocky, blurry, or otherwise crappy. I'd much rather see my game on my .27 dot pitch 21-inch sony trinitron monitor than some ntsc tube. *Obviously you could get a HDTV set ... but I don't have the money for that.


Also, I like being able to download my games.... While some hackers out there have made it possible to download console games and burn them off to cdr/dvds, it just seems to be way more of a pain in the ass. I like being able to download, do the InstallShield dance, and have my game sitting right there on my desktop.

Thirdly, and finally... I like being able to hack my games. I like the option to add my own music to the radio in GTA3-VC. I like being able to run multiple game systems... from the crusty 'ol NES, to the GBA and PS1... I can do everything on the PC.

I've thought about buying a console for awhile, but the truth is, it will always be more satisfying to upgrade my PC... and as an added bonus, once I get my hardware able to play HL2, MS Word will take half as long to open.

I have always liked consoles better than PCs, both of which I like very much, but the console allows me to get a game pop it in, and play it right away, no fuss, no muss.
With a PC you have got to install it, configure controls, configure options, and all that.

todays games have alot of buttons. If its an fps, i'm using a mouse. But for something like metal gear solid 2, or games that have been ported from console to computer, the keyboard layout often just gets confusing, and it's hard for a casual gamer to just pick up and play. No PC joypad is as good as a consoles, in performing the same tasks. It really depends on what kind of games you want to play. For FPS's or RTS's its PC all the way. Anyone unfortunate enough to play StarCraft 64 know what I mean. But keep in mind, console graphics improve as developers learn their way around the system. Compare 2Xtreame to Gran Turismo. I'm gunna stop now that I've realized I really have no point here...

and as for the downloading console games and burning them being a hassle...
I may just be having bad luck, but i've been trying to get Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 for Dreamcast for a year now... ugh...

don't you guys realize that AMD, Intel, Nvidia and ATI all are in on a secret conspiracy with the various major game developers along with Microsoft... the sole purpose being to develop software that requires faster and more powerful PC's to run?... Their goal is to force all of us to buy new components or entirely new systems to keep up the most cutting edge games. :D

well
i'm reals short on the bling, and so upgrading is really a problem for me these days, especially with these new games comin out REQUIRING advanced pc's T_T.. when i built my pc, it was near top-line, now it barely reaches min. requirments for some games.. :-p thass why games are becoming distanced from me, while i play a little more of my PS2

meh, I've always preferred PCs with few exceptions

I'm not really a stats whore so I can live w/a low end PC (and I'm cheap :) )

I still use my trusty old Gravis Gamepad pro. Its exactly like the Playstation controller minus the analog sticks and works very very well.

Yeah, that XBand modem was released for SNES a long time ago. No one bought it. No one played it. It wasn't a community, it was a place for about 1,000 people to show off how dorky they were. It failed miserable after a year. I said the Dreamcast started the online gaming COMMUNITY; with that I mean more than 1,000 players. I believe XBox Live now has 450,000 subscribers. Now that's a community!

It costs between $150.00 and $300.00 to buy a new console. Consoles are gauranteed to play every single game available for them. The PS1 had over 3,000 games to play. On top of that, the average console lasts 5 years on the market before a its "sequel" comes out. Simply enough, you can't buy a PC for $150-$300 that will play over 3,000 games AND last for 5 years without having to upgrade. In this area, it's the simple reason why consoles beat out computers in the gaming arena. I believe this is also the reason clockworkgreen is changing to console.

Yes, it did come out before Dreamcast, but like I said above, it sucked. It was not successful; the world wasn't ready for online gaming yet. Not on consoles, anyway. Dreamcast DID start the online gaming community on consoles.

-Lasereth

Hold on... So when i bought my PS2, I was just upgrading? So does that mean buying my N64 was just upgrading my SNES?

and dude, I had gravis lamepad pro...
ever try playing a fighting game with that?

why not just use both, I mean, we all already have our PC's for porn.. i mean work anyways, just add on a console for gaming..

Just get both, Consoles are cheap and anything you can't get for PC you can get for Console, live the best of both worlds :)

I made the switch to consoles about a year ago just because I decided that the next computer that i build/buy will be the MAC DADDY, of gaming pc's, I have been a pcgamer for over 18 years and have constantly upgraded and bought almost every accessory/joystick there is and like someone else said, you spend more time tweaking everything and setting everything up than actual game play. I will continue to be a PC gammer however I am taking a break from PC gaming while i save up the $5-6k it will take to get me my new system which will be at least a 3.2GHZ pentium 4 800MHZ FSB with 2GB RAM an ATI radeion 9800 ultra with 256MB video memory, DVD/CD BURNER, 2 200 GB SATA Drives a Klipsh 500W 5.1 Speaker system, 2 20.1 Flat pannel displays, ECT. so I have basicly put in $1500 - 2000 into consoles and games and I am having a great time.

hl2's minimum specs are very reasonable. the Source engine was built with slower machines in mind and is very scalable. If you want to get a console that's fine but not just based on the reason you gave.

I wouldn't be able to go back to consoles. I use my PC for gaming and then some. Upgrading and tweaking it to play games has developed into a hobby that has kept me entertained for years. I don't mean to sound like an a-hole but I've always felt like consoles are great for kids. Just not my bag.