Well, the X-Box doesn’t have to worry about borking the PC with SecuRom issues.
Contrawise, the X-Box can’t be modded, so Fallout 3 gets you at both ends. (well, the box can be, but not the games, not like the PC.)
Hey, GameHat! Been a while. You coming back here to talk?
As I mentioned, it’s good to be a PC gamer now a days. One of the reasons is that stuff like Secure-Rom and other crappy DRM are going the way of the dodo. EA is releasing Dragon Age with no DRM for example, except for a simple disc check (and say they plan on not using DRM in the future). Most steam games now a days require nothing, you can even play game in off-line mode.
DRM is really not much of an issue anymore for the PC gamer.
If graphics matter in any real way, please explain the success of the Wii. Or of Castle Crashers. Or of Mega Man 9. Or World of Goo. Or Braid. Or any other game that doesn’t stack up to Crysis in every benchmark you can think of.
Sure graphics matter, but they are not the be all and end all.
$400? The Xbox 360 hasn’t been $400 in years. An Arcade system can be found for between $170 (if you can find a deal) and $200 (MSRP). The Elite is $300. If you’re going to use price as the reason why not to buy something, at least get it right.
To the OP, Pac-Man: CE is one of the finest games I have ever played. If that is one of the games you want the most out of the system, you’ll find plenty more just like it on the XBLA, making a 360 purchase well worth it.
That’s funny. You see few decent exclusives, and I see a bevy of exclusives(ish). Halo is on the Xbox, and Haloes 1 and 2 are on PC, but after the fact and you’ve got a keyboard and mouse for those. For me, that’s a minus. Halo 3 isn’t on the PC yet. Gears of War runs the same way.
Now I like the fact that I don’t have to fuck with hardware, drivers, or any kind of big DRM issues. There’s downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto for the 360, and it runs better on it.
I don’t have to convince you one way or another. Really, I don’t care. Look at the list of games for the 360 and see if you like them. If you like them, and especially if you like to play online or are interested in dipping your toes in online, go for it. If not, then don’t.
It’s still got a disc check. Is it SecureRom? I don’t trust stuff that replaces my DVD drivers.
Ahh, okay. Sorry for assuming about your role and its hardware aspects, then! It still sounds important.
As mentioned, tho, it’s still not clear whether you were actually calling Microsoft. Some games do have hardware (such as Rock Band), but MS would actually be the folks to get in touch with about console hardware issues.
And if it helps alleviate anyone’s concerns, I do know that the Xbox customer support section in the US did get an overhaul sometime in the last few years, tho I don’t remember when. There are grumblings on forums as late as 2007 about customers having to talk to a flowchart-follower in another country, though I admit I don’t know exactly when the changeover took place. I imagine it’s still possible to get put through overseas depending on the time of day, however.
And as for this claim… well, B+ for effort on the analogy, there, but your facts are kinda ludicrous.
We’ve already been over the upscaling/resolution debate here before, but here’s one of the posts that started the whole thing a couple years ago. Look at the linked image that is used to “prove” one of the shinier games of that year, Halo 3, runs in only 640p natively (!!!).
Note how the pixels in that picture have to be blown up to about ten times their actual size on a screen in order to reliably tell that? Yeah - if you actually have eyes that good from across the room, I’d like to know why you’re not out rescuing buses of children being thrown by some supervillain. Otherwise, I’d have to advise you not to stand so close to your friend’s TV while he’s playing Too Human - if you can tell the difference between native and upscaled 1080p, then there is literally no way you’re not blocking the screen with your head. And isn’t it more important just to let your friend have fun?
No, it’s not secu-rom. It just checks the disk contents. So you could, I would assume, use a shadow copy to trick the game into thinking you’ve got a disc. That’s probably what I’ll do. I hate having to switch discs it’s so… console like.
Oh wait, never mind, I’m getting the downloadable version, no disc check on that. 
@ Justin: I never said graphics are the be all of gaming, don’t be silly. But the Pc is got the best graphics, and that’s plus in most cases.
@ Least original: You might not like mouse and keyboard (And I guess I can see your point, I mean, who wan’t accuracy and lots of hotkeys in their controllers?) but it looks like the OP does prefer it. At least for some types of games.
Yeah, because looking at a jpg on a Pc screen is exactly the same as seeing it on the TV.
Of course you can tell when something is being upscaled. There’s an algorithm making up pixels out of nothing. Like I said, it’s like you’re putting wax paper on the screen. Everything is fuzzy. Can you really say that you can’t see the difference between stadard def TV and high def TV? Details are lost, and imperfections are multiplied (though some type of imperfections are actually alleviated, funnily enough). The issue is further exacerbated by the fact that people tend to get big TV’s.
And allow me to point out that resolution isn’t the only difference between the platforms in terms of graphics, but I’m sure you know that.
As for my friend I didn’t bother him about it. I just showed him a game on my PC with AA and AF turned on. He noticed the difference immediately.
Just because you’re not accurate with a controller on an FPS doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Who needs hotkeys when you have buttons right there?
It’s not so much about being accurate as it is not being AS accurate.
Don’t tell me we’re going to go down this road again though. I mean if game developers themselves make comments about how they can’t balance out the PC side when considering multi-player games, as the mouse and keyboard is much more accurate and quick than the controller without going all cheese fest and allowing the console players to “auto lock”, or making references about how the AI has to be dumbed down for the consoles or difficulty ramped up for the PC due to the controller, if that doesn’t convince you then nothing will.
I’ve done experiments myself with friends. I have them plug in a controller and play Left 4 dead or Crysis, or Modern Warfare and they just don’t stand a chance with me on keyboard and mouse. And I’m not good at shooters. I love shooters, but gods, I suck at them. Just ask Senor Beef.
It’s not so much about being accurate as it is not being AS accurate.
Don’t tell me we’re going to go down this road again though. I mean if game developers themselves make comments about how they can’t balance out the PC side when considering multi-player games, as the mouse and keyboard is much more accurate and quick than the controller without going all cheese fest and allowing the console players to “auto lock”, or making references about how the AI has to be dumbed down for the consoles or difficulty ramped up for the PC due to the controller, if that doesn’t convince you then nothing will.
I’ve done experiments myself with friends. I have them plug in a controller and play Left 4 dead or Crysis, or Modern Warfare and they just don’t stand a chance with me on keyboard and mouse. And I’m not good at shooters. I love shooters, but gods, I suck at them. Just ask Senor Beef.
I can only speak for myself, but being more accurate doesn’t make it more fun. I’m completely fine with using a controller, regardless of whether “aim assistance” is required or not (for the record, not every console shooter features this, and many even allow you to disable it, which I often do). I simply prefer holding a controller in my hand–using the thumbsticks just feels better, as well as the controller itself, imo.
It’s cool that you value accuracy over all else–I don’t. As long as a game is designed well, it shouldn’t be an issue. Much like how you don’t need a steering wheel to play Gran Turismo, but that option is available to those who want it.
You can’t play the “It’s not as accurate” card and then play the “It’s not as accurate card, but there are features to make up for it” card. It’s one or the other. If you play the first one, then you fail to account for auto-aim, or aim assist, or features to turn up/down aim sensitivity. Then, if you play the second card, you’ve rendered the discussion moot and it’s all about preference and not about which one is better.
Uhm, the reason for auto-aim and auto-lock is BECAUSE the controller is not accurate. These are crutches. I’m not sure how that changes the point I was making.
Humans aren’t accurate when running across a battlefield waving a pistol around. So in the search for accurancy and realism, it amazes me that PC gamers tout realistic graphics as better, but then turn around and tout the superhuman abilities of mouse-aim as also being better. Even though it’s ten times more unrealistic.
Uh. Actually I am. I’ve bought more PS2 games in the past 6 months than 360 games. No question. And, for that matter, more 360 games than PC games, unless you could each month of LotRO seperately. Of the 360 games I’ve bought, several of them are not exactly what you’d call the graphical cream of the crop. Castle Crashers? Yeah. There’s an epic high res experience. Bump mapping too! But I’d rather play that than any FPS game on the market, and, here’s the clincher… I CAN’T PLAY IT ON MY PC. Not sure why that point hasn’t sunk home.
Would I prefer my games have shinier graphics than not? Sure. To a point. Is the fact that games I don’t want to play look better on the PC than on the 360 in any way a factor in my decision to buy a 360 or not? No.
You, sir, are a victim of a VERY closed world view. Stop and think for a minute that not everyone even cares what “Too Human” looks like at all. In fact, I’m not even sure I remember which FPS that I don’t want to play that one was.
Honestly, I PERSONALLY hate the fact that all these FPS games have been showing up consoles lately, because A) It gives fuel to people like you who think that they’re the only sorts of games out there and B) Because, frankly, if game companies weren’t making them for consoles, they might be making games that I’d actually want to play.
I wouldn’t. I’d still be going over to my PC when I wanted to play Sword of the Stars.
This is just false. It’s that simple. Sure, there may not be lots of games that come out for only ONE console, but there are TONS that come out for consoles and not for PCs. TONS. Many of them are VERY good.
You really can’t see past the FPS genre, can you?
I don’t think any sane person would EVER argue that PC gaming is not a more expensive hobby than console gaming, unless you’re doing the “play everything 4 years behind the curve” thing, in which case… consoles are probably STILL cheaper, but you might have a hard time finding all the games you want.
Can you please filter my responses to what the Op is looking for, perhaps then things would make more sense.
The OP likes shooters, the OP prefers the K&M for them, The op is talking about getting a 360, not “every other platform out there”. And finally, the OP obviously already has a capable PC. Chill.
Or because many folks aren’t as accurate/haven’t developed the same proficiency they have for a mouse.
By the way, I’m with you on the graphics part. I like to see pretty, but I don’t think I’m with you to your extent.
What exactly is my extent? Just because I like graphics doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate gameplay. There’s a lot of indie and non indie games I like which don’t sport Crysis-like graphics.
The extent to draw a very thick line in the sand between Call of Duty 4 on a PC and Call of duty 4 on a 360 because the graphics are better. I’d prefer the 360 one because of Live and because I don’t have to worry about setting up some kind of server for voice chat and because I already know a shit ton of folks that play there.
However, that could be because I’ve never seen it on a PC. I’m pretty sure I’d still prefer playing with a controller, but I can’t imagine being so taken aback by the graphics that I would have to get a PC that would have the best card available just to play it.
Note that I do kick the shit out of the Wii for having horrible graphics (especially you, Twilight Princess, you horrible hybrid of bad gameplay and shitty graphics).