4x dead. PC games dying. Gave away PC. :(

[Baron Munchausen]

Kamog said:
One of my coworkers has a PC that sometimes takes half an hour to boot up, because it often starts up with a blue screen of death and he has to keep shutting it down and powering it back up until it works. Then it runs scandisk which takes a few minutes. It's a Compaq running Windows 98. The computer tech guy has given up trying to fix it.

If you change the settings when it's up and running to NOT boot the GUI, you can probably get it functioning faster. Lots of minor hardware glitches that are invisible at the command prompt will turn up when Windows tries to load the protected mode drivers. The cause of the problems might well be a 'marginal' component that needs to warm up a bit in order to respond properly to the protected mode drivers. So, if the machine is set to only load the underlying DOS you will possibly be able to get it to boot up to that point with no problems. Then you can let it sit and 'warm up' for a few minutes beffore trying to start the GUI/protected mode shell.

[Combat Wombat]

Instar said:

Exhibit A: XBox Live. The experience of XBox Live is tremendous. It patches games, distributes extra content, and is amazing Online play.

Yes but Microsoft makes you pay for XBox Live where I play CS: Source and Space Empires IV for free and get updated content for free and there are mods for PC games and no mods for console games.

[Instar]

Combat Wombat said:

Yes but Microsoft makes you pay for XBox Live where I play CS: Source and Space Empires IV for free and get updated content for free and there are mods for PC games and no mods for console games.

True, you do pay for Live, but I view it as similar to a MMO PC game. Its not too expensive really.
Game mods, well, that is true. The best example of a console game being modded is Halo2, where you can download new gametypes that other players make. Other than that, there are only game content downloads, which is developer controlled.

[GMLocutus]

There's alot of good points to a PC which Consoles canot match.

First off, PC games i find are becoming more moddable which can never really be achieved on consoles due to the system requirements of the console.

PC's can be upgraded to better specs allowing the graphics and gameplay to improve. Yes this is positive but i feel this is also a major negative due to the fact that if you buy a console game you play it, if you buy a PC game, you may need to upgrade the PC to handle the game.

However the problem with consoles is, if you buy a console you're restricted to playing the games that can only work on that console, some companies may only release a game for a peticular console, whereas the PC gets benefits of getting them all, look at Halo, that was only for the Xbox, and then it was released on PC. Unless you owned a PC, you would have needed to buy an Xbox just to play it, or borrow a friends Xbox if they had one.

My preference will always be the PC, but i do enjoy playing my Xbox (or one of many others I have bought over the years)

[Sabin]

Eh...most consoles have their strong points, as does the PC. For example, the PC has the most/best "true" RPGs.(In the Planescape/Baldur/Fallout style), fan-games, emulation(to play SNES, N64, PSX and so on a PC) and so on...

Game Cube has the strongest name-brand of all of the consoles, more or less. Sure, the X-Box and Playstation II almost have icons, but they are generally fewer and not as well known as the Game Cube's. Also, the Game Cube has a very strong core of games. The downside, is the lack of multiplayer over the internet...but truth be told, I think the GC is the best-suited for people who like single-player, good games, and has friends nearby who like games.(The GC is portable, after all...) Also, while the Game Cube has a strong core of games, it lacks a significant number of total games.

The Playstation II probably has the widest selection of games, ranging from extremely poor to excellent. It definately has some of the more exotic games of the three current consoles: Amplitude, DDR series the Eyetoy, and so on. It has a somewhat decent multiplayer function, but it is pretty much a middle player.

The X-Box...well, truth be told I don't know much. I suppose it can be said to have poor to excellent games as well, but the controllers are generally poor.(I hear) It has on-line play though, which is somewhat dependable, circumstances willing.

Now, keep in mind...each of the consoles offer something depending on where you live, and what you like. Also, the American/English countries do not have the chance to play certain Asian games...say, from the Super Robot Taisen series, various hentai-games, SD Gundam and so on.