[Rant] PC gaming is too expensive. 'Sup consoles.

I never thought this might happen, but I'm beginning to loathe PC gaming. Why? Because of the ridiculous system specs that game developers are pushing down our throats these days. And I will not fail to mention the fact that, currently, a new (and very mudbutt) OS will soon be required to play the latest games.

Vista? Garbage. DX10 only games? Go fuck yourself. OpenGL should be the way to go, since the door is now open to MacIntels and Linux PCs.

New information about games like Lost Planet, Crysis, Quake Wars and Unreal 2007 say that your 8800GTS is going to perform piss-poor. (It should be noted that the X2900XT performs worse than an 8800GTS.) Why do game developers continue force their consumers to buy a new PC every 2 years to play their games? Sure, you could buy the "value" components, but then you aren't getting the full experience of the game or it just looks like complete ass.

It would fantastic if game developers took the time to optimize their source code, so that us gamers don't feel the need to blow our money for their game.

Enter the game console. There are no upgrades to be made to a game console. We save money. The game console is about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of a new mid-range PC. We save money. It doesn't need to be switched out for 5 years. We save a FUCKTON of money.

The other half of the pocket-draining PC equation is the fact that hardware manufacturers like nVidia and Intel feel like churning out new parts every year. Even though the Conroe (Core2Duo) and it's children spawned last year, it's getting a significant upgrade next year, and being phased out the year after that. The current DirectX 10 8800GT series of video cards already fail at upcoming DX10 games and I'm sorry for anyone who bought one already. MONEY. MONEY. MONEY. And we have to spend it because the game developers have their cocks up Intels and nVidia's asses so they can plot together on ways to make consumers buy their shit.

The PlayStation 3. I received a full demonstration over the weekend from a buddy that owns one. I was thoroughly impressed for a number of reasons:

-It's a BluRay and DVD player. (just like a PC, except for less)
-It plays games in natively supported HD resolutions (like the PC)
-Wireless support for internet and addons (like a PC)
-Support for PC game controllers, keyboards and mice, and a ton of USB peripherals (ooh, encroaching on PC territory there)
-Free online play (sup PC. Why does online play need to cost anything when the customers are actually the game hosts?)
-Download game demos, movie trailers to the hard drive (o hay PC)
-Install Linux (haha, neato and cool, but pretty useless. to me anyway)

So, why now would I even bother with a PC unless it was for work? It's really a tough call. Both platforms share some of the same releases, but it would good if they shared all or most. If Sony and Microsoft had found a way to rally the support of PC game developers, we might be seeing some better and more abundant releases.

PC gaming is becoming RIDICULOUSLY over-priced, and the games need to be ported to reasonably priced consoles.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I would agree with Spec, except for two points:

-The hard drives in the current gen systems are Laptop hard drives. That's the real reason they cost so much, and why there isn't a 200gb+ sized one in consoles. It really bites because laptop drives suck ass.

-Equipping a burner on a console is corporate suicide. I don't think I need to elaborate.

The main argument I'm seeing against console gaming is lack of keyboard and mouse support. I'd like to point out that Microsoft has undocumented support for a those two peripherals. Game developers could add support to their games, but they probably don't know how since MS won't tell them. :|

The PS3, on the other hand, has support for a shit ton of USB addons including flash drives and memory sticks for cameras. In a lot of ways, the PS3 is a more complete PC gaming platform than the 360, but game support for the system is a little unwaivering.

There's nowhere I can't reach.