PC's don't pass the "grandma and 6 year old son" test

Which is why I will be buying one of the new consoles this holiday season, rather than building a steambox like I had originally wanted. 

Here's my anecdotal evidence: 

I bought my son Sonic Generations last night because it was only sale via Steam, and he just absolutely loves Sonic. Well I got it all setup and ready to go for him this morning. Start screen was up, all he had to do was start the game. Well his grandma, who's watching him today, in the process of giving him the controller to play...did "something", and they could no longer play the game. Well now I get a text from my wife, asking me to call home and help them out. 

Well, as it turns out, Sonic Generations was already running, but they were trying to reopen the game in Steam, and was promptly given the error message "Game already in process", or that's the gist of it. Ultimatley I was able to walk them through the process of switching back to Sonic Generations, and all is right in the world. 

However...this kind of stuff is really a deterent for me going full blown PC in the living room. I've researched for countless hours, trying to configure a "console like" PC, with similar form factor and functionality. But at the end of the day, it's just too much work. And evidentally, even with Steam Big Picture Mode, Windows still manages to be the fly in the ointment. 

This is a bit of a side rant here...but the above example, combined with many other irritations, has really led me to hate Windows. So many limitations. The only reason Windows is needed is because of Direct X. That's it. So PC gamers are stuck with this relic of an operating system, that Microsoft can't even manage properly. End of side rant. 

TLDR version: PC's + Son + Grandma do not play well together. Consoles you have my money this holiday because of this fact. 

cool story bro

cool story bro

lostrib

Thanks, I thought so myself. 

Bright sparks all around, it seems.

I have had the occasional challenging install, but the upside of PC gaming can't be expressed in a single post... as a lifelong consolite, I was blown away when I began PC gaming earlier this year.... its amazing. TheEroica

i've mainly only had issues with older games like Beyond Good and Evil (doesn't like multi core), jade empire (steam needs to be run as admin)

Did gamespot officially turn the forums into blogs and I didnt see the announcement?

I have had the occasional challenging install, but the upside of PC gaming can't be expressed in a single post... as a lifelong consolite, I was blown away when I began PC gaming earlier this year.... its amazing. TheEroica

I agree. This isn't about consoles being better than PC's. But in terms of which is the best living room solution, for me personally, PC's can't compete with consoles. Ease of use. Media machine. And we're going to get some great games. 

So effectively, this just killed my dreams of having a Steambox in the living room that replaced a console as my all in one media device. 

Which is why I will be buying one of the new consoles this holiday season, rather than building a steambox like I had originally wanted. 

Here's my anecdotal evidence: 

I bought my son Sonic Generations last night because it was only sale via Steam, and he just absolutely loves Sonic. Well I got it all setup and ready to go for him this morning. Start screen was up, all he had to do was start the game. Well his grandma, who's watching him today, in the process of giving him the controller to play...did "something", and they could no longer play the game. Well now I get a text from my wife, asking me to call home and help them out. 

Well, as it turns out, Sonic Generations was already running, but they were trying to reopen the game in Steam, and was promptly given the error message "Game already in process", or that's the gist of it. Ultimatley I was able to walk them through the process of switching back to Sonic Generations, and all is right in the world. 

However...this kind of stuff is really a deterent for me going full blown PC in the living room. I've researched for countless hours, trying to configure a "console like" PC, with similar form factor and functionality. But at the end of the day, it's just too much work. And evidentally, even with Steam Big Picture Mode, Windows still manages to be the fly in the ointment. 

This is a bit of a side rant here...but the above example, combined with many other irritations, has really led me to hate Windows. So many limitations. The only reason Windows is needed is because of Direct X. That's it. So PC gamers are stuck with this relic of an operating system, that Microsoft can't even manage properly. End of side rant. 

TLDR version: PC's + Son + Grandma do not play well together. Consoles you have my money this holiday because of this fact. 

xxxLUGZxxx

So I guess the forums is the new gamespot blog now?

Gargus

No, it's a forum to discuss the different gaming platforms. Which is exactly what my post was about. The merit of PC's in the living room for families, versus that of consoles. 

Hope that clears things up for you. 

wow, your son and his grandma are idiots and shoud wear helmets outside.