To be fair, I have logged MORE hours on Xbox 360 this week than the PC. I am ANYTHING but one sided. Also, to the untrained eye, both platforms look the same. HAH! Take a look through my eyes and you'll see a difference as large as Xbox to Xbox 360. Next, There is a HUGE difference between piracy and fair use. DO THE RESEARCH. If I buy a Metallica CD, the law says that I may make a copy of it. FACT. Also, I may allow my friend to listen to that copy if he or she wants to. FACT. What I can't do is MASS produce that copy and sell it for profit or even give it away. Many game distributors are confusing the two and actually try to prevent ME from copying a game and letting my friend play it. Heck, they don't even want me to pass on the original as they feel it takes $$$ out of their POCKET. Can you say STEAM? Anyways, piracy is not as prevalent as the media wants you to believe. It is a war on fair use, is what it is.
Building a computer from scatch is Soooo 20th century. Now-a-days a NOVICE can do it. It's pretty much plug-n-play modules that "snap" into place. The computer I am typing on this very MOMENT was purchased in 2001. It NOW has a PHENOM quad core 3 ghz, 8 GB RAM, 750 GB Hard drive, Ge-force 9800GT, and a DVD-RW drive. All those things DIDNT exist in 2001 and I installed them all in less than one HOUR total time-- at a savings of 75% of buying a new comp. It aint as hard as you think.
FACT 1....PC games look better. DO the research, people. I won't hold your hands. FACT 2...PC games last longer. WIth my VAST experience on both realms, I'd say a full 97% PC have more gameplay time than Consoles. Conversely, Console games do not have as good graphics, have shorter play time and cost more. Can SOMEONE please tell me why they are DESTROYING the once SACRED PC game?
Let's talk FACTS. We "lofty" PC game players have such HIGH expectations that we DEMAND games evolve at at fast rate. We are MORE than willing to upgrade our 1 year old computer in order to handle the next version of a game. MORE THAN WILLING. See, with consoles, with a 5+ year life expectancy, you are playing games created in 2009 for a console with 2005 technology. THAT is why console games FAIL, for the most part. We are at the CUTTING edge. A game we buy today was created for TODAY'S tech not 4 year old tech.
FIrst off, the selection of PC games, as I have POINTED out, is not there anymore...FACT. Quality PC games still exist, but they are getting overwhelmed by watered down console games. 2) It is moreso the players fault than the developers. If the developers can get someone to pay $50 for a 10 hour game with crappy gameplay, they will. If they can get you to pay $80, they will. We PC gamers are more discriminating. We REFUSE to do such things. What I'm trying to say is the devs are just feeding the masses what they want, all the while DESTROYING what STARTED it ALL. And what the masses want is NOT healthy for the good of the industry. There is a bubble. One day, it will burst. Mark my words again, people. The day will come that Console games will become SO WATERED down, so flooded with sub-standard games, that the ENTIRE gaming world will be a shadow of itself, much the way present day "rock music" is compared with 80's METAL.
DISCLAIMER. This is only MY opinion. I am NOT insulting anyone. I am calling it like I SEE it. I would like to DEBATE this topic civily. Well, after slogging through the RIDICULOUS amount of nit-picking CONTRADICTORY gamespot TOS rules, I think.....edit.....I think that.......edit......I think that.......edit......I think that I can.........edit. DANG it. What the heck can I say or do here that WONT get moderated? I'll try it again. (Deep breath 1...2...3) I think the "average" console player has LOW expectations and does not even know it. I think that the average console player would be more than willing to pay $8 to go see Star Wars and see just the final 20 minute space battle and be satisfied. Similarly, they are more than HAPPY to pay $60 for a console game that delivers 50%-60% of the content of a PC game. Anyone who has been around the block as I have (I've seen it ALL), and anyone who has to actually PAY for the games they buy, would quickly see that PC are far superior than console games. Yes, I do own an Xbox 360, so don't think I just hate consoles. Anyone who has done research KNOWS that PC game ALWAYS have more content and ALWAYS have better graphics (when is the last time you got SIX CD's with a console game? NEVER). There have been numerous studies to PROVE that--it's out there. That, in and of itself, of course does not mean the PC game is always better. Story and voice acting and gameplay are huge parts too. I'll take RESIDENT Evil for the PS2 anyday over starcraft or warcraft for the PC. These consolers do NOT see the big picture. They are more content with the quick, easy, instant gratification of console games (the equivalent of an MTV video). Consequently, this is where their $$$$ go. This is why the PC game is swiftly going the way of the cassette tape. Back in the mid to late 90's, I can remember walking into a best buy and walking up and down 6 aisles of PC games. Nowadays, there may be 1 aisle with an endcap display. PATHETIC. If this trend of low expectations continues, MARK MY WORDS, in 3 years' time, you will see $80 games that can be played from beginning to end in ONE SITTING.
Going downhill? Yes, they have been, but now they are nearing at the BOTTOM. I'm not sure they can get any worse. As a longtime gamer with INSIDE INFO ( I personally know several computer artists who work at major companies) I know the reasons why. I MAY go into more detail in a future blog of mine. SHIP IT is a phrase used by developers that means stop what you're doing, make up an ending if you have to, and get the game out the door intime for the holiday buying crowds. A large portion of games get halted at about the 60-80% completion stage to get on the shelves in time for XMAS (can you say Fallout 3?) Games are falsely rated in the media just to get you to buy it, no matter how CRAPPY it is. See, if I create a game called PURE CRAPOLA and plunk down $100,000 for a full page ad in a game magazine, there aint no way in heck that mag is gonna give me a 2 or 3 when they review it. My game will get rated 7 or 8. "Wonderful!" "4 out of 5 stars!" etc. In the publishing world, you DO NOT bite the hand that feeds you. Consequently, you just paid $60 bucks for PURE CRAPOLA that you can beat in one weekend due to lack of content. Developers think they are smarter than you. They make they game look PHENOMENAL thinking this will overcome its lack of CONTENT. And then they'll make you pony up $$$ to download the content that should have come with the game anyway (Can you say Forza 2, with a "spectacular" DOZEN race tracks. What an INSULT). The gaming world is FULL of amateur developers who can crank out CRAP at a low cost just to satisfy the insatiable demand of the masses. Any hack with a computer and cookie cutter programs can create a game for little cost with high profit margins. And that's waht it's come down to. I'll take the PC game THIEF, THE DARK PROJECT from 1998 ANY DAY over something like Assassin's Creed--And so would everyone else who understands what quality is. One has superb voice acting and one has a ROBOT voice for the main character. One has many different missions and the other has NO different missions (the same thing over and over and over again.) Sure, AC looks better that TDP, but so did The Phantom Menace look better than Star Wars ( 'nuff Said). I know how to stop this and I'll tell ya: Buy Used games--That's how--but it'll take a few years to sink in. If more people would get UPSET at spending $60 and getting only 12 hours of junky gameplay out of a game ($5 an hour is a CRIME) and buy used games, the developers would be forced to change. You know how much developers HATE stores that sell or trade used games? A HECK OF A LOT!!!! They're not making ANY $$$$ on used games, the store that sells or trades them is. I ONLY buy used games. Finally, I devote more time to PC games like Thief or Half-life than I do GTA or Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360. The old days of quality are GONE.
Oblivion was good, Fallout 3 was a DUD. I say DUD because I was asking, "Is this it?" Such possibilites, so much to potentially see and do, and BOOM it's over. It's like the developers scrapped the final 50% just to get it out in time for XMAS. You can't pull the wool over my eyes with nearly 40 YEARS of gaming experience under my belt.
I've been relying on this site for a LONG time to get reviews for potential purchases and just now decided to register. Gamespot is a DANG pretty site on the outside, but once I registered and got "inside", I don't see the pretty anymore. I actually laughed out loud as I read some of the site RULES. I felt they were written by some 16 year old kid who has gotten picked on all his life, came into a bit of power, and is now ALL ABOUT abusing it. Rules upon rules upon rules. Ouch! Of course, there must be rules, but the constant THREATS of what will happen to our dear accounts if we violate these rules goes way overboard. Lighten up gamespot. It's all well and good if you want a DISNEY atmosphere..I'm all for it, but having mini- HITLERS run your sacred Disneyworld JUST DOESNT WASH WITH ME!!! I have a problem with that. I suggest you have a separate class of "uber-moderators" whose SOLE job is to monitor the moderators. I see LOTS of moderators/bullies here.
Imagine my chagrine when, after coming here for YEARS, I decided to become a member and then NOT be allowed to write a review. It seems I gotta ANTE up some $$$ (which I will NEVER do) or get to level 3. HUH? WHat is this level 3 CRAPOLA and how do I get to it? It seems NO ONE knows, not even the almighty google. I feel I was baited and baited and baited only to be DENIED at the end. I want to write a REVIEW!!! You are OUT OF LINE, gamespot!!!
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