Arrrhhh! I cannot buy an xbox!

[Goosemaster]

"glog"

Oh goodie... always wanted to write one of these things:biggrin:

I had a chance at a mild deal on an XBOX 360 and just had to cancel it. (xbox 4gb + live for one year for $150.) Everything was ready to go, I was happy, the sun was shinning, and I just couldn't drive myself to let the orders fulfill themselves - again and again.

I cancelled the order three timesD:

The last console I had was SNES (yes, The:awe. I played Sega Systems and PS 1/2 a lot during my youth but never owned one. I always loved the games but just hated the controls for anything but wielding Ryu or Raiden. In sharp contrast, the keyboard/mouse combo was awesome from the very beginning. I pretty much started with PC gaming after seeing Doom run in all its glory on some back-room Packard Bell and never looked back. Hexen and Heretic were icing on the cake. Quake.... Quake with OpenGL sealed the deal.

Fast forward a few dead presidents. Life was getting busy a few years ago leaving me little time to play and I decided to help an enthusiastically computer-curious family friend by donating all of my stuff to him. I got some joy out of seeing someone else make good use of the computer and pretty much forgot about pc gaming. They were happy, I was happy.

For about 3 years I've been widdled down to a mac mini and my tablet, and I told myself that was enough. I've played xbox 360 / PS3 over the years but just hated the controls for pretty much everything except Soul Caliber. Both the latest xbox crab and ps spider controllers still do nothing for me.

I've been running on fumes lately, subsisting on an unhealthy diet of Angry Birds and the only snazzy puzzle game on Steam that manages to run well on my tablet (Eufloria - it's actually quite good:thumbsup. Then I saw Just Cause 2. The graphics were SICK the first time I saw them. The plot was **** and the AI was retarded but OMFG the grahpics! I was able to resist but not for long.

Certain computer parts /console deals peaked my interest this weekend and ****** up everything:hmm:. I swear I tried to hold back but I just couldn't. Maybe it was all this weekend's turkey or something, but I told myself that it would be okay if I started slow, with a console, to get back into gaming... cause they were on SALE. /facepalm

I kept replaying the "never go full-retard" decision making process that led me to try to buy an xbox but it further confused me. Maybe I just needed to go all in like a good boy. Maybe a 6850-class gpu - you know, nothing fancy. Or maybe Angry Birds would get better....

*ponders making a game out of the order and cancel buttons on commerce websites*:hmm:

I guess I have to accept that I will forever be a WASD Bitch.:\ Maybe it's time to go back and buy a gaming rig. The 440BX chipset is still the rage, right?:\


Letting that out makes me feel so much better.

*gets back to studying*

 

[MustangSVT]

i see..

 

[AllWhacked]

I was much like you (my last console was also a SNES) and I pretty much played only on my computer up through college, post-college years and until literally last year when I finally broke down and bought a PS3. I like you argued that I hated the controls and I also hated how console games were more expensive. But I ended up buying a PS3 because of the blue-ray. I saw how nice it looked on my brother-in-laws setup and figured that a cheap blue-ray is around $100, a nice one that can stream netflix is around $200ish and when Amazon had a sale on the slims (that included inFamous & Killzone 2) for $270 I bit. I didn't even own a HDTV yet and ended up buying a 42" Plasma (though had I waited till Christmas, Amazon had the same Plasma, plus 360 Elite, plus blue-ray player for $800, but that's a different story).

Anyway, during the time I first made the purchase till I felt like I had not wasted my money, it took about 6 months. What really sold me were the following:

1) Quality console only titles. Red Dead Redemption for example is one of them. It's is one of those all time best games that you wished you played if you missed it. It has an epic story, good controls, awesome graphics, etc. It might come to PC someday, but who the hell knows when. Ended up picking up the Undead Expansion (despite having about 200+ PC games in the queue that I haven't played and about 30 console games untouched!).

2) The big screen experience. If you got one, it really makes a world of difference. So much so that I built a HTPC to play my PC racing games on it and the few PC games that work with a 360 controller. In the future if a game is multiplatform, if the experience will benefit from using a game controller vs keyboard/mouse, I will most likely buy that game on console.

3) The reduction in price on console games. In the past when the 360 & PS3 first came out, console games were more expensive at launch and tended to stay in the $30-$40 range for the longest time. It's not until maybe last year or late 08 that I started seeing A-listed titles reaching the $20 threshold or below. And now in recent sales, I'm seeing them get close to PC sale prices of $10 or less. One of the chief reasons I preferred PC gaming was originally because I could pick up games on the cheap--either on Steam or before then, GoGamer. Because of their cheap cost, that's how I got to 200+ games ($5 here, $10 there goes a long way). Also, unlike PC, you can buy console games used to same extra money that way.

4) Related to point three is the ability to resell your old console games. I just bought Mass Effect 2, despite owning ME1 on PC. I got ME2 for $10 and it currently trades in on Amazon for $9. If I blow through it in time, I can recoup 90% of my cost. If I had bought it on PC, the trade-in value is ZERO. You can try to resell it, but knowing me I would try to save a few bucks and get digital download and then it's mine forever (unless I sell the account or setup a separate account for just that game).

In any case, I'm still a PC gamer at heart and even spent extra dough to upgrade my graphics card so that I can finally play Fallout 3 at 1920x1200 with everything turned up. After playing a few FPS on console, I can say that I hated the experience. Though if you have a group of friends to play co-op, then that's a different story and adds another reason to buy a console.

My word of advice is to ask yourself how you want to live your life. If you want a minimalist lifestyle or you agonize over spending, then don't buy the console and don't upgrade your computer. Once you go down the path that I have, you look for reasons to justify your purchase by spending more money on games when they come on sale. You might say, well... yeah I have 200+ games, but I'll play this 201st game anyway. And since it's on sale...

On the flip side, I never owned a PS1/2 or Xbox. My friends did and I enjoyed playing Halo 1/2 CO-OP. But other games like FF7... those games which are considered must play games of all time, I never got a chance to enjoy them in middle school/high school. I have a chance now and have bought some older titles like FF7, GTA3 and while the games are still enjoyable the shitty graphics kind of turn me off. But looking back on it from someone 10 years ago, I would have thoroughly enjoyed them and so feel that I was deprived as a youth because my parents were poor.

I hope this rant helped, but most likely it did not.

 

[Schfifty Five]

"glog"

Oh goodie... always wanted to write one of these things:biggrin:

I had a chance at a mild deal on an XBOX 360 and just had to cancel it. (xbox 4gb + live for one year for $150.) Everything was ready to go, I was happy, the sun was shinning, and I just couldn't drive myself to let the orders fulfill themselves - again and again.

I cancelled the order three timesD:

The last console I had was SNES (yes, The:awe. I played Sega Systems and PS 1/2 a lot during my youth but never owned one. I always loved the games but just hated the controls for anything but wielding Ryu or Raiden. In sharp contrast, the keyboard/mouse combo was awesome from the very beginning. I pretty much started with PC gaming after seeing Doom run in all its glory on some back-room Packard Bell and never looked back. Hexen and Heretic were icing on the cake. Quake.... Quake with OpenGL sealed the deal.

Fast forward a few dead presidents. Life was getting busy a few years ago leaving me little time to play and I decided to help an enthusiastically computer-curious family friend by donating all of my stuff to him. I got some joy out of seeing someone else make good use of the computer and pretty much forgot about pc gaming. They were happy, I was happy.

For about 3 years I've been widdled down to a mac mini and my tablet, and I told myself that was enough. I've played xbox 360 / PS3 over the years but just hated the controls for pretty much everything except Soul Caliber. Both the latest xbox crab and ps spider controllers still do nothing for me.

I've been running on fumes lately, subsisting on an unhealthy diet of Angry Birds and the only snazzy puzzle game on Steam that manages to run well on my tablet (Eufloria - it's actually quite good:thumbsup. Then I saw Just Cause 2. The graphics were SICK the first time I saw them. The plot was **** and the AI was retarded but OMFG the grahpics! I was able to resist but not for long.

Certain computer parts /console deals peaked my interest this weekend and ****** up everything:hmm:. I swear I tried to hold back but I just couldn't. Maybe it was all this weekend's turkey or something, but I told myself that it would be okay if I started slow, with a console, to get back into gaming... cause they were on SALE. /facepalm

I kept replaying the "never go full-retard" decision making process that led me to try to buy an xbox but it further confused me. Maybe I just needed to go all in like a good boy. Maybe a 6850-class gpu - you know, nothing fancy. Or maybe Angry Birds would get better....

*ponders making a game out of the order and cancel buttons on commerce websites*:hmm:

I guess I have to accept that I will forever be a WASD Bitch.:\ Maybe it's time to go back and buy a gaming rig. The 440BX chipset is still the rage, right?:\


Letting that out makes me feel so much better.

*gets back to studying*

so what was the question?

 

[darkewaffle]

tl;dr post 1 + post 3

 

[DaveSimmons]

I have a gaming PC, xbox360, PS3 and PS2 slim. I've had gaming PCs since the late 80s (Wasteland, Bard's Tale 1...)

It's very nice seeing a 360 game like Crackdown (be a cross between Robocop and Spider-man) or a PS3 game like Valkyria Chronicles (turn-based strategy with a nifty art style) and being able to play them.

I normally prefer to game on the PC (Fallout New Vegas right now) but not everything good is released for it.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I will say that I haven't really been into this gen of consoles and have went back to PC gaming mostly. I do have a Wii, but that was more because the wife was actually interested in it, but that lasted all of about 2 weeks and now it mostly collects dust since I just don't have much interest in the games on it.

I owned and absolutely loved the snes, ps1 and ps2, dc and even the xbox (still play ps2 quite a bit), but haven't been able to talk myself into a 360/ps3. Something about the price of the games vs. length of games bugs me (of course there's the gfx/vs gameplay issue, but we know that topic). I've always been very selective about what games I actually purchase on consoles (mainly RPG), and reserved everything else for rental, and only 1-2 games on either system have called to me, but not enough to make me jump on them...and with the overall bad reviews of FFXIII, it pretty much put the nail in the coffin for me...

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

XBox 360 + a year of Gold for $150 is worth it for the Netflix/ESPN/future Hulu Plus access alone IMO, then you add on gaming and the ability to stream audio and video, seems like a no brainer to me.

I gave up on the PC vs console gaming thing years ago. There are certain games that I have to be sitting at my PC to play to engage my full attention, and there are games that I love to just sprawl on the couch and enjoy. Also, console game systems these days aren't just game systems anymore, they (generally) offer so much more than just gaming.

Is this the new 360-S and if so is this a deal I can get in on?

 

[Anomaly1964]

I have a PC and my kids have an Xbox. I just started playing Batman Arkham Asylum (yeah I am behind) on the PC. I had my son D/L the Xbox demo.

After a few minutes, here is my opinion...

For brawling, XBOX is easier...
For walking, running, using and aiming batarang, grappling,...PC is easier. It's still the "better control with a mouse" thing...

 

[ibex333]

OP, I dont know what the hell the big deal is.

Why dont you just get BOTH a good gaming PC and a console? And dont you dare tell me it's too expensive for you. A powerful gaming PC can be easily built in the $700 price range and a console will run you another $200 or so + whatever you are going to spend on games.

This may seem like a lot but it really isnt. I built my PC 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. I may not have all the latest bleeding edge hardware, but I easily run any modern game out there. As for consoles, I only buy the best quality games, and I only buy them a year after release. This way I get em cheap.

I used to be a PC only gamer and has a vendetta against consoles, but then I gave up all that siliness and realized that there is no reason to let pride get in the way of fun.

PS: Why the hell are you using macs and tablets? I hate Macintosh computers and anyone who uses a mac is gay. ; )

PS # 2: But if you need to study, why the hell are you even considering gaming? If you want to succeed in school you shouldnt have any games in your house. I know because I am not doing well in school.

 

[Corporate Thug]

ugh, try playing any sports games on PC and compare it to console. How is Madden 2011 of PC?

 

[Anomaly1964]

ugh, try playing any sports games on PC and compare it to console. How is Madden 2011 of PC?

I would agree Sports and Driving games would be better on a console...

I am thinking of putting a console next to my tower and using the monitor for both...

Hmmm...how exactly would I set that up???

Thanks for any advice!

 

[samduhman]

so what was the question?

I think he needs this http://www.anandtech.com/show/4025/holiday-2010-system-builders-guide

OP don't waste your money I have a 360, PS3 and Wii and my son and I game 98% on the PC. We try the new AA console games when they come out but our PCs just provide much more gaming enjoyment.

When I look at my consoles I tend to get irritated when thinking how much money I've wasted on them ever since the PS2, Xbox, gamecube days. I started out consoling with the Atari, Coleco, SNES, PS1 then in the mid to late 90s I started to migrate to PC but continued to buy consoles and their games. I try them and think how drull they were and go back to my PC. SO BUILD A PC!

 

[BladeVenom]

I normally prefer to game on the PC (Fallout New Vegas right now) but not everything good is released for it.

But if everyone who owned a PC would stop buying consoles, then there would be less console exclusives.

Besides the 360 is 5 years old now. It's outdated, looks it, and should have been replaced this year.

 

[Goosemaster]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Qbah]

I bought my Xbox because I wanted a hassle-free gaming solution. In the end:

- console games have plenty of bugs too (and only official patches - no community mods)
- console games can hang the console too
- console games run like shit most of the time (low FPS)
- console games look like shit plenty of times (low rez, low textures, no/low AA, small draw distance, screen tearing)
- my Xbox is so loud it is giving me migraines just by thinking about turning it on

Advice from a person going: PC -> Xbox -> PC? Stay with the PC (and get an Xbox 360 gamepad ). Though if you have some cash available, grab a PS3 Slim (quiet, shares most games with the Xbox, great exclusives). This way you cover most of everything (though you miss out on Alan Wake, Gears of War 2, Fable 2 and Halo 3/Reach).

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

.....

 

[Mike Gayner]

Lots of TLDR in this thread.

 

[mindcycle]

I bought a 360 and a PS3 earlier this year for specific games that aren't available on the PC. The Skate series on the 360 and Demons Souls on the PS3. Both of those games were well worth the purchase IMO as I got countless hours out of both. However, I started buying used games on the cheap for both systems after awhile and now I have a big backlog of console games I haven't even touched. Some of the ones I have played through range from somewhat enjoyable to downright mediocre, and some just plain horrible.

So I guess it all depends on what you are after. I think there are a few jems on consoles, however, i'm a PC gamer at heart and overall it just doesn't compare. Most console games are so bland and "dumbed down" it's almost torture playing through them. Sure, there are PC games that fit the same description but the ratio of games with actual depth on PC vs console is not even comparable IMO.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

However, I started buying used games on the cheap for both systems after awhile and now I have a big backlog of console games I haven't even touched.

Oh man, I have so many $5-$10 PS3/ games STILL IN THE SHRINKWRAP sitting on my game shelf, it's pretty pathetic. Just last night I picked up Brutal Legend for $7 on WalMart's site, which is going to bring my full disc based collection of PS3 titles to around 75 I believe. That doesn't even include the 2-3 Move titles I bought for the kids for XMas and the Kinect + Dance Central I bought for them as well.

I have a cheap games on sale buying addiction I think. God help me when the Steam XMas sale kicks off.

 

[mindcycle]

Oh man, I have so many $5-$10 PS3/ games STILL IN THE SHRINKWRAP sitting on my game shelf, it's pretty pathetic. Just last night I picked up Brutal Legend for $7 on WalMart's site, which is going to bring my full disc based collection of PS3 titles to around 75 I believe. That doesn't even include the 2-3 Move titles I bought for the kids for XMas and the Kinect + Dance Central I bought for them as well.

I have a cheap games on sale buying addiction I think. God help me when the Steam XMas sale kicks off.

Same for me man. I don't have nearly as many games as you yet, but i'm working on it.. lol

Never visit cheapassgamer.com You've been warned.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Don't, consoles are washed down PCs with no flexibility. Unless you got no money for a decent gaming systems, i wouldn't go for it.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Don't, consoles are washed down PCs with no flexibility. Unless you got no money for a decent gaming systems, i wouldn't go for it.

Considering 50%+ of AAA titles never make it to the PC these days, it's time to stop shunning consoles completely. Missing out on Infamous, Uncharted 2, Red Dead Redemption, and a load of other games because of some overinflated sense of loyalty for PC gaming is just kind of sad.

 

[Modular]

I have a decent gaming rig that runs all the games I own pretty well. I'm really debating grabbing a 360. They have a refurbished arcade at gamestop for $119 right now. It really does seem worth it to be able to play Red Dead and a few other games.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Considering 50%+ of AAA titles never make it to the PC these days, it's time to stop shunning consoles completely. Missing out on Infamous, Uncharted 2, Red Dead Redemption, and a load of other games because of some overinflated sense of loyalty for PC gaming is just kind of sad.

That's why i have a PS3, but i usually consider my PC the superior platform(at least i did before my HD4870 blew up and ASUS couldn't replace it at that time). Either way, there are a lot of great exclusives that are worth grabbing a console for.