Is The Xbox The Cause Of The PC Gamer's Downfall?

Thanks to GamerDad for its editorial discussing whether the Xbox has grabbed much of the development effort and talent from the PC gaming scene, with the author arguing: "From what I've been able to gather, there just isn't much interest in PC games unless as an afterthought to a console release. Deus Ex 2 and Thief III are superb examples of this mindset." He continues of the Xbox: "Its introduction has clearly robbed a lot of the resources that used to be dedicated to making PC entertainment. This is fine if you're willing to buy an Xbox and support Microsoft directly that way. It's not fine if you're a PC gamer that wants what the PC can offer specifically, and not some watered down version of what you've come to expect from a company." Do you agree?

Comments

Rationalization

[metamatic]

This is fine if you're willing to buy an Xbox and support Microsoft directly that way.

Nice rationalization. Let's get one thing straight: even if you only run Windows in order to play games, and even if you use a pirate copy of Windows, you're still directly supporting Microsoft.

Why? Because you're helping to keep the Windows share of the games market artificially high, which ensures that game development happens for Windows first and other platforms rarely (Mac) or never (Linux). This, in turn, means that anyone who wants to play computer games goes out and buys a PC with Windows, and any developer who wants to sell games buys Microsoft development tools.

Buy a PS2, a Gamecube, a Mac or a Linux (only) system, and play your games on those. Until then, you're a Microsoft whore, whether you're playing on a PC or an Xbox.