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Computer Gaming PCs Try To Stack Up To Consoles
bippy writes "RedAssedBaboon has what I think is the first review of a computer to feature the much lauded DISCover technology. DISCover basically turns a computer into a gaming console, allowing you to drop a PC game into a system and play it immediately on your television. The site reviews a new DHS (Digital Home System) by Alienware which will feature the technology and is due out next month. The article ends with this interesting comment: 'It's high time that the computer stop lurking in the shadows of dusty computer desks in forgotten rarely-used bedrooms. If PC gaming is going to survive it's going to have to do so in the well-lit family rooms and dens of America right along side the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox -- and this looks like a great way to start.'" We previously discussed the DISCover 'Drop And Play' PC gaming system over on Slashdot Games.
Its price is way to high...in my opinion. I'd rather build a pc myself (with ultra silent cooling etc.) than buying this expensive crap...
All I have to say is "Lan Party." Games consoles will never have people stringing Cat5 across living rooms to stuff 15 geeks itching to blast each other away.
Oh, lovely. I can play games on a TV.
Let's see:
My computer monitor is higher-resolution than my TV.
My computer monitor is sharper than my TV.
My computer monitor has a higher refresh rather than my TV.
My computer monitor has more accurate color than my TV.
My computer monitor has fewer visual artifacts than my TV (shadowing, faint snow).
My computer monitor uses a better interface to talk to my computer (using a monitor cable running a VGA signal) than my TV (which uses NTSC).
My computer monitor can run at multiple resolutions, unlike my TV.
Really, the only things that TVs have going for them are that they're big.
Finally, it's not hard to get a sound card and video card that have TV out and audio out from the computer. As far as I can tell, this just loses the advantage of configurability that PC games allow.
May we never see th
BS.
PC gaming will survive, even if it's a niche market. There will always be college students in dorm rooms with modern computers that they were required to purchase. There will always be IT professionals with the wherewithal to keep up with the latest trends.
Console and PC games combined do not make up the lion's share of the entertainment market. Neither do cinema ticket sales or DVD purchases. As long as there's room for someone to turn a profit, variety will persist.
Last time I checked, the Xbox was nothing more than a stripped down x86 system that does nothing but play games. Doing this to any other PC would, in effect, make it just like any other console (albeit with customizeable hardware). But why bother?
I play PC games for three reasons.
1.) The latest hardware is almost always superior to that of a gaming console
2.) I have a mouse and keyboard to use, which gives me much more control than a 12 button controller.
3.) Online play is simply much easier and more popular on the PC and will always stay that way, despite what MS and EA would like you to believe. I think that it's also more fun, because console games generally attract more immature children.
Doesn't anyone else realize this too?
While there are many advantages to using a PC as a console (such as expansiblity and the ability to use the system for other purposes), there are a few disadvantages too.
First, rather than relying on a constant, single-purpose firmware OS designed specifically for the hardware you're running on, you have to rely on a third-party OS (designed to do a lot more than just run games), so it's inevitable that you'll end up with a lot more crashes, etc. Now, crashes and failures on "PCs" are generally accepted and tolerated, but on a consumer appliance, this is probably not the case.
Second, you also have changing hardware. A developer writing a game for the playstation knows exactly what hardware will be there, exactly what to expect, and (probably) knows the exact hardware specifics. But, introduce the ability to change or upgrade hardware, and the constant environment changes. Also, there's probably not going to be any standard "controller".
On a different topic, would most people going be using a keyboard/mouse with this,? If so, surely we're going back to needing a desk -- something most console users probably don't use when playing on their console.
For PC gaming to survive, it must receive acceptance from most family members. So a game that gives endless hours of enjoyment to one person is expensive at $50, but if it entertains 4 people, $50 is actually affordable, and it might even become a household grocery like biscuits or milk that everybody in the house eats or drinks.
Having said all the above, the problem is not the lighting or forgotten bedrooms, it's the interior design of this computer room.
If there's a fridge, a couple of lazyboy sofas and a coffee table in this 'computer gaming' room, i'm sure parents might venture in and stay there watching their kids knocking themselves out. In another word, we need a inviting gaming room.
I have a 'movie' room, which is dark (for projector), a couch and some beverages, and everybody can't wait to go in there.
I guess that's a reasonable first step but for me (a console gamer since I was a kid) it's not enough, for a number of reasons:
The PC is suited to different kinds of games than a console, most notably RTSes and FPSes.
You still have to upgrade computers (I know my 1.47 Athlon would need a huge upgrade to play Doom, my video card's a POS). With the consoles I can buy a machine and play any game that comes out for it (the console cycle is beginning to go more quickly, which is bad for the industry, but that's another submission entirely).
It just works - I don't have to tweak framerates, graphic modes, whatever - console games just work. PC games have to be tweaked because they have to deal with weird (and sometimes misconfigured) hardware.
My PC is usually doing something else - on IM, downloading, whatever, so this instant on feature doesn't help me much in that regard.
"There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
The last four video cards I've purchased, dating back to 2000, all had TV-out. Getting gaming on my TV's easy: plug up an S-Video cable, turn on the PC.
Is it just that someone's figured out how to market the stuff we've all had (admittedly, some of us unwittingly...) for the past half a decade or so?
That said, I don't use S-Video out for gaming. I use it for movies...
-JDF
I'm assuming a hardware digital tv tuner & mpeg encoder because they aren't using ATI's AIW. You've got internet access on your TV, we all know how messy that can get. Sister is reading e-mail & chatting and Junior wants to play games.
This is just a setup for disaster if there's more than one child present. I'm sure families will use the fast-user-switching feature, what if it crashes? Shouldn't they wait for SP2 before shipping these out? God help you if there are porn popups while your parents watch TV.
Imagine how much of a mess it'll be trying to kick someone off the computer so you can watch tv. This is a great idea w/fast hardware.... but it's not going to work for everyone.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Nobody doubts that it can be done on your own, but it won't come out looking as good, you won't get 1 year of 24/7 tech support, you won't get replacement parts (that you can reinstall yourself w/o voiding the warranty) and last but not least AlienWare will send a tech to your door who knows the whole setup inside out.
No twiddling Linux to get it working. No driver hassles. You're buying a top notch product, tech support and it's not priced excessively higher than a similarly equipped PC.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
"If PC gaming is going to survive it's going to have to do so in the well-lit family rooms and dens of America right along side the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox"
No, if PC gaming is to survive it needs to have good games that are written right the first time and don't require you to own hardware that only came out just last week to run them.
Console gamers don't do PC gaming not because the installation process frightens us, it's because we don't consider it worth the time and money. Just because the games are plug-and-play and hook up to a television doesn't make them good. Just ask Acclaim.
Ok, I'm confused here... who is their target market supposed to be? I don't personally know anyone who would justify spending $2,000-$3,000 on a pc based game console that will be rendered obsolete well before the sub-$200 consoles will.
Granted, they added features like Tivo style functions and the ability to surf the web and what not, but look at the history of such all-in-one devices in the past. When was the last time you bought a combo vcr/dvd player or a TV with dvd/vcr built into it?
No sane person would buy into such gimmicks. if one part breaks, the entire unit will likely has to be replaced. At $2,000-$3,000 a pop to keep $500+ worth of hardware in one neat box, I just don't see what incentive they are offering to make it worth the extra $1,500-$2,500 in the price. (I do know I'm not that concerned about hiding a couple wires.)
If they want to pitch this item as a game console, fine... then price it competatively with rest of the console gaming systems. If they don't want to lose the profits, then promote it as a niche market item, instead of confusing the consumers.
While I don't want to discredit the "Discover" technology, I do predict this system will ultimately fail. No one is going to buy something that cost more than your average PC, just to play the latest games at NTSC resolutions.
8==8 Bones 8==8
Perhaps.
... well let's just say you can keep your little game console.
But when I'm playing my first-person shooter at 1280x1024 on my flicker-free 21" monitor, getting 100fps at 100Hz refresh...
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
"If PC gaming is going to survive it's going to have to do so in the well-lit family rooms and dens of America right along side the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox"
Whoops, PC Gaming vs. Console Gaming misconception #1: "PC gaming will die off because consoles will eventially have the same horsepower for a lower price."
WRONG.
It's an utter falicy that the PC needs to fight for it's life against a console in the gaming world for one simple fact-- Gaming on the PC is completely different. First, consider the kind of games you play on the PC versus those you play on a console. It's all an issue of complexity, and half of that is the input devices availible to you. Information management is where the console falls flat on it's face, into the mud and stays there. And it's not likely to get up anytime soon because of the fundemental philosophy behind it-- All information must be accessed through a gamepad in order to make gaming as brainless as possible. Even in comparible (and simpler) games, like FPSs, you will never find a device equal to a mouse, and it's something that console makers give a wide berth in favor of the formentioned philosophy.
Also, the PC is the home of grass roots gaming. With a PC, you can become the next Counter Strike of gaming. Speaking of which, what was the last count of people playing that mod? Yeah, keep telling me PC gamin is in trouble 9_9 The PC will also always be the home of cutting edge gaming, since developers don't have to wait until the next full out console release 3 years down the road to push the envelope a little further. If it's good, people will upgrade their hardware right the and there just to buy your product, royalty free I might add. No console barons, specialized code/hardware required.
But I guess we have to break out The Death of Gaming myth just to keep things lively now and then, right?
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