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Quake IV Confirmed For QuakeCon
Gamespot has the word that Quake IV will get some face time at QuakeCon this year. id CEO Hollenshead released the information at the Xbox Doom 3 launch event. From the article: "Over the past few years, PC game sales have either declined a little bit or stayed relatively flat, while console game sales have seen mostly double-digit growth. I don't know if we'll be releasing multiple SKUs at the same time, but as for PS3 and Xbox 2 and so on, yes, we will continue our development effort on the consoles."
one example of a ps2 keyboard can be found here: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/bre/blacplay2key.html mouse: http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId =601416162&s=uwb70000
adapter for keyboard and mouse for xbox
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=&product s_id=5438
these products do exist, and i suppose if you didn't own a computer, it might be a pretty decent deal
I wouldn't be so sure that everyone playing FPS on consoles is in a rush to get a mouse and keyboard set up
As a programmer you should know that CD/DVD read speeds can't even compare to HDD read speeds. Playing from disc also hurts the issue of disk swapping ("Please insert Cinematics Disc.....Please insert Play Disc).
It's true that installation can be a pain in the ass, but playing from HDD means that I can bust out an ISO and put away my easy-to-break CD/DVD media in a safe place.
That also begs the issue of additional content. It's no trouble to download or purchase new content for games, or even to make my own. What if I want the new levels for Halo 2 but don't want to shell out for Xbox Live? I'm SOL.
I think this just proves that PC vs. console is an issue of preference. IMHO, the decline of PC gaming comes from lack of interest from publishers. How much longer does the PC port of GTA:San Andreas take to come out than the PS2 version? Will Devil May Cry 3 ever be on PC? What about Metal Gear Solid 3?
Why can't PC games just allow you to pop in a disc and begin playing?
LiveCD Linux distros have really brought out the possiblility for this on the PC. Already there are LiveCDs with games like America's Army and the Return to Castle Wolfenstein expansion. Game saves could be stored on USB sticks or over the internet.
All it would take is one big company to step in a try it. And since PC games need to switch to the DVD format anyway, there would be plenty of space for the LiveCD Linux version, in addition to the Windows version of the game.
After looking around for any sign of life in this area, I couldn't find any. I'll guess that the game patches proved too much an inconvience, as the creator would have to remake the LiveCD after every update. It still looks like a promising area that should be looked into, however.
Linux aside, this should be an option in Windows as well. I personally would not use it, as I like being able to play games without scrambling for CDs, but it would be nice for games played infrequently.
> and the keyboard/mouse configuration is less intuitive
> then a gamepad.
If you're NOT kidding, you're completely out of your mind.
Back in college, I had a group of non-CS-major friends who thought they were hot stuff on Goldeneye, for the N64. As I understand it, Goldeneye is STILL considered just about the best console FPS, and one of the best N64 games, ever released. I thought it was rather low-quality and pedestrian, myself. But whatever. A couple of them could even beat the game on "00 Level". Oooooo...
Eventually, I finally got them to come into the lab at night, and set up a Quake 2 deathmatch. For starters, only being able to play a game with just four people at a time, and being confined to one corner of the screen is lame. But I digress. I spanked them... even the "I finished Goldeneye on 00 Level" guys. And I don't just mean I won. I totally dominated. And on real FPSs, I was never really even that GOOD.... strictly average. But playing with those POS console controllers, and their associated crutches (cheats like auto-aim, for example) instilled so many bad habits into them that even the best were all but helpless against just an average "mouse and keyboard" player.
It'll be interesting to see if the xBox2 and PS3 versions of Q4 will be able to play on-line against the real version. Specifically, it'd be interesting to see the deathmatch kill stats between them. I'd bet good money that said stats would bear me out.
cya,
john
Imagine all the people...