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The Future of Windows Gaming

Posted by Zonk on from the more-money dept.

GameDaily.biz has up an interview celebrating the tenth anniversary of DirectX. Their talk with Chris Donahue covers how DirectX has evolved, where the industry is going, and some discussion of Microsoft's XNA initiative. From the article: "With XNA, which incorporates both DirectX and the Xbox/Xbox 360 Development Kits, we're making the tools to make it easier to make games for Microsoft's gaming platforms. We're looking to the game development community to surprise gamers with new ideas of what they can do with these tools--and of course, we're helping developers build games that can take advantage of the huge power of the next generation of hardware, both Xbox 360 and Longhorn."

66 comments

  1. You gotta wonder what they're thinking... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Let's make it easier to port games, so people don't have a reason to buy our console."

    1. Re:You gotta wonder what they're thinking... by RebelScum · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, Bill, actually this gives a lot of people a reason to buy our console. Little Jimmy will have a much easier time convincing his parents to buy him a $300-$400 console than a $1000+ gaming rig. If most of the big PC gaming hits are ported to the 360, we'll have a lot of would-be PC gamers buying 360 instead, since it's cheaper, and they can play it on any TV!

    2. Re:You gotta wonder what they're thinking... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but that's exactly the point. As long as there is a decent amount of hardcore gamers spending $300 more than it is worth on their video cards, then ATi and Nvidia will keep the PC's the most powerful gaming platforms (that and the fact that they can release a new gfx card every 6 months, but not a console).

      Combined with all the other casual gamers who use their comp's for other things but game everyone once in a while, still leaves a decent market for gaming on PC's.

      Console are also still viewed as a "young boys" thing. Yesterday I talked to a teenage girl who needed to spend time with her brother, and I swear, I have never heard anyone talk about a playstation so unenthusiastically.

  2. Uh oh, slip of the tongue... by It+doesn't+come+easy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    [...] and of course, we're helping developers build games that can take advantage of the huge power of the next generation of hardware, both Xbox 360 and Longhorn

    Longhorn isn't next generation hardware. Longhorn will probably require next generation hardware to run well. Quote from I, Cringely, "For Intel to keep growing, people have to replace their PCs more often and Microsoft's bloatware strategy just isn't making that happen, especially if they keep delaying Longhorn."

    You may not agree with Cringely's conspiracy theories but it's been fairly obvious that the Windows/Intel duopoly has long been a mechanism to drive unnecessary computer upgrades under the guise of "innovation". Looks like Chris Donahue agrees that we'll be seeing more of the same.

    --
    The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
    1. Re:Uh oh, slip of the tongue... by westlake · · Score: 1
      it's been fairly obvious that the Windows/Intel duopoly has long been a mechanism to drive unnecessary computer upgrades under the guise of "innovation

      You still playing Commander Keen on your 286? I didn't think so. Complaints of "bloat" and "unecessary upgrades" on a gamer's forum is just so much hot air.

    2. Re:Uh oh, slip of the tongue... by xx404 · · Score: 1

      If that's the case then why does Linux run slower on the same hardware. For me anyway. Gnome is less responsive than Windows and I have about as much free memory left over after both OSs boot. There is no conspiracy, applications just grow to the available resources.

  3. Hmm... by darksider415 · · Score: 1

    Well, here's my take on it. As much as I can't stand Microsoft, and as much as I hate Windows, I have to agree with the article, when it comes to Windows gaming. Windows is the platform to have in gaming, and the Xbox 360 will be nothing short of revolutionary. I know that this is an odd thing to say, coming from a Linux geek, but I am actually looking forward to seeing what happens with the Xbox 360 graphics, APIs and etc. I really like what they're proposing with the XNA and the whole 64 bit thing. Of course, the technology is there to implement this type of solution, and Microsoft has the installed base to pull it off. On the future of DirectX, I have to say that it's definitely the standard. I really wish that they would go to an open standard, but DirectX is the standard, and the way to go when developing games.

    --
    And they wonder why I left Windows.....
    1. Re:Hmm... by FidelCatsro · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "I really wish that they would go to an open standard, but DirectX is the standard, and the way to go when developing games."
      OpenGL is equally as capable and it is an open standard .

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    2. Re:Hmm... by alvinrod · · Score: 1
      I have to agree with the article, when it comes to Windows gaming. Windows is the platform to have in gaming

      The only reason Windows is the platform for gaming is because they have over a 90% market share when it comes to PCs. Does it make more sense to try and develope a game that targets that other percentage which is broken up into various forms of Linux, something from Apple, or some other OS?

      Given the generally shoddy products that Microsoft has released over the years (IE, Windows ME, etc.) I sometimes have to wonder if another platform were more dominent would we see even better developement opportunities than what DirectX offers?

      A majority of the statements that Chris Donahue makes are just filler that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

      "DirectX started off as an underground project, with a bunch of guys hijacking resources, both money and people, and building a set of tools to make it easier to make games for Windows because they knew that Windows was going to be a great platform for games."

      Or they knew that Windows would be about the only platform left.

      "The flexibility and power of Windows as a development platform (as well as the mouse and keyboard being the best interface for these types of games) has been a key reason for the strength of online gaming on Windows--that's part of the reason that InStat says there are 20 times more gamers online using Windows than all the consoles combined."

      Of course, considering that console makers really don't push their product into areas like Korea and don't have MMORPGs like EQ and WoW. Look at the millions of people in Korea who play Lineage and the millions who play World of Warcraft, EverQuest, and other MMOs. Additionally a lot of people play RTS and FPS games online as well. Consoles might have some of these, but not as many as the PC can offer. This statement is at best an interesting fact, but doesn't really say anything special.

      "Windows gaming is kind of the Energizer bunny of gaming platforms--it just keeps going and going. And it keeps on innovating. Windows is where new and innovative technology happens first, and it's where new and exciting game genres show up first."

      I already had a go at this comment in another post. Go find it if you really want to hear me rant more.

      There are some interesting bits of information in the article, but there's a lot of pointless comments that don't belong there or just talk about making things better or easier. I wish people would stop dancing around the question and give us some real meat. If they can't provide us with some specifics, don't bother giving the interview to tell us stuff that's blatantly obvious.

    3. Re:Hmm... by HAKdragon · · Score: 1

      OpenGL only handles graphics, while DirectX is an API suite which handles many things, including graphincs, input, sound, and network code.

      --
      "Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
    4. Re:Hmm... by Vodak · · Score: 1

      I like any sane person is for the advancement of any technology that allows for easier development of Interactive Entertainment software. Be it DirectX, SDL, or the like.

      Making the developer's life easier only makes for a better expression of vison. DirectX in the XBox 360? HOT DAMN.

    5. Re:Hmm... by ZephyrXero · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And for that you use SDL

      --
      "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
    6. Re:Hmm... by ZephyrXero · · Score: 1

      The last quote you have intrigues me. I would agree that PC gaming is where most new and innovative game ideas come from. The fact that it happens on the Windows Operating System is merely just a footnote though. The only place where independent developers can have a chance at being minorly successful is the PC game market. It costs thousands of dollars just to licence your game to a console, let alone the cost of development kits...as while a small developer can go pick up a PC, grab some free open-source development tools (for example: Blender, Ogre, SDL, ODE, Audacity, Rosegarden, GCC!) and make a game on a shoe-string budget. The only reason MS still pushes for Windows gaming is because they don't want to lose this very important market to Mac, Linux or anything else. I'm sure if they weren't worried about that, they'd kill PC gaming all together and force all the developers to pay them for the chance to release a game on their system.

      I personally hope it gets worse...way worse. It seems the only way to get people to take action is for things to hit rock bottom. When the mainstream PC market shrinks even more this next go round and then all the games the come out on the consoles are boring, cookie-cutter, over marketed crap..people will be dying for a little innovation, and that when the indy community will really take off.

      --
      "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
    7. Re:Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You lost your status as Linux geek, and are now demoted to MS fanboy (or astrosurfer).

      If you haven't noticed, OpenGL has hit 2.0, and there are 2.0 Linux drivers from NVidia, and 3DLabs etc. The features in GL2 are quite fantastic, are cross platform (the PS3 will have GLES 2.0, a close cousin to GL 2.0).

      Please don't go on about DX handling sound etc, in Linux you have SDL to this.

    8. Re:Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      DirectX isn't anything more than a loosely connected set of components. There is essentially zero connection between the components (except for DirectMedia, which is really just a load of audio / video codecs that are conventionally connected to DirectSound / DirectDraw). The different DirectX APIs have exactly four things in common.

      1 - They're all made by Microsoft.
      2 - They're marketed, branded, and distributed as one piece.
      3 - They all use COM.
      4 - They all have really stupid naming conventions (derived from Hungarian notation...)

      The first two aren't that important, unless you happen to want a 100% Microsoft solution. Some developers seem scared to use anything that isn't made by Microsoft, so maybe that's important to them. It shouldn't be though.

      Oh yes... Nobody uses DirectPlay (the DirectX networking component) anymore. There's just no point. It offers exactly nothing above the standard socket networking APIs, while being absolutely no easier to use. So, your average DirectX game only uses Direct3D, DirectSound, and DirectInput.

      The important point is that these are all completely separate components, and they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. You can use them individually, or not at all. It doesn't matter.

      So why is labelling them under the name "DirectX" at all relevant. They are completely separate things. A lot of games don't even use DirectSound directly (they use third-party APIs that add lots of additional useful features), and only use DirectInput because there is no other way to access joysticks in Windows. There is no integration, no advantage in using them exclusively, directly, or even at all (in the case of D3D).

  4. Do they actually believe this? by alvinrod · · Score: 2, Insightful
    From the article:

    Windows gaming is kind of the Energizer bunny of gaming platforms--it just keeps going and going. And it keeps on innovating. Windows is where new and innovative technology happens first, and it's where new and exciting game genres show up first.

    Are all Microsoft employees required to incessantly spout the same crap over and over again. Microsoft has made some good products, but that last thing I want to hear over and over again is the same BS line about how Microsoft keeps innovating. I can't even look out the window anymore without some Microsoft goon shovel feeding me the same line about inovation.

    Honestly, I can never really recall any great innovative product ever really being made by microsoft. I know that they've made some good products, but it seems to me that they've all been done before.

    OS software was around long before Microsoft ever stuck its foot in the door. Internet browsers were around before IE came around. Text editors, spreadsheets, and other Office software had been developed before Microsoft made their versions. Gaming consoles and video games had been around a lot longer as well.

    Windows and IE aren't the best products in the world, but I'm quite happy with Word and my Xbox. I just wish they'd stop thinking I was born yesterday and will believe that they're revolutionizing the world with every single thing they do. It's almost gotten to the point where someone craps in a box and starts heralding it as the next big thing.

    If Microsoft wouldn't hype their stuff up so much, maybe some folks wouldn't be so let down when it doesn't live up to all the promises.

    1. Re:Do they actually believe this? by Nytewynd · · Score: 1

      If Microsoft wouldn't hype their stuff up so much, maybe some folks wouldn't be so let down when it doesn't live up to all the promises.

      Maybe it is the persective of the person on that one. Most people expect the next Microsoft product to add something new, or make an old task easier.

      People do backflips when a release of Linux lets them install their sound card.

      Microsoft has to work harder to innovate past where they already are. They do hype things up, but certainly no more than the average news article at /. hypes up anything *nix.

      --
      /. ++
    2. Re:Do they actually believe this? by xMonkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well the line you qouted is half true, drop the MS innovation crap and the truth is that MS windows and PCs have been and remain the platform for good games, dominating the consoles and definitely dominating any other PC OS.

      And this wieghs far more into the MS/Intel success for the consumers end. How much new hardware will be sold if the PC stops being the game industry platform.

      However this is being threatened by the next gens.

      But the other intersting truth is the next part of the quote:

      [i]Windows is still the place where "garage developers" can develop a game (just look at Crytek and "Far Cry.")[/i]

      There is no avenue of pursuit for the hobbiest ,indie game developers on the consoles.

      And the hobbiest/indies are who are responsible for innovation in th games industry.

      The PC industry, on the consumer end, is being threatened as a hwole by the consoles.

      What do most people need a computer in thier home for? Email/interent, music, movies, games, word processing.

      The next gens are startng to look like they are going to be offering most, if not all, of those services, and do it better and more stream lined.

      The end-user computer market could very well be seeing its demise.

      --
      Now I've seen Everything
    3. Re:Do they actually believe this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "There is no avenue of pursuit for the hobbiest ,indie game developers on the consoles."

      There will be on the nintendo revolution. Being that linux has already been ported to the DS, I can definitely see indie games being developed for that. There is a huge community of indie developers for the dreamcast.

    4. Re:Do they actually believe this? by RickPartin · · Score: 1

      Take off your Enter key.

      Throw it away.

    5. Re:Do they actually believe this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod parent down. Windows gaming IS where the innovation happens. Not "Windows Gaming", as if it were some Microsoft thing, but games written for and played on Windows. This is not Microsoft saying "we here at Microsoft are the true innovators", this is Microsoft saying "more people innovate on our platform than any other" (which is true, for games). Parent poster has his panties in such a knot over Microsoft taking credit for other people's innovation (fair enough, I'm sick of it too) that he's become blind to the actual words of the article.

      Everything he said is technically right, but it's not applicable to the article, particularly not the text quoted.

  5. Great News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is great news for PC gamers. Hopefully game production houses will be less likely to enter into any kind of exclusivity contracts that prevent game titles from being realesed to a variety of systems. Or atleast if they do it will be released for Xbox console family units AND PC. The variety of marketing options should increase the profitibality since a more unified dev. kit will reduce production costs. Don't get your hopes up thought. Quality new titles will still be between 45 and 70 bucks.

    1. Re:Great News by SeekerDarksteel · · Score: 1

      I'm going to have to disagree and say that this is terrible news for PC gamers. By producing games for both PC and XBOX instead of the PC exclusively we will end up with such wonderful games as Deus Ex: Invisible War or Republic "Who needs a gun that shoots where I point it anyway" Commando.

      --
      The laws of probability forbid it!
  6. I guess I am not the first who put this C^k by tod_miller · · Score: 1

    huge power of the next generation of hardware

    What utter bollocks they spout, they say things in the most abstract broad strokes of wow, you can only imagine what it will be like, without longhorn, games will not advance, etc ,etc, oh piss off.

    Who the hell has heard of that site anyway? How can you tell the difference between a 'blog' style site for the sake of a site, and an independant, community focussed site nowwadays?

    The ability to put any message anywhere is quite scarey, and Microsoft are doing a good job with all their blogs, which no doubt they will patent and say they invented.

    Microsoft are no so much embracing open source, but trying to mimick the actions of an open and adoptive community, those that even fostered such wordfucks like blogging.

    So Microsoft are going to great lengths to immitate the spirit of the open and share community, but they just suck.

    You know, it wouldn't be that hard for Microsoft to win back a lot of people. Oh yeah it would, I forgot, you can't buy it back, you have to make a change to your core values.

    You know, the whole penny arcade 'gabe does xbox' was even more astounding on slashdot.

    I cannot believe slashdotters bought into xbox. Anyway, I guess its because the only console I ever had was a CD32 ;-)

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
    1. Re:I guess I am not the first who put this C^k by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know, it wouldn't be that hard for Microsoft to win back a lot of people.

      Actually, it would. Because there aren't actually a lot of people to win back. More than 90% of desktop users have not yet abandoned Microsoft in the first place.

  7. Do-it all-Console by Gandul · · Score: 0

    We just got one step closer to the inevitable merger between consoles and gaming PC's. With HDTV soon to become the dominant TV platform the "advantage" of gaming PC's (graphic-wise at least) will dissapear. Already some consoles are running modified Linux versions, Its just a matter of time for developers to start adapting or creating productivity suites for the consoles.

    1. Re:Do-it all-Console by Shihar · · Score: 1

      With HDTV soon to become the dominant TV platform the "advantage" of gaming PC's (graphic-wise at least) will dissapear

      Console makers are just stupid, that is the reason why they have yet to completely oust PCs (not to say PCs have not taken a beating). The death blow for PCs will be when someone realizes that the reason why most PC gamers continue to use PCs is because of a $10 dollar piece of equipment. The only reason why I still have PC for gaming is because of the mouse. Consoles have a TERRIBLE input device. Granted, you can specially tailor games for it so that it is less painful, but face it, when it comes to fast and/or precise movements, the mouse thoroughly trounces the control pad.

      Seriously, I would give up my PC in a heartbeat for a console if they could just offer an non-shitty input device. I AM a gamer. The idea of a machine dedicated to gaming is music to my ears. Now, they just need to spend less time working on making better graphics and frigging find a half way decent input device.

      There is a simple test I am going to use that will help me decide when to buy a next gen console. The day a console player can play a PC player online in a FPS and not get brutally raped will be the day I switch. As it is, console makers wisely keep their online services separate from PCs. If they were to ever let the two meet online, I imagine console players would quickly realize what a shitty input device they are using as they go completely manhandled. The thought of a console player even attempting to compete with a PC player in a FPS is laughable at best.

      Screw graphics, screw big name titles, just give me a decent input device standard with the console and I am sold.

    2. Re:Do-it all-Console by sithsasquatch · · Score: 1

      Your "inevitable merger between consoles and gaming PC's" will not happen. Have you played a good RTS or MMORPG on a console? Would you like to type linux commands using the cursor and onscreen keyboard?

      Until I see consoles shipped with keyboards and mice, or PCs shipped with a dualshock controller, I doubt there will be a merger between consoles and PCs.

      --
      With so many ppl on /., how am I supposed to come up with a unique sig?
    3. Re:Do-it all-Console by kisrael · · Score: 1

      Various platforms have had mice for a while now...SNES and DC come to mind. Neither made that much of a splash or received much support, but nor have they come out of the box (which is similar to why 4 player gaming is such a small niche on PS2, but more of a mainstay on Xbox and GC; PS2's 4 player ability needs something that doesn't come with the base unit)

      But you have an ergonomics problem. Controllers can be used while leaning back in a comfy chair. A mouse, you need to be a desk or stooped over your coffee table. I don't agree that it's lack of mice that have stopped consoles from putting the final nails in PC gaming's coffin.

      It's a hard sell. Explaining why there's a mouse in the box would be almost a marketing nightmare...unless it came with a keyboard, and then you're talking about pushing an entirely different marketting strategy anyway.

      --
      SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
    4. Re:Do-it all-Console by Silicon+Jedi · · Score: 1

      Consoles have a TERRIBLE input device. For some games. Not for others. For FPS, yes, wasd+mouse is a beatiful thing. FPS's are intense, immersive games, and gain a lot toward immersion buy being deskbound. But consoles aren't about super-immersive, lonely play. It's about sitting around the TV with your buddies. No desks. I find most gamepad games just more fun. WASD+mouse, you are THERE. Gamepad+couch you are having fun. Plus, Mice are a semi-absolute device. I like the feel of an analog aiming system that drifts back to a home state.

    5. Re:Do-it all-Console by interiot · · Score: 1
      And how do you use a mouse from your couch? How many people are going to go to the trouble of arranging the placement of things so that a mouse is usable?

      The closest you'll probably get to mainstream console use is a trackball being integrated into controllers. Though I bet you'll hear many more people complain about that idea than you will about the missing mouse problem. Though I bet once people actually try it, for driving games and FPS's, there's probably no comparison.

    6. Re:Do-it all-Console by interiot · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, consoles are supposed to be easier to use than PCs. They're supposed to be different from PC's. Having a giant controller with a trackball and 104-key keyboard sticking out of it is going to scare mothers and grandfathers!

    7. Re:Do-it all-Console by cttforsale · · Score: 1

      HA! You'll still need a PC to copy all those rental games....

    8. Re:Do-it all-Console by TXG1112 · · Score: 1

      Try a USB to PS2 controller adaptor.

      I got myself one of these Less than 15 bucks, works like a champ.

      PC gaming has never been better, best of both worlds.

      --
      I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own.
    9. Re:Do-it all-Console by SScorpio · · Score: 1
      Microsoft is supposed to make the Xbox 360s control a default layout for PC gaming as well by releasing controllers for the PC or they might just work on either I'm not sure yet.

      This controller is also supposed to be a default for DirectX 10 I believe it was though it might be properly supported in 9.0c. This could mean more games are programmed that support controllers better. Unlike what you have now days. I could see gaming PC from Dell and Gateway shipping with these standard MS controllers for gaming on. Who knows what the future will bring.

    10. Re:Do-it all-Console by SScorpio · · Score: 1

      You can also save money on shipping from Hongkong and hit Radioshack and pickup one of the adapters there for $20. Worked great in FFXI when I used to play it.

    11. Re:Do-it all-Console by snorklewacker · · Score: 1

      Interestingly, my girlfriend prefers to play The Sims on the PS2 precisely because she hates the mouse interface, and she can lean back in her chair with the wireless controller without precise aim. She said something like "I'm chained to my desk all day at work, clicking on little buttons like George Jetson, the last thing I want is a game to be like that" (ok, I made up the George Jetson part).

      Not everyone plays FPS's, and some who played FPS's before (like myself) are bored to death of them.

      The PS2 can take an ordinary USB mouse and keyboard. Of course hardly anything uses them.

      --
      I am no longer wasting my time with slashdot
    12. Re:Do-it all-Console by xenocide2 · · Score: 1

      Interestingly enough, I work as a computer lab assistant at a local college. After spending a few months here, I have learned that 1. MS Office is not intuitive 2. Many people have difficulties operating a mouse at "high efficiencies."

      What I mean is that many people can't move it very quickly, and that lots of people can't even move it in a straight line easily (such as when navigating that start menu with narrow bars to get to submenus with).

      --
      I Browse at +4 Flamebait

      Open Source Sysadmin

    13. Re:Do-it all-Console by slaker · · Score: 1

      Trackballs don't have that problem.

      --
      -- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
    14. Re:Do-it all-Console by kisrael · · Score: 1

      Good point. I like trackballs a lot...I wish it was a standard option for laptops, I think even small ones are easier to use than touchpads and the little nipple joysticks.

      --
      SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
    15. Re:Do-it all-Console by Shihar · · Score: 1

      You get no argument from me that a mouse is entirely impractical for anything other then a desktop. That isn't really my point though. My point is that the input they have now sucks. I can live without a mouse, I just want something that is at least comperable.

      What is this magical interface device you can use while sitting at your couch yet still retain great control? Eh, if I knew the answer I would already be rich.

    16. Re:Do-it all-Console by CronoCloud · · Score: 1
      The PS2 can take an ordinary USB mouse and keyboard. Of course hardly anything uses them.


      Unless:

      1. They a play a lot of PS2 FPS's

      2. They play online games (most have keyboard support)

      3. They have a Linux kit.

    17. Re:Do-it all-Console by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Actually I have played a good MMORPG on a console, I have a PS2, equipped with USB ports.

      So you type your Linux commands with your keyboard.

      They don't need to be shipped when you can just buy any USB keyboard/mouse and it works.

  8. Price difference by DarthVeda · · Score: 1

    $1500 for a new gaming PC
    $400 for a new concole

    Some people do math...

    1. Re:Price difference by Canthros · · Score: 1

      Some people do math. Me, I let my computer do math. Given that, it makes a lot of sense not to buy a $400 console when I already have a $1500 PC.

      --
      Canthros
    2. Re:Price difference by LittLe3Lue · · Score: 1

      1.) Lets not be ignorant of the fact that a gaming computer will also be used as an office computer, a web terminal, a media center...

      2.) If you need to spend 1500$ on a gaming computer than you are a n00b.

      DO NOT throw in the cost of a monitor and good speaker system to the price of a gamign computer, because I argue that for the cost of a TV and Speaker set is far higher than that of a computer.

      And dont tell me you need crazy case, neon lights, a laser mouse, wireless internet, and water cooling... because you dont.

      Its nice. But a concole doesnt have any of that either.

      You can make a beauty of a computer for a lot less than 1000$ so long as you dont get the NVidia 7800 SLI or an Athlon FX processor.

      Beleive me.. it will still be a wonderful experience.

      And as far as consoles being 'prettier' read the slashdot article released today about the poor underwhelming performance of next-gen gaming consoles.

  9. Dude... by Iscariot_ · · Score: 1

    I hate to tell you this, but "marketing" isn't going away anytime soon...

    --

    Go here for teh [sic] funny.
  10. Why did this article disappear from anadtech? by imr · · Score: 1

    http://www.nofrag.com/2005/jun/30/18062/#c

    1. Re:Why did this article disappear from anadtech? by abdulla · · Score: 1

      I'd like to know that too, I was in the middle of reading it when it got pulled.

  11. I'd much rather celebrate OpenGL by ZephyrXero · · Score: 1

    On the top level, I can see how many developers and gamers would think DirectX has been a help to gaming...but in the large scope of things it hasn't. It has made Windows gaming on IBM/Intel architecture better, but nothing else. If people had put even half the same effort into using real standards that work on multiple platforms we might be seeing much more interesting and innovative games now. If developers would take the time to learn to use OpenGL and SDL instead of DirectX we wouldn't have to worry about MS lock-in...but they just keep taking the easy, but short-sigted way out.

    --
    "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
    1. Re:I'd much rather celebrate OpenGL by dhakbar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "If people had put even half the same effort into using real standards that work on multiple platforms we might be seeing much more interesting and innovative games now."

      While I, too, would like to see OpenGL/SDL utilized for compatibility's sake, I fail to see how it would help developers create much more interesting and innovative games.

    2. Re:I'd much rather celebrate OpenGL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      extern int openGL;
      int DirectX = 0; // reinvent a proprietary wheel
      DirectX += all_that_work;
      innovative_games = max( openGL, DirectX );

      While he was suggesting:
      innovative_games = openGL + all_that_work;

  12. omg lolz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    omg lolz totally konsoles > pcs

  13. Price comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I see a lot of posts asking people to make a price comparison between a $1500 gaming rig and a $400 console.

    The problem with consoles is that there's no homebrew: no shareware, no free software, and no modding! We wouldn't have great games like Counter Strike or Desert Combat if Half-Life or Battlefield had been console-exclusive.

    1. Re:Price comparison by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Don't need any mods/shareware, because there are more games than anyone can possibly play. You also don't have to wait 5 years for a sequel to a hit game a la Half-Life, so there's no real "I don't have anything to play so I'll just mod this old game."

      So the features that in PC games get added in a mod or expansion pack, are either included in the original game or in the sequel released the next year.

      I'm also of the opinion that the homebrew community enables developer laziness.

  14. Yes there is... by Iscariot_ · · Score: 1

    Mod your xbox and you'll find an INSANE amount of community software... I'd expect this trend to continue through to the 360 as well.

    --

    Go here for teh [sic] funny.
    1. Re:Yes there is... by rohlfinator · · Score: 1

      "I'd expect this trend to continue through to the 360 as well."

      I don't. Microsoft goofed on the Xbox's piracy protection. The Xbox modding scene was never supposed to happen, if Bill Gates had his way. I imagine that they'll have much tighter security next generation. Every gamer using his Xbox for Linux, emulation, or software piracy was one more Xbox owner that Microsoft wasn't profiting from. Why do you think Microsoft is suddenly adopting all the features of popular homebrew Xbox software, but charging for them?

      We might see some homebrew software for the PS3, with its Linux support, or for the Revolution, if the rumors of all-access game design tools are true. But I would be very surprised if Microsoft doesn't go to great lengths to keep the Xbox 360 as mod-proof as possible.

    2. Re:Yes there is... by OK+PC · · Score: 0

      I'm not so sure... The XBox was basically a PC, so easy to program for (from a PC perspective). The 360 on the otherhand will be a unique architecture so I see less people developing community software

      --
      Did you get that thing I sent ya?
  15. OMFG "NEXT GENERATION" MARKETSPEAK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I swear to God, if I never again hear someone say "Next Generation" when talking about games or computer hardware or consoles or whatnot, it'll be too soon.

    Here's an experiment, and I'm ACing it just so you know it's not for personal glory. If you've heard the term "next generation" more than five times this week already, mod up or reply with a mod parent up if it's already at +5. Otherwise, mod down.

    1. Re:OMFG "NEXT GENERATION" MARKETSPEAK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, , every few years the major console manufacturers release new products. When this occurs simultaneously, or nearly so, it's reasonable to say that console gamers are being offered the "next generation" of platforms. I don't see any reason to launch a jihad against the perfectly-descriptive term "next generation."

  16. Digital content is driving sales now by Fastball · · Score: 1

    I work in television and multimedia. You won't believe the amount of resources we have to purchase and/or build out to keep content in digital form. And I'm talking standard definition television. HDTV is a frickin' nightmare I hope to never deal with. Storage solutions for us are moving towards petabytes.

    It won't take an Intel/Microsoft monopoly to drive hardware sales. Believe me.

    1. Re:Digital content is driving sales now by slaker · · Score: 1

      Speaking as someone with just over 8TB of online storage crammed into my 1200 square foot home, I think that day is closer than you think.

      I can't wait. :D

      --
      -- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
  17. You gotta wonder what the AC is thinking... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Probably "HUHUHUH>>> M$ BAD!!!11".

    He certainly isn't thinking anything intelligent.

  18. Wow, they must think we're absolute morons. by SynapseLapse · · Score: 1

    "There are many things about console gaming that we can apply to make the Windows game experience better. Install is one area where we're working with game developers and publishers to simplify the overly-complex install process--do you really need to answer all those questions and click on all those buttons to play the game?"

    Because it's so damn hard to click next four times!
    Christ, not everybody that plays video games needs it to be f***ing Mario Party 9 for the PC!

    How about this for innovation, allow me to boot/load into a streamlined mode whereby I can unload all that windows bloat much like I used to do with booting into DOS.

    1. Re:Wow, they must think we're absolute morons. by mink · · Score: 1

      DOS4GW 4 EVER!!!

      "Try not posting all it caps, it's like yelling" or so /.tells me.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.