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PC Gaming 'a Generation Ahead' of Consoles, Says Crytek Boss
Crytek co-founder Cevat Yerli spoke recently about the growing gap between modern PCs and consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360, saying that the desire to develop for multiple platforms is hampering creative expression. "PC is easily a generation ahead right now. With 360 and PS3, we believe the quality of the games beyond Crysis 2 and other CryEngine developments will be pretty much limited to what their creative expressions is, what the content is. You won't be able to squeeze more juice from these rocks." One reason this trend persists is because of the perception that PC game sales are not high enough for most developers to focus on that platform. Rock, Paper, Shotgun says this indicates a need for the disclosure of digital distribution sales numbers, which could dispel that myth. Yerli's comments come alongside news of Crytek's announcement of a new military-based shooter called Warface.
Clearly there is room for a new competitor in the console market, and OnLive ain't it. One generation beyond the 360 or PS3 would have a BOM under $100.
Well, I did that in 2007. I noticed that a top of the line graphics card is almost as expensive as a whole game console! I was tired of constantly upgrading my PC. There was always something to add, something to upgrade and some more time to spend fixing this or that than actually using my PC for anything. I switched to a Tablet PC as my main computer, got rid of my desktop and got an Xbox 360. I selected a Tablet PC since it was, well, cool and also I was sure I couldn't do much about upgrading it. For 3 years since then I was mostly happy. However old habits don't die easily. I got tired of my under powered, dual-core 2GHz + 4GB tablet. I wanted something more from my Xbox 360. I wanted customizability of Unreal Tournament 2004 and large scale of Supreme Commander back. So two months ago I got myself a new desktop: a 3.2 GHz i7 with 12GB of RAM, SSD boot drive, 2x2TB HDD, HD5870, ... a monster of machine! Now my Xbox is only used to play street fighter IV with friends that come over and all new games are on PC. I don't know where my Tablet PC is and I don't care that much anymore. I also could go back to my other hobby, developing chess engines and throwing lots of hardware at it...