I have not played WoW, but the women of Guild Wars are pretty modest. They are good looking, but are fairly well clothed.
If you just want hot babes in skimpy outfits, the Lineage II dark elves might be what you are looking for (thong underwear and bondage like leather outfits). So if you want to deal with spawn camping and open PvP, go ahead.
I'm 30+ and play anywhere from 10 to 30 hours a week. It varies a lot depending on what games are out that I want to be playing, as well as what books, manga, anime, etc. are also out.
But when a really good new game comes out, it is not unusual for me to play 40+ hours in one week (Like playing 52+ hours of Tales of Symphonia in one week, 43+ hours on KOTOR2 in less than a week, or 30+ hours with Fable in one weekend).
Can have, perhaps. Do have, certainly not - I've never seen a patch, not even for games that are blatantly as buggy as hell. And I've CERTAINLY never seen a mod.
Um, Ninja Gaiden? Mech Assault maps and gametypes? Unreal Champion maps and gametypes? Knights of the Old Republic with the downloadable Yavin IV space station? I'd say those count as having mods.
And there are certainly patches for Live functionality. Ever see the message "XBox Live must update..." or something like that? (Microsoft does apparently frown on patches that do not relate to Live and for anything that does not add to gameplay)
Of course, if you do not have XBox Live, you will probably not see any of this.:)
You have very good points.
The justification for PC gaming: Games you can't get on a console. And I am talking about games you spend a lot of time playing. Just having one game you spend 4 hours a week with is not going to repay your investment, but if you spend 20 hours as week, doesn't that make your upgrades pay off quicker?
I am a heavy PDA user, and have been for years (about 1996). Yes, combined devices (PDA/phone, Phone with PDA functions, Blackberry, etc) have gained over standard PDAs, but I do not see that as the only trend.
There have not been any really large innovations in the hardware in some time (and not in the OS either). Big improvements in the past: Larger Memory, Color Screens, High Resolution Screens, Expansion Cards, Fast Processors
I've been through a lot of these, and they made we want to upgrade, or others possibly to want to get one. Now the hardware improvements are much less important, the OS and built-in software improvements are more subtle, and some of the players have been getting out of the market (Sony out of the US PalmOS market, for one).
So fewer manufacturers. Less improvements. Less reason to upgrade. And when there aren't as many new models, prices don't drop as quickly so getting the "nice" PDA still takes a lot of cash.
But what if you can't pay $3000+ for a CRT? Let's say you can pay around $500. Can you find a $500 CRT you are happy with? Or is a $500 LCD going to be better? Or is the normal person's price range too little for you to consider? How about considering comparing LCDs and CRTs that are similarly priced, vs. $3000 vs. $500?
I understand that your CRTs are unbeatable in your opinion. I would probably think the same thing if I could afford it.
But saying that CRTs ($3000) are far superior to LCDs (whatever price range) is like comparing a Ferrari F40 to a stock Honda Civic and saying that your Honda will never accelerate as well as my Ferrari. Well, duh, it won't.
It is not trendy if it fits your needs and meets your requirements, inlcuding price.
But, if you spend serious time (14-18 hours a day) looking at screens, you need top of the line CRT's. CAD, DTP, video production, etc..
Even hard core gamers will tell you that CRT is the only way.
Well, I consider myself a hard core gamer, and many many times spend 14-18 hours gaming straight.
It is not about being trendy, saving desk space, lower power, or any of that.
It is about eye strain. Ok, maybe if I paid three or four times as much on a CRT as my previous 19" (only paid around $250), it wouldn't be a problem. And maybe it is just me and the way me eyes work, but I will take LCD over CRT any day.
Also, not everyone gets to say, "Oh, I'll take that 22" CRT please" at their workplace. And what would you rather have in that case, a so-so LCD, or a so-so CRT?
(I spend at least 8 hours each workday in front of a CRT, and 3 - 7 hours in front of a LCD at night, so I can say that I know how I feel on the subject).
The XBox does support memory cards. You have to copy save games from a management screen (similar to the PS2 and Gamecube memory card management screens).
The problem: Most save games are too big for 8MB cards. You would need 32MB for KOTOR I or II. You can only fit one Halo 2 "profile" on an 8MB card.
Benefits:
The big potential benefit for the HD, is for downloadable content. That is the primary driver for the Sony PS2 HDD upgrade: Large storage for dynamicly updateable content and updates in FFIX.
Guild Wars (still in beta) is currently set up so that there is no monthly fee. You buy the game at retail, and play online for free. "Chapter" expansions then will be a purchaseable item, but only required to access new chapter areas or items. So for someone who plays only occasionally they only pay once, or only pays more when they are ready for playing the expansion content.
* Once the game is "installed", you must "unlock" it in order to play. On my system, this took bloody ages. This is in addition to the usual business of typing in CD keys the size of nuclear launch codes just to prove to the software you own the game.
Ok, this is true. Valve is not the first to do this (Can you say M$FT?). And would you rather have to open up page XX of manual and type in the YY word of paragraph ZZ each time to play?
* You must be online to play the game so steam can log in and "verify" blah blah. Note that this is for a SINGLE PLAYER game you must be on line, just to make sure you're legit. If Steam goes down, you can't play. (Okay, there is an "offline" mode, but its more of a hack than a feature, as it involves copying files around just to trick Steam into acting like you're signed on)
Yes, there is an ofline mode, and yes it works fine: I have used it. You do not have to be online to play, just to activate.
* Steam runs in the background, updating stuff, ALL THE TIME (unless you disable it). Imagine if everyone did this. Your system tray would cover half of your desktop, and a large portion of your system memory and bandwidth would be consumed by all these busybody apps running in the background, updating, and bringing "special offers" to your attention.
Ok, let's see: Windows Update, Anti-Virus Update, Virus Scan, Google Desktop?
If you don't want it, turn it off. If you don't like how it works, stop using it.
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The PC will also get a version of PSU.
I think it is roughly scheduled for end of year in Japan, and spring in the US.
I have not played WoW, but the women of Guild Wars are pretty modest. They are good looking, but are fairly well clothed.
If you just want hot babes in skimpy outfits, the Lineage II dark elves might be what you are looking for (thong underwear and bondage like leather outfits). So if you want to deal with spawn camping and open PvP, go ahead.
I'm 30+ and play anywhere from 10 to 30 hours a week. It varies a lot depending on what games are out that I want to be playing, as well as what books, manga, anime, etc. are also out.
But when a really good new game comes out, it is not unusual for me to play 40+ hours in one week (Like playing 52+ hours of Tales of Symphonia in one week, 43+ hours on KOTOR2 in less than a week, or 30+ hours with Fable in one weekend).
And there are certainly patches for Live functionality. Ever see the message "XBox Live must update..." or something like that? (Microsoft does apparently frown on patches that do not relate to Live and for anything that does not add to gameplay)
Of course, if you do not have XBox Live, you will probably not see any of this.
You have very good points. The justification for PC gaming: Games you can't get on a console. And I am talking about games you spend a lot of time playing. Just having one game you spend 4 hours a week with is not going to repay your investment, but if you spend 20 hours as week, doesn't that make your upgrades pay off quicker?
I am a heavy PDA user, and have been for years (about 1996). Yes, combined devices (PDA/phone, Phone with PDA functions, Blackberry, etc) have gained over standard PDAs, but I do not see that as the only trend.
There have not been any really large innovations in the hardware in some time (and not in the OS either).
Big improvements in the past: Larger Memory, Color Screens, High Resolution Screens, Expansion Cards, Fast Processors
I've been through a lot of these, and they made we want to upgrade, or others possibly to want to get one. Now the hardware improvements are much less important, the OS and built-in software improvements are more subtle, and some of the players have been getting out of the market (Sony out of the US PalmOS market, for one).
So fewer manufacturers. Less improvements. Less reason to upgrade. And when there aren't as many new models, prices don't drop as quickly so getting the "nice" PDA still takes a lot of cash.
But what if you can't pay $3000+ for a CRT?
Let's say you can pay around $500.
Can you find a $500 CRT you are happy with? Or is a $500 LCD going to be better? Or is the normal person's price range too little for you to consider? How about considering comparing LCDs and CRTs that are similarly priced, vs. $3000 vs. $500?
I understand that your CRTs are unbeatable in your opinion. I would probably think the same thing if I could afford it.
But saying that CRTs ($3000) are far superior to LCDs (whatever price range) is like comparing a Ferrari F40 to a stock Honda Civic and saying that your Honda will never accelerate as well as my Ferrari. Well, duh, it won't.
It is not trendy if it fits your needs and meets your requirements, inlcuding price.
But, if you spend serious time (14-18 hours a day) looking at screens, you need top of the line CRT's. CAD, DTP, video production, etc.. Even hard core gamers will tell you that CRT is the only way.
Well, I consider myself a hard core gamer, and many many times spend 14-18 hours gaming straight.
It is not about being trendy, saving desk space, lower power, or any of that.
It is about eye strain. Ok, maybe if I paid three or four times as much on a CRT as my previous 19" (only paid around $250), it wouldn't be a problem. And maybe it is just me and the way me eyes work, but I will take LCD over CRT any day.
Also, not everyone gets to say, "Oh, I'll take that 22" CRT please" at their workplace. And what would you rather have in that case, a so-so LCD, or a so-so CRT?
(I spend at least 8 hours each workday in front of a CRT, and 3 - 7 hours in front of a LCD at night, so I can say that I know how I feel on the subject).
At that price point, the PC you could buy instead would not be very good for playing new games.
At least double that for a gaming PC.
The whole point is that consoles are self contained, and require very little configuration or maintenance for use.
IIRC, I paid something like $300 or $400 for a brand new Sega Genesis (1990?), and games were around $75 a piece.
The XBox does support memory cards. You have to copy save games from a management screen (similar to the PS2 and Gamecube memory card management screens).
The problem: Most save games are too big for 8MB cards. You would need 32MB for KOTOR I or II. You can only fit one Halo 2 "profile" on an 8MB card.
Benefits:
The big potential benefit for the HD, is for downloadable content. That is the primary driver for the Sony PS2 HDD upgrade: Large storage for dynamicly updateable content and updates in FFIX.
Just curious: What MMORPG was there, that was free to play, and made MMORPGs popular?
Guild Wars (still in beta) is currently set up so that there is no monthly fee. You buy the game at retail, and play online for free. "Chapter" expansions then will be a purchaseable item, but only required to access new chapter areas or items. So for someone who plays only occasionally they only pay once, or only pays more when they are ready for playing the expansion content.
If you don't want it, turn it off. If you don't like how it works, stop using it.