I changed my mind 360 degrees ( 8 )
For the people who know me, you’ll also know my opinion on the Xbox. Since the original was first released, I always proclaimed I would never, ever, purchase one… That Microsoft should keep their nose out of console gaming… That they should leave console gaming to Nintendo and Sony who have both benefited the gaming industry enormously… And I was convinced that Microsoft were just going to stomp all over everyone else and ruin things for the industry as a whole.
Well, I’ve changed my mind 360 degrees, and just come home with an Xbox 360 console of my own. What the hell happened? Well, read on.
I was an avid PC gamer who played console games here and there, but they definitely weren’t the primary source of my gaming needs, at least not for the last 3 years or so. I own a decent gaming PC - decent as in, once upon a time, it ran the higher end games amazingly, and these days I find myself turning down the settings more and more, but games still run okay. I’d never owned a next-gen console before. Sure, I’ve played the Wii, there’s one in the house I live in that I play on occasion, but I’d never experienced high definition gaming on a true next-gen console on a massive HDTV with surround sound. It’s just something I always thought would be awesome to try.
I was pondering over a few things. For now, my PC runs games okay, but one day it won’t. One day, I would be forced to upgrade, yet again, and at the current rate in which technology is advancing, that day would probably be soon. To upgrade my video card would cost approximately $400. On top of this, I would need more RAM - a 4GB kit - which, while getting cheaper, still isn’t cheap. The $400 becomes $700. On top of this, If I want to play DirectX 10 games, I would have to purchase Vista - an OS I don’t particularly want to use or spend money on, but have no choice if I want the ultimate PC gaming experience. The $700 has now gone up to $1000 and beyond, and I can’t even be guaranteed that my system will run games smoothly. Not only this, but I’ll have to upgrade AGAIN in another 2 - 3 years.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a little tired of this endless cycle of upgrades. Yes, it goes with the PC gaming territory, but the cost and frequency of upgrading has reached the point of ridiculous. Now, I’m not saying I’ve ditched PC gaming completely. I doubt there will come a time when I no longer play games on PC, as there will always be some titles that are PC only, including MMO’s and RPG’s with online communities. However, unless I want some serious eye candy, or frame rates that are as smooth as butter, constant upgrades aren’t a necessity. As an estimate, my gaming PC will probably last another couple of years for playing these types of games before I really need to upgrade at all.
So, with all this now clear in my head, I could take a more serious, unbiased look at the next-gen consoles without feeling like I was a traitor to PC gaming. If you’d have asked me a year ago, I would have said, given the choice, I’d buy a PS3. But to ignore Microsoft’s success with the 360 is just too hard to do, and a little naive. What is it that makes the 360 so attractive? What would it take to make me abandon my Microsoft-loathing ways (okay, a small exaggeration, but you know what I’m saying) and actually consider the 360 as a potential console purchase?
Well, a few things did, in the end. I did my homework, and this is ultimately what changed my mind:
- I’ve never denied Microsoft’s cleverness, marketing, and success with the products they create and sell. What I don’t like about Microsoft is their habit of stealing other companies ideas and trying to improve on them, claiming them as their own, rather than getting their own ideas and creating something new for themselves. However, this may actually be a benefit when it comes to gaming. By now, we’ve seen what does and doesn’t work with consoles. Taking something that DOES work, and making it better, seems like a very sensible and lucrative idea. Microsoft constantly strive to improve their products, so even though the 360 has a shitload of issues, they’re getting fixed. And the console is getting new parts. And I’ve a feeling that small upgrades and revisions will always be an ongoing thing, something consoles DEFINITELY benefit from.
- The price was a huuuuuge factor. Whilst the prices of both the PS3 and the 360 have lowered considerably, they’re still of such a difference that the 360 was within my price range, and the PS3 was not. Plus, now was a really good time to buy. AU$449 for the pro console and 2 games, with potentially another two free games on the way. It was a deal that was too hard to let slide.
- Whilst the PS3 is superior on paper, actual real-world performance is greater on the 360 at the moment. Apparently this is due to it being far easier to develop games on the 360 than on the PS3. Sure, this may change in the future, and developers may take advantage of the PS3’s superiority one day, but personally I don’t want to wait for that day. I want to have fun now, and the 360 provides that. I also don’t think a great deal will change in this regard, as the 360 has already earned it’s reputation, despite all of the hardware issues it faced. That really goes to show just how much of a following it has, and just how much faith people have in Microsoft’s gaming console.
- The most important thing - the games. Seems, there’s more titles I’m interested in on the 360. And more diverse genres of games, too. The advantage of waiting a couple of years since the console’s launch was that now there’s plenty of games to choose. The sky’s the limit, and already I have a giant list of games I’d like to play in the future.
So I’m a convert, a proud 360 owner. Whilst this is hard for me to say, Microsoft have really won me over. I think I can go as far as saying I have more faith in their gaming products than I do in their computer software. I may play your gaming console, Microsoft, but it will still take a LOT for me to love your operating system.