Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Xbox vx PC - Day 3

This one is directed at the comments from Jay on the last post:

I have really not made up my mind. I was vigorously defending the PC, but there are quite some upsides to the Xbox as well.

The Xbox as a digital media hub is very appealing to me. The fact that the box is MUCH cheaper than a PC is also a big plus. The hardware failure rate does seem to be better this generation, but the issues on noise and heat still seem to be there.

Rock Band would be a plus if I had people to play it with. I so dearly want to play that one... If the band world tour was playable over Live... wow. It is also not released yet in EU, so I would need to buy it in Canada/US and cart it over here.

I also understand that Shadowrun is the only game currently cross platform. I will dig out the quote. I hear this all the time on the podcasts of PC gamer, where developers are interviewed regularly. Let me seek it out, Mr Rymal...

I know the community is also over here, but for me the appeal of the online play is to have another connection to my buddies back over there (tear tear.) I miss you guys and I saw the xbox as a way to get back together with you all.

There is still the 59-Euro per game quandry. That is steeeep. PC games are between 39-49 here depending on the title but drop in price VERY fast. here are a few AAA titles in this weeks Media Markt Flyer:

Crysis - 29 euro
COD4 - 39 Euro
The Witcher - 12 Euro

I am really in no big rush to spend my money, so I may wait until I head to Canada in May (10-22) and impose on an Xbox friend to two to play with me and let me try their world firsthand. I am sure that stores will still be in stock of everything when I get back.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I shall allow you to play COD4 and Bioshock on my 360 and HDTV when you come over.

GS

Anonymous said...

Hey, can any of you xboys tell me if the games on XBOX are region coded? Can I buy a game in Canada and play it in Germany?

-F

Anonymous said...

depends on the release.
here is a guide

http://forum.xbox-sky.com/xbox360_regional_compatibility_guide/

GS

Anonymous said...

depends on the release.
here is a guide

http://forum.xbox-sky.com/xbox360_regional_compatibility_guide/

GS

Jay Rymal said...

Heh, it sounds to me like it depends on what podcast you listen to when it comes to developers claiming which is better, pc/console.
www.majornelson.com has a weekly podcast and when Shadowrun shipped he interviewed guys from FASA who said they found it was about the player, not the control scheme. You couldn't tell if a player was PC or Xbox 360. Gamepad or mouse/keyboard.

And I still stand by my own experiences despite what anybody says. My abilities in FPS with mouse/keyboard are very competitive... so are my abilities with the sticks. And I prefer the sticks now. I used to be in the camp that M/K was better, but with experience, I've changed my way of seeing it.

If you have any time when you come this way it'd be great to see you. I'd love to show you our two 360's set up on a 50" DLP with DD surround, and a 37" LCD with no surround. Stunning. We can play some Wii too. I think you'd like it. It's a hell of a lot of fun.

As for Rock Band... wouldn't Claudia or other friends play with you? Bonnie's playing with me. She's currently the band's drummer while I'm on lead guitar. I'm trying to get my boy to play. He just turned 6 and wants to, but it's still kinda hard for him.
Oh, and you CAN do 'world tour' online Xbox Live for sure!!
RB is slated to come to Europe soon I believe.

Anonymous said...

This Jay fella is one smart cookie. Heed his word

GS

Anonymous said...

Hey Fraser,
Having seen the red ring of death on a couple of xbox 360s I'm a little reluctant pushing it but in comparison to the pc you are looking at, I'd go with it.... if you do the pc thing, I'd build my own with better specs... Q6600s are dirt cheap now :)

Anyways, as far as digital hub goes, to get full benifit you still need a pc capable of running vista premium/ultimate w/ media center.... and its, well a little loud if you like it somewhat quiet in your viewing room...

Now, being one who hates all things Sony... have you thought about a PS3? some decent games and a blue ray players to top it all off..... just a thought to really make your choice difficult!

Alec

Fraser Anderson said...

I thought that you could also stream media if it was sitting on a NAS on your network someplace? Or if you had the extender for XP, I will check that out...

As for Sony, I am not planning on getting a PS3, blu-ray holds no attraction for me. I think that all the HD disk formats are dead ends and downloaded HD content will be the future.

PS3 games are mostly similar to Xbox as far as I can see, and the PS3 online experience is far inferior. The biggest gaming appeal of the Xbox to me is the Live integration so I can game with friends.