GEOFFREY MORRISON BLOG

Sorry, but I just can't get excited about the Xbox 360. I know many of you lump gamers together in some sort of homogenous, pasty, bunch, but in fact there are many sub-categories. In my mind, there are two main genera in the gamer family; console, and computer. I, am one of the latter.

Console gamers are typically younger, which is really only saying that the average age of a PC gamer is older, not that console owners are young. The games written for each platform vary to some degree, with PCs being better for first person shooters, real-time strategy, and really anything that requires patience or thought. Oops, slipped my hand there a little. Console games, and their controllers, are better for fighting games, driving games, and anything that doesn't require precise aim.

Unfortunate for us, the console market is MUCH bigger than the PC market, hence, it's where the majority of money goes. Many incredible franchises have been bastardized over the years for more success on the console side at the expense of gameplay on the PC. Ironically, almost every game that was dumbed down for its sequel for presumed better sales in the console market, did poorly across all platforms. Not surprisingly, this makes for a testy PC gamer crowd. Further irony is that because of the incredibly high licensing fees that Sony and Microsoft charge only a blockbuster success makes any money for the developer, while selling just a few hundred thousand copies on the PC side yields a profit.

Much hoopla has been made about the 360's graphics, 720p required resolution, and 5.1 surround sound. Wow, how amazing. My computer has been able to do that for years now. I've read many people's reviews on how the 360's graphics are as good if not better than the graphics in computer games. Sure, now. In a year the PC will surpass the console yet again. In four years PC graphics will look so much better than consoles, there will be no comparison (like today's PC games versus the current Xbox). That doesn't even count the fact that a decent PC today can do 1080p and 7.1 surround sound.

And what's inside the 360 anyway? A triple core 3.2 GHz PowerPC chip, ATI graphics, and in most instances, a 20-GB hard drive. If any of that looks familiar, it should. That's a computer. The only difference is that a decent computer today will be faster, have more RAM, and have a significant amount more storage space. It will also be upgradeable.

Of course, it will also be a lot more expensive. And then there's the compatibility issues, the bugs, the driver updates, the nearly instant obsolescence. . .

Oh, I get it now.