Consoles vs PCs --- stating the very obvious... but from a..

From an Asssociate Press Technology article published today:-

Chris Donahue, group manager of Microsoft's Games for Windows unit,
admits that DX10 is an example of the PC surpassing the consoles. The
company's own Xbox 360, for example, uses a custom version of the
older DX9 standard that can't be upgraded.

"Consoles are a snapshot of where the PC is at the time they were
made," he said. "The consoles are a step that stays flat for five
years. The PC is basically a 45 degree angle."
============================================


I like the 45 degree angle analogy.............

Consoles..flat for 5 years......... unless, of course you decided to
buy a Xbox360 two years ago, then sell it on Ebay and buy a Xbox360
Elite, then sell it a year or so from now on Ebay and buy a Xbox720
(with a new Dx10-compatible GPU and integrated HD or BluRay drive).
And as for upgrade accessories instead of unit-swaps.......Add a
HD-DVD drive for $200, Swap out a wimpy 20Gbyte drive for a
slightly-less-wimpy $175 120Gbyte drive. Swap the HD-DVD drive for a
Blu-ray drive... $200. Nickel and dimed to death..held ransom to a
particular console family by the software purchases. At least
hopefully the hardware evolution in a particular console-family will
preserve software backward-compatibility....

Gets kinda expensive... comparable with upgrading PC graphics-cards
and CPUs, but without the wide range of functionality and
price-choices available to the PC upgrade purchaser... with Dx10
hardware now ranging from $99.99 to $599, and with comprehensive
video decoding silicon even on the least expensive graphics-cards.

John Lewis

"John Lewis" <john.dsl RemoveThis @verizon.net> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:46290ef6.10762500@news.verizon.net...
>
>
> From an Asssociate Press Technology article published today:-
>
> Chris Donahue, group manager of Microsoft's Games for Windows unit,
> admits that DX10 is an example of the PC surpassing the consoles. The
> company's own Xbox 360, for example, uses a custom version of the
> older DX9 standard that can't be upgraded.
>
> "Consoles are a snapshot of where the PC is at the time they were
> made," he said. "The consoles are a step that stays flat for five
> years. The PC is basically a 45 degree angle."
> ============================================
>
>
> I like the 45 degree angle analogy.............
>
> Consoles..flat for 5 years......... unless, of course you decided to
> buy a Xbox360 two years ago, then sell it on Ebay and buy a Xbox360
> Elite, then sell it a year or so from now on Ebay and buy a Xbox720
> (with a new Dx10-compatible GPU and integrated HD or BluRay drive).
> And as for upgrade accessories instead of unit-swaps.......Add a
> HD-DVD drive for $200, Swap out a wimpy 20Gbyte drive for a
> slightly-less-wimpy $175 120Gbyte drive. Swap the HD-DVD drive for a
> Blu-ray drive... $200. Nickel and dimed to death..held ransom to a
> particular console family by the software purchases. At least
> hopefully the hardware evolution in a particular console-family will
> preserve software backward-compatibility....
>
> Gets kinda expensive... comparable with upgrading PC graphics-cards
> and CPUs, but without the wide range of functionality and
> price-choices available to the PC upgrade purchaser... with Dx10
> hardware now ranging from $99.99 to $599, and with comprehensive
> video decoding silicon even on the least expensive graphics-cards.
>
> John Lewis

There was a time when consoles were specialized gaming devices, with
proprietary technology, and the PC was inferior for gaming. PC technology
has evolved to equality over the years. So consoles started to become PCs
internally, castrated for gaming only use. Using the same parts for PCs and
consoles has cut down production costs.

Nowadays a console is no longer worthwhile, unless you only want gaming.
Even size isn't a factor anymore with small form PCs. So if you want to do
more than gaming, a PC is the answer, a console isn't needed, since gaming
on the PC is practically the same. You even get console style controllers
for the PC, if you want.