You guys see all the new hotness coming out about the XBox? Kinda makes me wish I actually went to E3 this year. Natal, Facebook/Twitter integration, Zune Video, Netflix 1080p streaming....
The only thing hot in a 360 is the processor shortly before you send the whole thing to MS tech support. So except for Natal there is nothing I can't already use with my PC, right? Sorry to spoil the party, I really dislike consoles. They are basically nothing more than a weak PC with hardwired DRM and crappy controlers. And I'm not talking about the 'you shall not steal IP' DRM but the 'no, we won't let you use this software on our hardware' DRM. Want a console that can almost do what a PC does? Buy a Mac. Thanks, but I'll stick to my PC.
Console gaming is a whole different type of gaming for me. I still greatly prefer PC when it comes to RTS and FPS games. Console games have enabled a whole new demographic to get into games. They've enabled much easier multiplayer access. They allow me to play games on my 46" TV instead of my 20" monitor. They allow much easier creation of games since you only ever have to worry about one set of hardware. And the list can go on... I'm a fan of all games, PC, Console, web, phone, etc, etc, etc.... All of them are great for different reasons. IMO.
There is simplicity to a controller. A simplicity that has to be designed into console games to make the controller work. I like that. For some games. Games with mouse and keyboard scratch my hardcore gamer itch, for sure. I'd never stab eets as a Spy on an XBox. I have to play TF2 on my PC. But, I don't always want to play hardcore games. I like sitting back and playing Fable II and just hacking and slashing with a few buttons. I think MS's new Natal will probably open up an entirely new genre of games, much like the Wii did. I think they all have their place in the world.
I'd add RPGs too. Let's take a look at some famous RPG's like Oblivion, Fallout III and Mass Effect: All 3 suffered from the console controls in the PC version to a degree. The inventories were unconfortable to use, less functionality for spells and attacks and probably the biggest change: you can basically only control one character. Mass Effect got around that and I really loved the game for this very reason. Most of the time though the devs will just design a first person RPG and be done with it. I miss the old times where you had up to 6 characters to control. Oh well... With new demographic you mean the 12 and 13 year olds trash talking and flaming their own teammates online? I'm not sure that is an improvement... You have a point with multiplayer though, this should be a part of the OS.MS could probably even force certain hardware standards. I have to disagree for all but the most basic games here, sorry. See my RPG rant. It only becomes worse for FPS and for RTS it's so far off the scale... Yup, it will be a great success, especially for physicians all over the world... Seriously, I think it's an important step and we will hopefully see a non gaming version for PCs at some point in the future. There might be a lot of application which could profit from Natal's grandchildren.
I am skeptical about how useful Natal will actually be. Most of the stuff they showed at E3 was pre recorded (and don't get me started on that Milo/Molyneux demo). I am more interested in the Sony motion controller. Mainly because they said that they plan for it to be used for casual and hardcore games (where as Natal never said anything about "gamers") and the fact that the demos they had were all live and not pre-recorded. The part where they said "We had the eye toy out first and we realised that it was impossible to not have a controller for somethings" and MS is going "no controller at all!" was interesting.
