Very interesting thread General Etrius and all.

I would suggest there will be a third option by the end of this year or middle of next. The Netbook 2nd generation is about to come out. Look at the specs here for a 2nd generation netbook, which will sell for $400. It has improved graphics over the first generation but how improved is not yet known for sure. This model may run Linux or XP or either. But the third generation will probably be mostly Windows 7 machines. Say a year to a year and a half from now.

http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS2217646878.html

$400 is in the same ball park as an XBox 360 I think.

While Netbooks will never be equal to a dedicated gaming PC or to a console, all the other stuff you get with a Netbook for the price sort of makes up for it, IMHO.

Can also be very cheap - netbooks.

. . . and interestingly enough, gaming graphics are becoming more popular int notebooks I've noticed. More of them are coming with ATI and nVidia graphics in them.

Basically because of the HTML. When you press "enter" it creates a new paragraph tag, and currently the paragraphs have a space between them.

Totally agreed! Customization is IMHO one of the big things PC games enjoy that frankly probably will never be allowed on a console.

. . . because most of us are on budgets?

This does bring up a good issue, though: One reason to go PC is because you're using a PC anyways, and it's often cheaper to upgrade it with a cheap video card than to buy a console.

. . .and I think you're forgetting the Apple ][, released about the same time . Plenty of games for that as well. I think it was in fact the very fist computer I ever played a game on - The Oregon Trail .

Anyways, I like PC games mostly because I'm a big RTS fan, and to be honest that's a genre that simply can't be translated to a game pad. Not very well, at least. I also like to chat with friends while playing, and that pretty much requires a keyboard or headset.

I loved that game, but I don't remember why.

Can net books even play most games (beyond no brainers like Peggle)? It seems they were designed mainly for surfing the net (hence the term "NETbook" ).

I'd like to add something about consoles. The reason they are cheap compared to PC's is that the makers of consoles, "cheat" in a way. They sell the consoles at prices either below or at the cost to maufacture them, then charge a royalty for the games on their platform, which is that extra $10 fee you see on console games. I'm not sure I'm correct, but I believe Mircosoft started that trend. That's why they don't like the PC that much, and focus on the Xbox 360, because it gives them more money, giving Microsoft their other name, Micro$oft. Still, Microsoft's lack of interst in the PC industry besides the Xbox reason I gave is puzzling, considering the fact that they essentially created the modern PC with Windows (by the way, Windows 7 looks awesome). I can't understand why they wouldn't get into the PC industry, considering that it would bring them even more money. Silly, silly, Microsoft.

Speaking of the PC, Stardock is opening a new studio, so they will hopefully become a major gaming industry juggernaut (and finally unseat EA or some other stupid games corporation), that will make PC gaming the huge gaming platform that it once was. Make no mistake, the PC is still big, but consoles have taken some of the glory.

Microsoft focuses on the Xbox because they own the platform and get a cut of every transaction made (DLC, game royalties, etc.)

In fact I'd argue that games aren't really the point of the XBox. Microsoft is using gamers to get a computer entertainment center in livingrooms around the world in hopes of selling you movies, TV shows, etc. (Bill Gates half-jokingly said that he wants people to order pizza from the Xbox.)

Once a PC gamer buys a Windows license, MS doesn't see another dime, unless you buy MS-made PC games (which no longer exist). That's why MS wants gaming to happen on the Xbox. They want gamers to pay for everything. PC gamers have been spoiled for too long and won't take that rolling over

PC gamers, on the whole, are not willing to pay subscription feees for standard multiplayer games, which have been free for over a decade. They won't pay for stupid DLC. And I think they have higher standards (which is probably why so many execs talk crap about PC gamers -- they won't buy crap as readily).

I'm not saying PC gamers are gaming gods who have impecible taste, but it's fair to say that many PC gamers do it as a hobby and expect a bit more from their games and gaming experience.

MS probably handed Bethesda a bag of money to make the Fallout 3 DLC a GFWL exclusive. All I know is that the GFWL client is a steaming pile, exactly the type of bloatware you'd expect from the company that brought you IE.

With Impulse, Steam, and Gamersgate (client-free, baby!), MS has no excuse.

And that's MS's problem: they have real competition on the PC. They're not used to competition. When they face real competition, they start to lose (see Firefox, which has eliminated MS's ability to dictate web standards).

Steam bested GFWL 2.0 months ago. You'll see GFWL-exclusives because MS is handing studios money to do it. I refuse to support GFWL because it's MS's way of turning the PC into a controlled experience like the Xbox. Just using Windows to play games is control enough, as far as I'm concerned.

No worries samurye. It is bound to be a crappy game since it is impossible to accurately and quickly control tons of units with a joystick anyway. Look at the classics of RTS, such as Starcraft. Pro Starcraft gamers click something on the order of 200 times a minute. Using a joystick, I would be suprised if it is even possible get above 60 due to the slow scrolling speed.

Interesting... While looking for news on L4D updates, I found a link to an old article about TF2 DLC. Valve intended to make it free for all users (PC and XBOX), but M$ forced them to charge for it on Xbox, since M$ gets a cut of stuff distributed on XBL.

Both PC's and consoles are fine. This is just to show the advantages they have over each other.