Sorry it's a few hours late folks. Without Dave, we somehow made it through an episode. Highlights include:
EA buying Bioware
Pro Basketball Player Cheats at Halo 3
Volkov's News Feed
Startling Revelation by Doc regarding the PS3
Lucky Alex
.... plus classic Sarcastic Gamer News with Paul Christy and more!We'd prefer to have you SUBSCRIBE (http://www.sarcasticgamer.com/2007/07/subscribe-to-sarcastic-gamer-podcast.html) to our podcast! Download the mp3 RIGHT HERE (http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://www.docadamsaudio.com/sarcasticgamer/podcasts/SarcasticGamer-Episode11.mp3).

Were those real tears, or fake. If they were fake then they were pretty convincing! By tears I mean the way he sort of faked cried and talked at the same time.

downloading right away

lol is it because of my comment that has made you wonder why I am asking? If it is lol, but man you guys those two comments were kinda harsh, normally i just ignore the martini time, but when you make a dude cry that's just bad.

NO DAVE :eek: *starts to cry* a podcast is not complete without DAVE!!!

Halo 2 and Shadowrun are not Dx10, they're vista only. That's just microsoft pushing vista on us. I don't think PC gaming is dying. WoW is still 8 million strong. Counter-Strike Source still has thousands of servers out there. PC gamers are very loyal and with Starcraft 2 on the horizion PC gamers got a lot to look forward too. Don't get me wrong I love my 360, but I will always prefer mouse and keyboard over a controller.

THANK YOU DOC!

At least you read my post and know how to pronounce my name.



Great show guys.

Guys, this is a comedy show. If you thought supa was for realz, then.... i guess he wins the oscar.

im not rich... and my parents wouldnt even kno wat a gfx card is and certainly wont buy me one.. i had to buy my pc myself with hard earned cash from working.. (rare much?? O.o) it cost about 2000 bucks.. i havent had to upgrade it for almost half a year now.. i think.. its playin all the latest demos pretty well (jericho, UT3) and hl2:ep2 runs great.. infact anything i throw at it runs great.. i guess u just have to be an enthusiast to get into the pc thang.. i lov mah pc.. i would get a console.. but.. ya kno.. mah bank is dry from maintaining mah pc (JK! :P) nah i just dont kno which one to buy.. so ima stick wit da pc for now.. mebbe get a console later on.. GREAT EP BTW! :) Come back soon Dave! b4 alex floods the studio.. (lame ass joke)
LATA!

Were those real tears, or fake. If they were fake then they were pretty convincing! By tears I mean the way he sort of faked cried and talked at the same time.

Guys, this is a comedy show. If you thought supa was for realz, then.... i guess he wins the oscar.


Yes it was all fake ... I used to be an actor as a kid ... guess I still got it! ;) My mother would be so proud.

and I was just saying to doc "did I make it sound too real?" ;)

Sarcastic gaming nights on orange box are going to be fantastic.

One question though, how come Paul Cristy brought up an old breaking news story about cereals, im sure that was a sketch back in episode 4 or 5???

no dave = more lono-time-possibilty \o/

I hate you evilnarf :p

THANK YOU for giving the Orange Box some love!!

Missed ya this round Dave!!!


Hey guys, awesome job giving Orange Box some love... Yeah i dont own it, but i think you got me very interested... Plus i want to see my 360voice blog talk about my "orange box" lol...

Hey, speaking of Cereal, Should have talked about the old school nintendo Cereal with the Legend of Zelda bag and the Mario Bag put into one box!!! lol...

Okay guys, im headed to the store to grab me a box of Red Rings of Health...

HAHA!!! Extreme Dog Fighting on 360!!!! That's funny stuff.

yes more lono for the next 2 episodes!!!

....we need more Dave.......not lono...

Nice episode again guys! I myself didn't know who Paris was till Doc said. Also even though I HATE this when people do this but "LEAVE SUPA ALONE!!!!!"

Hey did anyone play Yaris yet? Im planning on starting a Yaris clan so I need members!!.

a Yaris clan? WTF is wrong with you, and how would you do a Yaris clan?

a Yaris clan? WTF is wrong with you, and how would you do a Yaris clan?

Well I find a way! I mean its a great game. The best this year! Even better then Halo 3!!! We'll all have clan cars with kick ass clan logos on them cars! They will all fear us and our Hybrids!!!

Well I find a way! I mean its a great game. The best this year! Even better then Halo 3!!! We'll all have clan cars with kick ass clan logos on them cars! They will all fear us and our Hybrids!!!

see kids, this is why you should never do drugs.

In agreement with Doc Lono

SUPA!

Marry Your Girlfreind Man!

Good to hear Paul Christy is back at it again. Hows he feeling now anyway?

In agreement with Doc Lono

SUPA!

Marry Your Girlfreind Man!

Thank you and you so rock! :D

I basically signed up for the forums, for this post.


I can't fathom how you guys, even with your xbox bias, could envision the collapse of pc gaming. Pc gaming will always be better. Why? Mods. You play CSS for a year or so, then say you get bored. Well you've got thousands of FREE options to enhance and extend your gaming. You've got thousands of maps, new guns, etc, etc.

One complaint for every game always bottoms down to: "Lack of maps, lack of guns, lack of variety"

This isn't restricted to FPS, RPG, Adventure games, etc etc.

For example, Oblivion. Counter Strike (how long did the xbox one honestly survive?). RTS. Guitar Hero (Don't believe me? Download Frets of Fire, and get a USB guitar, either the xbox 360 guitar or some other version).


In oblivion you've got thousands of weapons, clothes, items at your fingertips, so long as you are playing the PC version.

In Frets of Fire, you've got thousands of songs FOR FREE.

In RTS you've got the keyboard. Without a keyboard RTS just isn't real time. You don't have the depth of control with a controller.



If you asked me, Halo or Half-life? I'd say half-life no question. I just like it more. I'd take the old team-fortress over halo 3, or halo 2, with no question asked.

Don't even get me started on MMO's. I'd take even fighting games, on a pc rather than a console.

Also: You don't need a new graphics card every year.
For the longest time I played half-life two with a Nvidia MX440/400, even now I'm only rocking a 6150LE I played and loved HL EP2, I was in the TF2 beta, you don't need top of the line gear, to play top of the line games. Crysis is an exception. That's not so much as top of the line, as pushing the limit.

All in all, I love my xbox and I love my PC.

I love console and I love pc gaming. I love tabletop, board games, card games etc. I love all games.

I don't think it's possible for one to kill the other. Even board games have been reincarnated by console gaming.


P.S. I don't have an iTunes account. So I can't write a review. Why? I don't buy iTunes and listen to music. I'm too busy PLAYING GAMES.



Edit: Now don't think I'm some extremist, allal ackbar jihad jihad pc is the only way to go or die.

I've spent many a debate defending console from my friends (yes they're rich, it bothers the hell out of me, one of their old ass windows 98 pcs kicked the bucket, and the kid's dad came home with Dell's big red monster [the xps] out of the blue) who believe that if it isn't PC it isn't a game. In the end they both have their pro's and con's (pros and pirates alike!) but I don't think one will ever lay the other to rest. Ever. We'll be in tubes questioning whether to get the new Xbox revolution (you see what I did there, 360, as in a rotation, or a revolution) tube plugin for out tube so we can play halo 3 part CLIX (that's a real roman numeral) or if we spend all that money buying... Quarter-life episode 3 along with Circles which teleport things 2.

PC Fanboy ALERT!!

PC Fanboy ALERT!!

Somebody didn't finish reading the post.

I read the end of your post, your point? your basicly a fanboy thats saying their not diehard fanboy.

@ suppertime: Dude if frets of fire is your arguement for why pc gaming isn't on the decline.... wow. frets of fire sucks.

Also: You don't need a new graphics card every year.
For the longest time I played half-life two with a Nvidia MX440/400, even now I'm only rocking a 6150LE I played and loved HL EP2, I was in the TF2 beta, you don't need top of the line gear, to play top of the line games. Crysis is an exception. That's not so much as top of the line, as pushing the limit.


Um, that was our point. Crysis is the top of the line and we don't want to pay $1000 to play it. Thank you for proving my point.

great podcast guys!

i've got a decent computer (notice i didn't say PC :p) that can play the COD4 demo on medium settings with 60 fps... i will not be upgrading after this, however, and am just going to ride it into the ground. i don't have vista, so unless someone makes an XP compatibilty thingy for it, or unless microsoft realizes that they're going to be losing about 80% of their sales keeping it vista exclusive, i wont ever be playing it.

You guys made me want Orange Box even more... and that's despite the fact that I already have HL2 and HL2 Ep1 for PC.

Great episode... good for laughs as always. I kind of missed Dave because I didn't get to hear him fail at the outtro. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait two weeks. :p

Crysis is the top of the line and we don't want to pay $1000 to play it. Thank you for proving my point.

You don't have to! Look at ther recomended specs:
[Recommended Requirements]
CPU: Core 2 Duo/Athlon X2 or better
RAM: 1.5GB

I can get better then that:
Athlon64 X2 6000+, 2048MB + Motherboard to go whit that

Video Card: NVIDIA 7800 Series
VRAM: 512MB of Graphics Memory

I can get better then that:
Club-3D GeForce 8800GT Dual-DVI 512MB

And all that for 580 USD... And this will be ok to play whit for 2-3 years.

And saying you NEED to pay 2000USD every year to play PC games are PURE and utter bullshit!

And you must accept the fact that maximum ultra settings on the PC gaming platform is for the ones that spend 4000USD ever half year on there rig and they LIKE it!

You guys are funny to lissen to but your Xbox-bias is degrading your mp3cast.

I can get better then that:
Athlon64 X2 6000+, 2048MB + Motherboard to go whit that

I can get better then that:
Club-3D GeForce 8800GT Dual-DVI 512MB

And all that for 580 USD... And this will be ok to play whit for 2-3 years.

And saying you NEED to pay 2000USD every year to play PC games are PURE and utter bullshit!

And you must accept the fact that maximum ultra settings on the PC gaming platform is for the ones that spend 4000USD ever half year on there rig and they LIKE it!

You guys are funny to lissen to but your Xbox-bias is degrading your mp3cast.

Saying you can buy that stuff for only $580.00 is bullshit.

You're saying I can get a motherboard, 2 gigs of ram, a videocard, a dual core processor and a power supply for $580? Come on dude. If you can find any of that stuff together for less than $580, post it's location on the web, and I'll buy it today.

BTW, we didn't say you have to spend $2000 a year, it was an exaggeration to make a point about how expensive pc gaming is.

first podcast i have listened to by myself, subscribed today through itunes. my mate showed it to me. you guys crack me up and good episode, completely agree about the pc expenses. i talk to quite a load of people and we often talk about what games we should get next to mess around on. but with the big names on pc these days i have to spend so much cash just to run them and i dont even know what the hell a motherboard is. i think its safe to say im going to be forced on to consoles within a year...

wow it seems like you're gaining listeners/fans exponentially with every new podcast! keep it up!

Haven't we heard those "news" segments before? I'm not sure.

Also: Still talking about Michael Vick? Come on.

Other than that, good 'cast. And I totally agree about showing our support for the orange box package.

Nice podcast fellas, but this was the first time I've felt compelled to write something.

Your argument re: the EA's acquisition of Bioware/Pandemic will affect Mass Effect is what got me. I dont know who it was that said it, but the quote was:

"I just hope that they just let them make it the way the way they wanted to make it and don't touch a thing. But I'm afraid its not going to happen. You know what I mean?"

Did that person actually read the terms of the buyout when it was announced or did that person just read the headlines and make an assumption.

The buyout doesnt take effect until after January 2008. Way after the release date of Mass Effect.

The acquisition will be completed in January of next year, and requires EA to pay up to $620 million to VG Holding Corp.'s stockholders.

As a fellow podcaster, I respect your opinion on the subject but understand the logistics before you comment. It detracts from the show. I pretty much agree with everything else that was said but that comment bothered me.

Keep up the good work!!!

Nice podcast fellas, but this was the first time I've felt compelled to write something.

Your argument re: the EA's acquisition of Bioware/Pandemic will affect Mass Effect is what got me. I dont know who it was that said it, but the quote was:

"I just hope that they just let them make it the way the way they wanted to make it and don't touch a thing. But I'm afraid its not going to happen. You know what I mean?"

Did that person actually read the terms of the buyout when it was announced or did that person just read the headlines and make an assumption.

The buyout doesnt take effect until after January 2008. Way after the release date of Mass Effect.

The acquisition will be completed in January of next year, and requires EA to pay up to $620 million to VG Holding Corp.'s stockholders.

As a fellow podcaster, I respect your opinion on the subject but understand the logistics before you comment. It detracts from the show. I pretty much agree with everything else that was said but that comment bothered me.

Keep up the good work!!!

That was me, and yes you are right, I was making an assumption, however because we didn't have the actual release in front of us during the conversation, much of what we were talking about was all hypothetical anyway.

No, supa, peterocc got it wrong. You said what you said in response to future games going multi platform. Not specifically Mass Effect. We were discussing future mass effect games but your comment was directed towards future games and how they may get watered down when or if they go multi platform.

Nice try peterocc, fellow podcaster, but you got that one wrong.

No, supa, peterocc got it wrong. You said what you said in response to future games going multi platform. Not specifically Mass Effect. We were discussing future mass effect games but your comment was directed towards future games and how they may get watered down when or if they go multi platform.

Nice try peterocc, fellow podcaster, but you got that one wrong.

That's true - we were really talking about games like Mass Effect being changed if they brought it to other platforms. Good point Lono

I got yer back dawg!

No, supa, peterocc got it wrong. You said what you said in response to future games going multi platform. Not specifically Mass Effect. We were discussing future mass effect games but your comment was directed towards future games and how they may get watered down when or if they go multi platform.

Nice try peterocc, fellow podcaster, but you got that one wrong.

Not true. I know you guys did the 'cast, but listen around the 1:55 mark. Supa made the comment before you guys started talking about going multi-platform. He said it in direct relation to EA buying Bioware and its effect on Mass Effect.
Whatever, it's not that big of a deal...

First, Welcome.

Second, Peterocc, you know that Mass Effect is a triliogy. Also, if the game goes multi platform, supa is right on the money about a watered down experience being entirely possible under EA. What's wrong with that?

First, Welcome.

Second, Peterocc, you know that Mass Effect is a triliogy. Also, if the game goes multi platform, supa is right on the money about a watered down experience being entirely possible under EA. What's wrong with that?

I know its a trilogy. I read the book. I almost got the T-Shirt. But, Bioware still retains the rights to Mass Effect though. Same as Bungie did (Prior to their buyout).

Gamespot: People are now wondering what is happening with some of your properties, specifically Mass Effect, which is due out next month. That's a wholly owned BioWare property, correct?

Greg Zeschuk: Yes, it is, and it's almost done. Ray and I have both played it!


Quote taken from here (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6180866.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6180866)

I have no problems with EA buying out Bioware/Pandemic as it gives them more money to invest into their future games. Granted EA doesnt have the strongest track record in that regard but their future does look bright (Army of Two, Battlefield:Bad Company, skate, NFS).

I'm aint mad atcha...

You're right Bioware has the rights, which means that it may not be an Xbox exlusive. It most likely wont be. i'm sure we'll see the ps3 version down the line. And if it's consistent with EA's other ports, then it will be watered down.

You're right Bioware has the rights, not microsoft, which means that it may not end up being an Xbox exlusive. It most likely wont be. i'm sure we'll see the ps3 version down the line. And if it's consistent with EA's other ports, then it will be watered down.

You're right Bioware has the rights, not microsoft, which means that it may not end up being an Xbox exlusive. It most likely wont be. i'm sure we'll see the ps3 version down the line. And if it's consistent with EA's other ports, then it will be watered down.

Doesn't really bother me as I only play the 360 anyway (maybe a little Wii thrown in with the kids) so I'm not concerned with the PS3 port. Lets see what the game is like before we argue more. Who knows, maybe it turns out to be the biggest bomb? :eek:

Doesn't really bother me as I only play the 360 anyway (maybe a little Wii thrown in with the kids) so I'm not concerned with the PS3 port. Lets see what the game is like before we argue more. Who knows, maybe it turns out to be the biggest bomb? :eek:

Naw, i'm sure this game will be great. I am concerned with other consoles, even if I don't own one, because there will come a time when a port comes to the 360 that may suck in transition when the original was great. And it will probably come from EA.... Just sayin'...:D

First time poster, just wanted to say that I really enjoy the podcast and I liked this one and EA is the terror of the gaming industry.

First time poster, just wanted to say that I really enjoy the podcast and I liked this one and EA is the terror of the gaming industry.

Thanks and welcome!

see kids, this is why you should never do drugs.

"Oh yeah drugs, Gotta have the drugs."- Homer Simpson.

I mean what other game is a racing,FPS, MMORPG, puzzle game for free? None thats what! *cough* Sarcasm *cough* ;-)

hey im farily new i just wanted to say, great podcast,hope you get back soon Dave,and poor Alex

Oh so you delete my post hmm... This means a war that I never could win so I surrender.

Saying you can buy that stuff for only $580.00 is bullshit.

You're saying I can get a motherboard, 2 gigs of ram, a videocard, a dual core processor and a power supply for $580? Come on dude. If you can find any of that stuff together for less than $580, post it's location on the web, and I'll buy it today.

BTW, we didn't say you have to spend $2000 a year, it was an exaggeration to make a point about how expensive pc gaming is.
I can do that, note that I'm from Sweden so i will use Swedish webshops so you will not understand mutch.

Motherboard, 2 gigs of ram,a dual core processor
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=323910
2.236 Skr

Videocard: (The one i Linked to was no longer in stock)
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=331406
1.996 SKr

Thats 4232 SKr or 643.4 USD (The USD is at an all time low VS Skr) or 455.61€.

Ok I admit i'm off by 80USD and if you by power supply mean a chassi and a power supply you can get that for 60$ or use the one you already got. (http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=319337)

.......
Saying that PC Gaming costs 2000$ is not exaggeration that is lying!

I can do that, note that I'm from Sweden so i will use Swedish webshops so you will not understand mutch.

Motherboard, 2 gigs of ram,a dual core processor
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=323910
2.236 Skr

Videocard: (The one i Linked to was no longer in stock)
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=331406
1.996 SKr

Thats 4232 SKr or 643.4 USD (The USD is at an all time low VS Skr) or 455.61€.

Ok I admit i'm off by 80USD and if you by power supply mean a chassi and a power supply you can get that for 60$ or use the one you already got. (http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=319337)

.......
Saying that PC Gaming costs 2000$ is not exaggeration that is lying!

Lying? You were wrong and then you quibble? We said that if you had to buy all new stuff you'd have to spend around $2000 bucks. that's not lying. Check the latest prices dude. Bargain hunting aside... pc gaming is expensive. All of that stuff you put up there is more expensive than a PS3, so who's kidding who?

PC gaming is not for us peasants.

Great show guys. I also perfer console gaming and have all my life. I guess I like sitting on the couch playing a game on my TV, not sitting hunch over at a my desk. I mean, I did play a lot of Doom on a PC, but that was about it. That and the plug and play factor is enough to keep me away for PC gaming and playing consoles.

Again, great show, are you guys going to E for All?

I agree with the price of PC gaming complaints but I don't think it'll be going away any time soon...I predict that every 4 years or so people will speculate on the 'death of PC gaming?' only to have it bounce back up again. Some games will play better on the PC (FPS, RTS) some on the console (Action Adventure, Sports/Driving) and we should leave it at that.

Great podcast by the way :)

i dont know what the big problem with EA is anyways lol. i love the battlefield series, good enough for me anyways :). i actually really like their games other than the plague that is sporting games. every god dam year the lads round my area are pissin their pants in excitement for the next fifa, i really dont understand it lol, same old game dfferent name.

Great show as always guys, overtaked Major Nelson in my "first listen" of the week catergory...yes...i have a category ;) - I hope Paul is doing well :)

Wow. that's a lot to live up to!

;)

Shame on you making alex cry :). lol

Im sure everyone knew this was coming sooner or later..... Consoles being the death of PC's??? Hardly. Allow me to explain.

I will admit that consoles are much easier and convenient then PCs. While this may be true, consoles also are locked under one type of hardware. You cannot upgrade or mod your console unless you really know what you are doing. And even then, you can't get very far on doing it. Now with PCs, you have the option to have it look as good or as bad as you want. You may have to upgrade it every year or so, but it isn't necessary. I can run WoW smoothly on my 2001 Dell laptop if I wanted to. Another thing that you cannot get with consoles is the fun of dedicated servers and hundreds of them like you can get on PC. Take UT3 for example. If you want a mod of it (which is one of the best parts of the UT series) you have to wait for Epic to release it over Live or PSN, whereas on the PC, all you need to do is download it. And even when Epic releases them, it will only be the big, popular mods, not any of the little independent ones. Another issue that the consoles have is the gamepad. Everyone knows that most big genres are best on PC becuase of the mouse and keyboard. This include: FPS's, Strategy games, Puzzle games (Portal in particular) and air combat games. It is much easier to point and click then have to aim with a unresponsive stick.

In conclusion, PC's are miles ahead of any console that is, and ever will come.

Im sure everyone knew this was coming sooner or later..... Consoles being the death of PC's??? Hardly. Allow me to explain.

I will admit that consoles are much easier and convenient then PCs. While this may be true, consoles also are locked under one type of hardware. You cannot upgrade or mod your console unless you really know what you are doing. And even then, you can't get very far on doing it. Now with PCs, you have the option to have it look as good or as bad as you want. You may have to upgrade it every year or so, but it isn't necessary. I can run WoW smoothly on my 2001 Dell laptop if I wanted to. Another thing that you cannot get with consoles is the fun of dedicated servers and hundreds of them like you can get on PC. Take UT3 for example. If you want a mod of it (which is one of the best parts of the UT series) you have to wait for Epic to release it over Live or PSN, whereas on the PC, all you need to do is download it. And even when Epic releases them, it will only be the big, popular mods, not any of the little independent ones. Another issue that the consoles have is the gamepad. Everyone knows that most big genres are best on PC becuase of the mouse and keyboard. This include: FPS's, Strategy games, Puzzle games (Portal in particular) and air combat games. It is much easier to point and click then have to aim with a unresponsive stick.

In conclusion, PC's are miles ahead of any console that is, and ever will come.

What? How is this explaining why PC gaming isn't on the decline? When we talk about PC gaming, we're talking about gaming that competes with console gaming. WoW obviously doens't compete with console gaming. There's no WoW on any console. Taking WoW out of the equation, your best argument are mods?

"miles ahead" Huh?

Look, I was and still am a PC gamer, to an extent. I've played every great PC game in the last 15 years. Running (mostly) crappy mods of games that I own doesn't appeal to me. I can't tell you how many times I tried to sucessfully run the mod for BF1942 that essentially made it a modern combat game... the game's name escapes me at the moment, but the important part of the story is that while the game had huge potential (pre Battlefield 2) the game never really ran correctly. It was extremely buggy, like most mods. Patches and new versions came out, but the bottom line was that it sucked... Good thing Dice brought those guys in to make Battlefield 2...

The only mod that I would even consider playing right this second is Garry's Mod. Furthermore, who says that these types of mods won't make it to the console? It's coming, believe me. With UT 4 coming, user created mods will come to the console IMO.

As for the gamepad v. mouse debate. I play equally well with both. While I enjoy the accuracy of the mouse better, I find the overall comfortableness, for lack of a better word, to be squarely in the gamepad's corner. Your complaints about the gamepad, by calling it an "unresponsive stick" really belies your lack of awareness or maybe overall use of a game pad, which probably decreases your credibilty on the subject a bit.

I'm just saying...

the only thing proping up PC gaming right now is WoW. Take that out of the equation and PC gaming has been on a decline for quite some time. Factor in the extreme cost in rebuilding your PC every three years v. a console that could last as long as 10 (PS2) , it's not hard to belive that PC gaming is dead.

You have to take into account that most 'sales figures' regaurding the PC don't include online sales from services such as Steam or Direct2Drive; and even besides that, NPD sales figures put PC game spending at over $200 million the first two months of this year. That figure also doesn't include subscription prices in case you were wondering.

Plus, indie gaming will always be easier to develop for and release on the PC side; yes I know that microsoft has been trying to cater to indies with XNA but you still have to go through alot of red tape to get something released on Xbox live. You also have to 100 bucks a year just to SHARE your game with other people. Oh, and the ease of development argument goes for mods too..sure consoles will try to support them to some extent but cmon - who doesn't think that the majority of mods will be released for the PC? Modders will still have to develop on the PC (if we're talking about doing stuff besides making new maps) and they'll have to put in extra time to convert to work on consoles. Also, I see more and more total conversions and substantial mods coming out of the woodwork recently - lets not forget that games like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress were concieved as mods.

Alright, I concede that microsoft has screwed PC Gamers recently with the whole DX10/Vista thing but it's just a roadblock and certainly isnt the death of PC gaming.

Let's also take a look at how EA says consoles are going to die. =O Which is it, PC gaming or console gaming?

What? How is this explaining why PC gaming isn't on the decline? When we talk about PC gaming, we're talking about gaming that competes with console gaming. WoW obviously doens't compete with console gaming. There's no WoW on any console. Taking WoW out of the equation, your best argument are mods?

"miles ahead" Huh?

Look, I was and still am a PC gamer, to an extent. I've played every great PC game in the last 15 years. Running (mostly) crappy mods of games that I own doesn't appeal to me. I can't tell you how many times I tried to sucessfully run the mod for BF1942 that essentially made it a modern combat game... the game's name escapes me at the moment, but the important part of the story is that while the game had huge potential (pre Battlefield 2) the game never really ran correctly. It was extremely buggy, like most mods. Patches and new versions came out, but the bottom line was that it sucked... Good thing Dice brought those guys in to make Battlefield 2...

The only mod that I would even consider playing right this second is Garry's Mod. Furthermore, who says that these types of mods won't make it to the console? It's coming, believe me. With UT 4 coming, user created mods will come to the console IMO.

As for the gamepad v. mouse debate. I play equally well with both. While I enjoy the accuracy of the mouse better, I find the overall comfortableness, for lack of a better word, to be squarely in the gamepad's corner. Your complaints about the gamepad, by calling it an "unresponsive stick" really belies your lack of awareness or maybe overall use of a game pad, which probably decreases your credibilty on the subject a bit.

I'm just saying...

the only thing proping up PC gaming right now is WoW. Take that out of the equation and PC gaming has been on a decline for quite some time. Factor in the extreme cost in rebuilding your PC every three years v. a console that could last as long as 10 (PS2) , it's not hard to belive that PC gaming is dead.

So just because you don't like the kinds of mods that are out there (and really you're the only one that doesn't), that justifies that consoles will kill PC's? And I think it's funny how you say I have no experience with a gamepad when I had every new console out there since 2001.

And as for the whole mods thing, yes they will be coming to consoles, but not the small, independent ones. Epic is going to look at the mods that PC players like the most (which are hugely popular ones) and rule out the ones that were only downloaded 5 times, that may have potential. Which means that you guys won't be able to get it until five billion people download it.

And if you really want to know whether or not it is really on the decline, then yes, it probably is. But that could easily change once the idea starts getting into the mainstream that people who like competitive, creative and overall very different (but fun) experience, should come to the PC. And I think that games like Gears of War for PC and Crysis are just going to get that into people's heads, and hopefully convert them.

Mods aren't going to save PC gaming. Indie games won't either. Neither make money and only a fraction of a fraction of mods turn into something more.

@Beowulf: If you call a gamepad an "unresponsive stick" what do you expect me to say. It's obviously not "unresponsive," so I just assumed you didn't have any experience with a gamepad. If you have been using one since 2001, I scratch my head at your argument...

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little with calling it unresponsive. But it is rather irritating when you are trying to snipe somebody and you miss your target because you move your thumb to much to the right.

And in my opinion, PC gaming doesn't need saving. It just needs to appeal to a wider audience, which can easily happen.

this was the best podcast ever, until the next one comes out tommorow, which is the unluckiest podcast ever.

I never said either of them would 'save' PC gaming, they're just two areas in which the PC trumps consoles. Also, its worth pointing out that the PC as a platform will be around forever. It's not like they're going to disappear off store shelves like the dreamcast. The option of PC gaming will always be there. PC retail sales are up 48% this year so I can't really see it dying.

Anyway, I might be wrong. And I dont doubt that most of gaming will mostly be done on consoles, but I dont agree that PC gaming will completely die.

The option of PC gaming will always be there.

So will the option of unprotected relations with hookers, but we all know no that isn't a good idea.

Honestly, I think the price of PC gaming is getting bashed just a tad too much.

In 2003, I bought a new pc worth $1000. (Full package, screen & legal version of windows xp included)
The only thing I had to upgrade so far was my vid card, which cost me $250.

This system is still capable of playing the latest games quite nicely.
HL²:Ep2, TF2, Bioshock, UT3 demo, ET:QW, etc...

So $1250 for 4 years of gaming is quite a reasonable price.

I'll TRY Crysis on that machine with dx9, see what it gives...


I did recently purchase a new system.
Sure, load times are better, graphics are a bit prettier and there's a bit more FPS.
But it doesn't change the gameplay all that much.
I just consider the dx9 to dx10 change the same as a new gen console.


My point is that proper PC gaming doesn't have to be a lot more expensive than console gaming.
Seeing as you are reading this, you already have a computer, so:
A = The extra cost of a gaming PC
B = The cost of a console + the extra cost of console games (usually more expensive than the PC version)

A can pretty much equal B

I agree PC gaming can be a lot more expensive, but it just doesn't have to be.
This while having a great gaming experience as well!


PS:
Someone in the podcast said... "Smokin' hot alienware computer?"
Build it yourself and save some $$$!