Resident_Hazard said:
Maybe this is just me, but I fail to see how a modern "high end" PC is more powerful than hardware that doesn't even exist yet. The only way to know this would be to have the hardware specs of non-existant future machines. Not that this really matters since PC gaming has long since fallen behind console gaming where sales are concerned. For one thing, just because a tweaked high-end PC could handily show-up a modern console, most consumers have a vastly easier time playing those complex games on a console, and most don't bother with what is otherwise an expensive endeavor for the regular consumer. Just because you can maybe build a super powerful PC for relatively cheap doesn't mean that's even remotely the norm for consumers. Consumers pay three or four times what you quoted for Macs that handle a great deal less than playing Crysis 2 at it's maximum settings. I guess what I'm saying is that, while you--a tech-ish guy--can cleverly build a powerful PC for the cost of a PS3, the average consumer is unable to do so, and is content buying an inferior machine already built by, say, Apple or HP or Dell or Compaq, etc. Especially if said consumer is using a laptop, which are typically no where near as easy to tweak as a PC tower that can just have more crap crammed into it. I'm a huge gamer, but I really don't care about constantly upgrading my computer so that I can play the latest games at their maximum settings. I just buy those games on the Xbox360. Of course, if they aren't on the Xbox360, I just don't bother. I have enough to play anyway.
Edit: Then again, it might not matter how the exact specs of the next Xbox and Playstation stack up against PC's of the same era anyway, since the only people that typically care about such differences are the extreme-minority tech-focused PC gamers looking to make those comparisons. Okay, and the occasional developer that has the time and money to want to make the most technically powerful game imaginable. |
I don't see how your post is relevant to what we were talking about. For the most part, I agree with what you are saying here. But consumer ease of use and hardware performance are independant topics.
As for predicting hardware performance X years from today is a matter of watching trends from previous years, and understanding upcoming technology. Future consoles built 2-3 years from now will be built on existing and upcoming technology. Technology can be predictable when it's built upon established processes, protocols and technologies. When you've seen A through L it's not too difficult to predict M given that M will be based on the concepts established by A through L.
The rEVOLution is not being televised