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12 reasons console gaming beats PCs

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Yes, the PC is hugely upgradeable - and a bloody good job, too, otherwise you'd never get to play all those games built with cutting edge technology by crazy Scandinavian ex-demo hackers. And anyway, a console is upgradeable: when the next Xbox or PlayStation comes out, we sell the old one and buy a new one. Easy.

And 11 more reasons the PC is an inferior choice for games...
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gusto - contributor
Published: 395 days 6 hours ago | Article | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii | Gaming | PC
 
 

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Fishy Fingers - 396 days 11 hours ago
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1 -
Agree with some. Obviously consoles are easier for the family, easier on the wallet, etc. But some people dont want to play with families, some people dont mind the expense of a PC to have the best visuals.

Others like, playing on a TV, it's just as easy to run a VGA/DVI/HDMI from your PC to TV as it is your console to TV. PC also allows use of all the pads. I play PES (PC) on my TV at 1080p with a pad. There was no hardship in setting it up.

I guess it all boils down to what you prefer, and at the end of the day, what ever your platform, be that DS, PC or anywhere in between, we're all still just doing the same thing, playing games at are fun to you.
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gusto - 396 days 11 hours ago
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1.1 - WoW
And you can't get World of Warcraft on a console.

Wait... maybe that is a good thing :)
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super-brad - 395 days 10 hours ago
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1.2 -
I thought the Xbox was able to play WoW?
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Swarm - 395 days 5 hours ago
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1.3 -
@1.0 One of the most sensible comments I've seen on this site, bubbles for you!
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El Padre - 395 days 4 hours ago
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1.4 -
You can play PC games on a TV, yes. But I don't want to carry my rig from the other room, connect it, then disconnect and carry it back to do some work.
You can use a gamepad on PC, but can you run the game using only a pad? Nope, you still need a mouse and a keyboard.
There's no split-screen (usually).
There are driver issues.
There's constant tinkering with the game settings to make it run smooth.
Basically, the PC's performance is better, but it comes at a cost of extra work.
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Jinxstar - 395 days 3 hours ago
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1.5 -
I agree fishy... Diablo 3 wont be available on consoles and that would be a huge miss for me...
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SaiyanFury - 394 days 12 hours ago
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1.6 -
I built myself a gaming PC and it can play games like Fallout 3 in higher resolution than the consoles. Mouse and keyboard controls are kind of wonky, but it works. I still like my PC for gaming reasons. I just got A Vampyre Story and it plays well. A simple point and click adventure, it reminds me of the Scumm games from LucasArts back in the 90s.
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Flair - 396 days 6 hours ago
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2 -
In my opinion, I do not like console gaming since I am heavily into modding. After a while you get bored of the environments, characters, vehicles, machines, etc... and you want to mod them.. PC games allow for that.
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The Matrix - 395 days 4 hours ago
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2.1 -
Spend hundreds to thousands of dollars upgrading software and hardware including graphics cards, sound cards etc. I like PC games but they just demand too much from you. I'll stick with the consoles.
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Flair - 395 days 4 hours ago
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2.2 -
Small price to pay for enjoyment...Imagine sticking with the default cars in rFactor....

or as a matter...Race Pro (Xbox 360)....Im sure you would get bored of the selection soon enough and want to add in your own custom cars from new seasons etc.
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Proxy - 395 days 4 hours ago
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2.3 - Not all PC's are expensive.
If all you want is a PC that will rival a 360 or PS3, then 500 bucks should be all you need.
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Lich120 - 395 days ago
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2.4 -
Its true, making a gaming machine that contends with PS3s and Xbox360s is about a 400-500 dollar en devour. Making one that is much nicer is roughly 1000 dollars. Making one that is pointlessly expensive, well, that can be any ridiculously high amount.

That being said, I too am a modder and it's nice to have access to the SDK. I buy some games on Console, some on PC. Its really a matter of what experience your looking for.

Also, making overgeneralized cracks about all WoW players is just rather ignorant. The difference between what he said and what South park did is south park was funny.
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Fanboi - 394 days 14 hours ago
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2.5 -
PC gamers are generally more educated and tech savvy, make sense really, since most them build their own PCs. Its the embodiment of hobby gaming. They're very performance driven and unlike console gamers they truly own the games they play. PC gaming community own their own dedicated servers, they own their file distribution networks, they even own the game's content via mods, maps etc. This usually lead to extreme sense of elitism because they are the only group of gamers who can actually make better games than the devs, and they often do. Just look Counterstrike and Team Fortress or even the countless mods for Oblivion for that matter.

With the console on the other hand is based on consumerism. You buy what's inside the box and by doing so you're identifying yourself with a brand and you committed yourself to buying and consuming products under the said brand. Which explain why there is so much fanboyism on the console, it also explain the nickel and dime and DLC policies to go with that.
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sidar - 396 days 1 hour ago
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3 -
I already have a HD tv but not in my own room, once i do ill be hooking my PC up and play games with a game pad and it will be like a console =D
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MUGEN - 396 days ago
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4 - Consoles are cheap alternatives
All Consoles are just cheap alternatives for the mainstream market. Any of the high end gaming PCs are much more powerful than any of the current consoles because all the current consoles are on a budget.
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Sprud - 395 days 22 hours ago
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4.1 -
That's great I guess, but I care more about the games than the hardware.
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Proxy - 394 days 18 hours ago
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4.2 -
Cliche.
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Fanboi - 394 days 14 hours ago
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4.3 -
Then I guess thats why you prefer the PS2.
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Steven Colbert - 395 days 5 hours ago
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5 -
I got a good gaming rig and all consoles so I enjoy having choices.I am enjoying Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead currently on PC.
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likedamaster - 395 days 2 hours ago
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5.1 -
Darn skippy, fallout 3 @1200 resolution's looking real sexy. Everything's maxed on that game. Unfortunately it didn't look that much better than my xbox360 besides the higher res. You check my gamertag and I have achievements for both. And so far I have 600+ saves. LOL.
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bviperz - 395 days 2 hours ago
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5.2 - I agree
With Steve, I like having choices, which is why I got all 3 consoles and a PC. But to say one is better than the other, no matter how you slice it, is silly. Just enjoy your choices have and don't hate the choices you don't have...
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Fanboi - 394 days 14 hours ago
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5.3 -
Its important to have choices, and I'm glad I do. With the PS3 and a kick ass gaming PC I'm set. With my uber comp I have the PC and 360 games covered. With the PS3 I have the console world covered. So I almost never miss out on any great games.
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Gorgon - 395 days 4 hours ago
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6 -
I'm amazed at the lack of flaming in this thread. Maybe the crowd here at N4G is growing up. Nice.
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Kigmal - 395 days 4 hours ago
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6.1 -
If it was 12 reasons why Xbox 360 beats PS3 or vice versa, there would be flaming. There are no PC fanboys here at N4G.

@Fishy

I don't get it?
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Fishy Fingers - 395 days 4 hours ago
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6.2 - ^
Cough.
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littletad - 395 days 4 hours ago
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6.3 - Kigmal
Neither do I.
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Fishy Fingers - 395 days 4 hours ago
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6.4 -
I'm a PC "fanboy" (I guess). I thought the cough would have been enough.
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Timesplitter14 - 395 days 4 hours ago
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6.5 -
There ARE PC fanboys here. It's just that they are, in general, less biased and older than console fanboys.
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Kigmal - 395 days 3 hours ago
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6.6 -
Well, we all have PC's and play games on them so whatever.
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Marceles - 395 days ago
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6.7 -
I've experienced most of the good games that have come out on PC and I think other people who have really understand how good PC gaming is. The only people that bash PC gaming are people that never really gave it a chance (or don't want to). It could be said about most gamers who only own one console, or own one and go to their friend's house to play another and think they have enough experience with a PC or a console to think they can bash it. I still can't believe I'm arguing with people on how great Crysis looks compared to any game out there.
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evrfighter - 394 days 23 hours ago
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6.8 -
There is no real pc fanboy group. But there are fanboys. The pc gaming crowd is split up into different communities, cs community, cod community, UT community, eye candy community (tech heads that spend $$$ to play games at max settings and usually float from new game to new game) Battlefield community (these are the older gamers and generally more mellowed out)(these are the older gamers and generally more mellowed out) and so on .

I'm sure if a group of people in the cs/cod community saw this there would be a pointless flame war and name calling.

In my case I use a wireless 360 controller for non fps/rts games. I'm not gonna lie it is handy for sports/racing/flying games. However when i'm not playing these kinds of games I'm usually scrimming cod4 or cs source. Not even in my dreams will I ever use that controller for shooters. I'm not sure how quick one can headshot on a console. But in those games it takes only a split second to catch a bullet in the head and I'm sure you know there is no auto aim to help us out.
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Timesplitter14 - 394 days 22 hours ago
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6.9 -
^^

I believe UT and CS people are older than Battlefield people
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TIKUP - 395 days 4 hours ago
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7 - not having keyboard/mouse is a bad thing!!
WTF no keyboard/mouse is a bad thing!!!! keyboard/mouse are essential for fps but i dont mind the ps3 controller because i kind of got use to the ps3 controller after bumming k/m!!
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Viper7 - 395 days 3 hours ago
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7.1 -
Its more about what you prefer,

Its confortable to play with both, on consoles the feeling is a bit more realistic as its harder to get the aim straight, on PC its about lightning fast reflexes and how well you can aim, both work fine and only rarely you blame the games for bad controls.

For RTS its a bit differend thing tough, the whole idea of Rts is to make up strategies and commands as fast as you can, making games like warcraft or starcraft seem like the player is playing a piano with his keyboard (hotkeys one after another for every move)

they are bossible for console controller but the action feels a lot slower, the genre could use a custom controller tough. A controller fully ment for rts just like arcade stick for fighters.
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ZeroXMD - 395 days 1 hour ago
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7.2 - Well,
if 360 (funny since how many rts are on it?) wouldn't be retarded and support Mouse and keyboard like ps3, then rts games wouldn't be a problem on consoles (another reason I want C&C 3 on ps3).

But they do need to make an RTS controller. Like one with a little touch screen on it or something. or heck, just allow mouse and keyboard for 360. I mean, WTF, it not having support for mouse and keyboard is ridiculous. Its Fcking microsoft. Seriously!
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thor - 395 days 4 hours ago
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8 -
1. No mouse and keyboard support - well PC games usually have the option to play with a controller if you so desire. Keyboard and mouse is a LOT better for shooters and RTSs.

2. Playing on TV - Valid point, but nowadays every PC can plug into your TV and TVs are now high enough resolution to display it properly.

3. It just works - Hahahaha no. There's less to worry about, sure, but recently, games need patching, some systems have inferior versions that don't work as well as they could, lots of games require installs - it doesn't "just work". If you have a high-end gaming rig, it will "just work" in exactly the same way. Sure, you'll have to tweak the settings probably, but you get better graphics than the consoles for doing so.

4. No need for endless upgrades - this makes no sense. Even the author makes the point that when the next Playstation or Xbox comes out he'll buy that.... endless upgrades. You can't play PS3 games on your old PS2 - so you had to upgrade.

5. Cheaper hardware - Yep.

6. The big 'p' - I think they are struggling for reasons here. How does piracy affect MY legitimate game purchase?

7. The Japanese, 8. No first-party support - effectively he's saying the PC doesn't have all the games the consoles have. Which is a valid point.

9. The lack of patch mentality - He's got it backwards here. On the PC devs regularly patch their games and always have. The newfound patch mentality on consoles means that we end up with games that are broken at launch (Socom).

10. Innovation, innovation, innovation - Portal was on PC. This comment is a wild stab in the dark. And please don't bring the Wii into this. The motion control actually fails (compared to what it promised anyway, that's why they're bringing in Wii motion plus).

11. Four-player family fun - Split-screen, whilst it has had somewhat of a resurgence this year, is still low on devs' prorities. KZ2 for example will never feature it.

12. Perception - Purely marketing I presume. This is a pretty lame comment to end on.

All in all, the consoles don't do much that PCs can't do. They are proprietry PCs effectively and convergence of technology means that next gen, they pretty much will be. Except that you'll HAVE to buy the particular system to play the particular games, rather than having one box you can play everything on.

We're going to end up, eventually, having 100s of devices around our home that do pretty much exactly the same thing, but you can't do away with even 1 of them because that's the only one that's compatible with playing your music/playing specific games/receiving a phone call on your network/watching a specific format of film.

Edit: OK there you go sorry about that. It was a numbered list corresponding to the points in the article.
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Danja - 395 days 4 hours ago
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8.1 -
dude using paragraphs or simply just pressing the enter key after each sentence would make ur post alot easier on the eyes...

Edit: Thanx...

I dont think console gaming is better than PC gaming thats very subjective , cause what I've noticed is that even though I own and play alot of consoles games , I still go out and buy certain games for my PC even though there also available on consoles....because it just plays better on PC..and the PC still has alot of exclusives games that will keep me coming back...

the one draw back for PC gaming though is it's so demanding to keep up with the technological upgrades..almost yearly
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8.2 vickers500 | 395 days 2 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show
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bviperz - 395 days 2 hours ago
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8.3 - ^Sure, maybe in the looks department^
But when you can run at smoothly at a 100+ frames per second with max settings at a higher resolution (1920x1200), I'd say the PC looks and plays MUCH better, at a VERY hefty price. But, like I said earlier, I love having choices.
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Danja - 395 days 4 hours ago
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9 -
well while I do prefer Consoles over PC gaming some games are just better to be played on PC....which is most times the better version..and I can always hook up my PC to my HD-TV...and play with a Bluetooth gamepad..
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urban bohemian - 395 days 4 hours ago
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10 - The list works until you say:
Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Stalker: Clear Skies, Spore & Crysis Warhead.

Its time to face facts; all the platforms have great games, if only we all had enough money to buy them.
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Xwow2008 - 395 days 4 hours ago
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10.1 - @urban will ur rigth about
blizzard games(best games on pc),and also multi platform games runs better on PCs(high end)and the pc can do every thing,play games,run programs,the best for multimedia,etc...
but in the end consoles is cheaper and have great performance especially
the ps3 they can run multimedia(pcs are better)and most important they have a lot of games from every genre, alot of amazing games that are not on PC and u don,t upgrade the consoles like pcs.
SO for me if i want a variety of use and 2 play rts and mmo games ill choose pc,and for the whole gaming experience ill choose consoles(simple as that)

note: i hate y people have 2 pay 2 play online on the 360.
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farhsa2008 - 395 days 4 hours ago
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11 -
thats it? only 12 reasons? i can name 100 more...
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Tony P - 395 days 4 hours ago
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11.1 -
Okay, I'm calling your bluff. List all 100.
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LethalToxins - 395 days 4 hours ago
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11.2 -
Unlikely. There are more reasons for PC than against it.
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BrunoM - 395 days 4 hours ago
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12 -
OFF TOPIC SORRY ...

hey i saw most of you were at a topic i read about 3 days ago about some one that put his psn name online so people were able to get home of him .. i got home for some tiimmeee now but my cusin well second cusin dosent have it and i dont really wanna gave my account away to him lol.. so can some one tell me where i can find the piost no luck looking on the ps3 part or some one that has it save some were please and thank you !!!!!
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thehitman - 395 days 4 hours ago
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13 - Consoles
Are greater in everyway EXCEPT for the catalog in games. If I could get all my favorite MMOs and RTS on my PS3 Id never turn on my PC again. All you need is a mouse and keyboard and your good. PC graphics are hugely overrated.
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theEnemy - 395 days 4 hours ago
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14 -
It's to game devs if they will include full Mouse and Keyboard support on their games.

Well I'm talking about the PS3 ofcourse. :D

Red Alert 3 (PS3) with full Mouse and Keyboard support please ?
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Timesplitter14 - 395 days 4 hours ago
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15 -
PC gaming is awesome, and so are consoles.

Play competitive FPS and RTS on PC

Play other games on consoles

EDIT : ''But when was the last time you played something truly innovative?''

Tell me what was more innovative on the X360. Don't name Bioshock, Fallout 3, Portal, etc... They were also on PC.

On the PC side, I could name STALKER, Civ 4, X3 Terran Conflict, Sins of a Solar Empire, etc....
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Information Minister - 395 days 3 hours ago
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16 -
"Oh, how we console owners point and chuckle at PC websites where the incumbent expert attempts to explain to some poor sap that his three-month old (and thus obsolete) quad-AMD 3000 and Nvidia Orgasmo-card won't actually run Generic FPS 10 because it's got driver 1.1 instead of 1.1a. Try this: go to shop, buy game, insert disc, game runs."

QFT! LOL @ Nvidia Orgasmo.
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