Is The Xbox 360 a min-spec PC?

360 Magazine: More and more games require an installation, so what’s the difference between an Xbox 360 and a PC?

[Biglet]

What's the difference between a giraffe and a donkey? A house and a chair? A six-pack of Bud and a fossilised T-Rex thigh bone? My inane analogies and someone who can't be bothered to read the article this links to?

[JhawkFootball06]

@Biglet
Those analogies are spot on, kinda like whats the difference between you and a smart person?
/s

Why even post if you're not even going to read the article?

[guitarded77]

Minimum spec... maybe. Maximum fun... for sure.

[Lazy_Sunday]

It's really funny to read the article, because it is a 360mag, it completely omits the existence of the PS3.

[Raoh]

makes it even funnier when scea has the work computer in it.

ran linux on ps2 and pc as a low end pc.

when the xbox's can not.

[slayorofgods]

I always thought of the xbox 360 as a pc gaming device that could be hooked up to a tv. Sure there are a few 360 exclusive games and the ability to stream media such as netflix as well. But overall, the games released on the xbox felt and were pc games, i.e. wrpg's / shooters.

I think alot of people enjoy the ease of being able to play games without upgrading of worrying about ever buying a gpu. A lot of anti pc gamers simply never even attempt to buy a graphics card at all. So, the 360 is simply easier to start gaming on.

However, if you have the knowledge of installing gpu's, hands down pc gaming is better.

[InNomeDiDio]

It's Microsoft ... what did ya expect? A coffee machine?

[IrishAssa]

it would certainly be a cooler machine

[Perjoss]

coffee machines are nice, but you cant play Forza on them

[IrishAssa]

Nah I mean cooler...as in it won't melt itself

[sashimi]

It can't play Forza but it can help you stay awake while playing forza :P

[superfranky]

i dont know why any self-respectful gamer should stick to this gen consoles anymore
for good price you can get so much more in terms of visuals on pc

[SH0CKW4VE]

I agree with everything except the visuals part.

You get so much more than simply better visuals.

[superfranky]

true, also you get so much more to use
but for games you can get excellent Steam and dont buy your games on a physical disc anymore

[GamersRulz]

What you said is very wrong because in the end of the day it's all about GAMES.

also you talk like Current gen games are unplayable or very lacking in visuals where in fact they are holding its own compared to PC.

also your statement neglected all previous generations ( PC or Consoles ) and made them totally obsolete, its like newer PC games are better than anything before because of visuals only.

[superfranky]

games are games and tend to get old very quickly
on pc they get old not that quickly because of the community and a that they are genuine better on pc
if you can play your games on pc with better community, better graphics and services like Steam, why bother with 6 year old console? Isnt it time to move forward, time is not going to repeat itself and you just dont get whats best for you

[frostypants]

You ignore the fact that the game pipeline for PCs is terrible. Unless you count indie and strategy games...which don't need all that horsepower anyway.

[torchic]

I think in an opposite way. I will get tons of disagrees but honestly I don't understand why a person would trouble themselves and religiously upgrade their PC just to play a select few games with more stability and better graphics. I definitely do see the difference in performance between console and PC, and I would like to have that, but not at the costs (financial, time, comfort).

I remember the day I bought a PS3. I literally spent 5mins in the shop. got in, got the box, got an extra controller, went to pay. set the whole thing up in lesser time. you'll never hear a story like that in PC gaming. point I'm trying to make in general is that PC gaming is not convenient. and in 2011, things which are not convenient will not be successful. there was a great quote I heard the other day, and the dude said that Apple doesn't suffer as much piracy issues as other media with the App Store because it's just easier to buy the app off the App Store than to pirate it. I pay 70 euros for a PS3 game because it's just easier to buy the game or wait for a price drop, than to pirate it. you get the point.

I fully understand though that for some people upgrading PC's is a hobby, a passion. I used to have friends who were mad about RC cars and would spend thousands upgrading them, making them faster. but for those people who do it solely for gaming? I don't know. I honestly do not see the point.

[Fanbot]

no, min-spec is too high.

[Perjoss]

no matter how hungry he looks, do not feed him!

[pucpop]

I would rather blow 300 quid on a 2nd GPU. EACH TO THEIR OWN!!

[LightofDarkness]

It's between low and mid, with the ability to enable 1 or 2 "high" settings (this is according to Crytek, Dice, id and other seasoned PC developers). That's just in terms of graphical ability, though.

As far as utility goes, it's just as much a PC as the PS3 (a little less so than PS3, with standardized HDDs only and lack of web browser); that is, it has all of the negatives and none of the positives. You have mandatory installs, a PAID closed network online solution (not so much with PS3), mandatory and frequent patches/firmware updates (even on launch day) and all this with little to no upgrade option (certainly no performance options), no modability and over-priced/proprietary peripherals.

[Fishy Fingers]

Neither console are like a PC, they may share similaritise like, hardware or features (installs etc). But they lack the advantages and the open nature you can only find with a PC.

[frostypants]

I personally think the LACK of open nature of consoles is a strength, in that it forces developers to be as efficient as possible. They can't just say "well, it would run better if you spent $300 on a GPU upgrade".

The trade-off, of course, is that PC games are in a state of constant evolution in terms of graphics, where as consoles are for the most part trapped in 6-year cycles (aside from improvements made as devs get more comfortable with their hardware). PC games also tend to be more open to user-generated content.

But it cannot be denied that consoles do have their benefits. Standardization also minimizes in-game hacking and levels the playing field in terms of control inputs.

[ZombieAssassin]

Nah you can usually install mods on a min-spec PC...although from what I hear if you Jtag ur 360 then it is possible to get some mods.

[WitWolfy]

The mods on the JTAG aren't that great really, just another way to steal games from developers. The day the JTAG can run XBMC with sound I'll be impressed