An opinion piece from ThatVideoGameBlog on how the new generation of consoles have started to steal away the hardcore PC gamers. Among other things it covers mods, graphics and which game genres suit what system the best.

This is where the real strength of the PC is: its modifications. It is no secret that to play games on a PC, it requires the user a little bit of tech finesse to finagle compatability issues, installation, frequent patches, and all the problems that come with owning a PC. However, because the games developers make sometime come with development kits, map editors, and even third party map editors, it makes it easy for players and designers to edit and create their own versions or complete remakes of games. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (and its predecessor, Morrowind) both have world editors available. This, however, is not available for the Xbox 360, and thus the console player does not have the option to play with and create their own fantasies or download user created content (with the exception of Shivering Isles, which combined Bethesda’s expansion along with many player created mods). Players of Half-Life had an immense library of mods to download and play for free: Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Firearms, Natural Selection, and Science and Industry to name a few. Many say that the real hardcore gamers are PC gamers because of the fact that it is so customizable. Even the Sims 2 falls in this category: there is a ton of downloadable content for the PC that all the console players are missing out on because the consoles are so restricted.

wohoo via thatvideogameblog.com »