Cool Games Are Not Just For Consoles Anymore

As I hit 'Submit' on my pre-order for Mass Effect for PC the other day, it dawned on me...what am I doing? I have already bought that game for my Xbox 360 and completed it (which just died a week ago..yup Red Ring of Death). In fact, the sole reason I bought an Xbox 360 in February of 2007 WAS so that I could play this fantastic, next-gen, ground-breaking Xbox 360 "exclusive" RPG.

Meh.

Don't get me wrong. Mass Effect is indeed one of my favorite games to date, and I enjoyed it immensely. The story was rich and interesting, the graphics were stellar and the game play was phenomenal. In fact in an earlier blog entry I suggested that BioWare make Mass Effect into an MMORPG.

But why is it coming to my PC now? Or, why are a lot of popular console games being ported over to PC? I've noticed a huge trend now with video game makers - that they make an A-Title game for limited release on say the PS3 or 360 and see how it goes - then if it's popular they port it over for the PC population. For a good couple of decades there has always been this sibling rivalry of sorts betwixt console gamers and PC gamers. Each has valid arguments as to why theirs is better (read: e-peen). However, due to modern technological advancements in graphics and power, the line between the console and PC is getting thinner and thinner, almost blurred if you will. The super machine console of the past is now competing with the modern PC neck in neck.

With the advent of DirectX 10 and Windows Vista, we finally have a PC platform that renders beautiful graphics on par with either the PS3 or 360. In fact, they are so close, that there are now games that will play on either the 360 or the PC, and the players can PLAY EACH OTHER on their respective systems. Wow! Look at MMORPG's as well...Final Fantasy Online has been doing this successfully for quite some time, and now Age of Conan is about to do the same later this year. Five years ago, we would have never thought this possible, yet it's happening.

The opposite of this trend happens as well. Games originally developed for the PC are being ported over to the Xbox/PS3. Take Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars for example. Originally a PC franchise now available on the 360. Another game like this is World In Conflict.

I now have Assassin's Creed Director's Cut for PC and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for PC, and now Mass Effect for PC on it's way - and a dead Xbox 360 that at first broke my heart, but it is turning out that I may not miss it as much with all the games I want to play, no longer exclusive to the now $400 paper weight known as a Red-Ring-Of-Deathed 360. Oh well, I guess I'll just continue to wait patiently for my RMA UPS box to arrive, and continue my game-playing uninterrupted.