Are you suggesting that Oblivion uses the full potential of the Xbox360? That it's game code has been finely crafted around this hardware, to make full use of all available shader technology, full use of all six hardware threads running simultaneously? On a game engine that was designed to run on only one thread?
Nope. I didn't suggest any of that. I'm simply saying, when you have the hardware available on the Xbox, or any console for that matter, you have a finite ammount of capability. With a PC, you don't. Yes, games will no doubt get better and more optimized in the coming years. They always do. But, there is a limit with a console. You will hit the wall at some point. But, on the PC, developers can, and do, code for the future. Hardware will get better, so a game that is tough to run now, will be much better in time.
Look at Far Cry. When that game came out a few years ago, it was a beast. It took a monster PC to run it with all the goodies turned up. But now, its not that hard. Same with Doom 3, Half Life 2 and Battlefield 2. Those games were all big time hardware killers, but now will run, and run VERY well, on a mid range machine. The developers can do this, because they know hardware will get better and faster, so in time, more and more features and effects can be turned on and turned up.
But, that isn't possible with a console. The developers have a set limit, and its up to them to get the most out of it. They can't hope that in a year the GPU of the Xbox gets a bump in speed, or the console gets more ram, or the processor gets faster. And because of all this, there is only so good a game can look. This brings me to your next point.....
Sure, the game runs on the 360. But it's sure as hell not optimized for it. It may be using a lot of resources, but only because the machine is chugging around unoptimized code.
I'm not sure how you can say that? You make it sound like Bethesda found out a week before the game shipped that they needed a version for the Xbox. Thats just silly. They knew well in advance what the specs of the system were, and what they needed to do. Now, thats not to say that if the game came out now, it wouldn't look better. All games will get better with more time. But, thats because EVERY game can be better optimized, both PC and console games.
Ports are no indication of hardware performance. Do you look at NFS:Carbon and say that the 360 is "weak" because EA can't write a ****ing good-looking game to save their skin?
No, I don't. I've never once said the 360 is weak, this is where you are misunderstanding me. I've said, and will continue to say, that its capabilities and graphical ability are good, just not as good as what a PC can do. Thats all.
The trick is going to be comparing similar types of games to each other. Games written specifically for each version of hardware, and not ports.
Ok, then using my previous example, can you find me a FPS on any console right now that looks as good as Crysis does now, in its yet unfinished state?? Because, as of yet, I haven't seen anything currently on or coming soon to the consoles.
For example, can you show me a 3PS on PC that looks as good as Lost Planet?
Well, considering that is not a very popular style game on PC, thats a bit tough. And, even though its not a
3RD person shooter, Crysis
IS a shooter. So, aside from not having your character in frame, its basically the same thing. So, it still gets my vote.
Don't miscontrue my point, though. I'm not trying to say that PCs "suck". What I'm saying is that consoles DON'T.
Then we are in agreement. I think they all have their positives and negatives.
And definitely don't forget the price part of the argument. Any graphical improvements you get on a PC just aren't worth that kind of extra money, in my opinion.
Like I've said a couple times, you have to remember, a PC isn't JUST for games. Yes, they cost a good deal more than any of the consoles. But, the ammount of things that can be done with them is also a good deal more than any of the consoles.
Hilg
