Some genres also just work well on the PC and struggle on the console. Any real time strategy game will struggle on the console because the controls are far too complicated to handle with just your two thumbs and index fingers on a controller. This makes playing RTS games on a console difficult and as a result of that, just not fun. They tried releasing StarCraft for the Nintendo 64, and that just flopped. However, the developers of Halo Wars, which is an RTS set in the Halo universe, promise to make the RTS playable on a console. The PC has dominated RTS games and the WarCraft and StarCraft series are incredibly popular and two great series of games that console gamers will miss out on. First person shooters are also awkward at first on consoles: aiming with the thumbstick is not as quick or precise as using a mouse, so the skill level is somewhat capped for console players. Veterans of games like Counter-Strike know how quick one can aim with the mouse, pulling off shots known as snapshots and such, that are just impossible on a thumbstick, but this is mostly for online multiplayer play. As a single player experience, the FPS on a console is still quite well done, but adjusting to a thumbstick after years of using a mouse is a bit awkward.
The next-gen consoles and HDTV have brought the consoles up to par with the PC, though. The graphics on an HDTV are stunning and delivers sights the PC can’t (unless you have a monstrous computer monitor). Xbox LIVE still charges a subscription fee just to be able to play online, but the PlayStation Network is going to be free – so that’s a step in the right direction. Renown PC strategy games, namely Sid Meier’s Civilization, are being ported to the console with Civilization Revolution, and its previews are looking very good.
Consoles have stepped it up and are almost on the same playing field as PCs. The main difference now is the ease of customization on the PC and the less restricted online play. The PC was always catered to a certain niche of techie and nerd mix, and that niche is losing numbers to the consoles. Consoles are more than just game machines, as well – they are online capable multimedia players. The consoles are transforming into what PCs offered exclusively, and thus the niche of PC gamers are either turning traitorous or trying to stick true to their roots. I know I have turned traitorous – since I was ten, I have been an avid PC gamer and preached PCs over consoles because of their more advanced features and better graphics, but the Xbox 360 offers pretty much the same thing now. My apologies to hardcore PC gamers, but the cost of keeping up with system requirements of new games and the lack of good, new and exclusive games makes the transition to a console not so painful. I predict that the PC gamer market will remain a small niche of the world.
