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I think the majority of the console players do not play their games<br>
online. If the competition ladders are any showing of the
ratio of<br>
online players, the PC gamers far out number the consoles.<br><br>
As for ad-hoc jump on a server, play MP on consoles, the same<br>
could be said for PC based users that don't participate in any<br>
formal competition.<br><br>
Assuming similar ratios, which I don't think is unreasonable,<br>
I would say just for the fact that online gaming on the PC has<br>
a significant head start over consoles.<br><br>
One can not refute the statements made by Activisions CEO<br>
in their quarterly earnings report however. Look at the
emphisis.<br><br>
<a href="http://investor.activision.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=179834" eudora="autourl">http://investor.activision.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=179834</a><br><br>
"He is excited about the console expectations, hence they are<br>
raising their earnings expectations."<br><br>
One has to wonder as the console approaches the equivalent of a<br>
PC with game ports only and an ethernet module, and PC's<br>
and video cards remain expensive, if consoles will dominate the<br>
market?<br><br>
On the other hand, note that the consoles are a "stake in the
ground"<br>
on graphics technology, and PC Games are with the powerful GPU's<br>
drive down the cost of the GPU's, such that by the time they are
produced<br>
in the Consoles, the costs aer significantly reduced. Eliminate
the<br>
PC market, and the GPU in the new console would clearly drive up<br>
the prices of consoles.<br><br>
Drop all PC support now. PC's for general support, Windows,
Office,<br>
Web browsing, are $350. No PC based GPU's. The console gets
closer<br>
to a PC with a HD, DVD, and MB all hidden, plus a new GPU that<br>
has come out at $595. NVidia/ATI need to make their R&D,
engineering back,<br>
and no PC market, the Console market will have to pay it.<br><br>
How popular will a X560 be at $999? $400 box plus newly introduced
GPU?<br>
I will put my assessment on the line to say that PC Gaming drives
down<br>
the cost of consoles, which is the reason consoles are always a
generation<br>
or two behind at least on the GPU's.<br><br>
Honestly, if a console had a controller with a wsad set, it is a PC.
Console<br>
users willing to pay to have the best GPU's? With PC gaming gone,
the<br>
new GPU's would be introduced in the consoles...<br><br>
<br>
At 02:25 PM 11/17/2005, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>The
majority of people buying CoD2 or any FPS does not even play <br>
online.</blockquote><br><br>
Is this because the majority plays them on Xbox or Playstations?<br>
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<tt>S1,-------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Mark J. DeFilippis, Ph. D
EE defilm@acm.org<br>
defilm@ieee.org<br><br>
<br>
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