FOR THE MAGAZINE: Microsoft – Your Opinions

[spacemonkey]

To be perfectly honest i'm a tad pissed off about Vista. If ur computer is so many years old u hav to upgrade to be able to get it (for this reason most schools and colleges are refusing it for the time being) and it takes up a lot more room on ur harddrive. I think this is a tad rediculous because an o.s is basically just an interface to allow you to acess your programs on the computer, so i don't want it taking so much space up because i'd rather use the space to install more programs that are of use to me. I know it's suppose to be more secure, but it'll only be a matter of time until a hacker gets in there (in fact I think i heard it already happened.) I also heard that some of the newer software will only work on vista, and older software may not play on the new o.s. After spending a lot of time and money on my PC game collection I sure hope this isn't the case.

Now I admit I don't know an awful lot about this Media Center Extender Kit thing or this idea of integrating both PC and Console games, but in my opinion it comes across as being a bit of a con to sell more vista O.S, and Bill Gates has never shown as much interest in the gaming side before. It's also a very well known fact that microsoft did, and still do overcharge on their software, (my ICT teacher even said that Bill Gates practically admitted that once.) So I did and still do see them as money grabbing corporation. I know this makes me sound like a real micrsoft hater. It's not that i hate them or think their bad, I feel that they hav done some great things in the past, it just scares me the idea of them having power over the gaming market too, and I don't always agree with the direction that they're moving the industry in. The fact that their trying to integrate both PC and console says to me that they're not wholly dedicated to the idea of console gaming, and as a console gamer I dislike this.

I do think microsofts idea to make the HD DVD an optional extra is a good idea for those who may not want one, but if u are interested in it then it adds quite a bit to the overall price. Because the ps3 has the blu-ray built in this is y the console is more expensive, it is therefore not overpriced because the xbox with it's extras added on will also set u back quite a bit and i don't think it actualy works out that much cheaper than the ps3. It's also true that blu-ray, due to its larger capacity (50GB), will hav a positive effect on the games that we play. I also heard that blu-ray discs capable of fitting on 100gb or even 200gb are being worked on right now. I knew someone who paid £500 for a 360 because they were so desperate to get one at launch (which later broke anyway.) If someone is willing to pay that much for a 360, then £425 for a ps3 isn't bad at all.

Now i'm not against the 360, i think it looks like an awesome console with great games, and as an all-in-one entertainment center i believe it could possibly rival sony. I feel that it's more in competition with the ps3 than the wii because they are more similar. I don't think any of the consoles are gonna loose, and it's better that they don't because competition is good and in the end benefits the gamers as the different companies strive to grab our attention with even more cool stuff. I wish Good luck to microsoft in its gaming endeavours, but i sure hope it never comes down to the fact that it will totally dominate the industry, that would be bad!!! Yup, as annoying as it can be, I sure hope Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo battle it out for our attention for a lot longer to come...

[Aircool]

Microsoft eh? Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Vista, hmmm, well I guess I'll be upgrading my PC at the end of the year so that's when I'll adopt. Once most of the problems are ironed out and DX10 hardware is cheaper.

360 is great, bought one around christmas time, along with a Wii and a PS2 with Guitar heroes & Singstar.

The PC is still king of games. However, stick a mouse and a keyboard on a 360 and it would be 'the' gaming platform. Whilst the PC is great for it's variety of games and the price of those games, at least with a console you know you're going to get decent peformance & stability (well, you should do).

All we need now is more games that break the ever decreasing number of moulds.

[skunko]

I don't really think anything has changed with Microsoft since the other two consoles have hit the market, one thing i did here was a rumour that microsoft might be planning to release a motion sensitive controller for the 360. If this is true certainly i will lose a lot of respect for the company, after all the criticism that has been leveled at sony for \"stealing Nintys ideas,\" surely this is a stupid move on the part of microsoft?