Ok lets fill this section with game threads Which system do you game on? Multiple answers are ok. PC/Mac Xbox360 PS3/PS3 Slim Wii PSP/GP2X/N DS iphone/n-gage/other phones Xbox/PS2/PS1/Gamecube Older gen consoles Arcade Other
I started PC gaming after buying our first computer in December '96; tossed MS Flightsim '95 and Tomb Raider 2 into the basket with all the other stuff. Around 2000, we bought a PS2 and tried out a couple of games on it, but I found the console control system inferior to the PC one. The PS2 ended up being our DVD movie playback unit and got plenty of use, so it was worth the $$.
Bought a PS1 in 1997 and a IBM Thinkpad to play IndyCar 2 and Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 2, then a Dreamcast just to play F355 Challenge in 1999. Got my new Core i7 machine with three Asus monitors running Eyefinity this week. Also, two more XBox 360's so I can play FM3 on triple-screens. Will wait on PS3 until GT5 comes out. Yes, I'm suffering from OCD.
When I was like 5 I used to hang around the arcades! haha or if we went shopping my mum would drop me off at the computer department and I'd just play the games while she went shopping The 1st system I got was an Atari 2600. Had I known about twin galaxies as a kid I would have a few of those world records I'm sure! Then I went C64. That really was the best system. Cartridge, tape, diskette it had everything! Some of those tape games used to take 20mins to load for a kid that's like FOREVER!! Between the C64 and PC I played with every other system ever made between all my friends plus more trips to game stores hahaha. Nintendo/Sega/Amiga/Amstrad/Atari. I even won the game Wonderboy on Master System by getting top score of the day at some shop. We had MicroBee's at skool I also won an Atari Lynx II but they didn't send me any games with it, then I went o/s for a few months so I forgot about it. I still have it somewhere... it was better then gameboy and about the same as the Sega Game Gear hardware wise but it just didn't have the 3rd party developers Sega/nintendo had, so the Lynx died and less then 100 games were ever developed. Got my 1st PC in the mid 90's 486DX2/66 himem.sys anyone Was also doing COBOL/C/VB programming and then I discovered Doom haha. When Quake shareware came out, the UNIX teacher was always late so we loaded Quake on a Dec server and was introduced to LAN gaming b4 that it was dialing up to the other guys PC!!! Doom/2, C&C, GP2, Quake were games I recall playing on dialup. Quake forced me to upgrade to Pentium power. Actually I went and got an AMD K6 chip which had MMX!! haha. I didn't get a 3d card till the Voodoo2 cards came out. It was one of the NFS games that I 1st played in 3d. I also started buying PCGAMER(UK) in 1995 which I still have a sub too. Recently tho my PC hasn't been up to the task of playing the latest games and I have been waiting for corei7/win7/dx11 so in the mean time I went and bought an elite 360. Which is funny because prior to that I was anti-console Actually enjoying the 360 experience mainly because I game with my buddies and it's easy with the voice over to talk ****. Usually drinking beer too Only problem now is finding the time to play late nights and holidays is the only way
Apologize in advance about this rambling and long post ... I have been hooked on the PC platform for the last 20 years primarily playing racing sims. Started with the first Need for Speed. Eventually graduated to GP Legends and GT Legends. GP Legends is the greatest racing sim in the world IMO. Word of warning - You need to be a masochist to get decent at it. The driving dynamics are really spot on. I initially started playing with the keyboard controls using the arrow keys - boy that was tough. It took me several weeks to be able to do a proper lap on the old circuits. Got a Ps2 in the meanwhile and played GT3 and GT4. GT3 was a blast - I worked myself through 99% of the game. GT4 was graphically superior but I didn't feel the urge to complete the whole game. Bing burnt out, I just downloaded a cheat and played with a few cars that I wanted to try. I am kinda ambivalent about GT5 - I want to give it a go but am not interested in slogging through it. Loved the F1 simulation on PS3 - it was quite good. I like it as much as the old F12002 and GP3 pc games. Between PC and console games, I believe the consoles have the advantage in terms of high powered graphics and they work out of the box. The PC games are easier to navigate through, have infinite download and upgrade capabilities - lot of the good games have dedicated forums where the community provides additional circuits, cars, etc.
I started with CS 1.6 and CoD2 on PC awhile and only stopped when CoD5 came out. I was tired of buying a new video card for every new game and eventually I got to a point where I couldn't just buy a video card, I'd need a new CPU. Now I've got a 360 and I couldn't be happier (except for the noise!!).
Damn - most of you guys are neophytes!!! Speedcore and I have a similar heritage. I cut my teeth in the '70s on Arcade games and the original Atari 2600 (which I still own). I didn't go the C64 route, I had an Atari 400 computer (still own that too), which I used for some time. I learned to program on that puppy, which ultimately helped me tremendously when I achieved my Master's in Software Engineering (long story, but learning to program at a young age really helped my understanding of logic and development methodology). Went to the original Mac (don't have that), then a Mac IIci (still have it!), then a PC (still have it!), a Nintendo Entertainment System (don't have that), a PS1 (still have it!), Nintendo GameCube (have it), PS1 (still have it), Wii, and 2 Nintendo DS and a DSi (my daughters, but I play them all the time). I also have multiple emulators on my PC, including MAME, Atari800Win, a C64 emulator, an Atari ST emulator, a Sega Genesis emulator, and a few others. Needless to say, I grew up gaming. I am now 41, and I love to "hustle" kids...I often walk into a Target or WalMart where there's a game display and watch some hot shot kid putting up a number. I ask the kid if I can play, and most times, the kid looks at me like an old coot. That is, until I hand him his butt on a platter...it's priceless. My nieces and nephews always laugh and talk about me to their friends - "my Uncle is the best at video games". I've won a few contests in my day, and I enjoy them immensely! I do lament the games have become tepid and less original as the graphical capability has improved, but that doesn't deter me. Currently having a blast with Beatles Rock Band on the Wii. So, in summary, I still have and play: PC/Mac Wii N DS and Dsi PS1 Gamecube Older gen consoles Arcade (on MAME) Other (my Atari 400, Atari 2600)
XBOX 360 and PS3 here. 99% of my gaming is done on the 360. Microsoft hit a home run with LIVE. I hardly touch the PS3 anymore.
-1 PS3. lack of games is an increasing issue. No IR control. Console takes up too much room. just dusted off my 3DO, that was the **** in its day
I bought a Wii because of my girlfriend... I've regretted it ever since. Once you get bored with bowling (half hour), you realize it's god-awful to control any other game. I bought 007 Quantum of Solace for it and it is a PAIN to away have the stupid controller pointed at the screen the ENTIRE GAME. I'll probably pick up a PS3 the next time I feel like playing a video game... and that new Modern Warfare game has my interest big time. Still, nothing I've ever seen or played recently is as fun as my old Nintendo 64. ...
I started with the NES at 7 years old and ever since then I've had a pretty good collection. I currently have 2 NES', 4 Genesis', 3 Sega CD, 2 3DO, 3 Super Nintendos', 3 Sega 32X, Super Famicom, Sega Nomad, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, JVC XEye, Sega CDX, 2 Xbox, 2 Playstation 2, 3 Sega Saturn, 3 Sega Dreamcast, 3 Sega Master System, Turbo Grafx 16, 4 Playstations, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Atari 2600, 2 Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, Tales From The Crypt pinball machine, and a dozen or so arcade games. There might be a few I'm forgetting, but that list is embarrassing enough as it is. My excuse is that I was a game journalist for a while. Of this generation, the 360 is used most often with the Wii second, and then the PS3 behind. Since I'm into the older game generations the original xbox sees tons of use still with all the emulators on it. Having the older games on there is really convenient when I don't want want to hook up an older console. I also agree that games seem to be less original than past generations. As great as Call Of Duty 6 Modern Warfare 2 is, it really brings nothing new to the table. In the past year, Brutal Legend is just about the only game I have played that was really creative, and even that took a lot of ideas off an old genesis game.
Wow - I disagree totally...I love the Wii controller, it gives you a dimension you never got with old Joysticks or multi-controllers. That being said, I do believe that it can improve - the range is limited - you really have to be close to the IR bar to get it to register. Of course, the Wii does allow you to use the GameCube controllers as an option, but doesn't work for all games.
I started way back playing star trek ,hunt the wumpus and adventure on an hp3000 mainframe in the mid seventies. quite a ways from call of duty modern warfare2 hehe. graphics consisted of <+++> moving around. learned basic and fortran when i was in the sixth and seventh grade now i design datawarehouses. built a 486 system back in 89. I swear i probably could have an fcar by now if i would have saved all the money ive blown on pc's and games thru the years hehe. I dropped like 8k on that. A grand or more was on the whopping 16 megs of ram in it. but it ran red storm rising and wing commander great. only lasted a coupla years though till the pentium came out hehe. then doom,quake, team fortress, counterstrike... consoles had a magnavox odyssey, bally arcade, NES and yes a power glove too hehe. now days its mmo's on the pc mainly, ps3 for blue ray duty since it was the same price as a blue ray player, 360 for COD,forza,rock band all thrown out thru the projector to a 10 foot screen in hd. quite a leap from the 15 inch 16 color vga days or the static cling overlays for the tv with the odyssey.
All started out when my sister got a SNES for her birthday. I think I was about 4 at the time so we only really had mario. I got an N64 for my birthday a few years later, complete with the madcatz wheel and Grand Prix 1997 (GREAT F1 game btw, the damage was superior to many newer games released for the PS2 even). My best friend had a lamborghini game which I frequently played at his home and later we both got a PS1, both of us had driver and a number of F1 games and the TOCA series. With the PS2 I really got hooked and quickly got GT3 and DTM race driver (also known as TOCA something or other) and the F1 games...Out came GTA3 and I was ruined. Wasted many years of my life shooting hookers and pretending to be a gangbanger. Better than shooting heroin up my arm, I suppose. Along came many steering wheels and also started playing about with PC games. really got interested in LFS and Rfactor (for F1 mods) and also got an x360, mainly for Forza2 but I didn't find it that good. Still needed it for GTA4 however so it was a good buy after all (until it broke). My best friend and a few friends of ours play a lot of FPS such as BF2, counterstrike source and COD4 and played those games too...They're also interested in WoW but I don't get it and while they play that I hone my skills on LFS or Rfactor. Right now my PC is to old and broken to play COD:MW2, my X360 is broken so I don't game much at the moment. When I'm back in Europe though and got my business started I'm going to invest in a new gaming PC, a proper steering wheel/pedals/cockpit (already have a G25 but I want better!) and a PS3 (for GT5) and repair my X360 (to play about while I pretend to be working at the office).
Xbox360 leading the way then PS3 followed by PC/Mac. Most PC games are now getting released on console 1st. Unless you only play MMO's, consoles look like the best way to game at the moment.
I have all the Playstations, but gave up on PS3 and GT5 prologue when I finally learned about iRacing and rFactor. I'm running this sim nonsense on a MacBook via Boot Camp and Windows XP SP3, with an external monitor, of course. Thanks to ProCoach for telling me it was possible.
Similar age/story. I've got my young nephews into the atari 2600. When they come to my house they run upstairs and start playing combat and basketball. Got the 2600 in 1977 on christmas day and have been playing it ever since. It's fun to watch them get excited over playing the same games i did..kinda like passing the torch. A few weeks ago my nephews went back with my father to drive by an old house of ours in Virginia and when my dad (their grandfather) said that was uncle stu's old house boys one of them asked what room was the Atari set up in. The Atari 400 was my dads try to get me into computers at a young age but it only got me into computer games. I took classes in basic at the store i got the 400 from and walking out the door after class one day i saw the game caverns of mars on one of the screens and that's where my basic programming skills ended and my 30 year love of this game began. I still have my Atari 2600, Atari 400, Coleco Vision, Sega Genesis, NES, and PS2 set up on my upstairs tv and every six weeks or so i go up there and have a quick run at all the cartridges/disk (maybe 100 total). I'm going to buy one of those systems that plays NES, Genesis, and 2600 games for $50 but if i end up not using my actual systems i' gonna toss it since part of the charm is playing the game on the console and with the controller it came with. Today i pretty much play the XBOX 360. I don't really play on a regular basis but love when i try a game and get sucked into it enough to play it everyday 'till i beat it (Halo, Gears of war, Stuntman etc.) Xbox live is fun too. I play brainage everyday on my DS just to feel "smart". Have these sytems all up and running: atari 2600 atari 400 coleco vision sega genesis Nintendo NES Playstation 2 XBOX 360 Nintendo DS
Today I play almost exclusively XBox360 - it's by far the best system, IMO (console wars encouraged). First game I played was the original first-ever arcade game, Asteroids, when it toured around malls and stores as an attraction. Shortly after we got our first home computer, the ZX81. You had to enter in the programs yourself, so the games were pretty limited. They came printed on paper and you punched them in. After that we got a BBC Model A. Some years later I got an Atari 7800, then an NES, and around the same time a top of the line 80286 computer with an amber screen. I remember the first time we got an EGA monitor and I could see Leisure Suit Larry in color. Had everything in between... C64, NES, SNES, Dreamcast, Genesis, Gamecube, PS1, PS2, XBOX, and now have a Wii, XBOX360 and PS3. Wii is a great party machine to play with friends. XBOX360 is the best for "real" gaming.
The Wii game sports resort island is the best game so far for the system. I'd overlooked it as it seemed like a repeat of the games that come with the system. So many of the sports are alot of fun but you'd never know 'till you played it (swordfighting, skydiving, basketball). It's the first time my nephews and i spend several hours playing that system.
