I have been a dedicated gamer for a very long time now, and for most of my years the platform of choice has been the PC. Somewhere along the road, there was a shift to consoles, mostly due to financial reasons, as the upgrade costs were making it almost impossible to keep the computer on the cutting edge and still leave enough money for games by the end of it all. Still, for a while there was a back and forth between the PC and the Super NES, and so on. Then, a paintball phase took over in a big way, and gaming took a back seat for a while. When I got the withdrawls to a painful extent, Microsoft’s XBox was on the horizon, and I had been watching it with interest for quite some time already. A close friend of mine was dedicated to joining me in a day-one experience and with new consoles, Halo, Gotham Racing, and DOA 3, we jumped into console gaming with both feet.

Little did we know, that we had suddenly become lower forms of life, and had somehow betrayed a higher calling. Or, at least that’s what PC gamers and editors seem to want us to think. It is interesting to read what the editors of PC Gamer are writing in their issues these days. The August 2006 issue screams on the cover that is features, “70 Console Crushing PC Games Previewed,” [emphasis mine] and that “Microsoft unveils World’s Greatest Gaming Platform!” Now, presumably the second great headline refers to the PC, though I was under the impression that Microsoft had unveiled that a while back. But, perhaps they are referring to Windows Vista, which isn’t really a platform, but merely an operating system upgrade. However, fear makes people do strange things. And there is a lot of fear in the air. Consider some of the things in this one issue alone:

Gary Whitta’s article entitled, “Bring on the Gimps” talks about the wonders of cross-platform gaming between XBox 360 and PC gamers, and how (despite his recent drop in shooter skills) he is going to completely own all console shooter fans. Why? Well, of course console players are both morons for chosing a console in the first place, and unable to hit a single target with a gamepad. Unfortunately, Mr Whitta was not doing his research. A few short months ago IGN had two top shooter gamers compete in F.E.A.R. One was using a mouse and keyboard, and the other the 360’s gamepad. Both were playing on a PC. The match was close, but the gamer with the gamepad came out ahead!

Anyway, back to the issue. While simultaneously bashing console gamers, the editors of PC Gamer sing songs of rejoicing that all peripherals available for the 360 will now work for Windows Vista. A few paragraphs later they continue calling console gamers noobs, and then in a hilarious couple of lines they reassure their hard-core and high-tech audiance that they need not be afraid of the gaming settings Microsoft is putting into Vista to make things easier. If they can use their computer’s calendar, they can likely get a game to run. Now who exactly is a lower form of life?!

Things see-saw from there. On the one hand there is lamenting that great games are going to consoles. The editors at Maximum PC are guilty of this as well, and their latest issue does the same thing… but then again, I seldom agree with much Thomas McDonald writes. “Why is Epic bringing Gears of War to a console? Their best work used to come to the PC. Why? Why? Why!?” And then, a few pages later…. it is all celebration because they are getting a port of Bioware’s Jade Empire. In fact, they are thrilled that they will be eventually getting the entire trilogy. Again guys, do some research. Game one is the whole trilogy, but you didn’t hear it from us console idiots.

My point here isn’t to start a system war, but it sure is to respond to one. The fact is, I continue to play a lot of games on the PC. I’ve just completed reviews for a host of PC games for GamerWithin, including SiN Episodes, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Darwinia, Titan Quest, and others. But I’m also a dedicated console gamer, and I would not have missed Ninja Gaiden, Halo, Fight Night Round 3, Far Cry Instincts: Predator, and Rockstar Table Tennis for anything. And I am sure not going to miss Gears of War no matter what. But for PC gamers, the high-end titles are becoming less and less a domain they can lay claim to. Gaming is moving off the office chair and onto the couch and the HDTV. And even game genres that PC players felt were theirs exclusively are theirs no longer. The MMORPG market has moved to consoles, and though the breakthrough title has yet to come… it will. The RTS was once considered impossible to pull off properly without a mouse, but The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth 2 has just proven that a RTS on a console can work very well indeed. Maybe the PC Gamer editors are not writer their resumes and applying to the Playstation and XBox magazines just yet, but you can bet they are nervous, and it shows in their work.

The MGL recently signed on a team of four gamers for a cool $1 million contract, and a solo player for $250,000. Their game of choice is Halo 2. They don’t get that kind of money because they fumble about with a gamepad, trying to line up the odd shot. I’ve seen pros play, and you put any of these guys or gals (or anyone even 1/2 their skill) against Mr. Whitta and I can assure you that a certain PC editor will be choosing his future words with greater care. For that reason alone, I’m very excited about cross-platform gaming as well. Time to teach the PC elite that skills are skills, and nobody hides behind their so-called superior tech.

- Martin VanWoudenberg