Return Fire

Tom might not have understood my point in the Harry Potter column I wrote earlier this month, but I certainly got where he was coming from last week in his piece on PC and console gaming. How could I miss it? I’ve read the same “can’t we all just get along?” thing a thousand times before, in game magazines, in newsgroups, and on websites and message boards. I haven’t gone more than a few days without seeing an article like this since the launch splash of the PlayStation 2 put a lot of PC gamer knickers in knots.

Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is about comparing PC and console games. Platform has never meant that much to me. I’ve always divided my time between the console of the moment and a computer, going way back to when I split the summer of 1984 between War Games on the ColecoVision and Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One on the Commodore 64. Games are games, whether you snottily separate them into “computer” and “video” categories or not.

But I do have my preferences, just like everybody else. And plenty of patience. So even though I also remember being stuck with the Wrong System—for me it was the Sega Master System in the middle-to-late 1980s when every half-decent release was an exclusive on the NES (hey, I liked the Sega sports games)—I’m way past the desire to play the game of the moment. Well, past the desire enough that I’d never consider buying a console system just to play a particularly hot title. Even a particularly hot Star Wars title that everyone is drooling over at the moment. Especially when said hot Star Wars title will be out on PC before Halloween.

Basically, I think I’ve gotten to the point that I know my gaming tendencies well enough to decide on a system as opposed to individual games. I don’t get stuck with any more Sega Master Systems. My mistake-proof status is aided by cross-platform development that makes it virtually impossible to screw up when making a selection at the sales counter these days. Almost everything good will make it to the system of your choice. As long as you’re not a lemming who has to be playing every game of note before sundown on release day, there’s no need to spend that extra $250.

Of course, you might want to take all of the above with a grain of salt, since I own all three console systems plus a GameBoy Advance SP.