I must laugh. It seems that shutting off the functions of logic and reasoning are necessary to enjoy a console, I mean, this article is complete and utter nonsense.
With a loaded friends list, the console pops up a little notification to let you know when friends are online. Press the guide button and you can send them messages or invite them to play games. Sounds trivial, and PCs were able to do likewise for quite some time. Nonetheless, consoles had never been this easy or user friendly and I was more than pleasantly surprised.
So basically, you admit that the PC is able to do all of this already (xfire etc), yet you applaud the console for catching up with online functions years, decades after the PC had this. Silly.
You can kill someone without the text "HAXOR!" and a long list of swear-words appearing on your screen
Can't say I experience that often. Perhaps you should try some games that don't have 'Counter-Strike' in the title.
You suddenly forget to worry about other gamers using wallhacks or aimbots. I'm sure it still happens, but it's an issue far less widespread than on the PC
Oh, wait, so that aiming assistance they bundle in nearly all console FPS games is not an aimbot? The gamepad is so useless they all have aiming assistance that usually can't be turned off. Just more proof that the console is for DDR, fighting games and FIFA. Not shooters.
I could go on and on. All this, whilst sat on a couch as opposed to hunched over a desk.
Wait, what, did something suddenly happen that prevented you from moving your PC to the living room? Did someone glue it to the floor? Did someone suddenly prevent your PC from being connected to the TV, from running 1080p games (unlike consoles that scale up 720p or lower games), from using wireless peripherals, heck, even from using the Xbox 360 controller? You can do all that. You've been able to do all that for years. How can you just ignore that, and treat couch gaming as if it's something only the console can do, and that PCs simply
have to be in the corner, on a desk? That's just completely bonkers.
It isn't just about the gaming, either. Having spent years downloading demos and patches, whilst trying to avoid signing up to file-sharing websites, it became clear that the whole experience was made easier via Xbox Live. Hundreds of game demos are just a few clicks away, and game patches are applied automatically.
Heard of Steam? Yeah, that online service on the PC that has more active accounts than Xbox Live and PSN.. Combined. It does all that, has done it for a while now.
On the PC, I'd use an instant messenger, TeamSpeak, All Seeing Eye and a few other bits and bobs to create the entire experience. With Xbox Live, all that functionality and more is just ready and waiting.
Steam again. And, of course, given the open platform you have the
choice to use any applications you like. Unlike certain closed down platforms where all you can do is what the platform owner lets you do.
Gamers who still believe that online multiplayer belongs to the PC should, at the very least, consider trying Xbox Live. As a former PC gamer, I never thought I'd see the day where a joypad would replace my keyboard and mouse. However, having joined Xbox Live in 2005, I've never looked back.
That's great, you're a gimp. I'm not going to go ahead and pay for an online service I already get for free on the PC, while also being tortured by a useless gamepad, low resolutions and jittery framerates provided by overpriced 2004 era tech.
I'm sorry, this kind of complete CRAP just couldn't go unchallenged. Your article is as full of holes as MS' business model.