I think he probably meant more that platform discussions rarely get anywhere other than increasingly high pitched, and throwing around words like "ignorant" and "intelligence."

The posts that have managed to avoid that in this thread, I salute you. But really, we're not saying anything here that hasn't been discussed a billion times.

Launching a new console with consumer level state-of-the-art tech is a costly project. In fact you're not even likely to turn a profit from hardware sales within the first years. The actual retail prices of new consoles is far lower than what they cost to produce, since they're not really cheaper than a computer with the same components. It's viewed as an investment for getting a foothold in the market. Once the production costs go down it's finally possible to sell your hardware at a profit. I see no problem in Microsoft and Sony finally reaping the benefits after selling hardware at a loss.

I doubt the average consumer would be willing to replace their console every 2-3 year. And Sony was clearly struggling with the PS3 early on with the price tag they put on it (which was still cheaper than the production cost).

It's the same on the PC, only you don't have to pay for Xbox LIVE Gold to do it. My 360 never sees online play simply because of the LIVE crap.

If it doesnt work then it doesnt work. Capitalism at its best. Let them fail. But thats still no excuse to sell 7 year old technology. If they want a 10-15 year console they need to update them over time or have a way for people to purchase upgrades for their consoles. Video card gets old in my pc I buy a new one. Why can't sony sell an upgrade for their console that is user friendly and easy to install? In any other industry if something doesnt work you find a way to make it work. That doesnt mean sitting on old technology and advertising it as new. The n64 had an expansion slot that was really never used. Probably because cartridges where going out. But it's been done before and could be done again.

Wasn't this thread supposed to be about mods? How did it even become about performance and PC vs console life cycles? That has nothing to do with the original post. Is it so difficult to answer the OP and tell him whether mods are worth it? Do you really have to jerk off about your PC performance here?

First off, as a former resident of NZ, Daytona's "nah bro" is heard and appreciated.

My experience of having played Skyrim on both PC and console is that yes-- mods are a cool part of the Skyrim version, but that goes for many games on multiple platforms and it's part of the decision you make when deciding your primary games machine. I find PC games more versatile and accessible; the keyboard and mouse offer a lot of freedom.

That said, it feels like Skyrim is optimised towards the 360 version. Despite the superior hardware of the PC, the graphics are practically the same as the xbox version and performance is dependent on your system. The PS3 version continues to suffer from performance issues after extended play. The xbox version is smooth as silk. To top that off, the perpendicular menu interface that works so well on a console controller is horrible and clunky on the PC. Half of the mods are necessary to run the PC version as nicely as the xbox: interface mods, texture packs and performance tweaks are in abundance. Most of the rest of them (and this is the biggest draw of the PC version) are content fixes that should have been in vanilla Skyrim but were omitted, e.g. craftable/improvable silver swords and other smithing oversights, graphics patches and quest unbreakers.

As it is now, it's not worth replacing your Xbox version with a PC one. The release of the creation kit today though may well change that assessment in the future.

PS, Morrowind was incredibly deep and I never found I had to mod it. I thought Oblivion was a bit on the shallow side and I had to mod it heavily to bring it to Morrowind's level. It was so unstable after that that I could rarely go twenty minutes without it crashing to desktop. Oops.

Ps2 it′s selling like hot cakes, broke the 150 million mark a couple of moth ago.. so its on his 12th life clycle ^^

When playing ANY TES/Fallout game...yes its sooo much better on computer for 3 simple things. Graphics, mods, and console commands to fix glitches.

U will NEVER see mods anytime soon on consoles because of MS/Sony nightmares of pirating.

Interesting enough... UT2007? for PS3 had mods...

Considering the answer therein lies exactly where the PC vs Xbox performance arguments start, I'd say you won't ever be able to avoid it.

Fact is, gaming is expensive. Another fact is, people go the easy route to do it with their friends.

Getting bitter or complaining because PC gamers chose the less-trodden route is both pointless and annoying. The arguments about money are more and more moot each year as the gaps in technology on the PC narrow, and the price of consoles rises. I remember when I used to have to buy enitre setups because the new acrhitecture was worlds different. Not so anymore. Today it is world's easier for me than the days of building, overclocking, and continually upgrading my thunderbird (still my fav btw).

I got 6 years out of my gaming rig that originally cost me $1000 dollars. Research and experience got me there. Two video cards later and one HDD later, its total is around $1500, since I don't buy bleeding edge parts. Now, add up how much it costs to buy all the gaming consoles out there (keeping in mind my rig plays all PC games, not just the ones its manufacturer releases) and I think we have a level playing field. The arguments that erupt over the costs of PC gaming are hilarious to me. It really isn't bleeding edge or die in the PC gaming arena. Most old hand PC builders know this.

Xbox has its uses, but will never satisfy me the way my handbuilt hardware does. It makes sense.

This depend, xbox360 was pretty cheap to produce, PS3 was expensive because of the blueray who was pretty unnecessary as few games are more than 8GB and if so they can be installed.

Think both xbox1 and PS2 was expensive, so this is nothing new for this generation.
And yes they sell under cost to increase the life length of the console.
Looking at the leak about the next xbox it looks pretty cheap with an radeon 6550 type gpu making it probably that Microsoft is aiming towards the Wii U. Sony has to follow or be out of the race.

I'm not bitter myself. I'm just annoyed that the thread has to hash all of this stuff out. Instead of just informing the OP about mods, it looked like it got really off track.

As for me, I don't tie myself to any platform. It's always changing. In gaming years, I'm an "old fart", unfortunately. I got my first DOS/Windows PC in the early 90s. Before that, it was Amiga and consoles. Today, I just play on consoles. It's good enough. And while I know a lot about computers, I'm tired of having to deal with them. I use el cheapo laptops like the one I'm typing this post on, and leave gaming for consoles. I don't regret it or feel "bitter" about a thing.

I think it's perfectly fine with no mods, but of course it would be an awesome bonus.

Blame Sony/Microsoft..

I think it is more possible on the PS3 since steam is already integrated into it since Portal 2. Consider that the PS3 is nearer towards the end of it's life cycle, the timing could be synergistic to try it down the road. It's 2012, PS4 should be out 2014, Bethesda should have all content for Skyrim out, PS3 will be a dying system that doesn't matter so much... it would be the perfect time to port some mods.

Of course, that's just another way of saying "don't hold your breath".

Also, I'm sure there are many console owners whose PCs have the potential to play Skyrim now with little or sometimes no upgrade and they don't even know it.

6 years until the ps3 was released. I understand the ps2 is still selling. I just dont understand why. An iphone is better lol.

NO. The PC version is not worth using as long as Steam has to be used. It's my opinion only, you have to make your own. You asked whether it was worth it, and I say NO.

The reason why is simple. They're called "games". The PS2 has a ton of good ones too.

That's the one thing I hate about these discussions. They stop becoming about games, and more about chips. A good game is a good game no matter wtf platform it's on.

PC is the only way to go.

Dont open that Door.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1214544p1.html
skim this text (yes i know, ign...but this text is really okay from what i got from skimming it)

basically their conclusion is:
building a complete PC gaming set isnt THAT expensive, as for a console you need a TV screen as well.


i know some advantages of consoles, but i would never give away my PC.
controls - okay, if you got used to it, it may not be a problem anymore
graphics - not required to have fun, but its nice to see a game with full high res textures
sound - better sounds make lots of immersion
more storylines, overhauls etc - THATS ONE BIG PLUS

+
PCs can be updated


however, i cant advice to change platform just because of 1 game. it may happen that you dont consider mods THAT important once you have the possiblity. in case you played oblivion on console, you should have a look at tesnexus and skim through their list of mods and whether you think theyre important to you, or not.

Lets say you bought a $450 PC/laptop for general use, add a $250 xbox to that and you have $700 worth of hardware. A great gaming PC will cost you about $800 if you shop around. Now lets say you buy 10 games a year. 10 x 60($consolegames) = $600 versus 10 x 50($pcgames) = $500. Add the saved $100 to your $700 worth of hardware and you have yourself a decent gaming PC.

Now there additional benefits, you can use your PC just as well as a media center and there a lot of cheap games on the PC, Steam-sales, indiegames etc.There is a downside though, it takes a little more time but to me that's more then worth it.

Under $1000 a laptop that runs Skyrim well, probably possible if you shop around and maybe watch for a sale. YOu're in the US? Because I can only help you with good Dutch retailers

Steam is something to consider. Steam is convenient when it works, and for the most part it works well, but when something happens you're on your own. The support is the worst I've seen (I have a 7 day ticket open as I type this with no response) and without a phone number to call it makes it even worse. Steam can also close/lock your account whenever it wants and you lose everything. Steam is forced on pc users because developers blame pc gamers for piracy even though piracy is an equal or even greater problem on consoles. So you're always treated as a criminal as a pc gamer even after you hand your money to the developer. Devs don't seem to care as every year the restrictions get worse and worse. They are single handedly killing the pc market in their crusade against those that wouldnt purchase their product to begin with while punishing those that have. Again, devs don't care.

This is the down side to pc gaming. You will always be treated as the red headed step child while the xbox golden boys get timed exclusives. We get poorly done ports or games that never get a port because the dev is so up in arms over piracy that we simply get ignored. That's the reality.

This but I'd like to add on to it. If you're considering a gaming pc I wouldn't head down to your local shop and just buy one. Youtube a few how to video and build your own. Not only will it give you something to do and learn (it's fun! ), but you'll end up saving hundreds of dollars in the process. Newegg or Tigerdirect are great sites to buy computer parts to get started and you can probably get away with building a decent gaming pc for $400 that will play any game on the market. Don't be scared Just take your time and research a bit before you dive in.

There are mods for 360 Oblivion/Fallout 3/New Vegas. They're not as good as PC mods...but still. (They're mostly simple things, like save editors and whatnot.)

The biggest issue with console users wishing that they could afford a PC instead of a console so they can use mods and get into the whole configuration thing is the false assumption that legions of ignorant toaster [censored] spread around of how expensive PC's are and you need a "supercomputer" to run modern games, whilst the truth is that over a long term, PC's end up cheaper anyway. Everyone needs atleast one PC per household anyway in this modern day and age, so you can subtract the 300-400$ that would be spent on that, same way you don't add a TV's price to a console. Then consider that you can easily have a midrange PC assembled for ~600$ and a small assembly fee (usually 25$, you can try building yourself too) with a little research, and that you'll save a lot of money buying PC games instead of console games which always retail at 60$ and you'll have saved far more money with the PC than you ever could with your console.

The single con about PC's is that you should atleast have some basic technical understanding. But let's be honest, anyone who frequents Facebook or YouTube should be able to handle sufficient knowledge to do basic troubleshooting when needed and patching/mod installations. And it never hurts to educate yourself a little as opposed to sitting mindlessly behind a console.

Also, take the posts about Steam with a grain of salt. They're entirely subjective and it seems that people can only either hate or love Steam. I think it's one of the greatest things to happen to PC gaming and it's literally saved me hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.