Oh beleive me... it's expensive here too! :)

But at least in Canada you have a hope of it being real, and not just congealed sugarwater.

I don't care about mouse and keyboard support. Consoles would need to be open architecture and able to run any program I want (without hacks) for me to consider a move.

Spoken for me as well. I need a PC for studying, working and generally existing in a modern society - functions that a console could not help me perform. I could make do with a 400€ laptop if I could play on a console, but because consoles weigh in at about 500 euros at the moment, I would rather combine the functions into a 900€ PC.

Would it run either AutoCAD or QGIS?

Not really, because the closed system benefits would still exist. Everything would be plug and play, every game would run without fail, the platform controller would curate the library, etc. etc.

There's a lot more to PC gaming than mouse aim and running classics on modern systems. However I was sitting there thinking about why I had a hard time switching to consoles when I got carpal tunnel, and the two in the title are the two main things that bothered me. If the PS4 had optional mouse aim for every shooter and ran all PS1, PS2 and PS3 games, I would very seriously consider it over a PC upgrade.

It doesn't though, so this is just talk.

Well, if we consider Windows to be closed system I wouldn't say it would give us a lot of advantage.
Creating truly closed system will require standartization and unification of all hardware from all manufacturers. Even then there is no guarantee they'd be able to supply elements in sufficient amounts with sufficient accuracy. Take STANAG - formally "standard" things are not compatible.
Even if we assume those problems been solved, there is high risk of prices raise, because situation could mean monopoly. And we all know what monopolysts do.


Of course. I'll start to respect them consoleboyz when they start develop their games on their consoles, using gamepads for input. Steering wheel and joysticks are also optional. Imagine "90s flyboy" dream - Thrustmaster's set. :)


There is ergonomic mouse, kinda "vertical" one, it could help you, Eloquent or something. You can try it instead of "upgrading" to PS4 (which is downgrade). Reason I'm saying this - I can't use gamepads normally, it is much less comfortable than using keyboard/mouse combo, and yes, I completed Resident Evil 4 with them, not gamepads, take that capcom! Though friend of mine (former xboxfan) constantly poked me about my inability to use gamepad to play Halo (or anything). :D
I don't know where you live, but that mouse could help you. It is rather expensive, around 110 USD, plus shipping, but if it fit. And they have mouse for lefties too!


Sure, we're are not Shepard, we're not saving galaxy - just having conversation.
Besides, one "cons" of PC gaming many people consoleboyz use to stress on, is that you can only play while sitting. Ok, what precludes you from reorganizing your PC into living room device, with wireless keyboard/mouse and playing while lying on sofa? Movies, music, skype - what else you can use console for in living room? Netfllix? Well, not at this side of the pond. NFL? That's rugby,:p NHL? See Netflix.
Of course consoles are easier to plug in, but George Carlin said something on that, no? :)

As for work, well, people already told a lot about it - on hardware more powerful than current-gen consoles I can't run half of my work-related software (mostly badly optimized due monopoly, but still, can't).

I wish you well with your carpal tunnel, and may you find you what seek for, and let it bring you happiness. I'm serious.
Best regards.

The reason I enjoy consoles and always have is because they offer a bult in experience that the PC, while capable of doing, is not fit for the type of play experienced on a console. Nintendo consoles particularly offer this, especially with their control schemes. Even looking at the relatively simple Gamecube controller with its analogue L and R buttons, I could not see myself playing the games offered on there any other way. Whilst the Wii-U controller has yet to find its full potential, I have no doubt that the experience with said controller is tantamount to a lot of the experience.

it's not about having the games available, it's about playing them in the way which enhances them the most. Sure, I could wrassle with emulators (as I probably will still have to) to play these games, but given the inaccuracy of Nintendo 64 emulation particularly, I took it upon myself to get a true N64 and get the games that I miss or missed out on. In some ways, to play these games on an N64 despite (instead of due to) its control method is better than just emulating it on the Wii VC and such.

It's not all about the controllers, of course. Playstation games particularly tend to lend themselves to most any control method because they seem to have a more widespread design, but it's still a lot better to play them on the console machine. I find laidback PC gaming hard to accomplish, and especially with the more "rapid fire" games, consoles lend themselves way better to succinct experiences than PCs or Phones ever will. Of course, the Arcade is the best for these sots of things, but consoles are a good compromise.

Whilst limitless backwards compatibility would be a dream come true, I think it would practically just divert the systems from moving forward. I love all era of gaming and (mostly) all ways to play. We should not be compromising to make everything "PC-Like" because it's ergonomic. Sometimes frustration is either not really frustration at all, its character, or part of the charm. With PC titles especially, I often have to put in much more research than with a console game, because the nature of consoles is (or at least, was) plug and play. I want all the methods to exist. Homogenization is NOT good for true players.

I don't think that I would stop PC gaming, because when I still played console 'up-to-date' games 15 years ago, mainstream console video games were a bit different of what they are now.
I still have my old consoles, even though I play less and less. But to be honest, I still want to play and buy old console games for these systems, even if I don't have much time to share PC and console gaming as I used to.

The consoles I love, especially the Sega Saturn and the Sega Dreamcast, had mouse and keyboard control, and I don't think that any future console will have full backwards compatibility for these systems, especially the big rift between japan-only games and US-EU games. I think that if that utopian full backwards compatibility console would exist, it would be mainly relieable to digital market, and thus regional content would be locked, and I couldn't buy and play a lot of games of these consoles. I am pretty sure that a 'Good Old Console Games' would be extremely limited for many people, including myself.

I enjoy gaming on both a PC and a console, I'm not sure why some people act like you have to choose (not saying you said that StingingVelvet). It sort of reminds me of people who only listen to one kind of music and look down on every other genre simply because they're not the genre they enjoy.

Some consoles do have backwards compatibility (like the Ps2 being able to play Playstation games), and the controls are just as good as a keyboard/mouse once you get used to them (in my opinion of course). While you can buy a decent laptop capable of playing modern-ish games (my $400 laptop is able to run games like Skyrim and the Batman: Arkham games with decent graphics and no lag) for the price of a console, the games themselves can be cheaper on console. Yes there are a lot of sales for PC games, but you can buy used console games every day for around the same price the PC version would be on sale. Both PCs and consoles need to be upgraded every so often, so they're about even in that regard and both have their exclusive games and (almost) exclusive genres.

All in all I prefer PC gaming, but as mentioned, I enjoy both PC and console gaming.

Windows isn't a closed system though, anyone can make software for it and release it without Microsoft's involvement, and I can run whatever I want on it.

- Mods
- community patches (=longterm support)
- HD upgrades for my really old games (HD mods for win98/winxp games, PSX, PS2, N64, etc...)
- multiple operating systems
- composing
- watching movies
- working, chatting, emails, browsing and gaming at the same time or close together

There is so much more to a PC.
Consoles are just toys, PCs are better toys and a lot else.

So my answer would be "no", but I still wonder, how people can play FPS with gamepads
... oh right... autoaim and overall lower difficulty because walking and precise aiming at the same time is impossible with a control device designed for jump and runs... *sigh*

Interesting because 2 months ago I set up my PC desk as a stand-up workstation. Raised my monitor up by about 14" off the desk on a stand, elevated the keyboard and mouse up to a comfortable height with a temporary cardboard box and some wood from the basement for the experiment, and put padding down where I would stand to ease foot strain while using the computer. I did this as an experiement after reading some articles online about standing workstations used in both business and home and I wanted to try it out.

It's about 2 months later now and I have been using my PC standing up ever since then. But prior to that I used my PC mainly from sitting on a love seat. I've got both wired and wireless mice and keyboards connected to the computer so I can just grab the wireless devices and go elsewhere in the room if need be. My PC is connected to a 30" display (primary), a 24" secondary, and the 65" TV, so no matter where I am in the room I can use the appropriate display for what I'm doing, and go wired or wireless depending. Also have wireless gamepad (and just bought a wired one this week also) both for certain games that gamepads are best for (I generally prefer a keyboard+mouse, but some games gamepads truely are better for), and I also use the wireless gamepad as a remote control for XBMC, vlc player and other applications.

The only time I need to reconfigure my PC setup for normal sit-down desktop computing at the moment is if I use my flight gear (sticks, rudders, head tracker) or my new racing wheel/pedals hardware. No way to really get around that as the nature of those games and hardware is that you're supposed to be sitting down. But anything else I actually stand up now 99% of the time. I occasionally can drag a chair over to the machine and sit on it but that's not very comfortable or ergonomic with my current setup.

Granted, this is a VERY unusual and experimental setup, but if it is a part of a conversation about what one can and can not do with a PC with regards to gaming or general computing, I can say that with the exception of flight and racing games and possibly other special-case software, you can totally use a PC standing (or on a treadmill or bike) either up close or 20 feet a way if you choose to set it up that way and have the hardware to make it work in a nice manner. Definitely works for me just fine in my unusual setup.

Wouldn't really change my view of consoles.
To me consoles are plug 'n play fun and PC is headaches and complexity, but more options.
PC isn't backwards compatible btw, not sure if that was one thing you were attributing to the PC.

PCs are generally backwards compatible within reason. My mother still plays the version of Tetris that shipped with one of the Win 3.1 entertainment packs. Certainly better than any console that's ever been on the market.