ValeYard

Yeah, I have been looking at some builds. Dell's X51 seems like really bad value compared to a build. I'm just a bit scared of slotting the CPU in, as it were.

Alright, you guys confirmed pretty much what I thought. I'll wait and see if Dell does some competitive pricing. Otherwise: Better to go for 4 gb grrd5 ram in a new graphics card if I do a build right?

Hey guys, so what's with the Steam Machines? Is anyone looking to get one?

All I've seen is Dell with the release date still TBA and no concrete details on hardware here.

I'm a bit disappointed really because I was quite interested in the practicality of them and the nice form factors.

The new headset gets chat audio through the 3.5 mm jack in the adapter in the controller. There are buttons to regulate the chat and game audio.

You can use any standard CTIA 3.5 mm headset though, you don't need the official one. Older headsets work too. You get the chat audio through said adapter (it comes with a 3.5mm > 2.5 mm adapter too). You just set the balance of the audio to chat only.

I decided to follow a few people thinking I might as well use the functionality. GiantBombing, Bradx0r, Major Nelson, e, aegies, SenseiRAM ...

It's quite interesting really, because you can see their uploads and check out how they play. Arthur Gies is getting pretty good at Killer Instinct.

At the moment, I'm feeling the OP. The language support for non-English speaking countries means you can't play games in English unless you change your country to one you don't actually live in such as UK or US. TV support is terrible to non-existent in Germany too.

However, the games have been a lot of fun. Killer Instinct is fun and I love the d-pad for it. Forza is great, and Dead Rising was so far very entertaining.

I'll give it time, hopefully they'll get their act together. If not, maybe we just bought MS' last console.

GT: ValeYard13

Timezone: Europe, GMT+1

Games: Fifa, Dead Rising, Forza

Edit: and Battlefield 4 (I was weak!)

@jimbo: dude, are you not trolling a little bit?

My whole point for starting this thread, wasn't to state that the new consoles are equal, but that we as buyers or non-buyers deserve equal respect as human beings.

I'm not going to debate the whole money vs. language in communication with organizations. Thank you for your opinion on that. My opinions were formed during my Master's degree course in sociology and linguistics, which doesn't mean much maybe, but gave me some insights into how opinions are formed at a non-individual level, and it's more complicated than you think, and that organizations really shouldn't be treated like people you can talk to when you want something from them, it's in fact the least effective way of going about this (cp. highly emotional letters of complaint that some poor intern has to sift through).

I'd hoped we could use this thread as a platform to wish people making decisions that we are not personally making, i.e., getting a ps4 or Xbox or even refraining from diving into 'next gen', all the best, because I feel bitching about things other people are looking forward to is not healthy for one's spiritual development. If you think a system is bad, I believe writing a blog about it would be a better way of communicating that than going into a forum and trying to 'form a consensus'. Because is individual choice resulting in a variety of decisions not one of the basic human freedoms that democracies guarantee?

Whatever, I wish you happy days and hope that they bring the results/messages to the console makers that you would like.

OK, that's me out. To everyone, I hope the next few days are great if you are getting a new console or not. And remember that true polemics are needed in the world, when talking about matters such as human rights issues, wealth distribution, starvation, NSA, etc. Go and get on top of those issues with all the according hate and vitriol you can, don't waste them on Console Wars, there's enough sadness, loss, and pain in life as it is.

I would love to see Jeff more involved in GB. Of course, the employment policies of GB pertain to many concerns us users aren't aware of, money, behind-the-scenes stuff. I like how Jeff (Gerstmann) is always very professional and keeps that kind of thing to himself.

@geraltitude: yeah, :( I'm sorry to everyone, I regret starting this thread, maybe we should lock it.

Through my study of Chinese philosophy in taiji I've discovered that you only make yourself unhappy if you fill your world with negativity. Of course, @jimbo, it is your good right, nay obligation, to tell companies when you feel their hardware is subpar. However, your way of communicating this is simply by not buying it. Cash is the medium that corporate actors communicate through. Fanboy rage does damage primarily to one group of people, the fanboys themselves.

I hoped that for this thread we could celebrate our excitement, as myopic with regard to any hardware shortcomings it may be. For this and the next few years, they're the only consoles in the classical sense we are getting, and I'd like to celebrate that with positivity. Of course, Kinect appears dumb, the light bar always on on a controller could be annoying etc, ad infinitum. However, with an open mind maybe Kinect for the new Xbox might be awesome. Who knows, stranger things have happened.

And who's saying the consoles are equal? What does equal even mean? They are the product of creative minds working under time constraints, thus not perfect, but a human achievement. Voice constructive criticism with your wallet, but being polemic does an injustice to the people who invested their time into making it, and to the people investing their money into buying it.

Buying something bad, getting a faulty product, or being plagued by the feeling you made the 'wrong choice' can give you, especially if you have limited money, an awful sinking feeling. I'd like to keep everyone buoyed up a bit. So congrats to anyone making the plunge on new consoles, let's see where this cycle takes us.