Week of Hate: PC gaming arrogance

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PC Gamer's Greg Vederman helps us explore the dark heart of PC fans

"And, hey, if a newer, better piece of hardware comes along, we can always slap it into our machines. Look, I think it's pretty clear: Consoles are the Fords and Hondas of the gaming world, and PCs are the Ferraris. You'd feel confident, too, if you were sitting pretty in a Ferrari." Oh yeah? You know what they say about guys who feel the need to buy flashy sports cars, Greg... Insecurities.

Of course it doesn't end there. When asked for examples of what makes PC gaming better than console gaming, here's what Greg coughed up. We've deleted most of the evil cackling for ease in reading. "Ever wondered what longing for Halo 3 says about you? It says, 'I'm too poor to buy a new video card for my PC, but I sure wish I could so that I could play a real shooter like Crysis.' Have you tried playing an RTS on a console? For that matter, have you ever tried playing an FPS on a console? With the exception of Morrowind and Oblivion, have you ever tried playing a real RPG on a console?" The thread that ties these statements together: only PC gaming is "real" gaming. Final Fantasy, the most popular series of RPGs in the world? Not real. Halo 3, the most anticipated shooter of 2007? Doesn't count - probably because of (perhaps justified) bitterness that Halo 2 is just making its way to PCs right now.

So the next time you're in Best Buy or EB Games and you see a smug bastard picking up one of a hundred MMOs or RTS games that we'll never have to play because our platforms actually have variety - just think to yourself: these guys are the ones who lack choices. Smugness can only carry you so far.

Whether it's the inventiveness of Nintendo's Wii or the fantastically integrated online options of Xbox Live or the promise of fantastic games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII on the PlayStation 3, console games are at the cutting edge. Next time the PC gamer in your life starts babbling incoherently about World of Warcraft raids, which RAM is fastest, being forced to upgrade to Windows Vista for no practical reason or about how mods make games better - just slap him on the back in a friendly way and then invite him back to your house for a game of Guitar Hero II.