how can consoles run that well for that cheap?

thebeginning

thebeginning

New Member
i've always wondered this, but especially about the xbox 360. How do the console-makers build these consoles that essentially play at 1024-768 (x360 can do 1080i though, right?) with high quality video and at least 8x AA and AF at smooth framerates? especially for only a couple hundred bucks? it seems annoying that to play the same game on PC at the same quality you have to pay at least 2 or 3 times as much...the specs of the hardware on consoles isn't that great, either. hmm. probably a stupid question. oh well, had to rant :)
 
well for a start the manufacturers make a loss on the consoles, the Xbox 360 loses money for everyone that is sold, the idea being that they make up that money in the sales of other things such as games and peripherals for the console
 
Just like selling printers for cheap. You can buy a new HP printer for like $50, but the pair of replacement cartridges cost $60! Guess where they make the money.
It'd be cheaper to just buy a new printer every time you need new ink refills!
Tom
 
OvenMaster said:
Just like selling printers for cheap. You can buy a new HP printer for like $50, but the pair of replacement cartridges cost $60! Guess where they make the money.
It'd be cheaper to just buy a new printer every time you need new ink refills!
Tom
Click to expand...

i feel that way every time i buy ink
 
Consoles are DEDICATED gaming machines, PC's are not. When you play a game on a console, that's ALL it's doing. There is no background programs running, every spare ounce of power is directed to that game.

On a PC it's not so. All your hardware is serving multiple programs, if not hundreds at a time. There isn't as much power for everything that needs to be processed.
 
I agree to an extent, I would say it's much different but It's also like no one is going to pay $1500 for a console but a computer is a higher demand so it's not as noticed. Also the whole underselling pricing it would be nice if you could buy a video card for cheaper and the $50 that you put into Oblivion pay it off but things don't work that way. Consoles are still very limited too, pc's are limited but on a much broader range.
 
It's a combination of the two aforementioned factors.

1. The console is designed to run programs that have a very specific coding structure and a very specific game engine. Therefore the hardware can be made to fit those items a lot easier than the component material that makes up a computer.

2. A lot more money is made off of the accessories than the console system itself (especially when it is first released). The games obviously don't cost in the neighborhood of $35-$40. The disc itself costs pennies, and the burning process is minimal, then the game price isn't that much either. Now, the kicker is that every developer must pay a license to develop games to put on the XBOX, PS, etc. Between that, and the royalties, that is where the real money is made.

BTW, you're right about the printers, if you don't spend the money on the printer at first, you'll pay for it in the ink... (at least for HP and Lexmark; Canon and Epsons usually aren't too bad with that...)
 
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