Gaming in the Living Room

I recently had a really good time at a friend's house. He has a "Man Room" with a huge TV, surround sound, big, comfortable leather couches (with built-in cup holders!) and, of course, an XBox.

So, there I was, sitting on the couch, wireless controller in my hand, playing Civilization Revolution. If you are a Civ fan and own a console, buy this game! It's awesome. I had a great time.

In the near future, I will be buying myself a large flat panel and I have been considering my options. You might remember a while back that I looked at my options for buying a Wii - but I decided I couldn't cost justify it. Well, after my recent experience, I was again thinking about a console and looking really hard at an XBox.

I went out to Amazon and to xbox.com and looked at all the available games. The only games I really wanted on the XBox 360 are Civ Revolution and Star Wars Force Unleashed.

I keep forgetting I'm not a shoot-em-up gamer. Essentially, the XBox as well as the PS2 & 3 focus on shooters and thin RPGs that are really just shooters. I like resource management and simulation. I like Civ and WarCraft and WoW and The Sims and I'm looking forward to Star Wars: The Old Republic. With the exception of Civ, none of that is available on the XBox, PS3 or Wii.

At retail, an XBox is only $200 less than a Mac Mini.

I was excited about being able to download movies on the XBox, until I looked at the limited selection of movies. I'll be able to download movies from my Netflix account to either a Mac Mini or an XBox. I can also rent movies from the iTunes Store on a Mac Mini.

I found a great wireless keyboard with a track pad from Logitech - meaning I'll be able to chat and surf from my couch.

I already own most of the games I like to play, upgrading to a more modern Mac will allow me to play even more. I might even be able to play WoW from my couch - I'm excited about that!

I won't get Civ Revolution, but I already own Civ IV for the Mac. I won't get Force Unleashed, but I have KoTOR and I should grab and play KoTOR II and eventually I'll have SW:TOR.

The Mac will have a web browser. My PSP has a web browser. I think the Wii has a web browser. The XBox? No browser. How can this $400, internet connected device not have a web browser? This thing is built by Microsoft - how does it not have Internet Explorer built in? MS slaps Exploiter on everything! They make watches with web browsers - how is it that XBox doesn't have a browser???

A Mac Mini will also be a media player - I could buy a terabyte of external storage (for cheap! Their $100!) and rip a good portion (if not all) of my DVDs to that.

I'm back to having a problem cost justifying a $400 device (even more with accessories) for two games.

Why is it that I can't buy a device that just works? Why? You go to look at a game, it's made for only one console. Or, worse, it's made for every console but the one you own. Why would a game manufacturer make a game for only one console, or make it for three consoles but not the fourth? For years I've fought the "The Game isn't made for the Mac" battle. And now that this battle is nearly over (Mac uses Intel processors and emulates Windows faster than some PCs can run Windows) - I find a whole new world of bull!

I want one device that will run Mac & PC software and play any game I shove into it! That would be an amazing device! Everyone would want one - but likely no one could afford one!