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Anti-tablet gamers, are you interested in Microsoft Surface?

No.

Can't stand Windows and MS hardware, this is going to suck.
 
If I could buy it for $100, AND there were games they I actually wanted to play, that I could only play on tablet, and that looked like more than cute novelties, then I'd think about checking it out.

So, no.
 
I'm probably going to be in the market for a new laptop soon (currently rocking a 2008 white MacBook -- it's a robust computer that's served me very well for about four years, but the fact that it won't be able to update to Mountain Lion means it'll be obsolete sooner or later). Right now I'm pretty sold on the 13" MacBook Air since my laptop is primarily for work (I'm a writer), but the fact that this has that keyboard cover definitely piqued my interest in the Pro model as a multi-purpose device at first. The big unknowns for me initially were:

1) How powerful is it?
2) What's the battery life?
3) What's the price?

That said, the more I looked at it, the more I had other issues.

I still don't like Windows 8's Metro side of the OS as a walled garden, but I'm convinced the usability of UI itself is adequate for touch. I also don't like the way MS will force Xbox LIVE on PC gamers, because I sold my 360 and started gaming on PC to avoid the Xbox LIVE stuff like avatars, gamerscore, paywalls and all that nonsense. I find it particularly annoying that it's now encroaching on the PC, especially considering MS's vile vision for the future of the platform, which seems to be incredibly narrow and pegged towards a few key markets, just as the Xbox is. It shows none of the variety that's made the PC such a wonderful platform, no thanks to MS.

The other thing is that right now I have pretty good functionality from my devices.

- I have a desktop PC for multimedia (including games). My desk is currently near enough to my TV that I can run a cable from the PC to the TV and hide it well, plus I have software to let me switch my display/sound configuration with the press of a button. So I have comfy couch and keyboard/mouse gaming on one device. The one missing feature is a big screen UI, but Valve will hopefully fill that void soon with Steam's Big Screen mode.
- I also have a PS3 and a Wii (and will almost certainly get a PS4 and a Wii U at some point in the next 2-3 years).
- I have a Vita and 3DS for lounge gaming and long journeys.
- I have an iPhone for gaming on shorter journeys.
- Plus I have a Kindle.
- I work on my MacBook. Between Pages and Scrivener, I have the two best writing tools you could ever ask for. The only reason I'm considering an upgrade in the next year or two is that I fear applications will stop working on Lion at some point. The laptop itself is otherwise in perfect working order and I'd much prefer to hang onto it.

Honestly, I don't see where a Surface fits into that, other than as a compromise device. Sure it could replace my MacBook, but I'd be having a downgrade in screen size, plus MS Word is inferior to Pages. I also don't see the Metro UI as being very conducive to a good workflow, and that's where Office is going so I'd be stuck using that UI half the time, before having to switch to the desktop to work on Scrivener. And sure it could replace my Vita for long-journey games, but I kind of like the Vita for the games its getting (Persona 4 Golden, the new Zero Escape game coming up, and so on) whereas Windows 8 would just have games that I'm more than likely to have bought on Steam, and there's no way this device could replace my desktop as it is. Nowhere near enough storage, probably not powerful enough, not enough connectivity and upgradability, and so on.

I'm also not a fan of Microsoft's ecosystem; I tried (and hated) Windows Phone 7, so you'll never see me dead with one of those phones, I don't use (and will never use) Bing, I don't have (and will never have) a Hotmail, Internet Explorer is garbage, and I use Dropbox and SugarSync and have no use for SkyDrive. Also, I'm very happy to admit that I don't like Xbox products any more, and I'm very unlikely to look back to Microsoft for gaming. All of these things seem to be thrust upon the users to varying degrees with Windows 8.

So really this Surface, whilst it looks neat, presents itself to me as a compromise product for work and play. I can see a lot of people digging it, but I'd be giving up too much to have this in my life. And if I just bought it and put it alongside my other devices (rather than replacing a whole bunch of them), I'd probably never use it, which is what happened to my iPad (and I sold that a few months back). So am I interested in Surface? Not really. I can see its appeal to a lot of people, but it's not for me.
 
Since it has USB it will undoubtedly have controller support. Already better than the iPad.

But no, I'm not really interested in buying one of these things, although the Surface looks cool.
 
Duane Cunningham said:
What successes has Microsoft had anytime in the last decade?

-Zune crashed and burned
-Windows Phone 8 has failed to catch up to Android or iOs
-Vista was a mess (although 7 was better)
-Their biggest success has been in the XBox brand, and even that finished second both times.

I want MS to succeed; I do like the XBox well enough and I actually appreciate the Metro UI and aesthetic quite a bit. But I just cant see "jumping in" on this straight out of the gate.
Click to expand...

One of the main things here is that the upper end tablet can run windows 8 just like an ordinary pc which makes it much more like a fancy laptop with carry around touchscreen then just a tablet.

Not saying that this is the golden answer but it's why I want one, I game more on other things then my pc.
 
I'm not "anti-tablet", but they haven't appealed to me so far, my iphone gets no use at all outside - *gasp* telephone calls - but this is the first such device that perks my interest.

Even so I've never been an early adoptor, and I'll still probably wait till the competition chimes in, I like choice and competiton, and am in no hurry to slap down cash for something that will be superseded within 12 months.
 
Tyrax said:
LOL!
no ... just no
Click to expand...

I meant for my own personal use. I shouldn't have to qualify that in my own posts on a forum. I'm not a product reviewer or anything.

Sure, MS Word is good for stuff like academic papers, and it has a lot of powerful functionality, but if you're just writing articles and stories like I am, 90% of the features of MS Word are useless bloat. I much prefer the simple interface of Pages and, as of the last version of Word I used (2007, I think) there was no distraction-free writing mode.
 
Wario64 said:
It'll be on Windows 8/RT. It'll definitely be using Xbox Live. It'll have some games like Skulls of the Shogun. I assume you'll be able to connect a controller to it with USB or something. Plus Mark Rein is hyped. Will this be the tablet that will please everyone for tablet gaming?
Click to expand...

I'm fine with my Android table for not gaming purposes thanks.

For everything else i'd really really like not to use any OS or software made by Microsoft.
 
No. Nothing against this particualr device, but I have no reason to buy a Tablet except for the internet. Not interested in Tablet gaming at all.
 
If I were to win one in some contest I'd use the hell out of it. Like carry it with me all the time, watch movies, write my essays on it, and play games on it. However, I am not willing to spend $500, let alone the more probable $1000, to get this. I got a touchpad for $92 and now I'm spoiled.
 
Looks cool, I am definately interested in picking up a Windows 8 tablet. But not for gaming, and I am not sure if I trust MS hardware over someone like Samsung.
 
I am somewhat optimistic that gaming on win8 will be good. A few good ones like pinball fx and hydro thunder were released as trials but the key will be getting more xbla games on it. The Skulls of the Shogun game looks interesting as well and if epic is onboard they should get some gaming there as well. The proof will be in how many good games come for it worth playing.
 
Nerfgun said:
Forgive me for being possibly pedantic here, but the hyperbole bugs me sometimes. Of course the iPad is in "some way" a replacement for a laptop. i.e. surfing, light creation, writing, presentation, etc. That's quite literally why they are so popular.

I think MS really has something here, but my main concern is the OS split between Windows 8 and RT. Reminds me so much of the split between the mainstream Windows OS and NT back in the 90s.

Their lid keyboard is really neat, but this is something I've been doing for a couple of years now with an iPad and a BT keyboard.
Click to expand...
I forgive you for being pedantic.
 
If MS could get a wireless 360 controller to work with this, sans dongle, that would be awesome.

The pro is just a computer, so Steam would be awesome.

The RT would have the Metro apps, but I haven't seen any games that would draw me in.

Essentially Pro version or bust.
 
If that Pro version is a powerful enough PC, this could potentially be awesome. That USB port and regular-ass Windows means you can just run Steam on this thing, and that's super exciting.

I can see buying one of these instead of a new laptop.
 
Not at all interested in the idea of a microsoft tablet. I'll probably get a nexus tablet if it's any good and I eventually plan on getting another gaming laptop once haswell comes out.
 
Being able to hook up a 360 controller as well as mouse/keyboard is great if it's powerful enough to run stuff. I kind of worry a bit with that native resolution, it might be better to go with a small laptop.
 
People don't actually expect this thing to be able to run their entire Steam libraries, right? It won't, at least not at playable framerates while still looking nice (and definitely not at 1080p). The Pro tablet will have the power of an ultrabook (that means a pretty damn weak CPU), and is pretty much guaranteed to have no dedicated GPU (whatever games you try to run on it will have to rely on the integrated GPU circuit, which should be either the HD 2500 or the HD 4000 since it's an Ivy Bridge). It will be cool for simpler games, sure, but this is no replacement for a desktop PC or a proper laptop when it comes to gaming.
 
Have never been even remotely interested im ipad. If/when Surface can play DOTA 2 and D3 at 60fps I might consider purchasing.

With full mouse support of course. And steam/bnet support. Looks like that's a long way off though so most likely no buy from me.
 
Sothpaw said:
Have never been even remotely interested im ipad. If/when Surface can play DOTA 2 and D3 at 60fps I might consider purchasing.

With full mouse support of course. And steam/bnet support. Looks like that's a long way off though so most likely no buy from me.
Click to expand...

It'll have full mouse support - it has a USB 3.0 port and runs native Windows 8 Pro.
 
Chiaroscuro said:
My only doubt is if I should get the RT or the PRO x86 version. It will all depend on how many XBLA titles both can run.
Click to expand...

I think of lot of people feel the same, and as we get closer to release and with RT releasing ~90 days before the Pro models ... people will keep a closer eye on just what all RT an do when directly compared to the Pro x86/64 models.

Or should I say for gaming, how many RT/XBLA games are going to be available near launch for the Windows Store?
 
jett said:
Since it has USB it will undoubtedly have controller support. Already better than the iPad.

But no, I'm not really interested in buying one of these things, although the Surface looks cool.
Click to expand...
Attaching a usb device is not that nice on tablet, believe me

If they were smart it would have an integrated wireless Xbox 360 controller receiver
 
The thing that im curious about is, where do you put that keyboard when u dont need it and is it a full featured version of Win8, or a dumbed down apps only version
 
The Asus Transformer Prime can use the 360 controller. It was neat for all of 20 minutes and I haven't done it since. Seriously.

I play non-controller games on it still all the time. But I haven't plugged a controller into it since week 1.
 
The Appeal of Surface Pro is that its resembles a Laptop with the use of the keyboard.

So...why bother with an imitation? I'd rather just get a laptop if I had to choose between the two.

Neither would be able to produce the same experience of a desktop rig anyways, so you'd still be using the thing to more or less play Angry Birds, 5+ year old games, and such.

Surface Pro pretty much levels the playing field with a mediocre laptop unsuitable for gaming, and that's hardly convincing enough to lean towards it. I'm also basing this comparison on the fact that it will cost $800+

If Surface Pro ends up being as cheap as any other tablet? It'll be the better choice of the two simply due to price.
 
famousmortimer said:
The Asus Transformer Prime can use the 360 controller. It was neat for all of 20 minutes and I haven't done it since. Seriously.
Click to expand...

But that doesn't have the huge library of the PC. The Surface Pro works like other tablets except you have access to PC games(and other PC stuff) that don't require heavy specs and there's plenty of those around. The way I see it, it can be used as an iPad most of the time, with all the advantages that form factor brings, and then now and again you could use it to game on like a low powered laptop.

If it isn't too heavy, that is, and the batteri time is long and price reasonable.
 
I'm waiting to see how app selection turns out for rt. The pro version is interesting, but not what I need for a tablet. If it is cheap enough, I definitely will pick up a pro version, but I have a feeling it will be priced above $700. At the point I might as well buy a regular laptop for the same price and get better performance.
 
Silly.Mikey said:
The thing that im curious about is, where do you put that keyboard when u dont need it and is it a full featured version of Win8, or a dumbed down apps only version
Click to expand...

1. The keyboard and track pad are the screen cover. Called the 'touch cover' or 'track cover' for the one that has more tactile keys.
2. The covers fold around back when not in use and include an accelerometer that knows when the cover/keyboard is folded in back and disables all of the keys.
3. The covers/keyboard also are pressure sensitive and know when you are simply resting your hands on the keyboard or actually trying to type something.
4. The cover/keyboard is 100% removable.
5. 4 SKUs of Surface were announced. 2 Windows RT, 2 Windows 8 Pro. The Windows RT versions are 32GB and 64GB, and RT is a more tablet oriented stripped down version of Windows 8. Its basically the Metro UI, a limited Desktop, Office suite included and all other apps are acquired via the Window Store (like a phone, or iPad). The Windows 8 Pro versions come in 64GB or 128GB and offer a full scale install of Windows 8, including desktop and full x86/64 architecture for 100% PC functionality. The Pro Versions also come with a pressure sensitive stylus that can be used for taking notes directly on the screen.
 
I'd rather game on either a console or a desktop, do very little gaming on my phone/handhelds as it stands now, but I would love to have one for non-gaming purposes.
 
The Pro version is a regular ass PC, in a tablet form factor. This is what I've always wanted. So yes, I'm excited.
 
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