Slate On Dell And Alienware

There is at least one group for which dullness isn't a virtue: hard-core gamers. For people who spend much of their time in virtual worlds, image is important. Gamers want powerful computers, of course, but they also want stylish systems made by a company that they believe understands them. Dell's XPS line of machines certainly provides the requisite power. The PC giant's market clout earns it premium relationships with component-makers like ATI, Intel, and nVidia, often allowing it to be first to market with the hottest technologies. But devoted gamers have still stayed away from Dell. Halo obsessives are not IT managers: They ogle expensive, flashy machines … and they buy expensive, flashy machines. That's where Alienware comes in.

-- Dell's Quest for Cool

It's odd, I think, that articles like this come around at the same time people are trying to determine the exact time of death for the PC gaming market. Perhaps this is exactly why there won't be none. For all the sense it makes to just buy a $400 console which is in the same ballpark as a $2,000 rig, there will always be the ones who need the quad SLI monster and shell out $8,000 anyway.

For the record, I haven't seen these people in the wild. But Dell apparently has the photos to prove their existence.





tagged: game, gaming