So much so that I’m amazed any companies are still producing PC games, for all the slap-dash manner they seem to do PC releases, and the incredibly inferior way they distribute and support them.

As a primarily PC gamer, this is of course a source of constant disappointment and annoyance to me.

But no aspect of modern day PC gaming frustrates me more than the “wave of the future”, the digital download. Have you tried a digital download for a game, lately? I don’t just mean buying an indie game and downloading the executable from the source. And I don’t mean a torrent, I mean legally buying a game from a manufacturer or from a game store and using their newfangled digital download manager software to nab the game from their server (at a snail’s pace, typically).

I have more experience with this than I’d like. Call me old fashioned, but at least when I have the disc in my hand, half the work’s already been done for me. There’s no guarantee it’s going to work out of the box (I’m looking at you, Sims 3), but at least I don’t have to hold my breath for 8 hours while the game theoretically downloads to my machine. “Theoretically” because these downloaders really only work in theory.

Over the past month I’ve purchased and attempted to take for a spin games from three major companies using their download managers. The companies are pretty darn big, and more or less reputable. (In other words, these are companies that should know better than to screw around.) They were Amazon, EA Games, and Gamestop.

Amazon downloader: failed, because the downloaded game was then not recognized by EA’s Download Manager which was required for the game to execute.

EA Download Manager (aka EADM): failed, because it’s a piece of crap that’s guaranteed to spend more time crashing, freezing, refusing to find your games and making it impossible to launch games than actually doing anything remotely like it’s meant to do. This is a well-known fact.

Gamestop downloader (via Trymedia): failed, because the game download froze at 72% and then went to 404 file not found on Trymedia’s server. Still waiting for resolution on this one…for a game that cost $50 just to download digitally.

For those not doing the math, let me sum up the score for you. Digital downloaders for PC games have a 0% chance of working correctly, if the mechanisms from these 3 major companies are anything to go by.

I’m not one to toot my own horn, but I’m a pretty smart chick. I have a college degree of the variety that required actually working hard and being fairly intelligent to achieve it. I’ve been gaming on console and computer since I was in kindergarten. (I’m in my thirties now.) I know my way around a computer. Why the hell can’t I ever get a PC game digital download to work?

The foremost answer to my question would be, I suppose, “if you’re so intelligent, then you should have figured out by now that you should be gaming on a console”. But I’m not quite happy with that response, because I own consoles, and I still prefer to game on my PC.

The only other answer I can deduce is that while digital downloads for PC games are clearly the way things are going to be done, possibly exclusively, from now on, the companies responsible for selling their products via this means don’t actually give a flip about the people buying and attempting to use their product.

Had I not gotten the runaround from Amazon (who just dumped me to EA Games), the runaround from EA Games (whose solution was only to reinstall EADM…repeatedly) and the runaround from Gamestop (whose solution was to funnel me to Trymedia who haven’t responded at all) then perhaps my conclusion would be brighter. But it’s not. And I don’t think I’m the only person on the planet to experience this sort of frustration with digital downloads for PC games.

I’m not feeling at all confident that things will improve as these companies switch to digital download-only formats for purchasing, installing and enjoying PC games in the future.

For now, I think I’ll give up on the whole digital download thing and insist upon having a copy of the game in hand, even if it means paying more and limits my selection. Maybe time will prove me wrong and these companies will improve their digital download process. It’s going to take a pretty drastic change, however, for me to have any faith in this method of delivery again.

Sony Online Entertainment has finally made it official: the much-anticipated massively-multiplayer online game DC Universe Online launches in the U.S. on January 11th. U.K. players join in a few days later on January 14th. This marks the first time ever that a MMO title has launched simultaneously for both PC and for the PlayStation 3 console.

SOE also announced the final pricing plan for the MMO’s subscription plan. Initial purchase will be $59.99 for PS3 players or $49.99 for PC players, with subscriptions running $14.99 a month. SOE is also offering a one-time “lifetime subscription” fee of $199.99.

DC Universe Online will allow players to join in the battle over control of the universe by fighting alongside the major characters from the DCU such as Superman, Batman, or even villains like the Joker. Players will pick one of these legacy heroes to serve as their “mentor,” guiding and leading the new hero the player will create. The story finds the DCU pitted in a war to save the Earth from a dark future, as revealed in the game’s incredible opening cinematic, which you can watch below.

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The OnLive service has been around for a while now, but this week the company unveiled a major overhaul of their service and hardware that should entice players in ways that can no longer be ignored.

OnLive brings PC games to your television, essentially bridging the gap between PC games and TV-based consoles. Until now, the service has been offered as a monthly subscription, but the introduction of new hardware has changed everything.

Perhaps taking a page from the new, more compact and affordable Apple TV, the OnLive “MicroConsole” is coming on December 2nd (pre-orders are being taken now), for just $99. Subscription fees have been eliminated, so that now you simply purchase a streaming game from OnLive, and it’s yours to play for life. For now, the MicroConsole is only available from OnLive’s website, but it’ll be coming to brick-and-mortar retailers next year.

The biggest news is the MicroConsole itself, which is tiny. I mean, crazy tiny. Check out this comparison photo from Joystiq that shows the hardware to be roughly the same size and footprint of a folded-up Nintendo DS. The $99 package comes with this, an HDMI cord, a wireless OnLive controller, and a free game of your choice (regularly $49.99). OnLive likes to brag that with their system, you never have to worry about discs, game updates, or hardware upgrades, because everything is handled via super-fast streaming software in the cloud. Thirty-five games are currently available, but lots more are on the way.

So what do you think? $99 is very affordable, and you get instant access to some great back titles — many of which are priced at less than twenty or even ten dollars. Plus, with forthcoming access to brand new blockbuster titles like Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Duke Nukem Forever at $10 less per game than the console versions, Onlive is looking like a pretty attractive alternative to traditional console gaming.

Anytime a game is ported from PC to console or vice versa, it’s always an exercise in showcasing the strengths and weaknesses of each platform. This week’s release of The Sims 3 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii — the first ever Sims game to receive a full-fledged port from PC to all three consoles — is no exception. (A Nintendo DS version is also being released, but it’s practically a different game altogether.) Maxis and EA Games have long tried to bring its juggernaut franchise to consoles, but always wound up altering the gameplay to suit what they perceived as console players’ need for focused tasks. These past console entries have lacked the “sandbox” quality of the PC versions, never allowing console players to truly revel in doing whatever they wanted.

The Sims 3 for consoles aims to be the the first entry to change that. While the developers have added a “karma” system to this port, which contains various goals and objectives, the console Sims 3 still retains that “sandbox” quality, letting you micromanage and toy with your Sims for hours on end, to your heart’s content. Early reviews for the game are favorable, enjoying the ability to use the god-like qualities of the PC game on one’s favorite console, and even appreciating the new karma system and the inventive ways it lets you mess with your sims — for better and worse. There appear to be some lag issues with load times and movement between screens, but any effect this will have an effect on sales seems minimal. The numerous expansion packs that PC players enjoy are missing in the console version, but it’s not hard to imagine some forthcoming DLC that contains the same content.

Have console players’ dreams finally come true? Is one of the bestselling PC games of all time at last fully playable via Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo? Let us know what you think if you get to play the game for yourself!

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“We welcome AMD’s broad support for DirectX 10.1 compliant hardware and we’re pleased to see our newest technology brought to market so soon. One of the great advantages of PC gaming is the rapid pace at which the experiences evolve and improve. The ATI Radeon HD 3000 series and now the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series hardware delivers on the promise of DirectX 10 gaming with significantly improved visuals and enhanced performance,” said Kevin Unangst, Global Director, Microsoft Games for Windows.

“With Battleforge, EA is pushing the boundaries of the real-time strategy genre introducing social and community technologies to deliver a whole new online experience. It only makes sense that we leverage the latest technology such as DirectX 10.1 supported by the new ATI Radeon HD 4800 series of graphics cards from AMD to deliver an amazing experience for gamers,” said Dirk Ringe, vice president, EA Phenomic. “We’re working hard to deliver a new fantasy RTS experience never seen before. Using DirectX 10.1 and AMD’s graphics technology will enable Battleforge to look its absolute best.”

“SEGA welcomes the chance to deliver one of next year’s most technologically advanced titles, Stormrise. AMD’s enthusiastic commitment to new standards such as DirectX 10.1 in the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series is helping us develop a game which looks better and runs faster than was possible on previous platforms,” said Chris Southall, CTO Europe, SEGA. “SEGA is delighted to team up with AMD on one of our forthcoming games. AMD’s firm commitment to cutting-edge technology makes them a natural partner for us on Stormrise.”

ATI Radeon HD 3000 series graphics products and ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics products are widely available now at leading e-tailers, retailers and system integrators worldwide.

To showcase the difference that DirectX 10.1 technology makes, AMD recently unveiled a real-time 3D demo called “Ping Pong” to illustrate some of the new graphical techniques made possible by the new features DirectX 10.1 and supported by both the ATI Radeon HD 3000 series and ATI Radeon HD 4000 series of graphics processors. The interactive demo shows off advanced lighting techniques only possible through DirectX 10.1. For more information and to view the demo, please visit: http://ati.amd.com/developer/demos/rhd3000.html.