In the realm of professional gaming, it's often important to keep your equipment consistent. There are three simple rules to your gaming setup that I personally follow, and encourage all the gamers out there to do the same. The three concepts are sound, vision and control. Having a great set of headphones and an amplifier to as well, will instantly elevate your game. Awareness is important, and you can't always rely on your visual ability. Before diving into the idea of a monitor in console gaming, I must stress the importance of a good controller. Comfort is important, and if you plan to take your gaming skills to the competitive scene, you must be comfortable. Having a broken or sticky controller could prove costly. You need to have full control of your skills and I encourage the console players out there to clean their hardware or replace any faulty equipment before it comes back to bite you. Lastly I would like to provide my input on the use of monitors with your favourite consoles such as the Xbox 360. In most professional gaming leagues such as Major League Gaming, the playing field is always leveled with the consistency of their equipment. Every player competes on a 22" monitor with 5ms respond rate. Narrowing down your equipment to match most league play can prove vital in your competition's outcome. You don't want to be surprised when the TV you play on at home isn't what you get to play on at your first tournament. I bet most of you are asking why a monitor? If many have not noticed, several games and first person shooters in particular seem to display a slow respond rate on High Definition LCD or Plasma television sets. (You may press a button on your controller, and it takes a half a second to respond on the screen.) With high powered monitors that carry respond rates as low as 2ms, players can compete and react to their favourite titles at the fastest level. Now these LCD monitors may be pricey, but it is in the gamers best interest for the highest quality of color and respond rate for their skills to truly be displayed. I encourage many gamers out there to consider console play on a monitor if they plan to compete in professional leagues and more specifically first person shooters. Speaking from experience as a Halo 3 player, I am very pleased with my monitor and what it does for my gameplay. If you have any questions about equipment please contact me via Twitter.
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