Not just GUI or interface problems, also accessibility problems. If a game is going to be released on the console, and do well, you need to make it accessible to console fans. If you want to expand your target market beyond PC-RPG fans you need your game to appeal to them. So we end up with an emphasis on fancy graphics and game play elements get cut. Character generation is streamlined (dumbed-down) or removed completely. Combat becomes an action click fest, thinking is removed, the numbers mean nothing, consequence for actions is removed (because thinking and hot action don’t go hand and hand), etc. Also, linearity is increased because you don’t want the player to miss out on anything the first time through, and if you are going to spend eight billion dollars on that one model you want the player to see it.
A specific problem relating to Kotor and Jade Empire on the x-box was the areas had to be significantly decreased in size. I like this, but that was a big complaint I saw. Big areas kind of give me a headache since I have OCD when it comes to clearing every last inch of each map.
Answer this: if BG 1 and 2 were made for both console and PC, how different would the games have been?
Someone, somewhere, has a great signature quote about the PC being for intellectuals. And there was a great article from some dev about the differences between PC and console; consoles being a sit-back experience, and PC gaming being a sit-up experience (or something to that effect).
For me, personally, I’m looking for the next game that is going to test my abilities (not my twitch, button clicking abilities), and I know a console game won’t do that. I want to get slaughtered until I finally get that perfect strategy and I get a little lucky and win the encounter. For instance, I’m replaying Wiz* with a mod that added a very tough battle in Arnika. A house full of Mook betrayers. It took me about 20 retries to finally win. That’s what I’m looking for. I had to reload while playing Kotor once, on difficult. The only levels in Jade Empire that gave me a problem were the last guy (I reload twice) and the flying mini-game (I reload 700 times to get to the cloud god place). Other than that, the games on console aren’t made to provide a challenge, just entertainment (and Bio makes very entertaining games, just very unchallenging games).