So riddle me this, MK. I also used to play Battletech, Gamma World, Car Wars and Star Frontiers - retired undefeated from Battletech and Car Wars, in fact. However, the allure of Battletech and Car Wars pretty much went away the minute the computers became fast enough to calculate the ballistics for you. I think this is why FASA and SJG introduced Mechwarrior and GURPS respectively - the "role play" aspect of gaming was most assuredly lacking in the computer games of the time (Think "Ultima IV": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_IV:_Quest_of_the_Avatar). That shit all ended with Ultima Online.
So what, exactly, is the allure of table-top gaming at this point? What buzz are you getting out of that that you aren't getting out of, say, Warcraft? 'cuz I gotta say - the first time I saw a Mechwarrior Arcade, I damn near popped a boner... and I hadn't played Battletech in like 8 years at that point.
(Somewhere I still have these... They're buried in my dad's house. Although I did buy some off eBay, used a blueprint company to scan them, and then sold them back on eBay for a profit, so I have them as full-res TIFFs... http://www.amazon.com/Battletech-Technical-Blueprints-Battle...)