Is PC gaming dieing?

LordBritish

LordBritish

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 28, 2001
Messages
2,062
This question gets asked every now and then but it's still a valid question.

I believe it is.

Here's why I think it is.

* Developers are now writing for consoles first and then porting to PC later - if at all. Yes there are exceptions but this is the trend.

* Writing games is no longer something a teenager can do in his basement. It's a multimillionn dollar business where investers want returns. The best way to do this is to go for the largest audience - that's consoles.

* PC gaming hardware has become more and more expensive in order to keep up visually with consoles. Video cards are an excample. Few people are willing to pay the price when consoles are relatively cheaper.

* Fewer titles are being released on PCs - I've been noticing this lately.

This can only mean that PC gaming as we know it is nearing the end
:(
 
Didn't people say this when the last wave of consoles came out?

I think PC gaming will last a while.
 
aznpxdd said:
Yet each new console coming out are more and more similiar to a PC.
Click to expand...

Pretty soon there will be practically no distinction between the two. I have always found the ignorance with which people regard this obvious fact interesting. People say that the consoles are advancing rapidly, I say they are approaching PC functionality rapidly.
 
I used to think PC gaming was dying, but I think with the following games, 2007 will be alright:

Dark Messiah
HL2ep2/Portal/TF2
Supreme Commander
Titan Quest
Savage 2
Comman & Conquer 3
Spore

(this takes into account my upcoming upgrade, which will allow me to run everything smoothly at 1440x900, maybe even with AA -and- AF on.)
 
JRPereira said:
I used to think PC gaming was dying, but I think with the following games, 2007 will be alright:

Dark Messiah
HL2ep2/Portal/TF2
Supreme Commander
Titan Quest
Savage 2
Comman & Conquer 3
Spore

(this takes into account my upcoming upgrade, which will allow me to run everything smoothly at 1440x900, maybe even with AA -and- AF on.)
Click to expand...

Damn good list there, ontop of that though, I would add..

NWN 2
Gothic 3
UT2007
Company of heroes
and im sure im missing a bunch more..

Anyway, point is, PC gaming is far from dead, its just been a slow summer/fall. When winter and new years hits, there will be tons of things to play
 
i knew it when game programmers were starting to call themselves "rock stars".... *snicker*
 
hmmm, a x1900 is $225. How is pc hardware getting more expensive to keep up with consoles? Last I checked the ps3 had a g70 which is last gen pc hardware. Fact is, I'm rather certain I could build a pc on nov 17th (launch of ps3) that will be faster than the ps3 and for a similar amount of money (maybe an extra $100).
 
add Crysis to that list

the logic of PC vs console in regards to tech remains relevant for only so long, as console manufacturers streamline their content better then they know the layout 100%, and game manufacturers work with the gfx cards on the consoles, making sure they dont add things that would make the ps3 gfx card chug, unlike the hippo-through-the-meat-grinder method of today's games...
 
no it isnt dying and is it just me or is there a thread on this like once a week for the past 4 years
 
Although PC's might be a tad more exspencive than Consoles... I have yet to see a Console game that has the graphics that a PC has, without a exspencive monitor supporting HDTV or some crap like that. I have also yet to see a Console game with the power and functionality of a PC... Plus a PC has one thing you definatly cant get on a Console gaming system PORN :D

the xbox makes a nice DVD player but other than that.... Blah..... Wont touch it.
 
This topic has been popping up every month or so since around 1988 or so.

I'll move along to the next thread now...
 
No, this question is pretty much dead however :rolleyes: this isn't the first time people have said the exact same things. There will always be some little guy willing to step in to make games and good ones too, and if they sell they will make bigger better games. I don't really see the problem of not getting every console port anyways. There are too many PC gamers that just aren't interested in consoles and like the depth of PC games. It's always like this near console launches..
 
gaming isn't dying it's just stagnant... in the sense that no one is coming up with new ideas. they'd rather give you a third battlefield game, yet another version of madden, another call of duty... etc etc. and now we are gonna be getting ads in games we buy. the future burns bright.

oh yeah dx10 will give us a huge breakthough. the same old ideas and shit... it will just look prettier.
 
It does seem to be stagnant.

Take a look at the recent Titan Quest release - shall we say Diablo rip-off?

It wasn't even as fun as Diablo.
 
Banyan said:
gaming isn't dying it's just stagnant... in the sense that no one is coming up with new ideas. they'd rather give you a third battlefield game, yet another version of madden, another call of duty... etc etc. and now we are gonna be getting ads in games we buy. the future burns bright.

oh yeah dx10 will give us a huge breakthough. the same old ideas and shit... it will just look prettier.
Click to expand...

All of that applies to console gaming as well though.

We're just in the summer drought, this always happens, it even affects consoles. All the big games hit a little before or around the Holidays, and there are plenty of great games coming up for the PC. I for one am totally psyched.
 
LordBritish said:
It does seem to be stagnant.

Take a look at the recent Titan Quest release - shall we say Diablo rip-off?

It wasn't even as fun as Diablo.
Click to expand...

Good thing "fun" is subjective. I'm have a great time with TQ.

I still find myself looking forward to more PC games than console games. I was pretty tempted to getting a XB360 but when I look at the games that are out, I find absloutely nothing worth buying. The games that I do take a 2nd look at are released (or soon to be) on the PC.
 
Let's see...
DirectX10...
Vista...
Heavy Competition with ATI and Nvidia...

It's not dieing... it's just getting started....
 
ever clicked search? theres about 100000000 new games for vista and dx 10, its just slowing down cause developers are waiting for dx 10, remember when windows xp first came out? tons of games till about 1 year ago..... just wait till vista
 
consoles are a larger market, but how many people do u know that cant run most games on their pc at atleast low settings? look at world of warcraft, 6million fucking subscribers, tell a console game to beat that
 
LordBritish said:
* Developers are now writing for consoles first and then porting to PC later - if at all. Yes there are exceptions but this is the trend.
Click to expand...

The console business model is more strict with the game content because the only money is made through games, no money is made through selling the hardware. That said it's not supprising theres a fair few games that only appear on consoles. If anything decent is ever made on a console it will get a PC port, such as the GTA 3D series. There's not a lot of games I would consider PC worthy that appear on consoles in the first place.

* Writing games is no longer something a teenager can do in his basement. It's a multimillionn dollar business where investers want returns. The best way to do this is to go for the largest audience - that's consoles.
Click to expand...

You're talking specifically about blockbuster games where most of what you're buying is visuals, not necessariluy gameplay. Theres a lot of mods which are made by small teams of people, some even made by 1 person which beacuse of decent solid gameplay with no bugs etc, can attract a large amount of players. Some of our biggest games today started out as mods.

As most seasoned gamers will tell you, graphics is nothing, gameplay is everything.

* PC gaming hardware has become more and more expensive in order to keep up visually with consoles. Video cards are an excample. Few people are willing to pay the price when consoles are relatively cheaper.
Click to expand...

PC hardware isn't really getting more expensive as such, there's still the choice of high end video cards, medium end video cards and budget video cards, each will provide a certain amount of visuals for their relative price. I don't see prices increasing over time anymore than inflation and the price of everything else, I've paid between £350 and £400 for top of the range cards for most of the Nvidia range, 7950GX, 7800 GTX, 6800 GTX, 5900 Ultra, 4600 Ti.

I don't see video cards getting more expensive, as always you have a very wide range of choices to suit every need.

Also consoles are so cheap because they're sold at a loss, but you end up paying a lot more for your games, next gen console games (PS3) are rumorued to be over £50 most PC games still cost in the £30-£35 region. If you play a lot of games that quickly makes a lot of difference.

* Fewer titles are being released on PCs - I've been noticing this lately.
Click to expand...

I've not, there appears to be fewer GOOD titles now a days, I think thats a general problem with gaming nothing specific to PC's

This can only mean that PC gaming as we know it is nearing the end
:(
Click to expand...

If you seriously think this then...I dunno...madness really...
 
Yeah I think you can turn it around?

Is console gaming dying?

DX 10 pc being so much powerful having so much more controllers... Answer is no to both questions ;)
 
"Is PC gaming dieing???"



Again???? Like every couple years when new consoles come out? And again not when everyone (again) realizes that PCs are more powerful and more fun to play on 3-6 months after the new consoles came out?
 
It's funny really because console architecture is based heavily on PC architecture now, most consoles are essentially PC's built specifically for gaming, what i'd called a gimped PC running no proper OS that allows the freedom to do all the things a PC can do.

PC's weren't specifically built for gaming, but due to their open architecture and the willingless for PC owners to embrace any new techology they evolve and always stay ahead. If something incoroprates some technology PC's don't have, you can bet a few years laters it's fully available for a PC.

It's quite noteable really, the more consoles "evolve" the more like PC's they get, so death of PC gaming and PC orientated hardware which drives 3d rendering would have a very noteable effect on consoles.

I don't see any innovation or anything NEW coming from consoles, and by the time they're done boasting hardware far superiour to PC's and have ACTUALLY released said hardware PC's have caught up, and 6 months they're stomping all over them.

I'm trying my hardest not to "console bash" consoles have their place, gamers who want a lite gaming expeirence rather than a deep one, people who want simplicity, plug and play without any any advanced configuration etc

It just happens thats all the stuff I DONT wan't :)
 
Glad this thread is around, PC gaming is at a 3 year high (can't find the article right now),so it isn't dying. It makes me laugh when people say that.
 
LordBritish said:
* Writing games is no longer something a teenager can do in his basement. It's a multimillionn dollar business where investers want returns. The best way to do this is to go for the largest audience - that's consoles.
:(
Click to expand...

Incorrect. More people own PCs than own consoles.

Frosteh said:
It's funny really because console architecture is based heavily on PC architecture now, most consoles are essentially PC's built specifically for gaming, what i'd called a gimped PC running no proper OS that allows the freedom to do all the things a PC can do.)
Click to expand...

So it's really console gaming that's dying :p It's gradually becoming PC gaming.
 
what, nobody remembered Hellgate: London ?!

that's the game I'm waiting for!
 
Gaming almost ALWAYS goes into a slump, usually developers taking time working on their next title, which always takes a shit ton of time to develop

Game competition is huge, they want their title to sell, and they want it released during the time of year it will sell, gradually a title will sell more over a year with price drops but they want their initial shipment to be out-of-stock. Of course we are going to see slumps of titles not being released, its really hard to get titles to constantly sell out with popular online titles like CS, BF, MMO's, Halo, and the billion WWII titles.

We will always see this question because the people who are new to gaming and realize no new games are slated to come out till early next year think something is going wrong. Hey its ok to be worried and get active in the community, but there is nothing to worry about, console and PC gaming will always be here.
 
Keep up with consoles eh? Amazing what one 720p console will do to people. One hi-def console and people forget who's chasing who. I love my 360 to death, but the rig I built 6 months ago has more cajones. PS3 is going to suffer the same fate. Stupidly expensive... yes. But console !!!!!!s better hope it doesn't dry up because dumbasses like myself certainly help the R&D that goes into those things. When it comes to graphics and power the PC drives the bus. Don't forget it.

Now I will go back to thumping my chest and reading Sony's "oops did we say 1080p?"

PC's are good. Consoles are good.
 
The problem with PC gaming is PC manufactures.

YOu got the ppl that are into PC gaming and they will custom build (or at least reasurch) what they are getting and they have a nice upgrade path

most homes have a PC for well PC stuff (internet,email...) and these general purpose PC "could" be ok-ish entry PC into gaming BUT stupid PC maufactures (et TIME..) put crap hardware in with crap upgrade path so ppl with these think they cannot game with it and thus get a console

PC gaming isn't going to die out just like console gaming isn't going to die out (well it is for Sony but for other reasons)
 
I go to Best Buy and see 2 shelves full of PC games. I can't decide which one to buy next because of the huge selection. That does not give me the impression that PC gaming is dying.
 
Shmigoli said:
I go to Best Buy and see 2 shelves full of PC games. I can't decide which one to buy next because of the huge selection. That does not give me the impression that PC gaming is dying.
Click to expand...

Let me kill this whole "its not dying" thing right here.
This is the EB I used to run in November 2001:

2003901054343040156_rs.jpg


Now, you will no longer find en EB or a Gamestop that looks like this. Most stores have fully compressed PC gaming into a 4 to 8 foot(horizontal) area. You will no longer find PC productivity in these stores either. Reason? They were not profitable ventures. These same stores will no longer accept used PC titles for trade in.

This was under 5 years ago folks. PC gaming has been steadily declining. You might still find sections that look like that at CompUSA, but they used to be everywhere. Having 2 pitiful shelves at Best Buy does not qualify as plentiful.

Most of you are saying that PC gaming is not disappearing, when its very plain to me, *and I have submitted proof*, that it is.

You will find yet more proof here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_PC_game_sales_in_the_US

*please forgive the large pic, but this point needed to be very clearly made.
 
PC gaming as it relates to retail outlets and trade ins for brick and mortar businesses like EBgames and and Gamestop isn't "in decline". The advent of online gaming, games requiring CD keys and a strong persistant online environment (both in games like MMO's, and BF2 type games where the player's ID can be persistant) simply means that for that kind of store, you aren't going to need a lot of space to sell new copies. Those stores do a lot of business in selling used games, and PC games do not lend themselves to being sold used, whereas console games are PERFECT for that kind of market.

PC gaming has opened huge revenue streams in the last 4-5 years but they are taken advantage of online, as they should be. Just look at services like Steam, that sell millions of games without any publishing or hardware needed. Just because the space at a specific brick and mortar store has shrunk with regards to pc gaming doesn't mean revenues (the real yardstick of the health of an industry) are in trouble at all.

If my local bookstore goes out of business that doesn't mean book sales are flagging, it means Amazon and half.com and others have changed the business model.

Add to that the fact that there are now multiple viable consoles to take up more space in the aforementioned perfect sales environment for their product, and you have less shelf space. In 2001 you didn't have the 360, PS2, PS1, Gamecube, Xbox, DS, PSP, all the gameboy iterations, and two other upcoming consoles all fighting for shelf space for new and used games (again, where these kinds of stores make a lot of money from walk in traffic, and yes I know that some of those systems were out in 2001, but all of them weren't out at the same time with huge libraries and fans still interested enough to provide a thriving used game market).

PC gaming has undergone a paradigm shift to new business models that play to its strength, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top