Next-Gen consoles = Death of PC Gaming?

no, PC's always have and always will have thier own little "niche".... same to consoles. Consoles will always sell more, but there will still be sales in PC. Where there is money to be made, game designers will be there. No matter what there will always be money to be made in the PC department.
 
I think that the new consoles, while their specs remain competitive (first year), will eat into some of the PC games' share of the pie but there are a million reasons why the PC will always remain a platform of choice for gamers.

Anyone ever went to a console only LAN? They are out there, but NOTHING like the PC LAN scene.
 
well i just ordered BF2, GTA:SA and two old motorcycle games for the PC.

I should have read the article first!
 
The article did suggest some interesting points though, one that I will probablly fall into as well.

Buying an HDTV over upgrading my PC this year, thanks to new gen consoles.

HDTV has always been one of those things were I was torn on, and never had a really good reason to buy one, until now of course. Plus besides the graphics card industry, the PC lineup of offering new and exciting products as of late has been nonexistant. Thus my computer remains ultimately unchanged bsides video card since July of 03. My 2.8Ghz P4 is still chugging along with ease on these games, on a super stable 875 intel chipset. I hardly see any reason to upgrade yet, since nothing has struck me as something I must have.

Ah well just my opinion, as for PC gaming dying, I don't think so. Will it slow down even more? Probablly!

One thing is for certian, I bet HDTV sells will be up, even more than people projected.
 
Consoles. I don't even own one. I can't stand the things and never will. The controllers are never comfortable and layout is annoying. Give me a keyboard and a mouse I can customize anyday. Consoles are greta if you like waiting 5 years for the next upgrade, ill stick with my custom built machines thank you.
 
Frankly, he had no clue what he was talking about. It's not about specs, you buy a console or PC based on which games are available. Nintendo makes great games, so their platform should certainly not be ruled out.
 
UltimaParadox said:
One thing is for certian, I bet HDTV sells will be up, even more than people projected.
Click to expand...

You do have a point, a very valid point. I can EASILY see someone deciding on a new HDTV (they are rapidly falling in price) and console instead of buying a new PC. With PCs being so powerful right now, arguably more powerful than anything the average user needs them for, I could see folks rationalize the HDTV/console purchase and put off a PC upgrade.

Then again. My PCs are SOOOO much more than a console. They do games better AND do everything else. I think Microsoft has realized that and that is why the Xbox360 is incorporating many of the things we rely on PCs for. Hell, if the Xbox360 did regular e-mail.... :eek:
 
Totally agree. I've been sitting with my sig since HL2 and the same system sans video card for two years! I'll upgrade when another "pusher" comes out, but I can't see that happening for a long time.

But then again, why is this a zero sum argument? I do this:

platformer - console
rpg - console
racing games - console

fps - pc
will wright - pc
sid meyer - pc
 
I would really like to see consoles in the furture put out their own keyboard/mouse and give users the options between a controller or keyboard/mouse for most of their games. I think doing this might attrack more PC gamers to the console market. I think they should also have the ability to no only hook up to a TV but a moniter.

Since consoles have come out they have been becoming more and more like your home PC machine. With graphics catching up to PC games, being able to play movies and music, surfing the web (dreamcast?), soon there won't be a lot that consoles won't be able to do that PC can... and at a much cheaper cost.

One thing some of you console fans have to realise when you come post on this forums is that there are many PC gamers here and seems like most will defend PC's to the death. :p
 
The current gen of console will probably lure some people away from PC gaming. Whenever a new console comes out, it has better graphics than on a PC, but the PC world catches up quick. Consoles are great for people that just use their computers for surfing and word processing; they can invest in a single platform and not have to worry about upgrading. PC gamers tend to, in my experience, use their computers for more than just the basics - they encode, dload massive amounts of data, chat, surf, program, etc. People who don't use their computers to the fullest extent are the most likely to be lured away, or those that simply are tired of the need to be upgrading their computers in order to play the current gen of games at the highest detail setttings.
 
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I think that though consoles are going to be really powerful this generation, PC's will always have the graphical advantage.

With HDTV's and the adoption of such by the console's, the graphical gap is slimming, and definitely in the mass consumers mind. We can see a difference, but 9 of 10 normal joes cant or dont care. But ATI and Nvidia will always be having the most cutting edge products they build for the desktop market. With all this talk of dual GPU's/dual video cards, PC is going to rule over the next conoles, make no doubt about it.

I predict that PC gaming will be reduced somewhat with these new consoles. For the mass market, PC gaming isn't consumer friendly. A PS3/X360 is.
 
I hope it will make vendors realize that some of us won't pay so much for computer hardware. I am to the point where I don't game on my pc, I can get hardware that I only have to upgrade like every 3 years at about 200$(console) for the 'upgrade' it is much more viable then say spending about 1k for a sorta-decent gaming box from scratch.

I honestly belive, full-heartedly that the xbox was the greatest thing ever. I mean, you can mod and hack it, and it is just so marbeless what it can do, I do a lot of roms/movies/music over the network on it and I love it, in the comfort of my living room, all stream-lined, in one small, easy to use box. Computer in the living room is too much fuss and mess, I don't need my daughter to get stuck in the wiring.

With these new consoles having so much built into them, they make playing the pc upgrade game for the new games pretty pointless.

However, I do not like playing FPS on the tv, I don't like to be that far back from the tv, dog in the way, roomate pissing me off...

I also belive that if it was not for the PC that games would not be as advanced as they are now.

These new consoles are really going to be interesting and powerful.
 
I swear I read this exact post on HardOCP when the Xbox came out...and somehow the PC just keeps chugging along.

Sure, it's more expensive for us to upgrade, but considering the amount of activities that a PC is capable of (plus, you know, the ENTIRE mod scene) I highly doubt we'll be seeing the death of PC gaming anytime soon.
 
I don't think the article is correct, here is why.

1. Nvidia & ATi:

Nvidia and ATi are unlikely to give up the great profit margins they enjoy on higher end graphics cards. If PC gaming dies, then Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo get to negotiate prices. We all remember when Nvidia was burned by the X-Box deal, so PC gaming is in the interest of Nvidia and ATi.

2. Market:

There's always going to be a market for gamers who want to play on their desk and not on their couch. I'm not going to list all the reasons, but user created content is one of them. Where there's a market, someone will cater to it.

Also, think about all the companies that make money off of PC gaming. If it dies, the market for overclocking, super low latency memory, not to mention all the peripherals will dry up. All those companies won't let it happen.

3. Microsoft:

Is this a contradiction? Think about it for a minute. One of the main arguments against switching to Linux and Mac systems is because they offer poor game support when compared to Windows. I don't know about you, but games are the only thing I can't enjoy significantly well on other operating systems.

While it's true that the majority of people aren't holding off from switching because of gaming, the whole may be larger than the sum of all the parts. If the hardcore users switch to other platforms, they will most likely recommend other platforms to their friends and family -- whom they perform tech support for.

This effect is also magnified. If the younger gaming audience switches to other operating systems, then their children will likely use those other operating systems.
 
BAH! someone is always proclaiming the death of this or that.


PC v Console is more apples and oranges comparison than anything else. As said above by someone else, I can't stand the console controls or feel. I have friends who can't play any game with the keyboard and mouse. As for the prices, not everyone has to spend $400 for a video card, a $120 will do just fine for most players. If you want 1600x1200 all features on, then you will need to spend the dough, but no console can do that level of resolution or quality....

I could rant for a while but my basic idea is up there somewhere :D
 
Consoles are good because they offer the same gaming enjoyment you find with PCs, but for a much cheaper price.

But, I use PCs for more then gaming.
 
Preach it Steve, but not matter how hard you try the probally won't listen, and six years from now we will hear it again. PC gaming will never die. You simply can't play games as well with a console as you can with a PC. Now the console people are finally getting some of the things the PC people have enjoyed for years such as network gaming, and new downloadable content, but it will never completely replace being able to game on a PC. You simply can not upgrade the graphics card on a console, and try to play a Real time strategy game with a console. Anyway those are just my thoughts on the matter.
 
Phragmenter said:
I don't think the article is correct, here is why.
We all remember when Nvidia was burned by the X-Box deal, so PC gaming is in the interest of Nvidia and ATi.
Click to expand...

Uhhh, methinks your thinking of 3DFX that got screwed out of the Xbox deal, unless I'm remembering this wrong. I thought the Xbox used a modified Geforce3 core?
 
There is no doubt the next consoles will put a bigger dent in PC game sales, and that more developers will focus on console development, and port to PC as an afterthought. I give it another generation though before PC gaming becomes all but extinct, save for the occasional military sim, and freeware.
 
PC gaming will never never die, as long as people have PCs they'll want to game on them, and as long as a market exists, someone will try to profit by it.

I do however believe the PC gaming will (continue to) diminish/become more marginal/subsidiary compared to the consoles.

The fact of the matter is that even the very top selling PC games only shift numbers that are barely considered moderate by console sales standards, literally only one or two PC games EVER have moved quantities that would would be notable in a console sales chart, and the developers/publishers can't/won't ignore that, so consoles as the primary focus is likely to keep increasing with the PC versions becoming like poor relations/afterthoughts.

My personal feeling is that a good game is a good game regardless of platform, so I don't really care that much, but I do think it'd be a real shame for certain traditional archetypes to die out because of console proliferation, I've yet to see a console FPS (for instance) that comes anywhere close to the adrenaline punch of Railing some stranger out of mid-air with a snap-shot just as you're launching off a jump pad yourself, the necessarily soggy controls on a console preclude that type of skill/precision in FPS (and therefore the reward that goes with it).
 
There will allways be PC gameing.......i mean......can you logg onto newsgroups and download your "stuff" with a game console......do they have DVD burners built in......the PC is here to say.............
 
There is NO WAY consoles will replace PC games. I have not owned a console since my old Nintendo! Pro Wrestling rules!!!
 
In this reporter's humble opinion, PC's and consoles simply appeal to a different market.
The card carrying uber geek like myself will never be satisifed with console gaming alone. I bought Halo 2 and Half Life 2 at about the same time, and the simple truth of the matter is my copy of Halo collected dust once I started playing Half Life, and I even went back through Far Cry (still the most fun i had with the DX9 shoothers as much as i hate to admit it) before I touched it. Will this change when console graphics can stand up to my 6800 GT (which they don't even come close to even in HD currently)? Not without a keyboard and mouse it won't.
On the other hand, your average console gamer will never be willing to "fiddle" with their machine to make their game work best. They don't care about AA&AF, resolution, detail, etc. They want to put it in and make it work, which perfectly understandable even to someone who enjoys the "fiddling" like I do.
Anyway, end rant. Sorry it was a novel.
 
Consoles are great for a simple, quick, plug and play gaming. PCs are more flexible, which has pros and cons. Pros are that they are upgradable and adaptable to new technology, can be used for more than games, and have a wider selection of hardware and controllers. Cons are higher initial cost due to added complexity and capability and more conflicts due to non-standardized hardware/software.

Personally, I can't stand consoles. The games (mostly) have less depth and thought and seem to appeal to shorter attention spans. Of course, I'm more of a strategy gamer, my favorite FPS is NatSel. Plus, I think PCs seem to have the edge in having more players in multiplayer environments. It also seems that the KB/mouse combo has more control and flexibility than a console controller, but at the expense of poorer ergodynamics. Plus, I can take my laptop with me and play games and work. The added versatility is very nice.

I think there is room for both and a purpose for both. Consoles will appeal to those who don't want to worry about the cons of a computer and just want to plug something into the TV and go. PCs will appeal to those who want a more cutting edge, complex or expansive game. I think there's room for both. Sales of new HD TVs will definitely spur on the next generation of consoles, but they won't replace PCs any time soon. 10 years down the road? Meh, who knows. 10 years ago there weren't even 3D accelerators, 1GB hard drives, Dolby Surround, or DVDs. Who knows what will happen in the next decade.

All this being said, I might buy a xbox 360, if only to see how well the HD capabilites do in my home theater, but it won't replace the PC as the primary game machine.

 
I'm not really sure how consoles are supposed to destroy PC gaming. Like Steve said, people always say this will happen upon the release of new consoles.

From a technical standpoint, PCs are much more versatile and will always be a versatile gaming platform. Look at it this way--the nVidia RSX chip for PS3 has not even been taped out yet much less mass-produced. Those tech demos at E3 had to be produced by some sort of existing nVidia technology. My bet that this is, or is very similar to the upcoming G70 chip. So the next generation of graphics cards will be able to match the next generation of consoles graphically.

Oh but what about CPUs? The consoles all have nifty multi-core custom made processors. And just in time, PCs now do too. Throw in an Ageia Phys-X board and you've really got the same amount of number-crunching power in a PC you could buy as early as September. So I don't think there will be much of an edge to consoles technically in this respect.

As for the argument of consoles costing less than PCs... this has always been the case for as long as I can remember. A Gamecube costs less than an equivalent gaming PC, but this certainly hasn't destroyed the PC as a gaming platform in the past, and I doubt it will in the future.

The fact remains that PC is and will continue to be a highly versatile gaming platform. As long as people continue to buy games and gaming hardware for this platform, developers will fill the market with products. This is just simple capitalism. And unless you want to dump $3000 into a nice HDTV, the next generation of consoles will not have nearly the image quality of an equivalent gaming PC. If you do want to spend $3000 on a nice HDTV, you've negated the argument that consoles are cheaper.

There's no way anyone can say that these upcoming consoles are not technically impressive, but that just makes me more excited for the upcoming computer hardware that will exceed these consoles as has always been the case in the past.
 
I've said it in other Console vs PC threads, and I'll say it agian.

Consoles are slowly becoming a Home Theater PC.
 
My prediction:
People will be screamin "PC is dead" when Xbox360 ships. And shortly thereafter PC's will then "make that next leap".

That next leap will be physics co-processing. PC games will suddenly have realistic water, flooding, bloodletting, smoking, fire, fogging, completely destructable levels and over the top physical mayhem!

PC gaming gets another 5 year reprieve...

p.s. Yea I posted this at shack.
 
Yes.. maybe one day PCs and next next next gen consoles might actually become a merger of sorts. But in the bottom of my silicon heart I know consoles are a bit far away from coming near PC gaming.

1st of all - I don't know why people are getting worked up on this year's E3. Its not like they had anything to show for it. If anything, all was "prerendered". Like saying .. "ohh wow .. . it could look like this.. but we arent sure..yet.. ohh playable demo.. gee I dont know".

2nd of all - It will be the console gaming industry's first crack at being on par with current PC technology. What i mean by this is that next gen consoles will run off of direct x 9.0something.. I began to laugh when i heard this. The reason why is that PC's themselves had trouble with direct X 9. None can really run , lets say doom at ULTRA settings and then some with a clear 60 FPS. I should know. .. somewhat of a gaming system here.. 6800 ultra + amd 3000+ win 939 , and 1 gig RAM .
Even with all the patches out there demanding games hardly reach 60 FPS. And yes microsoft + sony + nintendo seem to have all mastered direct x 9 on their first attempt.
I hardly doubt with as much hardware they dump in, that it will live up to full "prerendered" potential.
Our benchmarking results should be reaching higher for the amount of money a computer gamer paid , but sadly its not and yet they are gonna sell this for consoles.
No one even knows outside of sony how the cell proc. works.. lol.

anyways i myself cant wait for the next gen pc hardware to make a hit. direct X 10 anyone .. i know its being called something else and they have been working on it for a while.


p.s. I am getting the box simply to finish the stupid halo saga.
 
Yeah, I was bummed about the E3 stuff too. How can we proclaim that devices that almost no one on earth has played a game for yet, or for that matter even SEEN a real game in some cases, are going to kill PC gaming? That'd be a fair assessment if this stuff were on the streets or, heaven forbid, even in playable form at a trade show. All I saw was marketing nonsense coming out of E3. Misleading hardware stats, "simulated" gameplay, etc.
 
I'm a gamer.
My kids are gamers.
My wife is a gamer.
80% of the people I know are gamers.

We play PC games, we play consoles, we play card games, we play RPG's, we play odd games like Lego Pirates (yarr!) and have fun. I game enough that I run LAN parties once a month with 60 to 70 Gamers. We have mostly PC spots, and a dozen "console" gamers spots. Both exist quite well together and most of my gamers play both. We also play Poker and at longer events I've seen Munchkin and a variety of Cheap Ass games show up.

Now, if PC Gaming is dead why is there new hardware coming out that surpasses what's in the next gen consoles? The "footage" from E3 of the "next gen" console games was 90% cinematics... my CURRENT pc games look that good, and the cinematic "movies" for upcoming PC games, like BF2 look better than what I saw coming from E3. Don't get me wrong, the upcoming consoles are most excellent and will augment a gamers arsenal. Why the "oh oh new consoles will ownz!" ? Well, there's big bucks in consoles, games, controllers, strategy guides, games, did I mention the games? BIG profit margins - yes, Big as compared to PC games. You develop for a fixed platform, your done. (okay, it's more complex than that... ).

I think the best thing that can happen for PC Gaming is this new generation of Consoles - bring it on!

Now, who thinks that this technology is going to be purchased for $199? $299? $399? $499? You are not going to be able to pick up an Xbox360 for $149 down at Sears - granted, they will come in low to get people to buy them and make up in volume what they lose in margin - get the damn console in th house, nail 'em once a month when they are bored with the game and want a new one. Know what I mean?

The marketing engines behind the consoles are huge - look at what Sony did with the PS/2? They tapped out the market, so they came out with the "thin" version - PS2 fans flocked to the store and bought them. The PSP? marketing genius - pack a PS2 and a LCD screen into a handheld and SELL THE GAMES ALL OVER AGAIN. Score one for Sony - I was impressed (no, I don't own, nor will I own a PSP).

The better the Consoles get, the better PCs get and the better PC gaming will get. I don't know if we will see any 128 player console games (Americas Army anyone?), 64? BF series? Anyone know what the player limit will be for BF2?

I'm a Gamer - Bring it on - More for me and my family and friends to play!

Peace,
Tim
 
And yet Nintendo gets knocked on for not spouting out bullshit. lol
I too was very weary of MS and Sony's cockfight, and until real systems come out, with games that are actually playable (save for the Unreal 3 engine) we can then judge more credibly on the next gen systems. Regardless, though, we shouldn't be comparing the 2 anyway.
 
The new X-Box 360 looks great. The problem with PC gaming is cost. I love the PC but I have to say the industry has gone nuts with SLI and now the price of dual core CPU`s. It makes me wonder if Microsoft came up with this plan to migrate people from the PC to the console..
 
If (very large IF) Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo could ever get over their mutual antagonism for one another, which is after all just a grown-up version of a kid's peeing contest, and co-operate on a single unified platform, then YES, the console could spell the death of PC gaming.

Hey wait a minute, that sounds just like a PC. ;)
 
No, no, and no.... This will not be the end of PC gaming. This always happens when new consoles come out....

For example, Nvidia released the GeForce III with the Xbox, and soon after, it was released for the PC.

Just wait =) PC always rulez over consoles.

-Mickelonis
 
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