PC gaming is in a decline — and deserves to be

HAL_404

HAL_404

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
1,240
came across this write up tonight and seemed worthy to be posted

"PC gaming is in a decline — and deserves to be
Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines
and akin to gambling machines"

the Article
 
Last edited:
Here we go again. Time to hype up the pc gaming is dead hype train to sell some consoles next year I guess. More articles to come no doubt by various shills over the next 12 months. Then all will be forgotten when pc gaming is still here, as strong as ever.
 
zehoo said:
Here we go again. Time to hype up the pc gaming is dead hype train to sell some consoles next year I guess. More articles to come no doubt by various shills over the next 12 months. Then all will be forgotten when pc gaming is still here, as strong as ever.
Click to expand...

please go back and re-read the TITLE ... wait, I'll post it here: PC gaming is in a decline — and deserves to be

and it's not as strong as ever and once the following launches we'll see what happens

Xbox One X GPU is Equivalent to an Nvidia GTX 1080

many PC gamers can't afford a used GTX 1080 let along a new one or GTX 2070 but if the games were great for PC, new and innovative, they'd likely find a way to buy the needed hardware
 
Last edited:
Jesus Christ this editorial is utter trash. Literally every single complaint he has about PC games applies to EVERY gaming platform and, arguably, is worse on some of them. This screams of narrative pushing instead of objective observation of a market. Its so bad I have to question why the OP would link it if unless he also wants to push a bullshit narrative.
 
HAL_404 said:
please go back and re-read the TITLE ... wait, I'll post it here: PC gaming is in a decline — and deserves to be

and it's not as strong as ever and once the following launches we'll see what happens

Xbox One X GPU is Equivalent to an Nvidia GTX 1080

many PC gamers can't afford a used GTX 1080 let along a new one or GTX 2070 but if the games were great for PC, new and innovative, they'd likely find a way to buy the needed hardware
Click to expand...

You're making baseless claims on console power.
 
Derangel said:
You're making baseless claims on console power.
Click to expand...

ok, it was a second thought addition to my comment but the following has been my observations long before I read such articles:

"Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines and akin to gambling machines"

it's the truth of the matter and no matter what spin someone tried to write in a forum it will remain the truth of the matter and
Gamer's are well aware of it and responding to it (by not buying hardware upgrades, etc)

I remember when PC gaming was thriving, games were great (and constantly evolving) and USED hardware was affordable to all because of the COMPETITION
by sheer numbers in the eBay listings. Today, a USED 3 year old GTX 1070 is $200+ on ebay (EVGA had GTX 1660 Ti's listed for $219 late Nov thru Dec ... think about that), CPU's similarly priced and why? Much less competition in the ebay listings (IMHO anyways)
 
HAL_404 said:
ok, it was a second thought addition to my comment but the following has been my observations long before I read such articles:

"Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines and akin to gambling machines"

it's the truth of the matter and no matter what spin someone tried to write in a forum it will remain the truth of the matter and
Gamer's are well aware of it and responding to it (by not buying hardware upgrades, etc)

I remember when PC gaming was thriving, games were great (and constantly evolving) and USED hardware was affordable to all because of the COMPETITION
by sheer numbers in the eBay listings. Today, a USED 3 year old GTX 1070 is $200+ on ebay, CPU's similarly priced and why? Much less competition in the ebay listings (IMHO anyways)
Click to expand...

...are you just upset because you can't afford a used GTX 1080? I sense a lot of rage from you toward the PC gaming community.
 
HAL_404 said:
ok, it was a second thought addition to my comment but the following has been my observations long before I read such articles:

"Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines and akin to gambling machines"

it's the truth of the matter and no matter what spin someone tried to write in a forum it will remain the truth of the matter and
Gamer's are well aware of it and responding to it (by not buying hardware upgrades, etc)

I remember when PC gaming was thriving, games were great and USED hardware was affordable to all because of the COMPETITION
by sheer numbers in the eBay listings. Today, a USED 3 year old GTX 1070 is $200+ on ebay, CPU's similarly priced and why? Much less competition in the ebay listings (IMHO anyways)
Click to expand...

How, exactly, is the quality/originally of MULTI-PLATFORM VIDEO GAMES a PC gaming exclusive problem? The only spin doctoring going on here is from you and the dumbass that wrote the editorial.

Gamers are sill buying hardware. Sales have slowed down not because of games but because hardware lasts longer. Why would someone buy a new CPU platform when stuff from five years ago still plays games with no real issues? Why buy a modern high-end GPU when you can hold on to one for 3-4 years? Remember, 100p is BY FAR the most common resolution and 60hz is the most common refresh rate. You can achieve that on some fairly old hardware and even relatively cheap new hardware.

You do realize that used prices fluctuate based on supply and demand, right? If prices remain high it means there is demand for them. Which means enough people are willing to buy them at those prices for the prices to make sense to sellers. If people weren't buying hardware, as you claim with zero proof, prices would plummet because there would be a flood of overpriced cards on the market that no one was purchasing.
 
HAL_404 said:
came across this write up tonight and seemed worthy to be posted

"PC gaming is in a decline — and deserves to be
Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines
and akin to gambling machines"

the Article
Click to expand...

Derangel said:
How, exactly, is the quality/originally of MULTI-PLATFORM VIDEO GAMES a PC gaming exclusive problem? The only spin doctoring going on here is from you and the dumbass that wrote the editorial.

Gamers are sill buying hardware. Sales have slowed down not because of games but because hardware lasts longer. Why would someone buy a new CPU platform when stuff from five years ago still plays games with no real issues? Why buy a modern high-end GPU when you can hold on to one for 3-4 years? Remember, 100p is BY FAR the most common resolution and 60hz is the most common refresh rate. You can achieve that on some fairly old hardware and even relatively cheap new hardware.

You do realize that used prices fluctuate based on supply and demand, right? If prices remain high it means there is demand for them. Which means enough people are willing to buy them at those prices for the prices to make sense to sellers. If people weren't buying hardware, as you claim with zero proof, prices would plummet because there would be a flood of overpriced cards on the market that no one was purchasing.
Click to expand...

The article posted by the OP was a hatchet job on the original article coming straight from Newzoo. Here are some quotes from the actual Newzoo article with respect to the PC gaming industry:
PC gaming will be both the smallest and slowest-growing segment, increasing +4.0% year on year to $35.7 billion. Despite the segment being smaller in size, PC’s status as the bedrock of innovation in the games market remains evident to this day. Nearly all of the most popular game genres, including battle royale and MOBA, can trace their roots back to PC gaming’s modding community.

The overall PC gaming market will grow with a CAGR of +3.5% to total $39.5 billion by 2022.

Downloaded/boxed PC games, though, will grow with a CAGR of +5.4%, generating $37.3 billion by 2022.
Click to expand...

The assertions made by Newzoo totally contradict the nonsensical analysis from that hack in the OP's provided article. I love how he tried to copy data from Newzoo in an attempt to make himself look legitimate. As others stated, it seems like it is just about time for another round of "PC gaming sux!!!" to push sales of consoles.
 
Neslepax said:
are you just upset because you can't afford a used GTX 1080? I sense a lot of rage from you toward the PC gaming community.
Click to expand...

well, to be honest, based on your comment ... you don't "sense" very well (no insult intended, just the truth of the matter). Your comment is rather vindictive but that's ok, I forgive you :)

pretty unbelievable, all the comments being make how all is well when the games released the past 2-3 years are literally described by the subtitle of the article:

"Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines
and akin to gambling machines"

instead of offering corrective comments it seems those with the most to gain from how it currently is are saying it's an unwarranted attack on PC gaming ... very sad
 
Last edited:
Phone gaming is huge and becoming bigger, that does not mean pc gaming is getting smaller, ffs.

While there are issues with PC gaming, and he does hit on some of them, they're not the reason market share is declining. The reason is that mobile game market share is GROWING.

Market share != sales.

halfway down the "wepc" source he lists for market share, is the sales growth of PC gaming...

https://www.wepc.com/news/video-game-statistics/

upload_2019-12-28_18-2-56.png
 
This article is shit... his own graphic shows console revenue having a larger percentage drop in revenue over five years vs the PC side... but yeah the PC gaming market is the only one fucked... right...

Also his arguments apply equally to console games. And mobile, which got mentioned at the end.

What should his point be? That mobile game is the primary cause in decline... only so many hours in a day and you got a smartphone with you everywhere with simple / accessible games on it.
 
Personally, I'd like to hear from Kyle regarding the trend the past 3 years here at [H] regarding newbie sign ups and how many actually stayed to this day
 
HAL_404 said:
Personally, I'd like to hear from Kyle regarding the trend the past 3 years here at [H] regarding newbie sign ups and how many actually stayed to this day
Click to expand...

...exactly what does that have to do with the state of PC gaming? That might be an argument about the PC modding/overclocking community and why overclocking fell out of popularity.
 
Neslepax said:
...exactly what does that have to do with the state of PC gaming? That might be an argument about the PC modding/overclocking community and why overclocking fell out of popularity.
Click to expand...

so, if I say I used to be able to easily sell my used PC gaming hardware on Craigslist and for a good price but now when I post a GTX 1060 6GB card for $110 I got no replies after 4 weeks ... would you say that's an invalid marker or that it's a regional things, etc?

all is well, MAss Effect Andromeda was a success even though it was a total mess and they dropped support and updates 2 months after it was released and then Anthem came ou.

Soon, all PC games will be multiplayer only and with 15 minute cut scenes and it can be had for only $89 :LOL:
 
HAL_404 said:
so, if I say I used to be able to easily sell my used PC gaming hardware on Craigslist and for a good price but now when I post a GTX 1060 6GB card for $110 I got no replies after 4 weeks ... would you say that's an invalid marker?
Click to expand...

Anecdotal evidence. Also, it seems like a lot of people have moved to Facebook Marketplace for local stuff these days.
 
Derangel said:
Anecdotal evidence. Also, it seems like a lot of people have moved to Facebook Marketplace for local stuff these days.
Click to expand...

I do have to agree with you that one, PC gamer used hardware buyers are not the brightest crayons in the box and the Industry knows this but I say, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" ;)

regarding Anecdotal evidence, even if PC gaming hardware is on the upswing that does nothing to change the fact that current PC game releases are as quoted earlier:

"Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines
and akin to gambling machines"

But not a single comment in this thread has brought that up or commented about it and why? Because it's the truth ...

like recent game releases (Metro Exodus excluded) this is getting boring so on I go to other threads ...
 
Last edited:
PC gaming isn't in a decline, but the quality of AAA games is. The general stability is still the same and production values are going up, but the quality of gameplay, story writing, mechanics and diversity has been in decline. This crosses both single player and multiplayer genres.

Look back at the original Far Cry, Ghost Recon and Assassin's Creed games. They were very different. Look at the latest iteration of each. They're practically the same core gameplay with mostly the same mission structure, approach and objectives. Or look at the multiplayer FPS games - they all look like cartoons. And the gameplay has converged to.
 
HAL_404 said:
I do have to agree with you that one, PC gamer used hardware buyers are not the brightest crayons in the box and the Industry knows this but I say, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" ;)

regarding Anecdotal evidence, even if PC gaming hardware is on the upswing that does nothing to change the fact that current PC game releases are as quoted earlier:

"Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines
and akin to gambling machines"

But not a single comment in this thread has brought that up or commented about it and why? Because it's the truth ...

like recent game releases (Metro Exodus excluded) this is getting boring so on I go to other threads ...
Click to expand...

"Not a single comment" my ass. Maybe if you didn't intentionally ignore arguments. You just proved that you are picking and choosing what to respond to in order to build your own bullshit narrative. Good job proving what everyone in this thread already thought about you. Please do move on because you have fuck all to contribute.
 
Flogger23m said:
PC gaming isn't in a decline, but the quality of AAA games is. The general stability is still the same and production values are going up, but the quality of gameplay, story writing, mechanics and diversity has been in decline. This crosses both single player and multiplayer genres.

Look back at the original Far Cry, Ghost Recon and Assassin's Creed games. They were very different. Look at the latest iteration of each. They're practically the same core gameplay with mostly the same mission structure, approach and objectives. Or look at the multiplayer FPS games - they all look like cartoons. And the gameplay has converged to.
Click to expand...

I'm not really sure Assassin's Creed fits the argument here. Origins and Odyssey are definitely similar, but they're both big departures from previous games in the series. They contain some of the same elements, since it is a series, but they're not the typical "Ubisoft the Game" approach of a lot of Ubi's open world titles.

Beyond that, yes, AAA gaming is a mess. There are still a good amount of great AAA titles released each year, but the yearly stuff and constant sequels do make a lot of things feel kind of like they're all the same game. Though, with how strong the indie scene is these days the AAA sludge is fairly easy to ignore.
 
That article didn't know what rail it wanted to follow; it tries to show market statistics to describe why PC gaming is declining by going on a tangent about why PC games suck today. He doesn't bother to try to analyze videogames as a whole, but rather uninformedly focuses on PC games (as if PC and console developers are different beasts), it's just an out-of-context fluff article for ignorant "cOnSoLe Is bEtTuR!" crowds to tout.
 
Metro Exodus, Control, Outer Worlds, RDR2, Sekiro, Disco Elysium, RE2 Remake, Ace Combat 7, and I'm sure several more that I can't think of off the top of my head right now, all of which came out this year and I don't think any rational person would describe as "derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines and akin to gambling machines". Derivative maybe for the sequels, but given how well they sold and reviews, hardly takes away from how good and in demand they are. The rest of the descriptors in no way apply to the games, as most of them are single-player games with little to no DLC.

Sounds like me OP and the author of that 6 month old article has some sort of ax to grind or are at least misinformed and unable to analyse the data given to them appropriately. My first thought upon reading it too was the same as Derangel; how is any of this exclusive to the PC, considering the PC doesn't really have any non-indie platform exclusives and shares the vast majority of its titles with one or more of the consoles and even mobile games in some cases like PUBG, Fortnight, CoD, etc.
 
PC gaming has been in decline since 1981

Now off to play with my Sport and Shave Ken doll


....I do hate the PC (politically correct) nonsense. It's like a poison pill infecting all of gaming. I don't see that as a PC only thing at all though since those games are all multiplatform.
 
Last edited:
HAL_404 said:
so, if I say I used to be able to easily sell my used PC gaming hardware on Craigslist and for a good price but now when I post a GTX 1060 6GB card for $110 I got no replies after 4 weeks ... would you say that's an invalid marker or that it's a regional things, etc?
Click to expand...

I would say that craigslist is the last place people look for used pc hardware these days.
 
T4rd said:
Metro Exodus, Control, Outer Worlds, RDR2, Sekiro, Disco Elysium, RE2 Remake, Ace Combat 7, and I'm sure several more that I can't think of off the top of my head right now, all of which came out this year and I don't think any rational person would describe as "derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines and akin to gambling machines".
Click to expand...

Those indeed were some of the better ones. I played the ones in bold and enjoyed them. Metro Exodus was good, but the AI could've been better and it wasn't ground breaking. Not that a game needs to be, I think it was excellent. Control was a fun game with an interesting settings and good graphics, but the story ended up being too vague. Outer Worlds was fun, but essentially a slimmed down less buggy Fallout mixed with a non-thought provoking, emotionally flat story. Ace Combat 7 was nice, but the story quality was not only stuck around 2003 standards but took a huge dip in quality. Gameplay wise, it focused too much on gimmicks rather than progressing the gameplay in a good way. RE2 was nice but it was a remake. Didn't play the rest of them.

So yes, there certainly are still good games coming out. But even then, not a lot of big leaps in gameplay or quality. Although as mentioned even if a game isn't revolutionary it can still be very fun.
 
Games have become repetitive... Only if you look at games from big name developers. Five Nights at Freddy's is a massive runaway success that started on PC, and remains unique and original to this day. JRPGs, sim games, and strategy games continue to have strong titles from indie developers. The news articles would have you think that first and third person action games are 99% of the market when they really aren't.

Played through Ace Combat 7... It was a little disappointing to what I thought it would be. I think I finished the main campaign in a bit over 30 hours using only the F-14 (my favorite plane) when I can... That proved difficult in the trench run at the end due to the wide wings, rofl.
 
Zero evidence of this great decline has been provided in regards to PC gaming specifically. It's a poor editorial that selectively picks data from a source that otherwise contradicts it.

The only criticism provided (and repeated ad nauseum here as some sort of "defense" of the article), is about the quality of games, which could be true BUT actually applies to all platforms, not just PC, and mostly only big-name-dev titles.

Anecdotal personal evidence from a search on craigslist or ebay and extrapolating that into some big faulty idea about the used PC hardware market, does not an argument make.
 
HAL_404 said:
came across this write up tonight and seemed worthy to be posted

"PC gaming is in a decline — and deserves to be
Modern PC games are derivative, repetitive, hemmed in by politically correct story lines
and akin to gambling machines"

the Article
Click to expand...

The writer blames PC gaming when in fact the majority of the complaints he makes exist because of mobile games and consoles. Those bad practices filtered back to the PC, not the other way around. He just sounds like an angry uninformed boomer.
 
Mode13 said:
PC gaming has been in decline since 1981

Now off to play with my Sport and Shave Ken doll


....I do hate the PC (politically correct) nonsense. It's like a poison pill infecting all of gaming. I don't see that as a PC only thing at all though since those games are all multiplatform.
Click to expand...

Yup.... I'm almost 40. I've seen these articles every year of my adult life. So played out.

I will agree with some others though... A lot of titles recently have sucked. But the industry as a whole is healthy.
 
And with that editorial, everyone's old Game Boy just quadrupled in resale value.

(hey.... it could happen... couldn't it?)
 
zehoo said:
Here we go again. Time to hype up the pc gaming is dead hype train to sell some consoles next year I guess. More articles to come no doubt by various shills over the next 12 months. Then all will be forgotten when pc gaming is still here, as strong as ever.
Click to expand...

PC gaming does indeed suck. We need to go back to the creative greats of yesteryear. Sales might be great but quality sucks is what in saying.

We've had some greats come out but its mostly like it was described, non offensive millennial PC crowd group think type garbage games.
 
You think MMOs were the peak of PC gaming with Evequest, Ultima, Dark Age of Camelot. Then after other attempts like Conan Warhammer Online were good but just diminished replaced by online shooters. If you asked me would I want to live in a MMO or a online first person shooter I would take the MMO.

Hardware back then was cheaper also had better marketing and it was more mysterious. Crts framed the reality of games now we have ultrawides which show you more but less at the same time.
 
Last edited:
A good review on Steam is like trying to win the Powerball for developers. So they just goto Epic and win that way no reviews yet on Epic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top