PC Gaming dying ? [Sitemap]

Raven

16th July, 2008, 05:56 PM

With the console gaming industry currently enjoying a massive boom period which it looks like sustaining thanks to fierce competition between two major console conglomerates and one console having huge success with the masses of families amongst the majority of the general public. My question is, is the PC gaming platform despite being the most powerful technological powerhouse in any era, dying due to piracy, major console migration and an over reliance on MMO's and increasingly over zealous security measures in games ?

While I don't think PC gaming will ever die, and while I do think that there will always be that one game on the PC which shows it's technical superiority over anything on the consoles, such as Crysis right now just as an example....I do think PC gaming is in a definite state of flux considering hardware sales compared to the definite slump of PC gaming currently. Alot of this is down to console's current boom period in that quite simply consoles is where the money is at right now and so alot of developers are focusing on them. Piracy is another issue, not because of the people downloading games and using no cd cracks, because that has always been an issue and it's never stopped them before.....but it is an issue because now we are seeing more and more developers putting in crazy security elements into their games which always seem to be cracked and worked around within days and only prove to actually promote piracy instead of preventing it because this security causes nothing but trouble and problems for the users who purchased the games legitamately....Bioshock and Mass Effect are two prime examples of this recent trend.

Unfortunately for the forseeable future I can see the current climate of PC gaming being sustained because console's popularity will be sustained. However I can also see a big increase in subscription based MMO games. World of Warcraft is already established and also with the new Football Manager Live coming out soon, this trend is already being set in motion. Classic adventure games like Grim Fandango and Monkey Island are as good as dead and with it went the golden age of PC gaming.

It's just ironic that we are talking about the death of the PC gaming industry as console's are becoming more and more like PC's themselves.

Don't get me wrong I do not think that consoles will ever be able to compete with the PC as an all round general purpose machine. And while there is always console emulation to consider when talking about the PC platform as technology grows bigger and more powerful.....I just think current PC gaming is in a slump that it will never break free from while ever console's are enjoying massive success. I mean to illustrate my point when was the last genuinely awesome release of a PC game exclusive and what was it called ? Conversely how many times do shoddy half assed console ports get chucked on the PC with very little new content or optimisations to take advantage of the more powerful host ? Too many times.

DrKahn

27th July, 2008, 06:07 PM

these days pc's are only for mmorpgs/strategy games...and think about it, why would you want to play on a pc anymore? theres long installs, incompatibility issues (vista/xp), bugs and crashes, useless protection etc etc. but with a console you just pop the dvd in and your good to go!

Raven

29th July, 2008, 05:12 PM

That's true, but there is more to it aswell....like for example with consoles you absolutely HAVE to have the disc in the drive and there is currently no choice in the matter. There is also the fact of that usually the games which come out on the PC which were originally console games the PC versions of them games are normally the superior version.

But as an all round exclusive gaming platform I think it is dying, and I think it started with the death of adventure games on the PC which led to LucasArts flooding the PC market with tons of Star Wars games instead of fresh or new good adventure games, this in turn then led to a million FPS games on the PC platform all with flashy graphics but not so good gameplay. Hence the PC exclusive gaming industry is now a saturated market....which is why we now see quite a few PC exclusive games such as Football Manager now appearing on the consoles too.

But the big question is this......despite the exclusive PC gaming platform dying - is it such a bad thing ? Because what this means is that most of the Xbox360 big hits will end up on the PC and probably vice versa wherever possible....so the PC gaming market is getting more big games instead of lots of average FPS games.

As it stands the PC market is just saturated with average FPS games and RPGs with a handful of good ones lumped together with the not so good ones....it would help if companies like LucasArts made more of their own Monkey Island or Grim Fandango adventure games but the sad fact is that despite how good them games are or were, they just didn't sell well enough but Star Wars sells like crazy despite how poor or samey alot of them are and so from a business standpoint they are doing the right thing in making more Star Wars games and turning big profits.

While ever people are buying certain games in droves, regardless of quality, the games developers will make more. If the said good adventure games sold more than they did then we would have had alot more of them games and maybe even a whole different industry for PC gaming. At the end of the day alot can be said for a great game but at the end of the day money talks and if the Star Wars name alone will guarantee sales as opposed to a fantastic game with no name value then they will make more average Star Wars games.

bro

5th September, 2008, 12:05 PM

love playing the medal of honour games,crysis call of duty and stuff like that,unfortuantely they are few and far between for anything decent to get

C64

5th September, 2008, 12:39 PM

I've always been a massive fan of PC games, especially First Person Shooters, but recently I've found myself spending much more time on my Xbox360, after you get used to the joypad controllers you can have a great time but nothing comes close to the control you have on these games when using a PC, the keyboard and mouse combination when playing FPS's is a combination made in heaven.

PC's also have the edge when it comes to graphics (as long as you're willing to upgrade you GFX card to something decent), the downside of this is the cost of a high end GFX card is more than the cost of a Xbox360!

PC online play is also excellent (mostly), Xbox Live is also an excellent service but it's not free .

3rd person games I prefer on a console, 1st Person I much prefer a PC, Adventure games I prefer to play on a PC, Racing/Sports I prefer a Console.

I prefered the early days of PC gaming to be honest, a time when arcade games were extremely rare, chart toppers were 'point and click' Adventure games and 3D sports games, platformers etc were only available on consoles and home computers.

I've also got a PS3 but it's over-rated garbage.

fatallity

22nd September, 2008, 12:15 PM

2 things that wont let pc games die
1. mmorpg
2. shooters

Raven

26th September, 2008, 06:41 PM

2 things that wont let pc games die
1. mmorpg
2. shooters

Lol there are nothing but shooters and rpg games on the PC and there are only a select few which are any good. MMORPG's aren't really mainstream at all and that's including the runaway leader of that pack which is of course World Of Warcraft and even that game is hacked so pirates can play for free....and a big turn off on that genre is the fact that it's online role playing which is the total opposite of online killing and you still get the annoying idiots and cheaters and because of the subject matter their idiocy is much more far reaching and effective which ruins the game.

The real 2 things that won't let the PC gaming genre die are:

1) Constantly evolving technology and hardware sales.

2) Genuinely creative or technology pushing games exclusive to the PC.

One thing that will kill PC gaming quickly however aside from developers pissing in the wind trying to combat piracy is the constant stream of bland, formulaic, rushed shooters and rpgs.

It's basically all one big knock on effect but there's no excuse for being charged good money for uninspired, rushed games which are by and large buggy upon release....what makes it worse is the retail store refund policies being a case of you buy it, you're stuck with it!

Consequences and ramifications aside I think the future is definitely in digital distribution as opposed to retail outlets.

ruudvandan

27th January, 2009, 03:25 AM

removed post

shady77

27th January, 2009, 09:27 AM

does anyone remember the old sky channel think it was it tv.
anyhoo, i once saw a console on there, it was a pc with a stripped down version of windows xp, and it was geared towards gaming (obviously). this was in about 2002/2003, and it blew the current consoles out of the water specs wise. it never materialised for sale to the public, but this could be the way forward for pc gaming. where the ps3 is basically a linux pc, why not a console like this?
it could do all current games and any future games could be made with the exact specs of the console in mind (with variations for lower specs, much like sony do with ps3 and ps2 versions of the same game).
ive found it it was called the DISCover.
DISCover - A Console for PC Games (http://internetgames.about.com/library/weekly/aadiscovera.htm)

asren828

2nd May, 2009, 09:16 PM

what is bad about pc games is that you have to pay for expexsive graphics cards and stuff costing more than a ps3 or 360 thats what i think

chroma

7th May, 2009, 04:37 AM

Consoles:
Pros No nonsense compatable dedicated hardware. Even playing field due to simmilar hardware.
Cons Limited hardware in terms of control methods (no kb/mouse on a 360 is a complete turn off for any serious fps)
Limited customisability, you essentialy need to wait for map packs, addons etc.

PC's:
Pros Games are fully customisable with toolsets, you can modify textures, make enire levels or fully modify a game to suit your tastes. Content is far more diverse than console counterparts.
A wide array of hardware, i could litteraly build a device that plugs into a USB port and control a game with a groinal adaptor if i wanted.
Diverse community access and a variety of leagues to compete in.
Does more than just play vidya gaems.
The ability to build your own game entirely from scratch
Cons Hardware issues, compatibility issues, software issues.
An unlevel playing field where money generaly counts, specialised hardware costs a fortune. a dedicated rig custom built for a single game will outstrip a simple multimedia setup, framerates do actualy make a difference as does a superior resoloution and control interface.
Case in point: load up a shooter that has a sniper rifle and plug in a shitty 2 button ball mouse and run at 640x480 and try to gain a headshot.
Do the same at 1440x900 with a high dpi lazer mouse and the difference is clearly apparent your accuracy increases by orders of magnatude because your not aiming at a a coupe of hundred pixels as opposed to a single pixel.
Far easier to hack than a console counterpart.

Serious gaming will always take place on a PC over a console because the hardware is far superior than a dedicated convienence item.
having a few friends round = console.
Playing for a monatary stake = investing in the best performance equipment you can get your grubby hands on and hauling your gear to a lan.

I used to be Godlike at TFC back in the day (1998ish? when i used to actively tourney), soley because i invested in a decent 5.1 system and could hear people sneaking up behind me. i dumped even more money into building a specialised computer that only played TFC, wrote scripts for everything, bound commands and aliases and dumped a stack of cash into the fastest broadband i could lay my hands on just so i could kick the americans ass. created my own textures to improve framerate up to 200+ and highlight enemy units. modified soundpacks to time grenades, effectively time bunnyhop (a technique that increased my medic to superhuman speeds) quieten down heavy gunfire (so i could hear footsteps behind and around corners)

Pubbing with idiots on shitty computers running at 800x600 at 30fps was laughable. man i used to play for well over 8hrs a day. good times.
Nowadays i dont play anything nearly as seriously.

sattboy

1st June, 2009, 12:50 AM

i started off with ps2 got bored with that then i went to the pc built a gaming rig on a shoe string and it ran like a snail.then along came the ps3 and i got one was well happy till i played games .for me a lot of ps3 games have terrible jaggies as verybody knows they are a gamers nightmare and apart from that i found alot of ps3 games have a slight shimmer when moving from left to right anyway i sold ps3 ,and this time did my homework to build another gaming pc.have now built myself a cracking gaming rig that plays all the modern games very smooth graphics are brill plus i like playing with keyboard and mouse.the trouble with pc gaming its hit and miss when it comes to gaming hardware and the price.i have often thought why does'nt the industry come up with a pc solely for gaming for around say 400 qiud in direct competition with the consoles with an occasional upgrade every 4 or 5 yrs this would generate the pc gaming market again or on the other hand are gaming developers happy with the way things are right now as console games are a lot more expensive than pc games?.

ruudvandan

1st June, 2009, 06:17 PM

chroma

2nd June, 2009, 01:52 AM

If you're willing to spend the money to build yourself a good gaming PC then it should last a few years.

What the developers need to do, however is migrate over to Linux, as this will significantly reduce the cost of a PC. It will however need an industry-wide consensus in order to work and there will have to be a transitional period of dual-boot PCs so that people can still play their old games

Making a game in Windows.
Step 1: Learn C/C++
Step 2: Learn the DirectX API
Step 3: Write a game
Step 4: Profit!
Total development time 6 months from the concept to a release candidate.

Making a game in Linux.
Step 1: Learn C/C++
Step 2: Figure out which libraries to learn to achieve different things, youll need to find one of the millions to perform graphical functions, user input, sound, networking
Step 3: read through endless obscure manpages to figure each API out.
Step 4: write a game only to find out that using STL for sound handling doesnt want to play nicely with your networking libraries, with as it happens seem to cause unspeakable conflicts with OpenGL for graphics.
Step 5: find other libraries all the whilst getting more and more obscure.
Step 6: rewrite using wierd syntax completely mutilating existing code.
Step 7: the game runs now but needs an updated library that conflicts with releases of Debian, Slackware and Ubunto
Step 8: desperately patch everything all the whilst making your code even more illegable.
Step 9: release via open source because the only library that made anything even remotely usable is tied to the GPL lisence.
Step 10: no profit and well over budget.

Development cycle here is 6 months to get up and running from concept to a sketchy alpha build only to find out you need another 18months of research and development to get to beta, maybe a release in 36 months from initial concept.

Developing software for linux is a major nightmare from a developer standpoint, theres no feasible way to compete with the windows development cycle.
Maybe if linux caught on when dos games where still around it might have stood a chance, but nowadays you need to be entirely massochistic to even contemplate a major linux development.

Raven

6th June, 2009, 11:55 PM

I think Linux is a nightmare to use to be perfectly honest....all that text input and stuff like that just to install some software....also the game support is really ropey aswell....better off just dual booting the latest Windows with the fastest Windows for gaming to be honest.

Mnus

15th July, 2009, 09:44 PM

love playing the medal of honour games,crysis call of duty , NFS series and stuff like that,unfortuantely they are few and far between for anything decent to get

manxspud

25th July, 2009, 02:43 AM

For us old timers... its habit... no matter how many times i play xbox and wii with the kids, i still like to play games on the pc, mouse in the right hand and keyboard in the left. mind you i think Mrs Manxspud will soon be ready to divorce me if i build 1 more pc on the dinning rm table!!!!! Biggest bonus for me is easy to backup... never need to worry about discs after first install... But hate the M/S 'games for windows titles' had more than a few issuses with these games.

Raven

26th July, 2009, 12:46 AM

Totally agree mate those Games for Windows titles are unnesessarily aggrivating! F*ckin Microsoft eh ? They make brilliant Operating Systems I can't fault Windows at all for useability and stuff but I cannot stand Microsoft as a company - they have all that money and they just cannot do complex software at all unless it's Windows! And they are attempting to cripple the console gaming market aswell by trying to monopolize it too for their own ends. Greedy b@stards they are.

Just picture it if Microsoft was pretty much all there is on consoles.....the landscape for and from the top dog would be mostly dogshit titles with the odd bone thrown every now and then but buckets of money made regardless despite tons of crappy games - actually sounds alot like Nintendo at the moment doesn't it ? and which console is the runaway leader this time ? The Wii! At least while Microsoft and Sony are trying to slit each others throats it's us that are benefitting from the competition with really good games. Leader gets the luxury of major spoils with little effort, but the competing pack drives the market's popularity and is therefore the backbone and the beating heart of the industry. Without the competition there is no business. That's the value of competiton....and that's why I hate Microsoft for trying to monopolize for the sake of greed as they have done on the PC operating system platform. There's a difference between trying to compete and trying to put the competition out of business or at least to the extent that they can no longer efficiently compete. As I would say the case is now with Apple operating systems compared to Windows operating systems.

Marchief

27th July, 2009, 07:33 AM

i don't think PC game is dying as such, just become a lot harder to develop for. With graphics going through the roof in reality and optimisation for performance while looking like you are playing in a photograph ( hardware depending of course) makes it very challenging for developers to be able to balance graphics vs gameplay, on top of this you have the milestone games that really set the pace for others and usually cause 3 or more work in progress titles to be scrapped, last 2 milestone games, Crysis (set the way for next gen gaming - a bit before its time for once) and prototype ( showed that games are still FUN without looking like crap) and thats my opinion.

I have owned a PC ever since 6th form (about 8 years) buit my first, built this one, its easy to customise a PC, you can't customise a console, i had consoles up till the playstation (yes the first one and yes there were consoles before it :) ) and then moved to PC and never looked back, the only console i have now is a Wii and my gf uses it more than me.

Yes the games on PC take a long time to install but you rarely get any in-game loading, you played a PS3 recently? Install, update, take out disk put it back in hit it a few times start playing....loading...next scene....loading - its a joke, my mates own a 360 and a ps3 and i hear graphics complaints about the 360 and loading and slowdown issues from the PS3, a PC will always be superior no matter how much they try and make the consoles like PC's.

sorry for the long post :)

Raven

27th July, 2009, 03:58 PM

Thanks for the post mate it was an interesting read :) however I have to say that I disagree, I disagree because I also own a gaming PC, a PS3 and a Wii and a Xbox360 lol...and I owned PS2/Xbox/Gamecube before this and N64/Playstation before that etc etc etc....anyhow my point is that no doubt PC has it's positives aswell as detriments...and any games available on console and PC are usually almost always better suited on the PC. But to basically say that consoles are alot worse than PC's I think is an inacurate statement and really quite fanboyish....it can be alot more powerful and allow for alot more customisation - however they are both different beasts to one another and I have to say that awesome games PS3 games which are miles better than anything I've played recently on PC like Uncharted and MGS4 will not be seen on PC as they are PS3 exclusive.....and as such especially with PS2/Gamecube/Xbox before this you have missed out on many excellent games in only sticking to the PC.

Also your point about PC games being harder to develop for I disagree because all games are made on a PC in the first place...and with the advances in PC hardware power it allows the developers more flexibility....so it's not that the PC games have become harder to develop - it's just that it's become a harder decision to develop a proper PC port due to piracy issues and DRM backlash....this is why we see such a distinct lack of great PC games and ports just lately ontop of such a hike in console migration - it's down to piracy mainly, but what doesn't help is the rise of the console so to speak. These are the reasons why we typically see sloppy ports nowadays and is also the reason why there hasn't been a good PC exclusive really since the likes of Crysis. Which by the way even that is no longer exclusive as such as the sequel is meant to be coming out on PS3 aswell next time.

I don't know if you can do this already, but I would have thought they would have released some sort of peripheral on PC be it a joystick or a Wii analogue stick type of thing that plugs in and allows you to map movement/strafing buttons to it because the mouse for aiming is superb but using keyboard keys and needing to be hunched over the keyboard just to move you character really isn't good - analogue sticks are way better. I just think independant joystick or analogue stick and mouse (similar in a way to how the wiimote/stick combo works) would be ideal. Certainly for me at least as I hate keyboard control but love mouse aim. Also love the Wiimote/nunchuck setup and how mobile that is.

manxspud

31st July, 2009, 12:20 AM

Wow this has been a great tread... It's nice to see i'm not the only one still playng on a pc.

on the whole i'd have to agree with Raven... there will always be a place for pc gaming... however i think consoles will always now be the mainstream and pc's for the die hards....

Lets face it consoles are convenient... if your mates come round you just plug in a few extra handsets and off you go. Like most people we have a pc, wii, xbox ect... but my kids mostly play on the consoles, leaving the pc for me. My 12yr old son plays his xbox online, he can play his mates over the road or half way round the world, he has a gaming chair hooked up for comfort and great sound... but why did he want one? Easy, most if not all his friends have one... its a culture, a social scene, just like pc gaming used to be like.

Every now and again the kids will play a pc game... but always they return to the xbox ect. When i play alone its on a pc... when i play with the kids its always on the xbox and wii... that should tell lots.

Ps. They wre both well miffed when i was wipping them at Mario carts... "Have you played this before dad" said they
"No never said i" Ha!

Raven

31st July, 2009, 01:59 PM

Hah! You know you played the early snes version (Super Mario Kart) to death back in 1994! lol

Totally agree though, no doubt alot of people want a certain console because their mate's have got one - also there will be a few who want the console itself for their own reasonings be it 360 or Wii or PS3....I have to think that other than price that's the reason that the PS3 isn't selling as well as the 360, because the online setup on 360 despite being a premium service is also alot better/convenient. As you said social scene culture, my mate's got one so I want one sort of thing, it was the same with the PS2 last time around too - this is the main benefit of being first to the market and having a year or so all to yourself without competition.

But don't get me started on the consoles themselves side by side, not with the calibre of PS3 exclusives and extra bells and whistles that come with the PS3 unlike with the 360! lol

In a nutshell the PS3 is alot more robust, in my honest opinion for me personally has much the better exclusive games, my take on the cost is that you get what you pay for with PS3 as it includes wireless connectivity and blu ray playback right out of the box etc....and it's my preference for these reasons. Mind you alot of that is also to do with the fact that I don't really play online - but when I do it's free on PS3 and it works so it's all good for me at least :)

My only fear is that next time around it may well be race to make a face time, with MS and Sony rushing to release their console first and we end up with 2 broken consoles....unless this generation of console is going to last longer than any previous one, which it probably will as PS3 is nowhere near it's peak yet, 360 may well already be there though, so unless they are already working on their new consoles underground and taking their time, ready to release at roughly the same time...that would be ideal. But in reality just as unlikely as it is probable.

manxspud

31st July, 2009, 06:13 PM

Yea ok... maybe i played it once or twice... But history shows it's not always the better quality product that comes out on top, ie... Take vhs and beta max, beta max was the better quality product but it was vhs that went mainstream.
beta max did find a home in the pro market but simply put vhs was cheaper.
For my self, i'm always going to be a pc gamer first... But as to what consols we have in the house, the kids will decide.

alunfennell

31st July, 2009, 08:09 PM

For fifteen year I have been a Pc Gamer now I am changing over to an Xbox because I am sick of upgrading Graphics Cards, Mother boards, and Processors virtualy once a year to keep up with the requirments, while Playstation & Xbox only need upgrading every 5 to 7 years there is something very wrong there ! for me this is the end of PC Gaming yes a Game for PC is far cheaper to buy but you spend far more on Graphics cards and other computer components in the long run !

Pc = Internet Browsing
Xbox 360 / Playstation = Gaming

Regards:
Alun

manxspud

31st July, 2009, 11:45 PM

Well Allenfennell, to be totally honest... I don't blame you.
If you do not need a pc for any thing but the internet, then it is a expensive way to play games, and most people probably only use their pc for the internet. Me i use mine for just about everything.... One of my other hobbies is video editing, I have been known to do the odd wedding or two... so having a higher than average spec is a must really, for me. But you really hit the nail on the head with what you said.
regards Manxspud.:captain:

Ps. pc's are powerful pieces of kit... Its a shame that most houses have them... But don't really understand what they can do with them...

Raven

1st August, 2009, 11:11 AM

@manxspud, most houses do have PC's but you can't typically do much with a crappy spec'd PC which to be honest is what the average household has. But I see your point though, I myself had a PC for years before I learned just some of the things that are possible with it, it's safe to say I've learned alot more about PC's in the last 7 years of using one properly than I ever learned about PC's at college....it's quite funny actually because it would come to something simple now but not at the time like reloading Windows or replacing a piece of hardware, and my brother would say you should know about this stuff you studied it at college - and I'd be like well yeah but not this specifically! I guess life teaches you more than college class can ever hope to lol

@allunfennel, it just occured to me that if you don't use your pc for gaming, technically you could use a PS3 for the same job if you install Linux on it and especially if you have a usb mouse and keyboard, as you can surf the internet and play movies right out of the box, Linux would net you msn, notepad etc....but I've never used Linux on PS3 so I don't know what the limitations are - and I don't know anybody that owns a PS3 that would actually put Linux on their PS3 to use as a PC essentially, that doesn't use their PC for gaming - let alone at all. But it's a point of note.

ManofScience

1st August, 2009, 11:28 AM

Raven

1st August, 2009, 01:32 PM

People with more money than sense as far as the ones who upgrade every year to stay up to date with the latest and greatest available.

I myself upgrade not just for primarily gaming/emulation purposes but also to have a speedy system for everything else - for example the difference between a 1.x ghz single core cpu and a 2.x dual core equivalent on a 700mb rar file extraction it takes a minute or two tops on the latter as opposed to 20 - 30 minutes on the former. This speed/time difference can be applied all across the board aswell.

So then myself personally, I upgrade as and when and also not for the latest and greatest that I cannot afford, but for good stuff when the price becomes reasonable and I still get a system that's more than useable for just about anything at any given time despite not being anywhere near the best spec'd machine but it's still justifiable. Unlike the ones that upgrade every 6 months to a year for the latest and greatest.

But if they have that much money to be able to do that and afford the absolute best of equipment available at any given time and at any given price, then fair play to them because I for one would love one of those top of the line Alienware PC's that look and perform immaculately but then they also cost about 3 grand! lol

manxspud

1st August, 2009, 02:02 PM

Oh @Raven... how to make a fellow feel old,

It really came down to picture quality... Betamax showed better depth of colour less noise ect... However at the time (mid 70's Betamax could only record 60min vers vhs 3hrs. Sony had a good product, but the recorders and tapes cost more.
Jvc gave the market what they wanted, longer recording times and cheaper recorders. By the time sony released longer betamax tapes most people had settled on vhs. I think it took sony 3yrs to release a longer playing tape.
Sony went on to use the beta formate in its first camcorders using video 8 then later Hi 8, these formats were used by media pros ie. repoters ect, then of course jvc released its vhs-c formate. However to my knowledge the pro market used the betacam formate until at least 2005.

Sorry if its a little long puffed... but the war between the 2 formates went on for a long time 8 to 10 yrs.

This is in reply to the bit you edited out.