Is PC Gaming Dead? (as we knew it)

[TriniXaeno]

Don't get me wrong. It will never be completely replaced.

Just as there are still a few arcades around despite the scene being "dead".

I have no doubt in the year 2015, if things continue unabated that there will still be fellas in their mother's basement playing Counter Strike 1.6 as well as thousands of koreans playing Starcraft broodwar.

But that is hardly the definition of a thriving PC Gaming industry.

See below. PC is outplayed 10 - 1.

There is only 1 PC game that matches the consoles in playtime. World of Warcraft.

I suppose it is unfair to call the industry dead with such a behemoth still carrying the torch. Behemoth though they maybe, it is still just one. For everything outside of WoW, the argument is true.

[MessiaaH]

Consoles are cheap, so its obvious more ppl will own them, becuase it have more ppl in d world playin consoles dan pc games, it doesnt mean pc gaming is dead. not by a long shot.

And PC gaming cannot die, it will always be d bleeding edge of graphic technology.
No game going to come out on a console to push d graphical genre foward, that is always going to happen on a pc, and it always going to be around. PPL say pc gaming dead, for YEARS!, yet still, all d flagship titles, are still being made on pc, and still looking better on pc than anywhere else. And just how 10 years ago ppl say pc gaming dead, when ps2 was on d rise. is d same way dey go be saying it dead, 10 years from now.

[TriniXaeno]

All of this has happened before.....and it will happen again.

Remember when Arcade machines had the most powerful hardware and featured bleeding edge graphics? Unmatched by consoles and PCs of the day?

Featuring many big title games that would be ported to other platforms many moons after, usually with subpar graphics and gameplay?

Where are they now?

Sure, there are still one or two arcades around, but would you call that industry anything but dead? In stark contrast to the burgeoning consoles.

lol @ this thread discussing whether arcades were dying back in 2003 on anandtech

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=978358

Some people had real optimistic views in there. I don't think anyone is going to argue in favour of the arcade industry making a comeback today.

I pray that the same won't be said of PC gaming years from now.

The writing is on the wall.

[Crixx_Creww]

iam sure those stats are us only
like the comparison of halo to sc2
in korea, they have 30 hour days, and they play sc2 nonstop
so its impossible that the hours played are that low

[Crixx_Creww]

the arcades had the best graphics, and 25c a play was affordable at the time.
But pcs have the best graphics now, and will always have the best and the convenience of the pc is far greater than that of an arcade and to a large extent, a console as well.
The game manufacturers on the other hand, can kill pc gaming but maybe steam and other such services could be the saviour.

[TriniXaeno]

Consoles have surpassed PCs in terms of convenience. Trying to play BlackOps on the PC with friends made that VERY clear.

You are aware that SC2 has failed in korea?

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/939643-starcraft-ii-wings-of-liberty/55858529

http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=142288

No source is infallible but there is a certain consistency from many different authorities and the message is clear. Save for WoW, the PC is being pwnt. HARD.

Sales figures confirm. Usage figures confirm.

Laptops, netbook and tablets have flooded the PC space and probably 1% of those are gameworthy. More farmville idmc.

On Raptr, the top 10 games are on the 360 save for three. Farmville, Bejewelled and World of Warcraft.

Everyone can't be wrong.

Danger Will Robinson.

Let what happened to the Arcade scene be a lesson well learnt. If the cycle is to be broken, it will take a lot of steam (pun intended) on the part of PC denizens.

[Netizen1]

You on Raptr Wyatt? What's your ID?

[MessiaaH]

PC gaming coudl never die.
All d numbers and stuff you posting wyatt is all well and good, but keep in mind, there are big companies out there, spending millions of dollors for reserach , stats, analysts, projections , etc etc. And if PC gaming was on d verge of death, why all of this:

Microsoft revamping games for windows website to compete with steam.
AMD / Nvidia constantly every year trying to release a better gpu for pc games.
Intel every year trying to release some next cpu for enthusists / pc ga
These fellers investing billions behind PC gaming.

And d convience of steam going to outweigh d convience of consoles, dont have to faf around with any CD worrying if it going to get scratch, dont have to wait for something to reach, or walk in ah store to buy it. Search->Click->Buy->Play. Steam FTW.

Digital download is d future of pc gaming, its why microsoft jump on d bandwagon so hard.
And dey have some pretty good prices too.

And like i said, u still geting all d bess titles on PC.
How u coudl say pc gaming dead, if u still getin all d games on pc? :S

Men releasing multiplatform now. Exclusives becoming increasingly rare.
Back in d day exclusives were d rave, now, men trying to get as most sales as posible.
Why release d game for just xbox, just ps3, when dey could code it cross platform, and release for all 3, xbox/ps3/pc.

I think piracy is pc real problem, and dat being addressed by Digital Services, and d current state of Online Gaming. (u want to game online? it will be excedingly difficult dese days to pirate, till it jus not worth it).

U cant compare console gaming to pc gaming.
Consoles dead because man want to stay in dey house and game. Plain and simple.
Since consoles release, men saying pc gaming dead, yet stil till dis day, pcs have d better graphics. and AMD and Nvidia dont have plans to change dat. What u think runing d xbox? not ah lower end amd/nvidia chip? lol. And new gpus releasing so fass, even if a new console release today, with d latest and greatest gpu, in 6months-1year, pc tech will overtake it, and continue to do so, for at least 5 years, which is d average lifespan of a console.

So juss how microsoft, valvue, ati, nvidia, intel, seem to think pc gaming will live on. so will i
When i see games not being made for PC anymore, den i mite believe, like last 3 years, i wud faster believe PC gaming's downfall, cause game was gettin rare, but last year and this year, d influx of PC games, shud more convince u pc gaming is coming back strong, rather than dieing.

[Redlum08]

Messiah, with regards to the Nvidia and AMD battle, they are companies competing for business. Of course they have to try to outdo each other every year, with faster and more powerful GPU's, its what they have to do to stay in business...PC "elite" sustain that business by buying those "NEW" GPU's every year, thereby keeping it a profitable business. That doesn't mean that PC gaming surviving due to those sales, it just means the PC "Elite" keep spending their money to upgrade their PC's to play less and less games every year. "Gaming" these days is more talked about on consoles than on PC. Why? Because of the affordability of consoles and the online gaming community that has grown exponentially since the release of the next gen consoles 5 years ago. Wyatt's stats are not to be taken lightly, as they indicate a trend of console dominance in gaming. I agree that PC gaming not dying anytime soon, but it is definitely on its way out as a gaming platform of choice...

[MessiaaH]

why when ppl post a comprehensive point-of-view , alyuh pullin out 1 little bit.
Take what i said as an entirety, i ent say pc gaming not dead, ONLY becuase of ati/nviida.
A host of factors need to be taken into COMBINED account.

Like i stated before, consoles cheaper and more in d world, d numbers going to undoubtibly show more ppl playing dat.

It doesnt mean pc gaming is dying, games being released for pc every day.
Devopers care less about exclusives now, and more about cross platform. Most of d time u seeing games for xbox/ps3/pc. And as long as d best titles coming out for all 3, dont see what pc gamers have to worry about.

And with d dropping prices of said GPUs, pc gaming becoming cheaper every year. And even a cheap pc rig will show better dan consoles.

But like i said, stop proggin at 1 or 2 points, is d collective points is why i believe pc gaming is not going anywhere.

[Spazosaurus]

I've realised that in this day and age if you really want to call yourself a gamer you have to be exposed to all the platforms to gain a comprehensive, first hand view of what is what.

A big part of it comes down to personal preference too. I have a 360 and ps3 coming in, who knows one of them might be what I reach for when getting the next round of shooters.

The point is, you will now have all ur options open.

Im still not getting a wii and still not giving up on the pc simply cuz its awesomeee.

I AM cutting down on my PC upgrade expenditure though, or at least upgrade a lot less frequently.

[TriniXaeno]

Capcom thought like you did.....that digital distribution and the superior performance of PCs would mean the platform is viable once more.

They released Street Fight IV on the PC and even released a benchmark tool to showcase and grade your PCs performance with the game.

It is available on steam and Microsoft's games for windows live service.

You know what happened? The game was pirated to kingdom come.

Result...Capcom abandoned plans to bring their follow up hit, Super Street Fighter IV to the PC platform.

Steam is our greatest hope, but it wasn't enough to save the day this time.

Once upon a time there were several graphics card companies vying for your gaming dollars. Matrox, 3dfx, Nvidia, ATI, S3, Number Nine, etc...

Now there are just two. Ati and Nvidia.

Processing Power has all but become a moot point.

Gaming PCs are more affordable than ever before, yet consoles out strip them in sales a 100 to 1.

The console market has completely dwarfed the PC market to the point that it is negligible and an after thought.

This is no longer a trend...this is a fact. If the industry doesn't do something radical, as redlum says....PC will not be the platform of choice. Despite its advantages.

You know we are in trouble when Crysis 2 is being released on consoles. I ask again, who will stand for the PC?

Fast forward five years. Xbox 720 and PS4 hits, sales are in the billions. The latest MMO rage (Universe of Warcraft) is available on both platforms. Game Over. They are all doing digital distribution, offering graphics that match the PCs of the day for a fraction of the cost. Sit in the living room with all sorts of kinetic sensors to immerse you in the gaming experience. Meanwhile, everyone in the house hold is using their tablets / netbooks and fridge to check email and do word processing.

Scattered across the globe is an underground network of circa 10,000 hard core gamers with $20,000 beast machines playing Battlefield 3 led by the dark, pragmatic John "Messiaah" Conner.

[Spazosaurus]

If at all possible, I think the point Wyatt is trying to make is that you have to have an open mind and own as many of the platforms as possible (as many of us already do).

There are just a small amount of die hard pc stragglers who have not yet accepted the new programming.

I for one intend to be an extention of the pc master race over on the console side and mercilessly pound on wintry and redlum head in some games with my kb&m.

You all will curse the day I got a console, and thats a promise. Now who putting up half the money to buy me a copy of black ops for the 360?

[MessiaaH]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/07/22/downloads-account-for-48-percent-of-pc-game/1

And btw, my netbook runs starcraft 2 eh u dont have to have d latest adn greatest to game on pc.

And 1 game, sf4? wow, lol. And you forget to mention d fact, that d ability to pirate sf4 was a flaw in games for windows live, which was soon fixed by microsoft. Only problem is d fix has to be implemented in future games,  (dirt2/bioshock2). So that lil issue wont be an issue for long.

Wyatt u talking like pc gaming all but dead, or going to dead.
Juss take a look at d release schedule for 2011. and tell me, if all d latest titles, not on PC still.

How can pc gaming be dead, if men still making d best games for PC i juss dont understand it.

Also, like awesome said, a true gamer expereince all, i dont juss have ah pc. I have ah wii too. And i plan on buying a ps3. But d wii and all dat motion controll jazz, is for when ppl over. When i ready to seriously swet. Its always going to be on d PC. (Zelda is d exception to that rule and only Zelda).

U cannot say pc gaming is dead, because xbox and ps3 were sucessfull.
Its like saying, d xbox and ps3 is dead, because d wii wtf pwon dem in console sales lolol.

[TriniXaeno]

Messiaah. 48% of nothing is nothing.

Look back at the sales figures I posted. Even if you double....triple, the PC numbers. They are still a fraction of the console sales.

Remember the arcade. Superior in every way to the consoles but still....they fell.

Of course, they are still making arcade games. Tekken 6 and Street Fighter IV are out for the arcade.

When last did you go play in one?

Like I said...dead.

The PC currently has its neck in the noose.

Awesome is right, the message is clear....as a gamer, if you're on the PC, you're in the minority. Just as if you are an arcade gamer, you are in the minority.

You are not the industry. Your opinion does not matter.

The console voice (aside from World of Warcraft) is all that the developers are hearing. 95% of them.

Personally, I am vexed to see the PC fall off the bandwagon and join the Arcade in the bush on the side of the road.

This thread is a wake up call. I honestly hope some thing miraculous happens and changes things around.

If not, is Bejeweled 4 and Farmville 2.0 in 2015 iwmc.

one more thing, lets get real scientific with it. Let us establish a "basket of goods" for each platform.

We'll do 360, PC, PS3 and Wii.

Cost for the hardware, cost for 3 top games, cost for online play (if applicable)

Then weigh the pros and cons.

Lets see how a modest gaming PC stacks up against the console threat. Q4 2010.

Should be an interesting benchmark to revisit at the end of every year to see how things have changed.

[MessiaaH]

Wyatt, if u double pc sales xbox still win, does dat mean pc gaming dead :S
Becuase of d sucess of d xbox/ps3 dont mean pc gaming dead.
Because ipad selling like wildfire, dont mean ppl not buying pcs.
PC gaming dead, but one of d most played most popular games in d world, is a PC exclusive.

hear what, aparantly none of my points making it through. So ill juss post articles, and let
that explain for me, and if alyuh cyah understand from dat, den i give up lol.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102803-id-Software-PC-Gaming-Not-Dead-But-Different

http://gametheoryonline.com/2010/08/06/pc-gaming-dead-computer-games/

http://www.mobygames.com/featured_article/feature,11/section,50/

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/press-releases-tech-news/28360-pc-gaming-dead-steam-says-its-exploding.html

[TriniXaeno]

lol, like our points not reaching you either.

Messiaah, you played Mass Effect 2?

Did you realize you can't even use the mouse wheel in the menus. Wanna know why? Cause consoles don't have one and they couldn't be bothered to enable it for the PC.

That's an RPG, one of the PC strongest genres and already its being dumbed down because the console experience is the one that matters most.

Soon the PC won't matter at all. Just be happy you get a release. Never mind if it works properly. Wait, my bad...that's already the case. See BlackOps.

Imagine what the situation could be like in 2015!

Its a very disturbing trend my friend. I'm not against you on this one. Want nothing more than to see the PC thrive. I've read all those articles but the sales and play figures tell a very different story.

Read the first paragraph of that article you posted:

Every few years, the same ugly question rears its head: “Is PC gaming dead?” Truthfully, one need only point to titles like FarmVille, FrontierVille, Pet Society, Restaurant City, Happy Aquarium and other social network games and their meteoric growth to instantly refute these claims

I don't want to sound elitist...but really..farmville and Happy Aquarium is what you want as the legacy for this glorious platform?

It was bad enough when we had Deer Hunter and Sims topping the PC sales charts. (remember those stats? lol)

Now these guys making small games that look worthy of an Iphone on steam and saying PC is making a comeback. Hits like splodin' man and meat boy. Great games no doubt...but again, not what I had in mind for my 1080 mega giga flop investment in PC hardware.

Let do the basket of goods comparison.

Amazon.com should be a nice impartial site to pull together prices from.

Lets' see what you can get for your gaming dollar. Console vs PC.

[W1nTry]

This is just a case of Wyatt being a realist from the other side of the fence Messiaah and you being for advocate for the PC. I'm sure we all agree PC gaming is not DEAD, but it has definitely fallen on VERY hard times.
You mention that we have a decent PC line up for the coming 2011, I ask, how many of those titles are PC exclusives? and those that are mutliplatform, where are the largest sales figures going to be?
Czar pointed out that Blizzard is hiring console programmers.... that's not necessarily a nail in the PC coffin, but like when Intel hire's Nvidia GPU designers it raises eyebrows!
Because we live in a world where BS walks and money TALKS, with the 'safety' that the Consoles offers game developers we'll see more games on the console and less on the PC, also keep in mind that cross platform games that include the PC really aren't THAT hard to do from the 360, since it's DX and MS platform, of course what we DO see happening is the PC versions SUFFERING languish (perfect eg BOPS).
What noone has mentioned at length however was that mobile gaming and ultra portable device gaming is on a steady rise!
This brings another player! the mobile smart phone, iPod, etc. John Carmack is developing solely for the iPad... what does that say?
PC gaming will go on for a long time, however the type and scope of games they are making are in great jepordy of being overlooked by better, more secured bottom lines...

[TriniXaeno]

that's where the PC Gaming Dead (as we knew it) part comes in.

Strong emphasis on the "As We Knew It"

Again Messiaah, from one of the articles you posted

Id Creative Director Tim Willits thinks the PC market is "definitely changing," and that the "biggest struggle ... is that piracy is out of control." Willits sees PC gaming going towards "client architectures and cloud gaming" and "games that are more social" as the industry moves to combat piracy. "Look at Facebook," he says. "There are more people playing that silly Farmville than play Call of Duty." Hollenshead seems to agree with Willits' final statement: "PC gaming is not dead, but it is a bit different than it was in the past."

Compare PC gaming to the other industries. Just because Blockbuster isn't there anymore doesn't mean nobody rents or watches movies. Just because nobody goes to arcades anymore doesn't mean the entire videogame industry is dying. As id points out, the market has changed, and the PC side of it is different now. Everybody is either just buying the new World of Warcraft expansion every two years (or StarCraft every ten), playing Farmville, or buying games on Steam.

Man saying the same exact thing. This is from top gaming industry insiders.

I agree with w1ntry (how sad). Things are grim.

Imagine, carmack developing for Ipad yes. How low can we go.

wtb....time machine to return to the glory days of sweat, when the lan party ruled the world.

[MessiaaH]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/100/1005720p1.html

And another.

And i understand all wyatt points, its obvious xbox/ps3 etc doing very very VERY well. I agree, consoles selling like hops. Dat still dont mean, PC gaming Dead.
PPL releasing everythign cross platform now. It not dat hard to port to pc. SO d games will naturally always be on pc too.

And yes i play mass effect 2 on pc. what a mouse wheel in menu have to do with anything? Game run bess

Digital Services are clearly where pc going, and from dat next article i again post, u coudl see we dont have a clear picture what is going on in there. But d men and dem in there say, pc sales growing. So what, we go watch xbox sales and say no dey not?

Like i said, id be father to accept pc gaming dead 3-4 years ago, dan now.
I myself bought more games in d past 2 years, dan my entire life, beceause of d fellers like steam and such.