Is PC gaming dying?

[TarJak]

Have consoles won the gaming platform war? GfK thinks so. Have you say on the blog...

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/21/1203467255500.html
http://blogs.smh.com.au/mashup/archives//017322.html

[SUBMAN1]

hardly. I have yet to see a Console game offer anything close to the depth of a PC game. Where are games like STALKER on the consoles? Where are Flight Sims on the consoles? Are you ever going to have a Falcon on the consoles? Forget it. They are incapable.

The consoles have won in a genre dominated by the stupid and ADHD type people that are looking for 30 min distractions, but don't expect to find SH V on a console. Its never going to happen.

Besides - Consoles are so limited both graphics and memory wise its pathetic. This has little to do with their one really biggest limitation - input control. Where is the mouse and keyboard for a console??? A man with a mouse and keyboard will always dominate a console player online. Have you ever watched one of my videod and seen my accuracy? That is never going to be accomplished with anything short of a mouse. I use a laser mouse as well, so i can't chock up my lack of aiming ability on hardware. If i miss - it is my personal lack of skill.

just my 2 cents.

-S

PS. Know how to know if a PC game might possibly suck? There is a console port of it. A PC game that is not ported to a console is probably beyond a consoles ability so it probably has enough depth to be entertaining for a long while.

[StarFox]

Can you surf the internet, do your taxes, write a story, do a resume, play games, hijack some ungaurded server, launch all the nuclear weapons in the world on a Xbox360 or a PS3?

Not all of them, PC's (and assorted Apple Junk) will be around for now at least

[silentrunner]

I have this argument with my father all the time he tries to say that Silent Hunter seems like a console game:-?:-??????????????????????? I try to explain that doing that would be just about impossible and that the patches and mods would not be available. But he just doesn't understand video games:nope:

[CCIP]

Oh, they've been preaching this one for years, and it's not actually happening. The truth is that the console market is expanding rapidly, but it's just due to casual players being drawn in. Wii alone has hugely expanded the market by raking in more living room gamers than anything that's come before it.

But truth is, the PC market may not blossom like the "old days", but there will always be games to be made for it. The technical limitations of consoles will always ensure an audience for PC games.

[d@rk51d3]

Has anybody got SH3 (or 4 for that matter) running on Linux?

Could be intersting to try installing them to PS3.:hmm:



As regards to the opening question......

.....HELL NO!

[Chad]

Tarjak, you wouldn't happen to be a member of BRL would you?

Just surprised you know Gfk that's all :D

[bookworm_020]

I saw this and thought it was a bi of a beat up. The PC Market is still expanding, so there life still out there!

[Blacklight]

My problem with the whole console market is:
1. The games when you boil down the mechanics of it are basically either simplistic real time strategy, first person shooters, or old Nintendo style rpgs (If you want a REAL RPG, get out a pencil, some paper and some dice and I'll show you a proper one).
2. The game console is out for like a year and then they unveil the NEW console and discontinue all the games for the old one. (Yeah.. this kind of happens with computers but it's streached out over a longer period of time as you can upgrade your computer as need be for a few years)
3. You can't mod the games and if there are any bugs in the game, you can't patch it.
4. No user created content. Therefore, replay value is limited once you "beat the game" you know how to beat the game again.. which lends to..
5. Console games tend to be very linear. Nomatter how you slice it, you always end up following the same path one way or another and with no mods and user created content, it restricts you to this path.
6. Console games are mostly eye candy for the kids and don't offer much that I'm interested in. If there's not explosions, fast cars, or intense manga style swordfighting, you won't see it on a console.

I've seen LOTS of console games and none I've encountered have come close to the fun of a lot of the old Atari 2600 games.

*Sits in his rocking chair and waits for a young'un to tell him that he's just an old man.* :D

[StarFox]

I still enjoy my old Super Nintendo. got it off ebay, my old one was busted up and dead. this one works great, of crouse, they are getting rare, so I try to be careful. I enjoy how simple the games are. not complicated, but loads of fun

and of course, the best system game ever, Golden Eye for the N64, NOTHING beats that game. I wish I had an N64 just for that game!!

[TarJak]

Tarjak, you wouldn't happen to be a member of BRL would you?

Just surprised you know Gfk that's all :DNo I'm not. I only mention them as they are the ones mentioned in the article.

@Subman1, Whilst I'm with you on the felxibility and superiority of the PC as a gaming platform, the problem which GfK points to is an economic one. The argument is not about which platform is superior, but which one the game publsihers see as making the most money for them at the least cost.

If the sales of a platform's content become so consolidated into fewer titles, then the platform itself becomes at risk of die of starvation of content. I also agree that I don't see this happening particularly in the simulations market and think that what is happening is that consoles are expanding their market, but that there is plenty of room for both platforms to co-exist. Although I'm not one of them I know plenty of people who enjoy and buy games on both console and PC platforms.

What is necessary is for the market to continue to grow for PC titles otherwise publishers will increasingly simply port their console games for PC, (a trend that is increasing in popularity, unfortunatley IMHO). This ususally results in a sub standard PC experience which also means that PC platform sales are likely to head downwards.

We are the answer, in that if we wish to continue to enjoy good quality titles on the PC platform we have to support the industry by buying the games we enjoy playing.

[Venatore]

I really hope PC games remains the foundation for all gaming technology.

[Kapitan_Phillips]

I think what puts alot of people off PC gaming is the fact that there's always a possibility that the latest releases wont work on your machine, and you need upgrades. At least with a console, the games you buy are guaranteed to work. (Except EA frigging Sports and their bull****)

However, on the flipside, barring the X-Box 360's HDD support, consoles are unable to really have any mods to allow replayability. When I play a story driven console game, I'll play it through once, then put it away for a month or two, then have the urge to play it again.

That said, however, there's even ways to add your own custom songs to Guitar Hero, if I recall (Layla, anyone? :rock:) and with promises of downloadable rosters and gameplay modes for the upcoming WWE Smackdown releases, it might be a first step towards bringing a bit more diversity to the console market.

(Wow, a post of mine that made sense! :huh:)

[antikristuseke]

I have to say, this is one of the very rare times where i completely agree with Subman1.

[SmokinTep]

They'll have to pry my computer out of my hands before I buy a console........

[Dowly]

Oh, they've been preaching this one for years, and it's not actually happening. The truth is that the console market is expanding rapidly, but it's just due to casual players being drawn in. Wii alone has hugely expanded the market by raking in more living room gamers than anything that's come before it.

But truth is, the PC market may not blossom like the "old days", but there will always be games to be made for it. The technical limitations of consoles will always ensure an audience for PC games.

Amen to this. I've heard these talks of consoles taking over the PC for 6-7 years now. It's bollocks. :yep:

[danlisa]

However, on the flipside, barring the X-Box 360's HDD support, consoles are unable to really have any mods to allow replayability. When I play a story driven console game, I'll play it through once, then put it away for a month or two, then have the urge to play it again.

LOL, not true. There are more games coming to the consoles (360 & PS3) which support user created content. UT3 & COD4 are just 2 examples. The irony is, you need a PC to create the content.:lol:

@ Blacklight

You can't mod the games and if there are any bugs in the game, you can't patch it.
Not true anymore. COD4, Warhawk, Assassins Creed are all on later patch versions than the original releases, at least on the PS3. However, I will concede that modding console games is very hard as you need an insight into the coding.

The game console is out for like a year and then they unveil the NEW console and discontinue all the games for the old one.
I'll talk about what I know. The PS3 is a 10yr console and still continues to support/play & sell PS1 & PS2 games.

Console games tend to be very linear. No matter how you slice it, you always end up following the same path one way or another and with no mods and user created content, it restricts you to this path.
True, in the majority. However, Grand Theft Auto, Assassins Creed, Oblivion (ok PC port:p), Final Fantasy & Warhawk are all open and can be played as the user see fit. More non-linear content will come soon.

Console games are mostly eye candy for the kids and don't offer much that I'm interested in. If there's not explosions, fast cars, or intense manga style swordfighting, you won't see it on a console.
:rotfl:Each to their own. I guess I'm lucky, I can enjoy a console game as much as a 'serious' PC game. BTW, console games are not restricted to the genres you mention. Some of the newest PS3 content does not fall into these categories and at the moment, they are the ones getting the best user reviews.

@ d@rk51d3

Has anybody got SH3 (or 4 for that matter) running on Linux?

Could be intersting to try installing them to PS3.

SH3 has been used on Linux before, although it's not easy. As for SH3 on a PS3, the Cell processor & GFX chip will run it, however the installed RAM is not sufficient or indeed arranged/utilised in such as a that SH3 could possible use it. If you like, SH3 is not coded correctly to draw on the PS3's RAM resources. Believe me, I asked about his.;)

@ All

To the opening question. PC gaming will not die or could ever be replaced by consoles, until consoles are user upgradeable. Tech & Software moves too quickly to allow a console to replace PCs.

What will happen is that we will see a merging of the two into a single media centre capable of normal windows tasks, Media content, PC games & Console games. For example, the PS3 is fairly close to this at the moment and this is only possible because Linux can be installed. The only thing pulling the PS3 down is the complexity of it's coding system & unusual use/implementation of RAM memory.

[Dowly]

Rofl, I was waiting when you'd jump in. :up:

[danlisa]

Rofl, I was waiting when you'd jump in. :up:

:rotfl:

It was inevitable. I like consoles but I love my PS3.

I still agree that PC Gaming is here to stay for the near future.

[Dowly]

Rofl, I was waiting when you'd jump in. :up:
:rotfl:

It was inevitable. I like consoles but I love my PS3.

I still agree that PC Gaming is here to stay for the near future.

I love your PS3 too... for the time being I get my own in 2037. :yep:

[danlisa]

I love your PS3 too... for the time being I get my own in 2037.

LOL, it's an illness.:oops:

I've already spent more on my PS3 than the cost of a top range AlienWare PC.

Watch out though, PS3's will severly drop in price very soon due to the increased sales because of Blu-Ray exclusivity. Prolly just in time for MGS4, MGSO and GTA.;)

[silentrunner]

I still enjoy my old Super Nintendo. got it off ebay, my old one was busted up and dead. this one works great, of crouse, they are getting rare, so I try to be careful. I enjoy how simple the games are. not complicated, but loads of fun

and of course, the best system game ever, Golden Eye for the N64, NOTHING beats that game. I wish I had an N64 just for that game!!I have my old N64 I play Goldeneye all the time:rotfl::rotfl:.

[Dowly]

I still enjoy my old Super Nintendo. got it off ebay, my old one was busted up and dead. this one works great, of crouse, they are getting rare, so I try to be careful. I enjoy how simple the games are. not complicated, but loads of fun

and of course, the best system game ever, Golden Eye for the N64, NOTHING beats that game. I wish I had an N64 just for that game!!I have my old N64 I play Goldeneye all the time:rotfl::rotfl:.

Now that's a hard game to beat by any game, console or PC. :up:

[VipertheSniper]

I still enjoy my old Super Nintendo. got it off ebay, my old one was busted up and dead. this one works great, of crouse, they are getting rare, so I try to be careful. I enjoy how simple the games are. not complicated, but loads of fun

and of course, the best system game ever, Golden Eye for the N64, NOTHING beats that game. I wish I had an N64 just for that game!!I have my old N64 I play Goldeneye all the time:rotfl::rotfl:.
Now that's a hard game to beat by any game, console or PC. :up:

Perfect Dark beats it I'd say, uses the same engine tho... (if only I could find a way to setup the analog stick for the mouse, so I can aim like in PC FPS)

[Dowly]

I still enjoy my old Super Nintendo. got it off ebay, my old one was busted up and dead. this one works great, of crouse, they are getting rare, so I try to be careful. I enjoy how simple the games are. not complicated, but loads of fun

and of course, the best system game ever, Golden Eye for the N64, NOTHING beats that game. I wish I had an N64 just for that game!!I have my old N64 I play Goldeneye all the time:rotfl::rotfl:.
Now that's a hard game to beat by any game, console or PC. :up:
Perfect Dark beats it I'd say, uses the same engine tho... (if only I could find a way to setup the analog stick for the mouse, so I can aim like in PC FPS)

Never tried it, but have heard it's a great game. BUT, I think Goldeneye paved the way for PD. :yep:

[TteFAboB]

2. The game console is out for like a year and then they unveil the NEW console and discontinue all the games for the old one. (Yeah.. this kind of happens with computers but it's streached out over a longer period of time as you can upgrade your computer as need be for a few years)

That doesn't stop you from playing the games. As a PC gamer, you know that good games are eternal: it doesn't matter how old it is, it simply doesn't get old. A successful port to console, for instance, X-Com on the Playstation, can be played untill your Playstation breaks beyond repair. It doesn't matter if there's a Playstation 3 out. Unless it had a better X-com working for it. Actually, the port is even superior to the PC version in terms of sound, music and cut-scenes because it was released on CD, unlike the PC's 3.5 (old game, huh?). The quirk of the PC is: you can take those sounds, music and cut-scenes and stuff it in the PC version.
But this is actually an advantage of consoles: you know you can always turn on the Nintendo 64 and the console and the games will always work, guaranteed, untill both decay beyond operability. With the PC, however, you never know if your old software will still work with your new hardware, your new Windows or your new DirectX. Even the tools created for helping with this are no guarantee.

3. You can't mod the games and if there are any bugs in the game, you can't patch it.

As far as patches are concerned, in a sense this is an advantage of consoles. Old PC games, before the internet, couldn't be patched either. This forced the developing team to work hard to squish out all the bugs and make sure that they've done a good job. It's their master piece. It's all or nothing. Today, it is actually an option for some teams to release slightly bugged games, and if it sells well anyway, then they invest some more money to patch it, but if it doesn't sell well they just move on to the next project. In other words: Silent Hunter 4.


4. No user created content. Therefore, replay value is limited once you "beat the game" you know how to beat the game again.. which lends to..

That's not true of all types of games. Gran Turismo has no user created content, yet the replayability is unlimited, untill you find a better racing game. Also, while I'm an enthusiast of open-end and replayability, I recognize not all games must fit this scope. Some games are, indeed, meant to be played once or twice. They are special like a novel or a movie. This is true of PC games aswell. Syberia I and II, for instance, has no user created content and once you beat it you know how to do it, yet, it is a great game to play, like an interactive novel. Some games compare to movies so much that they are actually made into movies, like Silent Hill or Resident Evil.
5. Console games tend to be very linear. Nomatter how you slice it, you always end up following the same path one way or another and with no mods and user created content, it restricts you to this path.

As mentioned above, not only is this no disavantage as long as it's appropriate for the genre (that is, not a flight simulator), but there are superb linear PC games such as Syberia or pretty much any old PC adventure game. The point is that linear PC games can be made superior to linear console games thanks to the hardware advantage. Two great PC games: X3 and Freelancer. One is, despite all claims, entirely linear. The other is entirely the opposite. This means you can play X3 more than Freelancer, but not that Freelancer is a bad game. It was a great game to play once.
6. Console games are mostly eye candy for the kids and don't offer much that I'm interested in. If there's not explosions, fast cars, or intense manga style swordfighting, you won't see it on a console.

PC games are mostly dumbed-down First-Person-Shooters for kids or dumbed-down real-time-"strategy" (a.k.a. real-time-zerg-rushing or real-time-click-fest) games for kids. The difference is that you can find alternatives on the PC.

As I see it, the advantage of consoles is live multiplayer. If a console game had a two-player option, I always played it in two-player mode. Then came four player mode: N64's Goldeneye is a dumbed-down FPS with a boring single-player game. The multiplayer, however, is historical.

[SUBMAN1]

Has anybody got SH3 (or 4 for that matter) running on Linux?

Could be intersting to try installing them to PS3.:hmm:



As regards to the opening question......

.....HELL NO!Yes and good luck are the answers to your question. Getting SH3 or 4 is probably not a big deal to get running on Linux. On PS3 hardware though, you are opening a can of worms that I doubt anyone is going to be able to accomplish. It would probably be an accomplishment simply to get a GUI working on a PS3.

-S

[Blacklight]

I CAN say that video game stores around here pretty much carry only console games. Any PC games I've gotten lately have had to be ordered online. Most of the computer stores around here don't sell games either.

[danlisa]

It would probably be an accomplishment simply to get a GUI working on a PS3.
You mean like this? People have even managed a windows XP shell using an emulator through Linux.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3473/ps3linux9mnhe0.jpg

The PS3's hardware/original OS coding was specifically optimised by design for Linux.

However, I do agree that SH3/4 is a pipe dream on the PS3. As I previously stated the system RAM is insufficient to run the game, while there is 512mb available, SH3/4 will not be able to call on/utilise one lot of 256mb, however the Cell & RSX is more than enough to run the game.

@ SUBMAN1 - I know you dislike all things Sony but backoff about the PS3. I'm the Ying to your Yang! LMAO.:lol:

[d@rk51d3]

I love your PS3 too... for the time being I get my own in 2037.

LOL, it's an illness.:oops:

I've already spent more on my PS3 than the cost of a top range AlienWare PC.

Watch out though, PS3's will severly drop in price very soon due to the increased sales because of Blu-Ray exclusivity. Prolly just in time for MGS4, MGSO and GTA.;)


And maybe SHV..........:hmm:


In my dreams.:roll: :lol:

[orwell]

hardly. I have yet to see a Console game offer anything close to the depth of a PC game. Where are games like STALKER on the consoles?

GSC is a licensed 360 developer. So we may see STALKER on at least one console, maybe more.

[sonar732]

I still enjoy my old Super Nintendo. got it off ebay, my old one was busted up and dead. this one works great, of crouse, they are getting rare, so I try to be careful. I enjoy how simple the games are. not complicated, but loads of fun

and of course, the best system game ever, Golden Eye for the N64, NOTHING beats that game. I wish I had an N64 just for that game!!I have my old N64 I play Goldeneye all the time:rotfl::rotfl:.

My wife and I played Zelda on the N64 more than our son did.:rotfl::rotfl:

[Kapitan_Phillips]

It would probably be an accomplishment simply to get a GUI working on a PS3.
You mean like this? People have even managed a windows XP shell using an emulator through Linux.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3473/ps3linux9mnhe0.jpg

The PS3's hardware/original OS coding was specifically optimised by design for Linux.

However, I do agree that SH3/4 is a pipe dream on the PS3. As I previously stated the system RAM is insufficient to run the game, while there is 512mb available, SH3/4 will not be able to call on/utilise one lot of 256mb, however the Cell & RSX is more than enough to run the game.

@ SUBMAN1 - I know you dislike all things Sony but backoff about the PS3. I'm the Ying to your Yang! LMAO.:lol:

Dude, awesome Otacon clock :rotfl:

[Stealth Hunter]

Despite what these people say, PC gaming is not dying, and it will NEVER die so long as we have humans on planet Earth.

The fact is, PC games are much more customizable than console games, something which they (consoles) have and always will suffer for. Not only this, but the PC genre has always been there. I don't see it just dramatically declining and dying in a matter of years. In fact, consoles are becoming more and more like computers themselves.

To top this entire post up, consoles require much more money than PC's. By that, I mean that you only need one PC, save for the occasional upgrade to a better graphics card. At most over a period of 5 years, you might spend a total of $1,000 (that's the computer itself, graphics cards, RAM upgrades, etc.). With consoles, you have a new one every 3-4 years, which on average cost about $400 bucks for every new one you buy (if you want to keep up with the times, that is). We've seen it before: the PS1, PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo Game Cube, Nintendo Wii.

[AdlerGrosmann]

Bah!:down: In my mind, PC gaming is never going to die. But I still play my PSP, GBASP, PS2/PS1. If everyone else starts gaming with those consoles, at least we'll be the ones left.:smug: