Is the sim genre dead?

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by JU_88

Ill bet that in another 10 years, game DVDs & blueRay Discs will be history.

You know what ive been wondering, is how the decline of PC games will effect the computer industry in general. I don't think it's any sort of embellishment to say that gaming, has been the (edit: I should say, "A major" instead of "the ) driving force that has pushed technology standards and barriers. You don't need a bleeding edge video card and a quad core processor for word processors, spread sheets, web browsers, or power point presentations. I suppose its entirely possible that if PC games dies out completely the computer industry in general, while it won't disappear, it could experience a sharp decline, or stagnation.

[robbo180265]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

You know what ive been wondering, is how the decline of PC games will effect the computer industry in general. I don't think it's any sort of embellishment to say that gaming, has been the (edit: I should say, "A major" instead of "the ) driving force that has pushed technology standards and barriers. You don't need a bleeding edge video card and a quad core processor for word processors, spread sheets, web browsers, or power point presentations. I suppose its entirely possible that if PC games dies out completely the computer industry in general, while it won't disappear, it could experience a sharp decline, or stagnation.

Is right on the button. PC's will become nothing more than word processors without PC games.

[Arclight]

What, the whole "PC gaming is dying" thing? Again?

I think Ducimus nailed it, and that's exactly why it's here to stay. It's the PC gaming that drives the consoles, not the other way around.

Originally Posted by JU_88

Its no suprise the PC game market is dwindling in gerneral.
10 years ago.....
PC games had the visual edge over consoles
Online gameing was PC exclusive.

Now in 2010 Consoles offer online play and match the PC in terms of visuals, couple that with the fact that they are:
a) A 1000 times more user freindly,
b) far more affordable
c) less prone to piracy
-and its really a no brainer.

PC still holds the visual edge.

I can see the more user friendly point; that's pretty much the whole reason they are popular. Pop in a disc and play. But nowadays consoles deal with installations as well; they are moving closer and closer to becoming PCs.

Affordable? Only initially. Games are generally 33% more expensive, though Bobby Kotick is pushing really hard to screw PC gamers over in that regard.

Piracy is a bigger factor on PC because it's easier. If PC gaming would disappear, piracy would just become as big a problem on consoles.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by robbo180265

Is right on the button. PC's will become nothing more than word processors without PC games.

This presupposes that the only thing you can do on a PC is play games. There are thousands of real-world industries to which the personal computer is integral. If the PC gaming industry were to disappear overnight, the demand for big machines would remain.

[robbo180265]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

This presupposes that the only thing you can do on a PC is play games. There are thousands of real-world industries to which the personal computer is integral. If the PC gaming industry were to disappear overnight, the demand for big machines would remain.

Well yeah true - there's the IT industry I suppose they will still need top end machines, but other than that I can't see it. I work for Royal Mail and the kind of machine they use has a hamster powering it. I can't think of many industries that would need a high end machine apart from IT and possibly production lines (although I suspect not)

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by robbo180265

Well yeah true - there's the IT industry I suppose they will still need top end machines, but other than that I can't see it. I work for Royal Mail and the kind of machine they use has a hamster powering it. I can't think of many industries that would need a high end machine apart from IT and possibly production lines (although I suspect not)

Well, television, music and film come readily to mind. Not everyone uses a Mac.

[robbo180265]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

Well, television, music and film come readily to mind. Not everyone uses a Mac.

Most music is produced on Macs I'm led to believe (coming from Brighton, I know a few DJ's who mix their own work) obviously I don't know this 100% but the DJ's I know use cubase on the Mac.

I have no idea about studios mind you.

Television and films I have no idea about, but would imagine that they would be able to afford high end machines (assuming that PC gaming dies and PC prices soar)

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by robbo180265

Most music is produced on Macs I'm led to believe (coming from Brighton, I know a few DJ's who mix their own work) obviously I don't know this 100% but the DJ's I know use cubase on the Mac.

Not true. The music industry is split almost evenly between the two. And, I actually have Cubase 5 installed on this very PC. A lot of guys like the PC for the very reason that we all know: You can upgrade the hardware as new software is released. This is the major reason that most guys working with film scores prefer the PC over the Mac.

[MGR1]

Originally Posted by robbo180265

I work for Royal Mail and the kind of machine they use has a hamster powering it.

Sounds like Sainsbury's as well. The computers in the store I work in were only upgraded to XP last year!!

As for sims being dead? Enough people do virtual flying to keep the genre going.

Mike.

[Trevally.]

I think the PC will die and this will happen when consoles evolve and become upgradable, just like a PC.

Then someone will say " hey we should create a console"

[THE_MASK]

I reckon SH5 has at least 5 years of modding left in it , the mods so far havnt even scratched the surface . So SH5 will go for at least 5 years .

[Arclight]

Not strictly sims related, but we strayed from that anyway.

PC Gaming Is Having a Great Year, Are You Enjoying It?

StarCraft II, Napoleon: Total War, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2: Love it or hate it, PC gaming seems to be having a great year.

And that's just what has already hit, if you're a PC gamer you've got quite a glut of games to look forward to for the rest of the year. Here's the short list: Civilization V, R.U.S.E, Dead Rising 2, Medal of Honor, Fallout: New Vegas, Fable III, LEGO Universe and Call of Duty: Black Ops

[scrapser]

Originally Posted by Arclight

Not strictly sims related, but we strayed from that anyway.

PC Gaming Is Having a Great Year, Are You Enjoying It?

Don't forget Carrier Command! It's overdue (and I'm patient) and should hopefully be one of the epic games to be released in recent times.

[krashkart]

Originally Posted by Arclight

Piracy is a bigger factor on PC because it's easier. If PC gaming would disappear, piracy would just become as big a problem on consoles.

Ayuh. There is nothing on the shelves or on the net that is 100% immune to being pirated. If it is available, somebody will want it for free and somebody will find a way to provide it for free. What is almost as bad is when there are companies who proclaim to the world that their almighty new protections are unbreakable. They seem to have forgotten about the Titanic and how unsinkable she was. *whoops!* We silly humans and our fruitless quest for invincibility.


It was mentioned on the previous page also that PC's do a lot more than just run games... that was the gist of what I picked up on anyway. Indeed. How often do you see a supercluster of gaming consoles crunching data for the USGS? The PC can do a lot more than just run games... it can do a heck of a lot more than a gaming console. It is here to stay for now.

[Frumpkis]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

You know what ive been wondering, is how the decline of PC games will effect the computer industry in general. I don't think it's any sort of embellishment to say that gaming, has been the (edit: I should say, "A major" instead of "the ) driving force that has pushed technology standards and barriers. You don't need a bleeding edge video card and a quad core processor for word processors, spread sheets, web browsers, or power point presentations. I suppose its entirely possible that if PC games dies out completely the computer industry in general, while it won't disappear, it could experience a sharp decline, or stagnation.

I don't think so. We're in the middle of a transition from traditional ways of delivering passive entertainment like music, video, and movies to computer-based ways of delivering this media. We have satellite TV in the house, but my family is already spending half its TV-watching time on streaming Netflix via computer. As soon as the selection improves enough, we'll probably ditch the Sat TV and go online-only.

Another thing... people now shoot camera stills and video on digital media, which is stored, edited, and displayed on PC's. Have you ever tried to edit an hour of HDTV-res digital video? I couldn't do it on my last PC. I can only do it on my new, much faster box with a blazing-fast GPU (which is also a great gaming machine).

As long as people want to view, store, and process HD-quality digital media on their computers, we'll have healthy platforms for running games. The main restriction on games developed for PC's will remain what they are now -- the ease-of-use in running games on consoles (no configuration hassles), and the built-in DRM advantage with console games.