PC games. They have better graphics, better online support and, depending on who you ask, better controls. Despite all these advantages, however, the PC game market has had its death-knell rung several times, and developers don't seem keen on making computer titles anymore. Among them is Brink studio Splash Damage, a developer that has come out to say that games designed solely for PC just can't attract money.
"About two or three years ago we realized that we really wouldn’t survive if we only made PC games, since purely making PC games was incompatible with our goal of making triple-A games," states SD boss Paul Wedgewood. "You just can’t get the publisher budget to ever [use] an orchestra in London, and then go and record at Abbey Road and get the best voice actors if you’re only going to release on the PC, where there isn’t the sales to justify that kind of work.
"Because we needed to make that transition, I started playing console games. [I now spend] a lot more time playing console stuff."
Considering this is the studio that denounced analog sticks as a poor man's mouse, these are weighty words indeed. Unfortunately, it seems that PC games are pirated to buggery more often than not (likely by people who spend their time complaining about a lack of respect for PC gamers) and that consoles are the only way to secure the cash. Things really are looking bleak for PC gaming.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
11:40 AM on 10.28.2009 | 
to put it in the simplest form.
everyone who has a console is playing video games on it.
not everyone with a computer uses it just for gaming.
and im not counting casual games, i mean full on retail games.
I give it 10 years untill it's officially gone (at least from a media stand point).
wow this sounds like the point i was trying to get across in the MW2 PC spec article that no one seemed to understand.
consoles are just easier and cheaper in the long run, because you dont have to upgrade them.
and this is why i no longer play PC games.
All of my console-using friends have had games crash, consoles break, and all the while I can start TF2 in under 15 seconds, knowing it'll work every time.
Also, RTS games seem to be doing just fine on PC.
I don't think that PC gaming will ever die out completely, but I do think it'll change. I mean, look how much the console landscape changed, pre Golden Eye, people it probably didn't even cross most peoples minds that you could do an FPS on something other then PC. 'Sides, porting to the PC from consoles is getting easier and easier every generation.
Also, as for the incompatibility issues described by RenegadePanda, that's probably a windows update issue. What game was it? It can probably be fixed, and prevented from happening again, but it'll take you a hour or so.
Also also, I get the feeling that the 'AAA' thing has more to do with the fact that you don't get endorsement money from making a PC exclusive like you do for making it a 360 or PS3 exclusive.
My 8800GT and midrange Core 2 Duo have lasted me nearly 2 years. Currently running Borderlands with 0 problems and far better graphics than my PS3 :)
But it doesn't invalidate your point, though I'd say people's idea of mid-range is skewed. A mid-range PC bought in the past couple of years should have no problems with recently-released PC games. More people should research benchmarks and so on before buying, or PC manufacturers should be more honest in their marketing. It's obvious piracy is the key issue though. I bought Borderlands but it was a tough choice considering I had access to several pirate copies on private torrent sites.
ive had alot more computer crashes and incompatibility issues with PC's than consoles.
only console ive had break on me, and had to get a new one, was my 360. and my 2nd one broke as well. so i no longer buy 360 crap.
and im getting rid of my 360 games in my TRADE YO GAMES forum post if anyone is interested.
still have my original PS1,2(fat and slim) and PS3 with no issues.my SNES and NES(finicky) still work.
The argument of just make good games and sales will come is BS as well. In a world where pirate versions shows up before retail versions; it's no wonder consoles will win and PC gamers will suffer with delayed ports.
So clearly it's not piracy that's killing the PC what's "killing" the PC is high budget games and really the fact PC Gaming is an open system that finds the fact of being closed 'vile'.
Gaming is getting expensive, don't kid yourself, we're on the eve of some mighty large price hikes come next generation. After all the 360 and PS3 even at their maximum costs were still sold at a loss.
So yes there will be a time where the PC may lose the triple AAA 2+ million dollar budget games. But it will never cease being a viable gaming platform, not ever, it has weathered worse storms than this.
Diablo III and Starcraft II are not coming to consoles.
I also pre-ordered Dragon Age for the PC. And loved the hell out of Fallout 3 PC. I'm just glad that we still have the choice. I hope it stays that way.
and yes computers are far more equal now than they were like 10 years ago. when consoles started getting more popular.
back then it seemed like you had the best grfx card, or you had something that runs on all low settings. i remember having a good pc when URT came out. but i didnt have a good grfx card. so i had to go out and get one. cause low settings sucked. then more games came out, then my pc was junk but the grfx card was still fine, so now i had to get another pc. screw that this playstaion doesnt need upgrades, i think ill get one of those instead.
-----The Thing is Microsoft and other Companies "Profit" more from Consoles, even with only 1 person using it. I bought a Laptop for College because I needed it. I decided to invest in it so i bought a Graphics Card with it. It is a good Laptop that interested me in finding games "Free-to-Play." I found a lot of games that let gamers download their software and play it for free and they make profits by giving users "the Choice" of buying in-game items. I decided that from now on, I only play PC games. It is a better investment. I am Planning to build a Gaming PC with a Budget of $1000 that I would not have to upgrade in the near Future. I have Freedom with PC, I can choose what settings I want, what I can download. I get free updates, Free Online Gaming, Free voice chat, thank you but no Consoles.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25663
dont bother with the cost, I have friends that own 360, they have paid for their second or third one allready and that in only a couple of years, so dont tell me that pc gaming is expensive because console gaming doesnt seem to be a lot cheaper. In the last three years this is my second pc gaming rig, I can sell the outdated cpu and mother and video card and probably I spended 400usd on the update for another three years.
Thats because its me, I could have gone with the same 3 year old rig for another year or more...
I dont know, maybe is the trend, I hate that trend, im sick of arguing the issue of "cost", seems like Im trolling over some political battle with people that dont even live in that country.
Im all in for good PC gaming, try team fortress 2 or left4dead over STEAM on a PC. Try out STEM or another digital distribution service and see how good pc gaming is made, try free online support.
of course that pc gamers wont support s***t like the mw2 deal. That is a stupidity and nothing good will come out of it. Developers think that maybe doing that they will stop piracy... no, they wont. They would stop piracy if they werent charging 60usd on STEAM for MW2, and with proper mp support for the pc. I would buy that for 50usd like every other AAA title. So here is the thing: people will pay 60usd for a game on console, pc gamers probably wont.
So yeah, there is piracy, that doesnt suprise me. I live in south america, every xbox 360 that I have seen is cracked to play pirate games, so what? in that case console developers should stop making games for consoles. I probably buy more games on STEAM that many console players.
The PC gaming market is smaller as well. The big players can do it still (activision, valve, etc.) but to a regular studio without a built in audience, PC as a platform just isn't that attractive anymore.
With luck, it'll simply adapt.
No.
Gamers who only like to play on consoles like to push the fact they never have to upgrade or something, then proceed to buy the next Xbox or PS4 or something. Yeah, consoles do upgrade. They do it all the time. And the only time you need to upgrade your PC is around the same time as the average console life-cycle. And you do it not for 5000 DOLLARS WTFLOLFAIL, you pay for it for around the same cost as a console. No 'can't play any games without buying a new graphics card every day' thing people like to go on about.
but they last much longer than that. ps2 is going on 9 years now. id say a consoles life ends why they stop making games for it. not when a new one comes out.
so in the span of 10 years how often do you buy a new piece of hardware or even a new pc in that same time frame?
What a loser.
Not to offend but by that logic the PC hardware lifespan can be something like 10 years since they still produce excellent games for PC hardware geared to 1999.
Games like Sins of a Solar Empire, Gish, Quake Live, Aquaria, Hearts of Iron (I could go on).
Additionally people still play Jedi Knight 2, Call of Duty 1 online in fierce numbers which are both Quake 3 era games. So really we can say the PC hardware of the 90s/early 00s never really died either.
Also as long as STEAM exists, so will computer gaming.
but i can buy a newer ps2 game(made 10 years later) and it would still work on it.
but if i got a pc game(made 10 years later,unless made to lower specs) it wouldnt work on an old 500mhz pc from 1990.
now yes if you made it to those specs it would play on an old pc still, but would you want nintendo to make new game boy games on the wii? doubt it.
either way we have our choices and why we choose them. so STFUAJPG.
Except when you "pay for online play" on computers, you also get ya know, the internet which is what you're paying for in the first place. Superior online support and "free" online gaming are just side effects of the fact that you have the internet.
And yes the Wii has the internet, but it's so slow and the browser is so terrible I can't think of anyone who would put up with that as their main internet source.
Xbox 360s and PS3s also get shoved down your throat in adverts and smart marketing all the time but when was the last time you saw anything like that for the PC? Now I know the problem is that there's no one company behind the PC as a platform, but you'd think companies like Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Dell etc. would want to market their products as much but you just don't see it for some reason...
Lastly, the PC gaming industry isn't likely to die I think. It's always been the test bed for future console technology and I think the console makers will always need it as such. What the PC is doing with hardware right now is what the next generation of consoles is likely to be based on. With out such a "testing grounds" I think you would see a noticable slow down in the progression of technology in consoles which I think would greatly damage the whole industry.
After Megaman 9 I rather they did.
This is not about the "death" of PC gaming, which console-focused media has been reporting for 20 years now. He is saying huge, AAA exclusives on PC can't work, and in some ways he is right, but they can't work on PS3 either, unless you are Sony and are making games to sell systems.
Exclusives are dying across the board, as this site has reported numerous times... is it any surprise the PC, probably the lowest selling platform in most cases, is suffering from this as well? No, it isn't.
That said we still get massive AAA PC exclusives, or games so amazingly better and more full of features on PC they might as well be exclusives. Crysis, The Witcher, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights 2, Left 4 Dead 1 and 2, Empire: Total War, Risen, Painkiller Ressurrection, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, World of Warcraft Cataclysm and my personl can't wait for it game, Dragon Age Origins.
The PC also has an incredible indie scene with amazing PC exclusives made without AAA budgets, but with AAA dedication and support. Games in niches for niche gamers, which as someone gaming for 20+ years I really appreciate. Nation Red, Hinterland, Zeno Clash, Audiosurf... I can't even begin to list them all, and it will only get better.
And of course, multiplatform games made for consoles are still better on PC due to better framerates, better graphics and more control options.
So, let us cool down on the "PC GAMING IS DYING" hyperbole... I know it's hard for a media writer, but you can do it.
What're you on a crusade? Yeah yeah, we get it. You like console gaming. Do we need 20 of your posts in one article to figure that out? Not to mention every single article that remotely talks about PC gaming you're always right there to remind us of how you feel. It's starting to get to the point that I see your avatar and I skim right over it because I can already sum the entire thing up, "I play console games".
Anyway.. @ the rest of the world,
ZethUK nailed it on the head. A large part of PC gamings problem is marketing (Who's going to market it?) and there's HUGE misconceptions about the expenses of PC gaming and about how hard it is to game. It's neither expensive nor difficult, but unfortunately these stigma's are kind of stuck, for now.
There's no chance that PC gaming will ever die considering there's entire genre's that don't even exist on consoles, as well as a huge indie scene. Plus everybody will always own a computer of some sort and as long as that's the case, there'll be people wanting to sell everybody software to run on their computers, gaming included.
2. getting tired of the shortsighted "consoles are cheaper" argument. Right off the top, consider that "current gen" console games cost a *minimum* of $10 more than the same title on PC(exception for MW2 of course) So if you buy only 6 games a year, that's $60 extra per year to play on console.. let's assume an average console/pc lifespan of 5 years, and you're already tacking on $300 to the price of the console. If you're on a 360, you have another $250 in Live fees, and then you have to consider your controllers and other accessories. I won't tack on the price of a TV, since you could technically play those games on a PC monitor(not that many people actually do)