So does being a big PC fan mean you lose your ability to read? Because that's what I'm seeing here from some people.

Cliffy is not saying that PC gaming is dying, far from it, he's just saying that PC gaming is re-focusing on another market as it where because that's what selling, MMO's always a big market and Sim type games are accesible to everyone, hell I don't like PC gaming but I still drop like 5 hours on the Sims 2, its a fun game, doesn't require my PC to be a monolith and its fun.

Look at the Wii, that shows you how big the casual market is, PC gaming is business like anything else, it makes sense that devs would move away from it if they saw more money in consoles.

Spore will sell well because its a sim type game that looks very accesible, see where I'm going with this? It has nothing to do with PC gaming dying, just a refocus.

And Guitar is also correct, all machines have their fare share of pirates, its a lot easier to do it on a PC though, all you need is a torrent of the game and the crack for it, both of which pop up within days of the games release, hell if I'm not mistaken, BioShock was easier to pirate on the PC than it was to buy thanks to the ridiculous security measures, that pushes people away as well.

There's also the huge drought of quality titles, moreso than with a Nintendo console, shooters, RTS games and maybe an RPG. Consoles have way more than that.

@Caffeine

Dude, take off your fanboy goggles and learn to read, its ridiculous that you would think less of what Cliffy is saying just because you assume that he's jealous over the sales of the Overrated box. Gears sold 4 million on the 360, he has nothing to prove.

Because of that box with 4 turds in it, it sold very well, why? Valve works with certain standards and doesn't require you have a powerful PC, they also run very well, they seem to be the only company that does such a thing though.

"it's not supposed to only be about sales numbers, it's about making fun games"

No, that's the point actually: if you make a fun game you should be able to have good sales numbers, since you make a living out of it.

The point of the guy is, at the moment, it's much easier to program a successful game (an "harcore gamer" game) and have proper recognition (in terms of copies sold) on consoles than rather than on pc.

The only hugely successful PC games are casual games and MMORPG, since they cater to different gamers and use different subscription models. I'm a veteran PC games and it pains me to see Bioware RPGs, Assassin's Creed and so on released several months later on PC , almost as an afterthought.

I think that consoles are popular because, face it, it takes no technical skill to set up and you buy just the console with the controller. For Pc, it gets technical if you want to have the latest and greatest. I'm sure for us nerds, it all comes easy setting up the PC, but for people that don't bother to think and are not willing to learn how to work on PC's, they have to go out and shell out money for someone to work on it for them.

So in their perspective, consoles are more attractive.

I agree with much of what has been said.

The ease of piracy on the PCs is leading to internet based authentication, whether an MMO (only able to use it on their servers) or through some form of copy right protection (Steam). While this is an unfortunate necessity (seemingly... *points to Stardock* My favorite people ever), I'd much rather plug a copy in my console, and play it. While I'm not a pirate, its just annoying (especially when my internet is down, I can't play my game... and I payed for it).

For the people who hold that for an FPS, KB+M is superior... I agree with you, in most instances. But... the PS3 does allow you to use a KB+M. And you can play it while sitting on your couch (a lot easier to set up too).

The cost of PC gaming is also something that keeps me personally away from it. I know that some people have the disposable income to upgrade their rig to play PC games... me, personally? I don't... I use my cheap laptop to play old PC games (not a lot of the non-console PC games appeal to me anyways... but I'm going on a tangent)

Consoles are not as easy to pirate (having to buy special equipment/mod chips/whatever), whereas a lot of people know how to run any of the popular virtual drive programs, or how to find keygens. while PC gaming is not dead, its a lot harder to turn a profit on it (unless you're blizzard... but they have WoW... they're set for life, pretty much)

and I don't understand why someone who represents a company is getting gaffe for saying what is a fundamental fact: PC games don't sell as well, on average, as console games do. Unless its the exceptions he specifically mentioned. Why is anyone arguing this?

He's just shifting his direction of the company from PC to console...doesnt mean he's going to stop making PC games...just means that development-wise high priority will be on optimized use towards consoles

i don't think cliffy b owns a computer.

As B-Radicate says, PC Gaming died when developers started concentrating their engines on the absolute latest hardware. Luckily, there are still developers like Infinity Ward and Valve who build games on top of extremely scalable engines, but for every Valve you have twenty Cryteks working with hardware that's not even out yet. Call of Duty 2 (and Half Life 2, for that matter) ran perfectly fine on my computer prior to upgrading, with its GeForce 5500, 1.8gHz CPU, and 512MB of RAM. The reason games like The Sims and WoW are doing so well is at least in part due to their massive scalability; developers for other games need to start working with that.

so true

@ flaming burrito: PC gaming is not just as successful or even close to being as successful as console gaming. Last year's sales figures showed that PC games were only 14% of the gaming market. The rest of the sales (86%) were all consoles and handhelds. The hard numbers are $910.7 million in PC game sales out of the $18.85 billion total games market. Don't just say how you "feel;" look at the numbers.

A lot of this article has been comparing new-gen consoles to PCs and saying the differences are diminishing, etc. etc. But, the average consumer does not care about what we, the hardcore, care about. The average consumer wants to play games to have fun, to relax, to escape. A console will always be the superior platform for this. With consoles there is no install time, no drivers to install, no need to update hardware, and game updates are seemless or non-existent. Further, console games are played on a TV from a chair or other piece of furniture with a controller in hand. How many people want to sit upright at a desk with a mouse and keyboard staring at a monitor during their "fun" time? For many people, this is what they do 8-9 hours a day--what they're trying to escape from.

Umm, nothing. I love my PC gaming. there's no Hentai/Dating Sims on 360, nor is there any piracy that doesn't require voiding your warranty.

Consoles are fun for some things, but I've never thought of my PC as second to a console. EVER.

Cliffy B can go fornicate himself, FYI, I HATED Gears of War, but I'm just not into FPSs, and I STILL love my PC for gaming, who freaking knew?

@mrelusive

I know NPD numbers are imperfect, but I will shit my pants and invest every dime I have into Valve if they did anywhere close to $18 billion in sales over Steam. Whether it's 14% or 20%, PC games are no where near "just as successful, if not more than consoles," which was the point of me bringing up the numbers anyway.

I'll just give one reason that I will always cling to PC gaming above all of the consoles... Certification Process. Do you want ever single video game that ever exists to have to be approved by Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo?

Console gaming is the simple, smart, economical choice. It's more accessible. That's it, that's the bottomline. PC gaming will never again surpass consoles, as long as the consoles continue to provide the current level of overall quality. It's not really a matter of one being better than the other, though.

At this point, PC gaming is only for those who already have a predisposition towards the platform. Pulling in new PC gamers is going to be increasingly difficult, with consoles' dominance.

My ire he has it.
I got Gears and Unreal Tourney 3 and a PC I built to play them.

PC's work great for RTS, FPS.
There's this big hacking problem on PC fps's.

Sports / racing, platforms, fighting games are good on consoles. FPS's work ok, but I can never substitute a keyboard / mouse for the job. FPS's are much less prone to hacking on consoles, hence a more fair multiplayer experience.

Also, resolution is an overrated issue. It is as if every pc needs to run the games at 1600x1200 4xAA 8xAF. What the hell? I can enjoy a game at 1024x768, if higher resolutions means lower frame rates.

Never thought I would hear Cliffy being all corporate out in the public. It's nice to know that he still holds the platform that made Epic as a company successful in the first place, so near and dear. Making good games and sales has nothing to do with it though, right? When was the last great PC game from Epic? UT2K? Before that, UT99, few and far between Cliffy. What does he expect? UT3 is not a good game.

There are plenty of PC games that give me a better experience, including all FPS's, since I can't stand thumbsticks next to the mouse/keyboard. Consoles can streamline the experience all they want, but until they offer M/K input and of course modding, it will always a be a lesser form of gaming imo. PC Gaming is for enthusiasts, it's always been niche compared to consoles, this is nothing new, and he knows that.

As for games, Sins of a Solar Empire(4x Strategy) is a recent one that's simply amazing, The Witcher(RPG) is another, Crysis(FPS) of course, World In Conflict(RTS) etc. and plenty more have all made the PC a great experience and great platform in recent history. If Cliffy wants better PC sales, he needs to make better games. UT3 was the worst in series, and Gears PC was a year late and forced us to use GFW Live. And he wonders...

Upcoming this year, the PC is more than fine, with Starcraft 2, Spore, Stalker Clear Sky, and many many more, I couldn't be happier with the Platform.

Well, I’ve never had a PC that could play games, so I never got into PC gaming. Frankly, I prefer lying on my couch to sitting hunched over at a desk when I’m playing my games — but that’s just me. The facts that many others have mentioned are the real issue here:

1) PC gaming is too complicated for the average Joe (drivers, upgrades, installation, etc.), especially when he knows that he can just go out and buy a console that will play all the games that are produced for it.

2) PC gaming is too expensive for the average gamer — I’m not going to repeat what manta said a few comments ago, but look at his reason #3.

3) PC gaming also has to deal with the proliferation of piracy, which is not nearly as much of an issue on consoles (R4 notwithstanding). If I had a PSP, I wouldn’t want to send someone my battery and have them solder it so I could do all kinds of crazy shit on the PSP, but pirating PC games requires no effort beyond finding a torrent for a game that has a keygen.

4) Generally, people’s TVs are significantly larger than their computer monitors. My laptop has a 15" screen, while my dorm-size LCD HDTV is a 26-incher. Most people who have HDTVs have larger ones than mine, and that’s a big factor in deciding what to play games on.

So I wouldn’t say that PC gaming is “dead” or “dying”, but Cliffy B is right: the PC market is moving in a different direction — hell, consoles are going casual, too; just look at the game Spielberg is developing for the Wii.

The piracy argument seems kind of dumb. People loan each other books, movies and CDs constantly...and there is constant piracy there. But you don't hear people talking about abandoning those formats?

And again, does this really stand up to inspection? One look at the stuff people are calling the best games of last year: Stuff like Portal and the Orange Box, Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy, Puzzle Quest, Call of Duty 4.... It seems you get a Wii and a PC with a Steam subscription you were set for getting the best games of 2007?

Traaaaiiiiitooooor!!!

Seriously though, anyone that bought a PC in the last 3-4 years could probably upgrade it to gaming capabilities with the same amount of money that a 360 or PS3 would cost.

I think a lot of the problem is thanks to game companies and hardware vendors that made it look like it's necessary to have the latest in technology to be able to play a game, most "minimum requirements" aren't out of this world, but we don't trust them, and that's a problem.

Everyone keeps making this into an argument over which is better: consoles or PCs? But that's not what this article was about. Cliffy is saying that console games are outselling PC games and that is appealing to developers. I don't think that anyone can argue against that being 100% fact.

Everyone has their own preference as to platform is "better," but that doesn't change the sales figures and the way the industry is evolving. Stick to the topic, otherwise STFUAJPG!

Also, to tin cow, "And again, does this really stand up to inspection? One look at the stuff people are calling the best games of last year: Stuff like Portal and the Orange Box, Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy, Puzzle Quest, Call of Duty 4.... It seems you get a Wii and a PC with a Steam subscription you were set for getting the best games of 2007?"

Also seems like you could get a Wii and a 360 to get all of the games you mentioned as well as more of the "year's best" such as Halo 3, Mass Effect, Rock Band, Burnout, etc.

What went wrong? $500 video cards that are obsolete in 2 years. Discussion over.

its true and he's absolutely right...

as we ( non-pirating-gamers ) have allways warned the pirates, this will stop them from making games for the PC eventually...

another few years of pirated games and all the PC-players will be playing is lame-ass console-ports that were just made to shut them up...

PC gaming has changed as a market, but it's not dying. Cliffy is just sad Epic got left behind while Valve and smaller developers took over the space with online distribution. The future of consoles is already on PC, as per usual. It's just in the form of a business model, instead of graphics and features and such.

But I'm sure they're happy being owned by Microsoft, instead of the pure unfiltered profit and independence Valve is afforded by Steam.

why do people always exaggerate grafix card prices???? and gow pc failed even though i loved the original game.. ANNNNDDD this is why i love valve because thy believe in the pc market and IMO are doing everything right to please them.