PC gaming dead?! CPR STAT...CLEAR ZAAP!

S

solideliquid

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Messages
449
As per ebgames.com:

September
1 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2
2 Fable: The Lost Chapters
3 Myst V: End of Ages

October
1 Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
2 Serious Sam II
3 Black & White 2
4 Call of Duty 2
5 Quake 4
6 FEAR
7 Age of Empires III
8 Star Wars Battlefront II
9 HALF LIFE 2: AFTERMATH expansion!!!!!!!!!!*****

November
1 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
2 PRINCE OF PERSIA BLADES

And MANY MANY others- How can some of you say PC gaming is dying?! Dont forget PREY, STALKER, and STAR WARS EMPIRE AT WAR! That is a huge list of games up there before 2006 rolls around...
 
Games the I want

Serious sam2
hl2 addon
prey
stalker

BUT WHAT I REALLY WANT IS UT2007!!!!!!
 
It never fails: as the next gen consoles get ready to launch, some idiots always claim that PC gaming is on the verge of dying. I just file the "pc gaming is dying" crowd in with the "Apple is dying lol" crowd, given that they're both always wrong.
 
People have been saying "PC gaming is dying" for years now, there's no reason to take it seriously anymore, and certainly none to get so agitated about it.
 
There have been many reports in the news lately about the "decline of PC games." Microsoft thinks that is due almost entirely to lazy reporting and bad numbers. Worldwide, retail sales of Windows games have been flat, at about $2.3 billion a year. The press looks at these numbers and compares it with console sales of over $6 billion (and rising each year) and says that Windows games are being marginalized. To begin with, why lump all the consoles together against a single platform, the PC? Shouldn't we compare the PC individually to the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo Gamecube? More importantly is that worldwide online sales have increased to $2 billion a year, and those numbers are never included in the typical NPD industry tracking reports.

That $2 billion figure includes online sales of games, digitally distributed games, online game subscription fees, and sales of online digital objects, extras, and add-ons. This is projected to grow to about $7 billion over the next 4 years. So if you total up all the actual money being spent on Windows games, not just retail sales, it's a very healthy and steadily growing marketplace. Still, that's not enough for Microsoft. The company is working on initiatives with retailers to drastically improve the "brand" of PC games, turning the Windows PC into a platform with the same retail recognition, consistent packaging, and shelf space as the Xbox or PS2. Trials will roll out at some major retailers later this year, with a major marketing push to increasing and improving the PC game retail presence next year.
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http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1841219,00.asp
 
With a thread title like PC gaming dead?! CPR STAT...CLEAR ZAAP!, I almost didnt look at it because there is always a thread like this every couple weeks. Just like there is always at least one or more active "Help me build the ultimate PC" threads in the General Hardware area.

Sorry man... stop the fearmongering titles.
 
Speaking of numbers and pc gaming... I bet the companys want to go to consoles so they can actualy make some money!! Cuse everyone pirates games for pc... Ya people pirate console games but its not as much
 
Dont forget Need For Speed most wanted in November too for all the racing fans out there :)
 
i saw a thing on the g4 thing. How they put people in the game or something. can't wait to see wait that is gonna look like.
 
All those games and there are maybe four that look interesting. I wonder how many of those four will work right out of the box even after they're delayed from that list a few months :rolleyes:

PC gaming might not be dead but the decline becomes more significant with each console release. Check out the sales if you don't believe me.
 
solideliquid said:
As per ebgames.com:

September
1 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2
2 Fable: The Lost Chapters
3 Myst V: End of Ages

October
1 Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
2 Serious Sam II
3 Black & White 2
4 Call of Duty 2
5 Quake 4
6 FEAR
7 Age of Empires III
8 Star Wars Battlefront II
9 HALF LIFE 2: AFTERMATH expansion!!!!!!!!!!*****

November
1 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
2 PRINCE OF PERSIA BLADES

And MANY MANY others- How can some of you say PC gaming is dying?! Dont forget PREY, STALKER, and STAR WARS EMPIRE AT WAR! That is a huge list of games up there before 2006 rolls around...
Click to expand...


yup, :eek:
 
Sly said:
@WookieRookie
When a game gets released for each console out. Do they really count the release PER console? Say a game gets released to a PS3, PS2, XBoX, XBoX360, Gamecube (e.g. Super Robot Wars :p ) do they count x5?
Click to expand...



Sorry but I think you need to read what he posted again. They are referring to the revenue earned by games sold for ALL consoles and then comparing it to the revenue earned by PC games. They are not comparing the number of games available or anything like that witch is what you seem to be getting at.

From your post I gathered that you think it would be stupid to say one game title is equal to 5 console games and I would have to agree I think anyone would as it is still only one game even if the game play isn’t identical across platforms. Yet when calculating revenue that is exactly what they are doing and then comparing it to the lone windows PC. This is why the figures are so skewed and why most of us just laugh at the news reporters when they pretend they are reporting some amazing fact.

Personally I don’t own a console so my TV is for just that, TV. And since it is my TV and I like to laugh it usually stays on one of the comedy channels. My favorite comedy channel is MSNBC! Get the point? :D
 
WickedAngel said:
All those games and there are maybe four that look interesting. I wonder how many of those four will work right out of the box even after they're delayed from that list a few months :rolleyes:

PC gaming might not be dead but the decline becomes more significant with each console release. Check out the sales if you don't believe me.
Click to expand...



Hmm you know I can go through my whole game collection and play nearly every one through with out applying any patches. Just because a few games like BF2 are basically being sold in Beta form says nothing about the industry. Not to mention using that as an example of PC games being dead seems a bit off base. IMO The fact that they are able to sell a Beta with just the promise of making things right down the road really shows how big the PC game market is.

And if your want to quote sales revenue as proof I would have to say you’re letting the blind media lead your own judgment. Read the quote above and realize that the media is grouping all consoles together and pitting them against the PC. If instead your create a chart representing the game sales revenue for each console individually and then ad a line for Windows PC game sales you will see things look a whole lot different.

I will believe PC video games are dead when ATI and Nvidia tell us they are through investing in R&D to develop GPU for the PC

Funny how no one has seen a retail game played on a retail XBOX 360 witch will be the first of the next gen consoles to be released. Yet so many seem ready to declare that it is going to be able to put ANY PC to shame when paired with a 1080i TV. Sorry but I have been playing most of my games at 1600x1200 fore years now so I am far from impressed, I don’t care how big you make each pixel it still wont look as good as what I am use to seeing on my PC.
 
Sly said:
@WookieRookie
When a game gets released for each console out. Do they really count the release PER console? Say a game gets released to a PS3, PS2, XBoX, XBoX360, Gamecube (e.g. Super Robot Wars :p ) do they count x5?
Click to expand...

They are grouping all consoles vs the PC when it comes to game sales. So of course it will look as if consoles are dominating the market. As a whole they are, but not individually.
There is no decline in PC gaming. Online sales of PC games are also not included as the article says The more console systems that come out, the more spread out the market gets. When the new consoles come out, they will take a piece of the market from current PC/consoles.
 
Point is that the figures come out much different when you compare each console individually vs the PC.

WickedAngel said:
They're combining sales from the hundreds of millions of PCs available as well.
Click to expand...

I don't really get your point but that's what they are supposed to do - add up all the PC games sales. You can do the same for consoles in general but there are three different systems that make up the console section while there is only the PC in the PC section.
 
WookieRookie said:
Point is that the figures come out much different when you compare each console individually vs the PC.



I don't really get your point but that's what they are supposed to do - add up all the PC games sales. You can do the same for consoles in general but there are three different systems that make up the console section while there is only the PC in the PC section.
Click to expand...

No. There are many different types of PCs. There are user-configured PCs. There are Dell PCs. There are Hewlett Packard/Compaq PCs. There are Alienware PCs.

You're comparing industry to industry. If you're going to seperate one (Consoles) into subsections then you should do so for PCs as well. It isn't like all consoles are the same.
 
While I do not necessarily agree, I believe the thought PC gaming is dieing stems from the notion that many of those games above are slated for release on next-gen hardware, that costs a fraction of the price of a current PC.

Why pay 1,500 for a new PC or even just 500 for a new graphics card, when you could throw down 300 for a 360 to play the new Elder Scrolls?

This is PROBABLY the logic behind some people's thinking.
 
WickedAngel said:
They're combining sales from the hundreds of millions of PCs available as well.
Click to expand...

Ummm let’s be real here. Most of the computers being sold are operating off of integrated graphics witch renders them unable to play a lot of games or at least unable to enjoy playing them. I would be willing to bet that less then 25% of the computers in use at homes around the world are gaming level computers and I don’t mean gamming level as many of us here at the [H] forum would normally consider an acceptable gamming PC. I am just trying to skew the numbers in favor of your stance as much as possible. So no you’re really not comparing it to ALL the computers out there.

Lets face it while it is getting easier for consumers to learn how to get a game up and running on there PC many still have no clue what to do when things don’t just work. In many cases the game not working right out of the box on there PC has nothing to do with the game, It is because they need to update there drivers or because they have just about totally hosed there OS. But anyway even today these types of situations keep people from buying more PC games.

The reason consoles are so popular is because they just work. Anyone can put a game in the thing and turn it on. Witch is great but it comes at a cost that is uneatable to people like my self. They only enjoyment I have got out of a console in the past 5 years has been from fighting games. Nothing really compares to the consoles when it comes to virtual hand to hand fighting with a friend. You could also include sports games in there but I have never enjoyed them. I was always the type who would rather go out and actually play sports rather then simulate it on a PC or console.

Point is there is a market for both PC games and consoles and there is no way a console could ever take over the PC market entirely. If anything the PC may one day eliminate the console systems. As consumers become more computer literate and as the PCs becomes more powerful the odds are it will begin to replace more and more of the specialty electronic items found in many homes. In a decade or so everyone with have a rather powerful PC and I do mean everyone not every home.
 
PC gaming is dying. The number of made-for-PC titles continues to dwindle, and traditional PC genres such as adventure and flight sim are virtually extinct. Our only hope, the small private development houses, can't seem to turn a profit in this day and age -- or if they do, they get bought out and disolved by a corporate giant. I can't see the situation improving when the next round of consoles are released either. The next incarnation of DirectX is going to make it an order of magnitude easier and more tempting to release half-baked console ports on the PC, and not vice versa.

I don't know about the rest of you, but the whole draw of PC games for me was the capability to run games of a quality, technological, and complexity standpoint that wasn't possible on a game console. The customization ability and user-created mods were just the icing on the cake. With new releases consisting primarily of console ports, the PC has nothing positive to set itself apart.
 
WickedAngel said:
No. There are many different types of PCs. There are user-configured PCs. There are Dell PCs. There are Hewlett Packard/Compaq PCs. There are Alienware PCs.

You're comparing industry to industry. If you're going to seperate one (Consoles) into subsections then you should do so for PCs as well. It isn't like all consoles are the same.
Click to expand...


No all those computers run windows and will play the same game from the same disk. So they are all the same. How can you group the PS2 with the XBOX when you can’t take the same disk and play it in the other? It makes no sense to break up PC by there brand when the OS is the same. The only reason we are splitting up each console is because they each have there own OS. We are not grouping and separating things just because of the color and size of the case or what name is plastered on it.

To put it simply when you want to compare revenue earned on gaming media it is only fair to split it in to categories based on the media type. If Sony and MS decided they to set a standard that allowed the game developers to make one game that would play in both consoles from the same disk then maybe we could group the together but I would also be willing to bet sales revenue would drop. They chose to go the proprietary route just so they could increase the sales of the exact same game. It’s a smart business move that takes advantage of the not so bite consumers.

It’s like you’re saying we should group the sales of console games just because they all plug in to a TV? When the fact they plug in to a TV doesn’t make the games for one compatible with the other so what good reason do we have for grouping the revenue earned by them?
 
TGA said:
No all those computers run windows and will play the same game from the same disk. So they are all the same. How can you group the PS2 with the XBOX when you can’t take the same disk and play it in the other?
Click to expand...

All PCs can't play the same games. Having the same OS is irrelevant; they're manufactured in different ways using different components. To insenuate that the only difference between a Dell PC and a Hewlett Packard PC is the label on the outside is absurd to say the least.

The rest is really irrelevant. You're in denial if you don't see the sales of PC games declining. It's an obvious fact, whether you look at PC sales over the past five years exclusively or correlate the slacking sales with the increase of consoles.
 
WickedAngel said:
All PCs can't play the same games. Having the same OS is irrelevant; they're manufactured in different ways using different components. To insenuate that the only difference between a Dell PC and a Hewlett Packard PC is the label on the outside is absurd to say the least.
Click to expand...

Any gaming PC can play any PC game. Even mid range PCs can play a good amount of games. You can play the same PC game on any gaming quality Dell, Gateway, Alienware, or user configured. A PC game is a PC game. It's not a "Dell game" or "Gateway game." PC games are made for a broad range of different types of PCs. And in the end, the PC game will be played on a PC regardless of how the PC is made or what it is made of. Console games work for one specific system and thats it.
 
WickedAngel said:
All PCs can't play the same games. Having the same OS is irrelevant; they're manufactured in different ways using different components. To insenuate that the only difference between a Dell PC and a Hewlett Packard PC is the label on the outside is absurd to say the least.

The rest is really irrelevant. You're in denial if you don't see the sales of PC games declining. It's an obvious fact, whether you look at PC sales over the past five years exclusively or correlate the slacking sales with the increase of consoles.
Click to expand...



I do not deny that the amount of games coming out for the PC has somewhat dropped. And that is a direct result of big business tactics and consumers willing supporting it. Now maybe I give the consumers too much credit in saying this but I don’t believe they will continue to buy all these rehashed sports games and such. When that happens the profit in console games will drop some since the big businesses will have to spend more money on making the games. So the profit to be earned by these big companies from making console games will be closer to that of making games for the PC.

Also PC gamers tend to be far more demanding then the average console gamer and because of that it is much harder to make a profit off of us. So yea us PC gamers often get the shaft but it has nothing to do with the console being a better platform for games. Business 101, it’s all about the bottom line.

Yes consoles have hurt the PC game market but no this next generation of consoles is far from the demise of the gaming PC.

Now I am only going to say it once but don’t make this personal. Saying I am in denial says a whole lot more about you then me so I don’t really care but I will not stand for it repeatedly.

BTW the rest was far from irrelevant as I covered the fact that just any PC is not capable of playing games, however for the ones that are the EXACT same game disk will work in all. Instead of trying to pick pieces and parts of what I said and discredit it, how about you give me one good reason other then they all plug in to a TV as to why we should group the sales revenue of all console games and then compare that to the PC games sales revenue?
 
September
1 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2 -*Yawn*
2 Fable: The Lost Chapters - Xbox version with extras? *Yawn*
3 Myst V: End of Ages - ...

October
1 Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood - Original sucked
2 Serious Sam II - Might be good
3 Black & White 2 - Looks OK
4 Call of Duty 2 - PC and Xbox 360 , XBL = No cheaters!
5 Quake 4 - PC and Xbox 360 , XBL = No cheaters!
6 FEAR - Didn't like the demo, MP beta SUCKED
7 Age of Empires III - Looks good
8 Star Wars Battlefront II - Why is this even on the list?!
9 HALF LIFE 2: AFTERMATH expansion!!!!!!!!!!***** - Should be good

November
1 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - PC and Xbox 360
2 PRINCE OF PERSIA BLADES - I like the PoP series on consoles simply because of the controls
 
MMi thnk Circuitbreaker8 is trying to saying everythign either sucks or is going to xbox. Which I kind of agree....This is my hopes and dreams!

That with the new xbox being that is just a fucking computer .... that we can l33t haxor it and put windows on it. And hook up a keyboard and mouse to it. So that way i can do sell my computer for a xbox and have the best of the both.
 
solideliquid said:
As per ebgames.com:

September
1 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 2
2 Fable: The Lost Chapters
3 Myst V: End of Ages

October
1 Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
2 Serious Sam II
3 Black & White 2
4 Call of Duty 2
5 Quake 4
6 FEAR
7 Age of Empires III
8 Star Wars Battlefront II
9 HALF LIFE 2: AFTERMATH expansion!!!!!!!!!!*****

November
1 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
2 PRINCE OF PERSIA BLADES

And MANY MANY others- How can some of you say PC gaming is dying?! Dont forget PREY, STALKER, and STAR WARS EMPIRE AT WAR! That is a huge list of games up there before 2006 rolls around...
Click to expand...


STALKER, Prey and acouple on the list wont see a 2005 launch. As for PC gaming on a whole, compare the small list you wrote to the list of console releases? There are far more great console titles releasing this year then PC titles... but its up to the gamer really to decide which games he likes and dislikes (like I for one could give a dam about Myst and BIA).
 
WookieRookie said:
Console games work for one specific system and thats it.
Click to expand...

So PS1/2 games won't work on the PS3? No Xbox games will work for the X360? No previous Nintendo games will work for the Revolution?

TGA said:
Also PC gamers tend to be far more demanding then the average console gamer and because of that it is much harder to make a profit off of us.
Click to expand...

That's bullshit. If PC gamers were more demanding they wouldn't settle for beautifully packaged beta tests and tech demos (Which Doom 3 and Battlefield 2 were). PC gaming is on the decline because it's a pain in the ass to develop a working game for the infinite number of possible configurations that could exist in the market.

Perhaps it isn't a "Dell" game or a "Compaq" game. It does, however, often boil down to whether you have an ATI or Nvidia graphics card. Sure, they'll usually function across platforms...but not as they should.

The hardware a game is on is irrelevant; the sale is what matters. Console games are selling more.
 
WickedAngel said:
So PS1/2 games won't work on the PS3? No Xbox games will work for the X360? No previous Nintendo games will work for the Revolution?
.
Click to expand...

Technically its true. When they designed a PSX game they didnt think "Hey lets add calls to future hardware that doesn't exsist currently but will 6 years down the line!"

The PS2 Emulates the PS1 to play games
The PS3 Will Emulate the PS2 and PS1 to play those games.
The Ninteno Revolution will Emulate All prior consoles to play those games.
The Xbox might be different as the XDK might be ported.

Does this mean all this emulation will run slow? No because they'll be sure to use the current hardware to speed things up nicely.


PC Games are more demanding. Consoles are easier since you only have one device to work with. Not 30 different Graphics cards. a shitload of motherboards, drivers, apis and so on.

On top of that Gamers expect games to work glitchfree. So yes we are more demanding. If a game doesnt work. We expect a patch to fix it.


Now as for the main topic. I dont consider pc games to be dying. Its still alive quite well. The releases might have slowed down due to consoles but theres still alot of great content for the PC. I personally could never be a strict console gamer.
 
WickedAngel said:
So PS1/2 games won't work on the PS3? No Xbox games will work for the X360? No previous Nintendo games will work for the Revolution?
Click to expand...

I'm saying PS2 games for the PS2, Xbox games for the Xbox, and so on. What those sales from the article are based on are current games for the current systems.
 
Ruffy said:
The PS2 Emulates the PS1 to play games
Click to expand...
Just a little ammendment. The PS2 does NOT emulate the PS1. It literally runs PS1 games on the SPU, since it is in effect the same CPU from the PS1, only clocked slightly faster.
 
I have no idea whats going to happen next gen with Xbox 360/ Playstation 3/ Revo...it will probably do some major damage to PC gaming in general. I mean hell, if the average person can play Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 on Xbox then hes pretty much set. He doesn't know what resolution hes playing at, or what AA/AF is. He'll be to busy enjoying the game and being normal ( unlike us :p ) Doom 3 looked pretty damn impressive playing on my friends Xbox ( in motion, don't judge the game by pics )

I'm getting pretty sick of gaming on my PC...theres just to much to worry about...and when you finally get everything working and start up the game, you get disconnected from the server or have a freeze eventually ( cough BF2 cough ) Not to mention the performance of games, even when you HAVE the $500 videocards :rolleyes: PC gaming is just to much of a pain for the normal consumer, and thats why sales for PC games will never be on the same level as console games. Ever.

Next gen is really going to put a hole in PC gaming. Xbox 360's launch games look 10x better than anything we got on PC this whole friggin' YEAR! And we all know launch games usually never show off true hardware potential! Looking at it from a deveopers point of view, why would you even make a game exclusivly for the PC? Theres less money involved and its a lot of hard work. I think many games next gen are going to be on consoles as well as PC. Then, of course, the consoles will have thier amazing titles that PC will never have ( Metal Gear Solid series, Devil May Cry, Halo, Jak :))), Burnout,Project Gotham Racing etc.. ) so thats just a double + for the console market. Seeing these next gen games in HD is going to be simply amazing also! No more 480p, its all about 720p/1080i/p :D
 
I think one of the advantages console gamers have is that the developers can't get away with not optimizing the game right (aka battlefield 2). Since they have only one system they have to make sure it runs well on the system, although it makes it easier to do so.
 
I still maintain, and your list supports this, that pretty soon there won't be such a thing as PC gaming. There'll just be gaming, and the PC will get ports of console games and niche titles that wouldn't work on consoles. Games are getting too expensive to develop for just one platform, and consoles are finally going to be capable of MMO games (not just roleplaying, but other genres as well).

Some stuff, like deep RPGs or strategy games, will still always play best on PCs. But even though FPS games play best on PC, they're still a lot of fun on consoles, and games like Splinter Cell prove that console games can be fun on PC as well.

And the best part? Since the middleware that's powering these next-gen console games got its start on PCs, ports will no longer be gimpware relegated to the bargain bin - they'll be just as featureful as their console counterparts, and probably released in the same timeframe to boot.
 
Yeah, PC gaming is dying. Just like it died when every other "next gen" console
was released. :rolleyes:

http://blogoftheday.1up.com/do/blogEntry?publicUserId=5380845&bId=5080198

Good rant about this very thing.

:edit: Oh yeah. And if PC gaming ever died, console gaming would get quite
crippled for at least awhile. Do you think companies like ATI and Nvidia would
be happy to take a major loss on their video card technology when they don't
have the hardcore PC gaming group to buy their cards for more than what any
given CONSOLE costs?

PC gaming/hardware, more and more, is driving the next gen consoles.

So all those console !!!!!!s that say PC gaming is dead/dying better pray to whatever gaming gods they worship that PC gaming lives on.
 
rfwinters77 said:
Yeah, PC gaming is dying. Just like it died when every other "next gen" console
was released. :rolleyes:

http://blogoftheday.1up.com/do/blogEntry?publicUserId=5380845&bId=5080198

Good rant about this very thing.

:edit: Oh yeah. And if PC gaming ever died, console gaming would get quite
crippled for at least awhile. Do you think companies like ATI and Nvidia would
be happy to take a major loss on their video card technology when they don't
have the hardcore PC gaming group to buy their cards for more than what any
given CONSOLE costs?

PC gaming/hardware, more and more, is driving the next gen consoles.

So all those console !!!!!!s that say PC gaming is dead/dying better pray to whatever gaming gods they worship that PC gaming lives on.
Click to expand...


I'm 99% sure ATi will make more money from Xbox 360 than they will with a X850XT PE
 
Circuitbreaker8 said:
I'm 99% sure ATi will make more money from Xbox 360 than they will with a X850XT PE
Click to expand...

110% sure is more like it.

ATi/Nvidia make far more on consoles than they do with their stand-alone graphics cards. There is no comparison between the two.
 
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