Baron Of Hell

I know every few years someone claims PC gaming is dead, but pc games rise from the grave to eat your brains every time. Now I'm wondering if pc games are really dead. Have they taken one to many head shots and are now truly dead.

The pc game section is now a after thought at most stores. Pirating is running rampant. Fewer and fewer pc games are coming out. Sure their is the zombie king WOW still doing great and The Sims seems to be a monster that can not be killed.

Consoles seem to rule the world now. More games are coming out for consoles, less pirating is done on consoles, and stores that were once filled with pc games are now filled with console games.

Oh yes I believe these are the end times for pc games, but it won't go alone. I believe pc games will drag windows down and few hardware companies down with it. Without games those mac OSs look a lot better. That linux os might be worth a try if you take game out of picture. And oh yes, who is going to need a $300 video card to surf the web. Hell even 3d graphic design can be done cheaper cards.

Oh pc gaming I knew you well. May you rest in peace.

darkside

PC gaming is not dead. For one Burning Crusade is the fastest selling game in history and for another there will be a ton of people jumping on the DX10 bandwagon.

PC gaming will never be on the level of the cheaper console gaming, but it will live on.

Ghym

I don't think PC gaming is dead either. I read a story on Gamespot a week or two ago that said PC game sales were up last year. Also, Microsoft is pushing their "Games for Windows" brand, and there are games like Crysis, Supreme Commander, Spore, and HL2: Episode 2 coming this year. There are also recent games like Company of Heroes, Medieval 2, and the WoW expansion that are great. I think PC gaming is fine.

GreenMonkey

Game sales are up. Unfortunately, all PC gaming has left is MMORPGs, RTS games and FPS games. And with each year there's fewer of those I'm interested in. Real PC RPGs like Baldur's Gate have virtually disappeared (Neverwinter & Oblivion of course, do exist)

fumanstan

Nope, not dead. Just as alive as always.

edstein

Here is my thread from last May on this same topic.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....0&page=1&pp=25

My thoughts on this subject are still the same today. PC gaming is dying a slow death.

Josh-da-man

I think the problem with PC gaming is that, if you're going to be doing a lot of gaming, then you need to be constantly upgrading your system. More memory, better graphics card, better sound card... yadda yadda yadda. Seems like a big pain in the ass.

Also, among the people I know who play on their PCs, they have a lot of problems with their systems crashing or running slow with certain games.

It's much less trouble when all consoles are more or less the same system.

fumanstan

That's been the same argument for years and years now, and PC gaming hasn't "died" yet. While that's a big drawback for PC games, I don't think that alone will lead to the death of PC gaming, else it would have occured long ago.

Jimmy James

PC gaming will probably never die, but I think you're going to continue to see console (and handheld) gaming dominate certain genres that may once have been viable for computer gaming. I don't think you'll see the expansive libraries of computer games we had in the past, nor do I think your local EB Games (or whatever) will be expanding its selection any time soon.

Josh H

PC gaming isn't dead and isn't dying.

I don't even think it has reduced all that much in popularity. I think its more just reaching a similar size market as it has for the past 10-20 years, it just seems like it is "dying" as console games have exploded and became a huge mainstream success and now overshadow the PC gaming market.

I've never been big on PC games, though I am trying to play through some games a friend lent me (FEAR and its expansion pack, Call of Duty and an Expansion, Quake 4, Ice Wind Dale II, Neverwinter Nights, Civ 4 etc.).

Slow going though (only played through about 3/4's of FEAR) as my consoles keep pulling me away. I just have a hard time wanting to sit at a PC and play games on it after sitting one at work all day. That and I'd just rather play stuff like Zelda, Guitar Hero, 2D stuff on the DS etc.

Tracer Bullet

It's funny you should bring up this old argument, because PC games have gotten much more stable in the past few years, mostly due to the increased stability of XP. In addition, most games now are pretty forgiving about your hardware, and you can have a decent-looking experience with much more marginal hardware than could have been possible years ago. Plus, if you're a graphics whore, consoles will never give you better graphics than a top-end PC.

On the flipside, consoles seem to be going backwards- horrible loading times, installations, patches (!), firmware upgrades, etc.

discostu1337

it's been dying for years....360/ps3 just put the final nails in the coffin (moreso the 360...) Its cheaper and runs games perfectly with no tweaking/patches (usually) better than the PC versions (usually).

spainlinx0

I wouldn't mind getting into some PC games, but I can't play from my couch so I usually don't. Maybe it's lazy, but I don't like sitting in a computer chair.

darkside

I would also add that many of us when thinking of PC gaming only think of all the high end FPS, RTS and MMORPG games. PC gaming has a huge following with the casual gamers. I know countless people that have monthly subscriptions to things like Real Arcade and play puzzle games and simple games daily on their PCs. This is the same group Nintendo is working hard to get with the DS and Wii so I wouldn't disregard there importance as gamers.

james2025a

I think its far from dead. With DX10 around the corner and games like Crysis, Bio-shock, UT 3, C&C: Tiberium Wars and Time Shift to name just a few coming our way i think the PC is going to have a bit or a revival. I agree thats its difficult for many gamers to keep up with the PC specs smply due to expense (i know this myself and thats why i am buying a Xbox 360 shortly), but the quality of games for the PC just keeps getting better. Crysis alone looks better than anything on the PS3 or 360.

lawyer goodwill

And there is something to be said about PCs continually pushing the tech edge. Athough PS3s and 360s produce impressive-looking games, PCs will always be the trailblazer because of its "un-universal" format.

Altimus Prime

Console gaming is cheaper? How do you figure?

Now that I'm back into current PC gaming, I see the same game for PC and console, with the console version often costing twice as much.

Most people are going to have a PC in the home, for Internet, word processing, pictures, music, etc. It can also play those games. It's a multi-use machine. So, if you have it, which you probably do, then you can play games on it.

But with a console, you have to buy the console, which is, what, $200-$600? Almost the cost of a PC.

Don't get me wrong, I've long been a console gamer, going back to the Atari 2600. But I got off that train at the Dreamcast. I still use the older hardware, but just can't convince myself to put out the cash for a console, knowing I then need to spend hundreds more for all the necessary accessories, and paying $50-$60 for a game.

But I did buy a new PC. The PC game sections at places like EB and Game Stop are pitifully small. I see more PC games at places like WalMart and Target... and Best Buy is pretty sizable.

And on the mention above on FEAR - that was the first game I completed on my new PC and I loved it. Great game!

Silt

PC game sales grew in 2006 and there is a massive list of titles set to be released in 2007...so once again...PC gaming isn't dying. Just because all the news is focused on the latest gee-whiz console, doesn't mean PC gaming is failing.

The PC has been, and at least for the forseeable future will be, the superior gaming platform. Sure, consoles are simple to use....but with that comes many games that are..well...just simple. My buddy has an X-Box 360 with pretty much every 360 title there is (pirating on consoles is just as bad as on the PC, btw) and I'm hard pressed to find one that isn't just a silly button mash-athon requiring any strategy or thought. Consoles may excel at sports and Mortal Kombat type games but RTS, TBS, RPG, MMO, simulation, and FPS genres still reign on the PC.

Why? Keyboard+mouse is a much better control system than a control pad. Just ask my X-box friend that bought a SmartJoy so I could use keyboard+mouse to play him at Halo on his X-box. Hell the game has an autoaim built in to help you hit with a control pad....shows you how precise/good a pad is.

Josh H

The mouse part is better, the keyboard part sucks IMO.

Altimus Prime

As long as the control scheme is straight forward and simple to remember, I have no problem using a keyboard.

I'll take a keyboard and mouse over a PS controller any day!

taffer

No way are you going to get a quality gaming computer for under $600. A high end graphics card alone will cost you a good $400-$500. A quality gaming computer is going to run you at least $1000.

Sure most people have computers at home for web surfing and office work, but how many people have a "gaming" computer? Not many. A gaming computer is going to have much higher requirements than a web/office PC.

PC gaming will never die though. It has always been and will always be a small niche market. Heck, even pen and paper games like D&D still have a niche market. PC gaming will never become mainstream simply because of the high costs. Nobody except the most hardcore of the hardcore is going to want to spend half a grand or more every single year upgrading their PC to meet the ever increasing requirements. It is far easier to just buy a console which will not be obsolete for 4-5 years and will cost you far less money too.

Altimus Prime

My PC package was $850. I spent another $200 for a solid graphics card and $75 to upgrade the power supply.

I had a hell of a lot easier time spending my money that way than buying a console.

Since the PC is going to be in the home anyway, I still argue it's going to cost less to either spend a little more to get stronger features for gaming or, as I did, make the improvements to get better gaming performance. And it's not just a matter of comparing dollars to dollars, but also functionality, features, abilities, etc.

Console gaming is not cheap. What's the PS3, $600? And you can't even get one. Games, $50-$60. And then in a few years, a new console comes out, rendering the once "next gen" obsolete. Not much at all different from the PC.

At least now we have backwards compatibility on consoles, but most people buy new consoles to play the new games.

taffer

Which proves the point that PC gaming is too costly. Not many people are going to spend $1125 just to play a few games when they can get a console that is just as good for half the cost.


What features does a PC game have that console games don't have? Mouse/keyboard support, mods and other fan-made content, and slightly better graphics are all I can think of.



The only reason the PS3 is $600 is because of the Blu-ray drive which is completely pointless for gaming (at least for this generation). If Sony had gone with a standard DVD drive, it would have cost $400 like the 360. And, yes, consoles do become obsolete when the next one comes out, but that only happens every 4-5 years. A PC is outdated much much more quickly. A high end PC today will be a low end PC within one year or so. For example, it took a high end PC last year to play FEAR on the highest settings. That same PC will play Crysis on low-to-medium settings this year.

Josh H

The PS3 is ridiculously over priced, so consoles are starting to catch up in terms of cost.

BTW the PS3 is pretty easy to find. I've seen them in 3 stores the past week. They're not flying off shelves at all anymore.

The Wii is still tough to find though.

Altimus Prime

You're not understanding. People will pay $1,000 for a good computer because of the many, varied things you can do with it. Many, myself included, will not spend $600 for a PS3 just to play games. They are going to have a PC in the home, because they feel they need it. That's just not so with a console. And the ability to play CDs and/or DVDs is pretty meaningless, since most people have other devices to play those things.

If you're already going to put out the money for a PC, going the extra measure to make it solid for gaming is going to be less costly than buying a console along with it.

Again, you're not following. I wasn't talking about features of PC games, but the PC itself. But what you mentioned are factors in PC games' favor. And the fact that, from what I've seen, PC games cost less to start with.

Well, unless you can buy a PS3 without a blu-ray drive.... so?

How quickly a PC becomes "obsolete" is going to vary by user. I had my last PC for about eight years. Yes, it was "obsolete," but it served me. I expect my current PC to last just as long.