The death of PC gaming

[madwelshboy]

Sorry to sound blunt Directhex, but what a load os rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishe.
For starters, games were invented for PC's (doom etc).
Secondly "gamecube-grade graphics", I assume you must be using an 8mb rage pro graphics card @ 648x480 (because any decent card will pi55 all over ANY console I have played).
Thirdly, yes there are games being copied out there, but with online gaming taking off so well, it is becoming more and more of a necessity to buy an original game to be able to play multiplayer (nfs underground etc).
Fourthly, the only reason that PC's cost x2 / x3 / x4 as much as consoles is because they are MFD's, they can play DVD's, copy them, play music, copy it, mix it, surf the net, download data, communicate (instant messenger), fax, scan, copy docs, use other apps (spreadsheets, databases etc etc).
I could go on but tbh, its not worth it, how someone even think console games r in the same league as pc games is beyond me...............I'll have to show u how its done

[directhex]

Sorry to sound blunt Directhex, but what a load os rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishe.
For starters, games were invented for PC's (doom etc).

Every game ever? Or "games" in general? The Atari 2600 was released at the same time as the Apple II. On that basis, the Apple 1 came first, I suppose. Most people here got into games in the BBC, Spectrum, Sinclair era which began in the early 1980s, after Atari had already gotten a couple of consoles into the market.

Secondly "gamecube-grade graphics", I assume you must be using an 8mb rage pro graphics card @ 648x480 (because any decent card will pi55 all over ANY console I have played).

The ATI Radeon 9500 and above cores are based on technology from the Gamecube. Not the other way around. The fur effects in Starfox Adventures, water effects in Super Mario Sunshine, are all complex Pixel Shader operations which certainly can't be done with the Geforce 4 MX on the average PC World PC.

Thirdly, yes there are games being copied out there, but with online gaming taking off so well, it is becoming more and more of a necessity to buy an original game to be able to play multiplayer (nfs underground etc).

NFS Underground, that ported PS2 game?

Fourthly, the only reason that PC's cost x2 / x3 / x4 as much as consoles is because they are MFD's, they can play DVD's, copy them, play music, copy it, mix it, surf the net, download data, communicate (instant messenger), fax, scan, copy docs, use other apps (spreadsheets, databases etc etc).

I'm not suggesting for a second that they aren't. But the price delta between a basic office system and basic gaming system is larger than the cost of a console. Not everyone WANTS that anyway.

I could go on but tbh, its not worth it, how someone even think console games r in the same league as pc games is beyond me...............I'll have to show u how its done

I think you missed my entire argument some time around paragraph 1. To dismiss it entirely because I suggest that I enjoy console games seems a little premature. I've been a PC gamer for ten years, a console gamer for fifteen. After all this time I've realised that what matters are the games. Every system has distinct advantages which make it better for exploiting certain aspects of gaming - the PC has no place playing host to platform games or dance mat, consoles have no place playing host to Dune 2 clones or World War 2 shooters.

This isn't a "console vs pc" argument, it's a "ffs pc, pull your finger out" argument.

[Devilbod]

I agree with Directhex: It's like the age old arguement which console is better, it's down to the games that are released on the system more than what the system can do. That's the main reason I got a PS2 I wanted to play Wipeout, Gran Turismo, Tekken and Final Fantasy they're great games, there only on the PS2, if they where on the Cube or PC I'd get them on that instead.

Of course the thorn in that arguement is the Dreamcast (64bit) which had a great selection of games, but it wasn't as big a flop as people are led to believe, it came out a little too late by which time Sony's PS2 (128bit) had been announced and due to the hype machine that is Sony and lots of problems at Sega HQ, it dissappeared.

I really don't think were seeing the death of the PC as a games machine, some games work better on PC: Hardcore sims (and I'm not talking porn!), Flight sims, First person and Stratery games, the problem is these days games are everywhere and you constantly being showen what isn't on you system and so a little envy pops in.
Games are taking longer and cost a whole lot more to produce and so you probably are seeing less games than before and the competition is greater than ever before and that has forced out a lot of small developers; But we are seeing a whole lot more from outside of the UK, USA and Asia in terms of game developers entering the scene. The problem (for me) lies in the fact that most the game that are coming out don't appear to be anything new both on the consoles and the PC. And I've completely lost all interest in Half (oops another sodding delay) Life 2 and although I'm praying to the gaming gods that Doom 3 is going to be like Doom in gameplay and just a mad, bad, full of enemys, loud guns, carnage and panic filled game instead of a wow the graphics are great, the physics are great, the AI is great but only one baddie every 5 mins type game; but I'm not holding out any hopes.

[panicos70]

Agree with directhex,

The idea of downloading gamers and giving power back to the developers is a great idea. Problem is how do they advertise? The power that a publish has (EA for example) to sell games based on their slick advertisingcannot be dismissed.

How do developers get roound this if selling games over the net. Tech heads like us who use the net to surf and be educated will probably know where to get the games and how good they are. The layman though would, unfortunately struggle.

Then solution could come in the form of the new "console" called the Phantom. Isn't that what your talking about? A mixture of pc arcticture and pc games being downloaded and stored on an interbal HD to play for? Developer signs up with them and get there games through subscription (i believe). Can pay monthly (like Sky subsciption), get any game you want, whenever you want it. Or make occassional purchases like £10 for 3months or £20 for life.

Like the idea of this. Whether the masses would follow to make it worth while is a different debate.

[directhex]

The Dreamcast runs a 200MHz Hitachi SuperH4 128bit supercomputer chip.

It was killed by dodgy marketplace tactics (retail stores telling people not to buy a dreamcast & wait for ps2 launch, even though dreamcast meant 8x more profit per unit), and... i hate to say it... a lack of FIFA (EA never published for the machine, no FIFA means no sales in Europe)

[RoGuE|SaBeR]

The next generation of PC games really is upon us. Far Cry was released today (but dammit my store didnt get any today, have to wait till tomorrow ) and Half Life 2 now has a REASONABLY believable summer release date. Question is - if this generation doesn't bolster the PCs sales in terms of games will there be a subsequent generation?

[Fox]

Sorry to drag this thread back up from the depths but I can't help being confused at the stats hex has given in his opening post. He says PC Games account for just 4-5% of sales - I was reading MCV - the industry trade mag - the other day, and they stated that PC has a 37-40% market share in terms of sales - considerably more than Xbox and Gamecube, for example.

Who is correct?

[directhex]

depends which graphs you read.

pc sales are currently high compared to console sales, as a stream of pc titles is being released vs a somewhat clear console calendar (ut2004, far cry, etc).

go back to something like christmas last year, and the pc barely registered in the top 40 charts

remember to look at full-price charts tho. budgets charts skew everything heavily towards the pc, as sales of Hoyle Card Games 7 to PC World patrons are huge

[directhex]

yes, I specifically picked an incredibly weak sales period to focus on, mostly to try & stimulate more emotive debate. It more or less worked.

[foamy]

yes it takes time and money to develope a new game from scratch, but most games are multi platform, so PC games can also be viewed as the cream for developers.

If i have a product that ive spent time and money making i am going to try to reach a bigger market as poss, why would i want to limit my options?

[Galant]

There are always the periphs to consider!

I mean some games just lay better with a keyboard and mouse. When you start adding periph on to the list, more money to fork out - those consoles don't look so pocket friendly.
Especially when (and this is the WORSE thing about consoles) developers keep bringing a new one out. Take for example the Saturn - I loved that console. Was dedicated to it, and upgrading. I'll never forget reading SS Magazine, playing down all the reports about the demise of the Saturn and then boom, no more Saturn, there were even several games in development, that got dumped or moved to later console, after they'd hyped them.

Sorry - moved on - your console in now obsolete - here, look, fork out another 300 for this shiny new one. It'll last another 3 -5 years, and then that'll be naff too.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArgh.

Talk about being dumped on. And they can do it to you because they dominate your world. A PC however, doesn't solely rely on games, you can upgrade as you choose, spend as much as you like. Have a faster or slower system. PC's fade out, they don't just die in a day.

[Bartop]

What about convergence. When is a PC a PC or when does it become a home entertainment unit. Is it just having a separate monitor as opposed to using a TV ?

Surely the technology is all heading towards the same end game ?

[Goofy]

You know i've been reading this thread, or at least trying to, wow its long. Anyway has anyone tried the new LAN centres that are springing up everywhere. You can go down with your mates, play games against them or even with them. You can play games against other teams not at the centre, and for a fraction of the cost of buying the game. You also get to shout at your team mates if the are being complete n00bs. The centres seem to be based on P.C.'s, some have xboxes & playstations, but 96% are PC based.

Just a thought....

[spazman]

Wow this is one OLD thread, PC gameing will never die, i just beats the hell out of console gaming (in most cases).

[hnfmr]

is there any PS or PS2 game that could make someone keep playing for several years???

but there are some such PC games...I could just name a few, Diablo, Diablo2, World of Warcraft (people are gonna play this game for the years coming....)

this proves at least something...

[Mblaster]

PC gameing will never die, i just beats the hell out of console gaming (in most cases).

Pretty much sums up my views also Although console gaming has it's place.