PC games sales to eclipse value of console games sales in 2016

[HEXUS]

And Steam passed 10m concurrent users for the first time ever yesterday.

Read more.

[shaithis]

It only took billions of smartphones to make PC the (slightly, maybe) biggest gaming platform again.

I've seen a lot of sites running with this story over the last 48 hours....the funny thing is that it is based on projections and isn't true yet....

[Defiant]

Meh like I care about them comparing apples to oranges, most long term players of the PC don't care about consoles.

[TRUTHnTRINITY]

But PC gamers should care about consoles and the potential for PC to gain majority in gaming market....why you ask? Because most publishing companies cater to console over PC and then PC gamers suffer with less optimized games that do not look as good as they could because of DEV teams having to make console priority. You also ha fee games that are only for certain platforms so all gamers suffer. If PC takes completely over for gaming purposes then all gamers will have a better overall experience.

[abaxas]

Never have I heard so much crap.

PC gaming has, and always will be, pay to win. Console provide a flat playing field where everyone is equal.

That's why the PC is (and always will be) the casual platform.

[nitro912gr]

well you can make a good enough gaming pc at the price of a console (monitor not included, like the console does not include a tv...) and you can get games way cheaper and free multiplayer... (really now? they pay for multi? How can that be?)

Also with steam you really don't have to know much about the pc to play a game, you open steam, buy game, download and install from steam, you play.

[Pleiades]

Never have I heard so much crap.

PC gaming has, and always will be, pay to win. Console provide a flat playing field where everyone is equal.

That's why the PC is (and always will be) the casual platform.

Sorry, WHAT?! You're being sarcastic, right?

[abaxas]

If you are not a level playing field, you can't compare.

Anyone who is serious wants to compete on an equal footing.

[outwar6010]

As someone who games on consoles and the pc I really have to say sony first party titles really are something special and the overall appeal of just putting a disc in and the game runs, as it was supposed to(unless its an ubisoft title), is really nice.

[TRUTHnTRINITY]

As someone who games on consoles and the pc I really have to say sony first party titles really are something special and the overall appeal of just putting a disc in and the game runs, as it was supposed to(unless its an ubisoft title), is really nice.

Yes but you kinda prove my point for me. I agree that titles that ate dedicated for one platform can be really amazing but if it's any platform except PC there are major limitations for these titles. If people could only play on PC though....the possibility for a better overall experience for EVERYONE is for EVERYONE to be on the came platform. Titles actually would also have a better chance of coming to, I hate saying this, Apple. I'm not a console hater but I understand that gaming as a whole is limited by a section of devices, consoles, because they just lack that simple. AND with DX12 launching soon PC gamers AGAIN will be in the same boat as when there were the 360s and PS3s.

[kalniel]

AND with DX12 launching soon PC gamers AGAIN will be in the same boat as when there were the 360s and PS3s.

How so? DX12 makes it easier to port games and the reduced CPU overhead will mean XB1 is closer to parity (and the ease of porting from DX12 to mantle should mean PS4 benefits as well).

If you are not a level playing field, you can't compare.

Anyone who is serious wants to compete on an equal footing.

But most PC games are single player, so equipment comparison doesn't matter.

[Xlucine]

And higher graphics settings aren't always a good thing in multiplayer - if you can run more draw distance it's good, most other settings make it harder to spot opponents. eg:

[TRUTHnTRINITY]

AND with DX12 launching soon PC gamers AGAIN will be in the same boat as when there were the 360s and PS3s.

How so? DX12 makes it easier to port games and the reduced CPU overhead will mean XB1 is closer to parity (and the ease of porting from DX12 to mantle should mean PS4 benefits as well).

If you are not a level playing field, you can't compare.

Anyone who is serious wants to compete on an equal footing.

But most PC games are single player, so equipment comparison doesn't matter.

Because the processing power of said next gen consoles will be nothing in comparison to PCs whenever devs start to use DX12 for games aaaaaaaaaaand PS4 has no DX12 support they will be using a off version of Mantle or something. DX12 games might be out by holiday season 2016 if we're lucky and by then PCs will be utilizing HBM2 GPUs, DDR4 will be utilized, and AMD and Intel will be on 14-10nm die for CPUs while these "next gens" will be just a slow slow poor excuse for computer. It's just the facts that the PC market constantly changes and advances almost every 6 months while the console market will remain stagnant for YEARS. Consoles will never run games at good settings at 1080p 60fps even with DX12 helping them because of the ever changing nature that is gaming.

[Corky34]

It only took billions of smartphones to make PC the (slightly, maybe) biggest gaming platform again.

Would those be the same smart phones that sell games for pennies? Because if so I can't see that they've contributed a huge amount to overall revenue.

That's why the PC is (and always will be) the casual platform.

If that was true then why are most eSports tournaments played on the PC?
Perhaps you're trolling, being sarcastic, or have a poor grasp on the English language.

And higher graphics settings aren't always a good thing in multiplayer - if you can run more draw distance it's good, most other settings make it harder to spot opponents.

That can happen when developers don't take into consideration how different graphic settings effect the multiplayer side of a game, personally I would say it's either lazy developers or greedy publishers trying to appeal to a larger market.

[Smudger]

Because the processing power of said next gen consoles will be nothing in comparison to PCs whenever devs start to use DX12 for games aaaaaaaaaaand PS4 has no DX12 support they will be using a off version of Mantle or something. DX12 games might be out by holiday season 2016 if we're lucky and by then PCs will be utilizing HBM2 GPUs, DDR4 will be utilized, and AMD and Intel will be on 14-10nm die for CPUs while these "next gens" will be just a slow slow poor excuse for computer. It's just the facts that the PC market constantly changes and advances almost every 6 months while the console market will remain stagnant for YEARS. Consoles will never run games at good settings at 1080p 60fps even with DX12 helping them because of the ever changing nature that is gaming.

How many PC Gamers (other than hardcore) will be paying to upgrade to DX12, DDR4, new CPUs, etc? My PS3 runs GT6 at 1080p, 60fps quite happily... My gaming model means I won't be upgrading either PC or console for quite some time, so new developments in PC architecture are moot to me.

[kalniel]

Because the processing power of said next gen consoles will be nothing in comparison to PCs whenever devs start to use DX12 for games

I think you're misunderstanding what DX12 brings. DX12 *reduces* the need for CPU power, which is what consoles are short, so it helps bring them closer to PCs, not further away.

aaaaaaaaaaand PS4 has no DX12 support they will be using a off version of Mantle or something.

Yes, which is what I said - going to DX12 makes it easier to port to/from Mantle.

DX12 games might be out by holiday season 2016 if we're lucky and by then PCs will be utilizing HBM2 GPUs, DDR4 will be utilized, and AMD and Intel will be on 14-10nm die for CPUs while these "next gens" will be just a slow slow poor excuse for computer.

I think you're overestimating the upgrade frequency of most PC owners. I think there will be plenty of PC gamers using slower graphics cards/chips than you can find in consoles.

It's just the facts that the PC market constantly changes and advances almost every 6 months while the console market will remain stagnant for YEARS.

Which means you can optimise for them easily.

Consoles will never run games at good settings at 1080p 60fps even with DX12 helping them because of the ever changing nature that is gaming.

I think that over generalisation is a bit foolish It's still early in the console cycle so there's plenty of time left for optimisation.