The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

[Eagle101]

Okay seriousely i do not know how these guys write up a bunch of BS like this honestly.

To all my fellow veteran PC gamers here i hope you do not agree with this article, i agree withthe majority of comments on this article from N4G.

http://n4g.com/tech/NewsCom-251261.aspx?CT=1#Comments

http://www.rahulsood.com/2008/12/gaming-pc-as-we-know-it-is-doomed.html

Seriously what game will end PC gaming, Crysis? meh i dont believe PC Gaming will die. :salute: :salute: :salute:

[Iwantcable]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

He's talking about overkill PCs, not PC gaming. The people that buy pre-built gaming PCs have no clue wtf they're doing anyway.

[Stev0esque]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

i dont think this guy (the first one anyway,didnt read the second) thinks so either. he says that pc gaming is safe but the gaming pc companies are in geopardy.
edit:dammit cable beat me to it

[=98=]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

Piracy will kill the singleplayer market unless developers take the big step into making people register online and authenticate whilst playing.

I don't see multiplayer going anywhere though.

[Cmac[XI]]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

Sorry but I think the first gaming market that will die will be the frankly extortionate console market. How on earth can so many people justify paying £130 for a set of plastic sensors on a mock drum kit and guitar with cheap buttons and a flipping microphone to play a game that after a few months will be past it and they will be going out to buy the next POS craze that the consoles come up with. Saxophone next maybe? or flute or maybe just for me being Scottish there will be Rock Band: Bagpipe edition?

Being on the downturn in the console cycle with the next wave of consoles coming out in around a year how can people still justify spending over £300-£400 a year on games with a very small lifetime that when the next consoles come along will be incompatible with its predecessors. Frankly PC gaming is the most stable market there is in the world of gaming. I challenge you to find a console game that has lasted as well as games like Counter strike still having over 150000 players despite being over 6 years old. Frankly I would love to see you find a game that has aged as well as many of the PC classics. PC gaming is here to stay despite suffering from the short sightedness of numerous developers who are just there to grab a quick buck from the console markets

God I think I'm coming down with something :P

[MrChris_CJ]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

he was advocating an end to pre built manufacturers who ask for stupid amounts of money for PCs that people can build themselves at a much cheaper price

once Pirating is dealt with better, there will be little problems, no way on earth will I ever waste money on a console let a lone shell out the stupid prices they ask for the frankly crap games

a move towards Steam and Stardock is what you will see in the PC marker, not just to combat piracy but add better support and features

[FizZiKz]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

I agree with MrChris. I'm sure he is talking about companies who charge ridiculous prices
for computers, which you can go out and build much much cheaper.
The only reason people still buy them if because they don't know how to build their own,
or they don't have the time to build one.

[jake_]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

he was advocating an end to pre built manufacturers who ask for stupid amounts of money for PCs that people can build themselves at a much cheaper price

once Pirating is dealt with better, there will be little problems, no way on earth will I ever waste money on a console let a lone shell out the stupid prices they ask for the frankly crap games

a move towards Steam and Stardock is what you will see in the PC marker, not just to combat piracy but add better support and features

qft
:nod:

[Vreki]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

Seriously what game will end PC gaming, Crysis? meh i dont believe PC Gaming will die. :salute: :salute: :salute:

Gaming PC, not PC Gaming

I am not sure that I agree even on that. It is obvious from our Tech Center forum that for some, maintaining an up-to-date PC is kind of a hobby.
And hobbies tend to become expensive. I remember spending quite a lot on SCUBA gear in my younger days.
The hardware producers also have a very strong incentive to produce faster/better hardware, because otherwise nobody would upgrade. And that in turn puts the pressure on the game developers, since a large part of their customers expect games to look better and better. Just look to our forums again for statements like "This game looks like something from last year"

But I never understood the lure of the pre-built monster PCs. In half a year they will be "above average", and in a year they will be falling behind.
I think people who want to run the latest games at max, but cant maintain a PC is better of with a console.

[Eagle101]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

Wow i really must be dyslexic :p thnx for clearing that up MrChris_CJ and Vreki

[imported_Whiskey]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

How on earth can so many people justify paying £130 for a set of plastic sensors on a mock drum kit and guitar with cheap buttons and a flipping microphone to play a game that after a few months will be past it and they will be going out to buy the next POS craze that the consoles come up with.

I think if you ask the average person what seems more strange - the example you gave above with a group of people all in the same room playing a music game and having fun, or users spending £130 on a new video card so they can sit in front of a PC, by themselves, and play games with faceless people on the Internet - most will probably see the PC example as being more unusual.

The target audience for this industry isn't "hardcore" gamers, it's the general casual gaming public and their friends/family. I think we PC users tend to lose sight of that from time to time.

The drums/guitar/etc allow kids (and some adults ) to get together more socially, in the same room, and have a lot of fun with music without the more violent themes often seen in many PC games (themes that are concerning to many parents). I'm not saying all PC games are like this - just that it is easy to see the appeal of games like Rock Band or Guitar Hero on Console, especially to parents. It may only be popular for a few months, but for the enjoyment it brings kids and their friends for those months, it's worth it to a lot of people. Things like this, and the Wii, often have whole families participating at the same time, and many people see a lot of value in that. Games like this may even get some kids interested in music for real. And as far as cost, a lot of PC folks forget or underestimate just how much $$$ they have spent on gaming and upgrades over time. It would probably surprise a lot of people if they actually added up the $$$ and compared it to what they think the cost of console gaming is.

with the next wave of consoles coming out in around a year how can people still justify spending over £300-£400 a year on games with a very small lifetime that when the next consoles come along will be incompatible with its predecessors.

I think there are some misconceptions above ^. The next generation of Consoles are likely not coming out anytime soon. People have been incorrectly saying "oh, they'll be out next year" for the last 2-3 yrs actually. To my knowledge, major developers like EA don't even have basic devkits or specs yet for the new consoles, which are necessary well in advance.

There's generally a good 4-5 yrs (or more) between console generations, and even when new consoles come out, production on games for the old ones does not stop (new PS2 games are still being made, FYI) so it's not a small lifetime.

Some games/consoles do allow backwards-compatibility as well, and IMO we're likely to see even more of this going forward as console makers try to appeal to a wider audience - allowing them to get rid of their old system, but keep the games, makes sense.

Your Counter-Strike example is a good one, but it is also a somewhat special case, along with a select few RTS/MMO games. Very few games have this sort of appeal. It is a very solid product, but also allows people with lower-level PC's to play without upgrades (you can see this by the number of servers/players in "poorer" parts of the world), and there's also a large audience of people who developed a lot of skill on CS, and are hesitant to lose that advantage by moving to a new game. Both of these factors do play a large part in the popularity of CS.

..

But I never understood the lure of the pre-built monster PCs.

I think a lot of it is probably just due to good marketing and hype...especially Alienware, with their slick-looking cases, bright pictures/ads, and promises of incredible gaming experiences.
eg:
There was a guy in my old clan who absolutely loved these things.

I think it also appeals to a lot of people who want to game on PC, but don't have the time to acquire the technical knowledge of researching different components, or are just a bit "scared" of the whole idea. For them, it probably feels like they're getting a cutting edge machine that has already been tested to make sure all the components work, and that will play the latest and greatest games. Many don't realize that their setups will require upgrades to stay current, or how difficult those upgrades could be when coming from a company that does pre-built PC's.

[Eagle101]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

Well said there Whiskey :)

[FPS[SONIC]]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

I have never owned a boutique gaming rig, but I can understand that it must be similar to purchasing a sports car over a commuter car. Some folks don't have the technical knowledge, resources or desire to constantly **** around with their gear and they can afford it.

The problem I see is that PC gaming turned to providing high-impact graphics over great gameplay. I've recently started playing Wii and the freakin gameplay is amazing while the graphics could be considered rudimentary at best. Yet, what a great time I've been having playing together with my family...

That has NEVER happened for me with a PC game. "You Don't Know Jack" came close, but I haven't seen anything remotely like it for years.

Also, the "open" and programmable nature of many PC games has lead to quite a lot of cheating in popular games and that's not fun. BF2/2142 has been pretty much decimated by these attacks on the network and the databases.

Thank God for Valve.

[Vreki]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

I have never owned a boutique gaming rig, but I can understand that it must be similar to purchasing a sports car over a commuter car. Some folks don't have the technical knowledge, resources or desire to constantly **** around with their gear and they can afford it.

Yeah, but unlike a "Gaming PC", a sports car will still be a sports car capable of reaching the speed limit in 5 years, even if you don't upgrade it.
You are not going to be selecting "All High" on your gaming PC two years from now without any upgrades .

The problem I see is that PC gaming turned to providing high-impact graphics over great gameplay. I've recently started playing Wii and the freakin gameplay is amazing while the graphics could be considered rudimentary at best. Yet, what a great time I've been having playing together with my family...

I have a Wii too, and it is great when you have friends over. But with regards to singleplayer and online, it doesn't really have anything that can keep me interested for nearly as long as the equivalent on the PC.

In my experience Consoles are for playing together with a bunch of friends in the same room. They excel at that, but otherwise I prefer my PC.

[[Expletive Deleted]]

Re: The Gaming PC As We Know It Is Doomed WTF?

One big problem with your average person buying a gaming computer is they still don't know anything about it. They just know that it's Alienware and what year they bought it.
A friend at work was have problems playing Fallout 3 and I was trying to figure out what was wrong. I asked him what he had in his computer. He replied with, "It can't be anything wrong with my computer, it's Alienware and Fallout says Alienware right on the box."