Are PC Games Dead?

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507 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#344779 24-Jun-2010 09:43

Also I would assume that PC would lose a lot more purchasing dollars than consoles do to game downloads/pirate copies.

The availability of games to download from torrent sites and the ease in which a pc can be tricked to play most games lends itself to pirated games more so than the consoles which generally require hardware mods etc etc.

So this would skew figures more in favour of PCs

The force is strong with this one!

Che

33 posts

Geek

#344789 24-Jun-2010 10:08

RustyGonad:

The boats not sinking - its just a bit of water really... This is the Titanic... Its unsinkable...

Fact is you can get someone on the internet to write some stuff that will support anything, including some peoples love with small farm animals for example...

The reality is you only need to look on the shelves to see whats really happening - How many blockbuster releases are you seeing on the PC anymore - see any "Insert Name Here" Hero, or "Insert Name Here" Rock Band's coming out for the PC???

https://cdn.geekzone.co.nz/imagessubs/c04913fa5e72e456d0925db9e09c5991.jpg
I own a copy of this. Bought it at the Warehouse.

PC's are down to a handful of die hard games. Consoles on the other hand, are embracing whole families and introducing a whole new generation of both gaming and home entertainment.

Fact is for the price of an average graphics card for the PC, your console gaming on a current gen, HD console.

I've been looking at a new card, my first in four years, and I don't think I'll spend much more than $250.00 for an average card. That being said, my 3 -4 year old card is still holding its own.
(I have to admit, it was very expensive back then, so +1)

In the case of the XBox, my ones over three years old, and still going, spending another $200 bucks or so on Kinetic, will see it living on for probably another 3 years. The whole family gets to use it, often all together. So the graphics don't look as good as an ATIRadeonVidia 78 Kabillion core, 5 million wattakahuna graphics card plugged into a 6 million core Intel R78 billion processor, in a water cooled (fish included) heavily modded case - but who cares... The entertainment factor of the Xbox kills the PC dead.

My wife knows no 360 joy. Only Trade me. Soooo much trade me.

Pretty much the only people alive who believe PC gaming is still alive probably haven't seen sunlight for 20 years, eat at least one pizza every day, have over 10,000 friends, but have never met any of them in person, and purchase at least one new graphics card every month. They will have also had an electrician modify their house power supply to cope with the 10,000 watts of power needed to keep the 8 card SLICrossover rig going into the small hours of the night...

And all Italian have a mustache and say "Mama Mia!" all the time.

I'm not trying to be an @$$hole mate. It's true, there are less and less games on the shelves for the PC, you are right. But there are more and more places like Steam and Direct to Drive.
Whether or not the NZ Big Box retailers are making money out of the PC games has nothing to do with how much money the developers and publishers are making. And this is a global argument. Not a domestic one. The only games I've ever "Swash Buckled" are ones that I never would have purchased anyway. You cannot pirate TF2. You cannot Pirate World of Warcraft.

And Blizzard could carry my chosen platform on its own...

xpd

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#344801 24-Jun-2010 10:34

Che:
RustyGonad:

The boats not sinking - its just a bit of water really... This is the Titanic... Its unsinkable...

Fact is you can get someone on the internet to write some stuff that will support anything, including some peoples love with small farm animals for example...

The reality is you only need to look on the shelves to see whats really happening - How many blockbuster releases are you seeing on the PC anymore - see any "Insert Name Here" Hero, or "Insert Name Here" Rock Band's coming out for the PC???

https://cdn.geekzone.co.nz/imagessubs/c04913fa5e72e456d0925db9e09c5991.jpg
I own a copy of this. Bought it at the Warehouse.

Seen any of the newer ones arrive for PC though ?

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

Che

33 posts

Geek

#344813 24-Jun-2010 10:50

Not officially but such is the PC's versatility.

NonprayingMantis

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#344824 24-Jun-2010 11:01

the Console is definitely gaining a much biger share of the market, but until the console can evolve a decent method of controlling an RTS the PC game will survive IMO.

FPS games, whilse superior with a mouse/keyboard combo, are still playable with a joypad.

RTS games are just a nightmare.

and as others have mentioned you have the modding community too.

Cybergangster

54 posts

Master Geek
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#344855 24-Jun-2010 12:44

PC gaming is definitely not dead, just neglected.

PC exclusives are getting fewer and far between but multi-platform titles usually still look best on PC. Just look at some of the tech reviews of Crysis 2, Mafia II and Deus Ex. Sure, we do get lazy ports - and you're almost required to own a gamepad for every second FPS released. But to answer your question... No PC gaming is most definitely not dead.

Postscript: Have you read Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's comments on the industry recently? Seventy percent of his company's profits are non-console based. That's about $357 million USD for Jan-Mar 2010 alone. No, I don't think PC gaming will be dying out any time soon...

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#344873 24-Jun-2010 13:37

rossmnz: Also I would assume that PC would lose a lot more purchasing dollars than consoles do to game downloads/pirate copies.

Of the ~20 or so people I know with Xbox 360's, about 5 of them pay for games. The rest are all running modded xboxes and get all their games via torrents.

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vexxxboy

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#344884 24-Jun-2010 13:55

Paulthagerous:
eracode:
itxtme: The problem with PC gaming is there are too many variables in the end users platform specifications and preformance. Wheras there are clear cut capabilities of console systems that ensure a game designer what they think they are putting out is exactly what the end user is experincing!!

Spot on.

+1. For me it is also the fact that you can lend a PS3/Wii/Xbox360 game to a friend easliy, but with PC games which TEND to require CD keys/online registration, its much harder. However, with DLC on the rise this point is getting weaker.

Thats all soon going to change , EA, i think, are bringing in registration codes for online gaming on consoles, once used no one else can use your copy to go online, which puts a dent in the second hand market , which is what the big companies want, as they lose more money from the 2nd hand market than they do from piracy.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Che

33 posts

Geek

#344899 24-Jun-2010 14:22

EA would.

Cybergangster

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Master Geek
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#344904 24-Jun-2010 14:28

Is it too soon to mention Call of Duty's pending subscription based multiplayer plans?

Ragnor

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#345657 27-Jun-2010 03:06

PC gaming is still rocking along.

You only need to spend about $1500 every 3-4 years to maintain a good gaming PC that can play the newest games at great settings on 1920x1080. Less if you reuse existing monitors for longer etc.

Most multi platform games look better or have higher quality visual settings on PC.

Also there are whole genre's of games you just can't even get or play on consoles due to the limitations of the game controllers. Mouse and keyboard is more flexible and more precise (real time strategy anyone, mmorpg etc).

If you are a pc gamer and you haven't discovered steam, particularly steam specials like the huge 4th of july sales on at the moment. You are doing it wrong.

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k1wi

484 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#345703 27-Jun-2010 10:53

PC gaming isn't dead, I live in a household that has never owned a console, but I have bought a fair few games.

I think it's a bit rough to say that that computers are too varied for consistent gaming. Most games come with settings that adjust themselves to your computer's specifications after all.

The main thing that computers have going for them that consoles haven't traditionally is that computers do useful things when they're not gaming - be it internet email or word processing. Sure, you need to factor in that the performance required to do these is much below that of gaming (although have you used word lately?) but it reduces a lot of the cost - plus a faster computer for gaming also means a faster computer for everything else...

The other thing is what do you mean by 'PC games'. One of the fastest rising genres is online social games, I'm talking facebook-esque games (Ironically, I've noticed the performance of these games to be some of the most computer intensive/inefficient that I have seen).

Add: This is how serious some people take their PC gaming :

Kaos36

709 posts

Ultimate Geek

#346466 29-Jun-2010 20:03

PC gaming ain't dead, its just not the No1 platform to play games like it use to be. Its still the number one choice though, try playing a first person shooter on a console what the hell is this auto aim for? Why is it there!! Auto aim = game killer = I'm a noob. If you put up a pc gamer against a console gamer playing Battlefield the PC gamer would win hands down. every time, why? Cause the pc gamer is more skilled, you don't need skill if you have auto aim! Thats like having damn training wheels, embarrassing!

On the other hand If the two games im crazy about (World of Warcraft and Silent Hunter series) could be played on the console i would buy one tomorrow. At least with the console you don't have to bother with the hardware upgrades every 2 years just to keep up with the pc games.

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Ultimate Geek
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#348866 7-Jul-2010 21:36

My 2 1/2 year old 8800GT + E8400 setup is still going strong playing BF:BC2 @ 1920 on nearly maxed out settings. In fact I believe the only games I really had any problems playing at those settings and resolution has been Crysis and Endwar :)

I have stopped buying games for either of my consoles(PS3 + 360), as I see no reason why:

a)I should pay more for a console game and

b)have to suffer from below par graphics+resolutions

b0untypure1

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#349845 10-Jul-2010 21:49

i think pc games arent dead, but will be eventually.

if pc gaming isnt killed by less games being released and more console ports, itll be killed by
online subscriptions and over priced games.

a new game usually costs $100 console and $89 pc.

where have those days gone?

dantes inferno was $160 at work ! and halo reach limited ed $200 !
someones getting greedy...

on torrent sites i noticed that very few seeders are seeding torrented xbox games.
however a new pc game will easily top 50,000 downloaders on the first day.

to be honest, im still waiting for a pc game thats been on 50,000 leechers straight for 3 months.

i like to try before i buy and always have done. dont be a hater because ive spent thousands on pc games.

i have noticed the quality of pc games are declining. still cant beat the ol' counter strike though.

to sum it up in a sentence.

extinguish torrent sites.

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