Are PC Games Dead?

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FreakyKiwi

66 posts

Master Geek

#351474 14-Jul-2010 16:45

Che: I hate to sound like a fanboy, because my brand loyalty is limited, but when Blizzard says "Diablo 4: World of Starcraft announced (Tentative release date 2029" it warms my heart to know that there are still perfectionists out there.

falla1

41 posts

Geek

#351494 14-Jul-2010 17:24

Cybergangster: ME is also available on Xbox 360...

I know :)

I played it on both and tbh Pc is alot better to play :D

kaljames79

64 posts

Master Geek

#351530 14-Jul-2010 18:49

The graphical abilities on a PC are just so much better than on a console :-) love my PC :D

urban

487 posts

Ultimate Geek

#351628 14-Jul-2010 22:10

kaljames79: The graphical abilities on a PC are just so much better than on a console :-) love my PC :D

Amen!

My next upgrade is to a GTX460 1gb .... that'll be a kicker of an improvement over my current 8800GT :)

kaljames79

64 posts

Master Geek

#351637 14-Jul-2010 22:26

Games look awesome on my 5850; gotta get another one to cf lol.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
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Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#352413 16-Jul-2010 18:05

Interesting discussion - and Alienware PR sent out this today, so I am posting for you to watch:

zaptor

745 posts

Ultimate Geek

#352481 16-Jul-2010 21:38

As the guy said, the hardware baseline for PC's is always on the upward incline. The console baseline is static for it's lifetime.

On the other hand, developers squeeze every last ounce of processing power from consoles - particularly with later generation titles. The equivalent resulting effort in the PC space typically requires a higher end rig.

At the end of the day it's all about the bling. The PS3 and 360 still have plenty of untapped bling left in them - those graphics still look good compared with your average PC. Of course, one day they won't - but that day hasn't come yet.

How the Wii has become so successful both puzzles and surprises me. But full credit to Nintendo. It was a gamble, but it payed off big time. The Wii is possibly the first major console that is effectively equivalent to it's predecessor (okay, it's a teeny bit better - but it's just a suped up GameCube at the end of the day; even the original Xbox had a better GPU). But, those last generation graphics are looking really (really) dated now. Time now for Wii 2 perhaps? I doubt it. Nintendo are traditionally quite convservative, and are just as monopolistic as the other two. They'll milk this cow until it's dry - by then it may be too late.... anyway, where was I.

I think the keyboard vs gamepad issue is a little strange. Why Sony don't support mice + keyboard is a question only they can answer. Microsoft have a vested interest in both camps, so I don't think they even care (until Sony do something about it of course).

Possibly the real question is whether "Are Hardcore PC Games Dead"? (I would say no)

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
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#352535 17-Jul-2010 05:58

freitasm: Interesting discussion?- and Alienware PR sent out this today, so I am posting for you to watch>

Yep - interesting. What's also interesting is - where are these two guys from? Sound like Kiwis, maybe Aussies?

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Che

33 posts

Geek

#352709 17-Jul-2010 16:08

zaptor:Words

To play devils advocate to my own arguments, it is amazing to think that the 360 runs solely off a tri-core 3.2 Ghz processor and 512mb of ram. Sure, it doesn't have a bulky ( I assume ) OS to run in the background, but it tends to output the same performance of a machine with an extra core, 4 gigs of ram and a dedicated GPU. Probably with its own gig of ram as well.

Take the original Playstation. In a few short years it went from Battle Arena Toshinden:

Which was earth-shatteringly good at the time, but in retrospect looks like a jar-full of smashed asses.

To Tekken 3 towards the end of the PSX's illustrious career:

When developers know exactly what they are working with when it comes to systems specs, firmware etc., teething problems are worked through and after a couple of years they literally wring blood from the stone that is the static console. It's an incredible thing to watch.

But that is beside the point, right?

Are PC games dead?

The revenue will be legendary, considering we've all probably lost interest.
Who here has deleted their account? Who among you will pump at least one last fifteen bucks into the PC cause?

Ninja Edit: Frenetic Array are an Australian Clan.

zaptor

745 posts

Ultimate Geek

#352784 17-Jul-2010 19:15

Che:
To play devils advocate to my own arguments, it is amazing to think that the 360 runs solely off a tri-core 3.2 Ghz processor and 512mb of ram. Sure, it doesn't have a bulky ( I assume ) OS to run in the background, but it tends to output the same performance of a machine with an extra core, 4 gigs of ram and a dedicated GPU. Probably with its own gig of ram as well.
...
When developers know exactly what they are working with when it comes to systems specs, firmware etc., teething problems are worked through and after a couple of years they literally wring blood from the stone that is the static console. It's an incredible thing to watch.

Yeah. I think it's cool that developers are still able to work with a static platform, and pull all the extra tricks out.

There was a time in the "beginning" when PCs (what used to be called "IBM Compatibles") were never considered serious gaming boxes.
That was the domain of three distinct "platforms" - all static:-
Low-end: Non-IBM PCs (i.e. C64, Atari 400/800, Spectrum, BBC, Apple II - then later Amiga and ST)
Mid-range: Early consoles - had "dedicated" gaming hardware; 2D sprites, multiple colours on screen (i.e more than 8 simultaneous!)
Top-end: Arcade machines

With the early 8-bit PCs, some of the end-of-life stuff was amazing. Even today people still cut code for the C64 (a PC with a massive 64K - 58K available - of memory, and a blindingly fast 1MHz CPU).

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