1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Blogs Is this the decade PC gaming bounces back?

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Cutter McJ1b, 26 Jan 2010.

  1. Cutter McJ1b

    Cutter McJ1b Home-cut jibs at discount Prices

    Joined:
    18 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    123
    Likes Received:
    1
  2. Byron C

    Byron C Multimodder

    Joined:
    12 Apr 2002
    Posts:
    9,882
    Likes Received:
    4,494
    I think there's still quite a bit of stigma attached to PC gaming, and always has been. Back in school I was raving about my forays into online gaming with Quake, how multiplayer gaming over the internet is the future and how it will revolutionise gaming, while everyone else was talking about Resident Evil or Wipeout on their new Playstation. Guess who looked nerdier? :D

    I think the same thing still exists today. With a console, you pop the disc in and you're off. Occasionally you're forced into a system update to play the newest games, but on the whole it's not very intrusive. There's no worry about installing the game, having the latest drivers, having hardware beefy enough, etc. Graphics have got to the point where, for most people, it doesn't really need to get much better (of course, this is anathema to most PC gamers). And, once you've bought the hardware that's all you need - you don't need to worry about the possibility of having to shell out for a new graphics card or more memory to be able to run a game well.

    Even I get a little frustrated by PC games these days. I recently installed GTAIV, UT2004 and Mass Effect having bought them from Steam; each one has had some kind of additional set up program that needs to run. Whether it's Visual C++ redistributables, Direct X updates, etc, I haven't been able to just install it and jump straight in. You don't need to do that on a console, it's far more accessible. Even Steam, which - along with other digital download services - has done wonders for PC gaming, requires an always-on internet connection. Consoles don't always need that; many system updates are included on game discs, magazine cover discs, direct from manufacturer, etc. Of course not to mention the DRM that gets lumbered in with many big game titles; DRM is there on most consoles too (in the form of firmware), but it's more subtle - it doesn't make itself so utterly apparent as some PC systems do.

    PC gaming has got a bit of an image problem IMO. But you will never match the experience you get on a PC with a console. For a while, PC gaming fell out of my favour; as soon as I played Fallout 3 on decent PC hardware my flag was firmly back in the PC camp, where it should have always stayed. Even the precision of using the simple mouse & keyboard combo for FPS games is still unrivaled - gamepads are getting better, but they're still a long way from being the best.

    Regardless of whether PC gaming "bounces back" to the "mainstream", it will always be my mainstream.
     
  3. DarkBanana

    DarkBanana What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    6 May 2009
    Posts:
    176
    Likes Received:
    3
    Actually, I wonder if computer gaming is actually cheaper than console gaming.

    If you consider that everyone need a computer. Fact. I can't imagine anyone who plays any sort of digital game who doesn't need one (unless that person is 6 and then, it's debatable)

    Assuming a computer costs £400 minimum, if you add the cost of a PS3, say, you get a budget of £600. Which you can build a pretty decent system with.

    After all, most games don't require the 'latest' in technology and most games will run fine on a sub-£100 graphics card and CPU. You can then buy a console controller for your PC and viola, it can do anything a console can. And the games are cheaper :D
     
  4. Jenny_Y8S

    Jenny_Y8S Guest

    Sorry to point this out, but it's not a fact that "everyone" needs a computer. I "want" a computer (Which is why I have many) but everything I "need" to do, I can do from my iPhone. There's an alternative to everything else (Phone banking etc)

    Can anyone name something which everyone needs a PC for?

    Could I live without a PC? Yes, of course, but I don't need to, and I like my computers :)
     
  5. StoneyMahoney

    StoneyMahoney What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    10 Jul 2009
    Posts:
    287
    Likes Received:
    13
    PC gaming is a bit of upgrade treadmill. For some people that's half the fun - building your own gaming rig is not only a right of passage but something to take pride in - which is lost when consoles are homogenized packages.

    However, consoles are cheaper, and constantly flashier graphics are not the be-all and end-all of gaming. On top of that, people have less spare money to spend on new consoles, so the current generation will definitely be around a lot longer than usual.

    I guess the challenge is for console games to remain interesting without relying on an up-coming hardware refresh to inject new eye candy into the same old franchise. We could actually see some innovation this decade!
     
  6. rollo

    rollo Modder

    Joined:
    16 May 2008
    Posts:
    7,887
    Likes Received:
    131
    problem with no upgrades to consoles for 5 years is it affects the pc market graphics wise as well

    you wont see a crysis type game been released if theres no market for it. Mw2 will run on intergrated graphics to some extent if your willing to accept low settings. Even to run it on high only requires a 4850 if you keep the resolution within normal.

    Assuming you run every game in full hd. Will you really need more than 5870 in 2 years time to do it. I just cant see how the pc market will be pushed.

    Im playing at 1920 by 1080 on a 5870 i cant see my buying another graphics card for 2-3 years if nothing pushes it to do it.

    game companys are pushing sequels more than anything else using a small updated engine ( see mass effect 2 )

    no real point to push the boat out if its not needed
     
  7. runadumb

    runadumb What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    20 Jan 2010
    Posts:
    424
    Likes Received:
    5
    i think this article was written in cuckoo land by the worlds greatest optimist. i really felt last year was a make or break year for pc gaming so i bought as many pc games as i could afford and just rented on my ps3. things looked good for a while with EA coming good on drm but then things went right down hill again. GFWL has almost destroyed my faith in pc gaming future along with "ports" that fail to utizlise any of the extra oompth a pc has even though they came out 6 months after the consoles. red faction and empire total war are 2 recent examples of why pc gaming is and may never be mainstream. talk about bugs! i deem Red faction unplayable with its screaming sound effects. whys it doing this? because of surround sound, something that ive been using to play games for 10 years. now with all this bioshock2 drm nonsense im back to feeling i could never recommend pc gaming to my console gaming friends.

    ps if there isnt a new generation of consoles out by 2013 i'll eat my 260gtx
     
  8. Xir

    Xir Modder

    Joined:
    26 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    5,412
    Likes Received:
    133
    Well, the IPhone can probably be considered a computer :D (as far as the Internet is considered)
    I'd like to see you work exclusively on an IPhone's office suite though.

    Isn't this the same as with every console generation? The first years they're ahead, the last years they're behind.

    Also, it's a question of resolution.
    For gaming on a PAL CRT, the XBOX or PS2 are sufficient.
    For gaming on HD-TV, the XBOX360 or PS§ is sufficient.
    For gaming at higher resolutions (or 3D-gaming*) Next-Next-Gen consoles or current PC :D

    Xir

    *not that I believe in 3D gaming as such...tried it in the nineties, it sucked, not trying again.
    And yes, 3D-gaming has been possible at least since the first generation GeForce256 ;)
     
  9. 1ad7

    1ad7 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    13 Feb 2008
    Posts:
    263
    Likes Received:
    1
    I hate to say this but pc gaming was saved by the MMO's. It kept me here for a few years when consoles were ultra appealing. With a 10 year gap hopefully at the least it will advance pc gaming tech. Im ok with a smaller market if the people in that market create products to cater to its needs, very specific and varied needs. Which seems to be the direction were headed, with things like 3d displays, eyefinity, track ir, and force feedback vest its looking good!
     
  10. Narishma

    Narishma What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    21 Feb 2008
    Posts:
    134
    Likes Received:
    0
    I think you got that backwards. I stopped upgrading my PC because there are no new consoles in sight. Since the majority of big games are now made for consoles primarily, my 8800GT is sufficient to run pretty much any game I throw at it. And I doubt we'll see big PC exclusive games anytime soon. The last one was Crysis which was released in 2007...
     
  11. memeroot

    memeroot aged and experianced

    Joined:
    31 Oct 2009
    Posts:
    1,215
    Likes Received:
    19
    I think for those who want to have 3d now, have top spec graphics now then pc gaming is the only possible route.

    however I dont know how many people there are or indeed how many there are that dont simply pirate the games....
     
  12. PureSilver

    PureSilver E-tailer Tailor

    Joined:
    16 Dec 2008
    Posts:
    3,152
    Likes Received:
    235
    I think you'll find that a home computer is now either absolutely needed for kids' homework, Facebook and e-mail etc at a non-headache-inducing screen size, or it's only "wanted" but is considered a pretty basic "want." I could shower under the garden hose, crap in a hole in the back yard, do all of my washing and washing up by hand and walk to a phonebox to use the phone, but I don't think you'll find many people that do. Lots of life's 'necessities' are only luxuries when you get right down to it, but most people own a home computer because it would be a severe inconvenience not to.

    This man, he speaks the truth! PC gaming has been saved in part at least by my least-liked genre of games, the mass-market MMO. If it wasn't for Warcraft there would be millions of people that didn't know about gaming on their PCs. It shows that people do still do it and that means we still have games made for our platform. That said...

    ...Sometimes I'm happy that PC gaming is a small market. If I got the hostility playing CS:S that I do playing Halo's variants I wouldn't play much. If PC gaming's bounce back, as implied, only involves a shift of console players to their computers, I'm not sure I want in. If it's 3D games that are great to play and look brilliant (and are exclusives, screw you consoles) I'm up for that. I'm happy to pay a premium for GPUs and the like in exchange for bleeding-edge technology, and if the PC can continue to provide that, I'll stick with it.
     
  13. Mister_X

    Mister_X Chaotic Neutral

    Joined:
    13 Jul 2007
    Posts:
    141
    Likes Received:
    4
    Its all cyclical, consoles, pc whatever in and out of fashion every few years.
     
  14. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

    Joined:
    16 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    2,761
    Likes Received:
    89
     
  15. daniel_owen_uk

    daniel_owen_uk What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    1 Sep 2003
    Posts:
    551
    Likes Received:
    1
    Is this like a football managers vote of confidence?

    The amount of times I hear the state of PC gaming being talked about, it makes you wonder why there is so much concern.

    If a console such as the PS3 brought out a mouse and keypad to use on FPS how do you think it would effect sales of a PC game with the same title.
     
  16. amacieli

    amacieli What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    14 Feb 2008
    Posts:
    93
    Likes Received:
    1
    can someone tell me why it's so hard to add a keyboard and mouse to a console, and to get games to start using them? why are these idiotically user-unfriendly joystick gamepad things the only way of controlling the console? btw, can you imagine playing something like sins of a solar empire on a console controller! no way.....
     
  17. smc8788

    smc8788 Multimodder

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    5,974
    Likes Received:
    272
    Because most games have multiplayer modes these days and it would make them ridiculously unbalanced (more often than not, the guy with a keyboard and mouse is going to win).
     
  18. Byron C

    Byron C Multimodder

    Joined:
    12 Apr 2002
    Posts:
    9,882
    Likes Received:
    4,494
    They did do this - on the PS2 and, to a lesser extent, the PSX (PS1, PSOne, whatever). Barely any games supported it and fell by the wayside. There was even, if I remember correctly, a mouse and keyboard released for the original Xbox; the controllers use a USB port which, while being physically modified, are signal compatible with standard USB protocols. That was hardly supported by games either. Besides, consoles aren't really suited to mouse & keyboard control; I did try it way back on the PS2 - I believe it may have been Red Faction, though I could be wrong - as it supported standard USB keyboards/mice. I had to put my TV, PS2 and the keyboard and mouse on the same desk as the PC in order to use the mouse & keyboard properly. This was a bit of a farce when you consider that all I had to do to use the gamepad was slump on my bed in front of the TV - no moving stuff around. Also, this particular game didn't let you remap the keys - so if you don't like the standard control layout then tough. If a PC developer did this they would be slaughtered for it (some have, but that's not my point).

    It's still possible to plug in a mouse & keyboard to a PS3 - how do you think people run Linux on it? (Linux that is sanctioned by Sony and not hacked, I hasten to add) The hardware clearly supports it, it's just the software (i.e. games) that need to be programmed to accept it. I have no basis in experience or fact for this, but I would also imagine that it puts extra pressure on developers to support a feature that hardly anyone will use - this means more time and more money. Why spend money coding a non-standard control scheme from a different system when you've got a perfectly good one right there?


    EDIT: It was a Red Faction game I tried mouse & keyboard on PS2.... Red Faction 2, specifically.
     
    Last edited: 26 Jan 2010
  19. paisa666

    paisa666 I WILL END YOU!!!

    Joined:
    4 Mar 2009
    Posts:
    810
    Likes Received:
    42
    Hmmm.. dear friend. your iPhone is a computer

    Internet access?... check

    mail access?... check

    instant messaging?... check

    Photo sharing?... check

    Music, Movie playback?... check

    SDK's for custom app's?... check

    I dont mean to be rude or anything, but honestly i cant see how is possible that aperson who visits this kind of sites can ask something like "name something which everyone needs a PC for?" now days.
     
  20. nukeman8

    nukeman8 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    24 Jul 2008
    Posts:
    867
    Likes Received:
    17
    has the state of pc gaming ever changed?
    Its not risen to being extremely popular but its never exactly died away either.
    Personally i dont think it needs to bounce back from anything because it never went anywhere.
     
Tags: Add Tags

Share This Page