Poll: Is Console Gaming Slowly Dying?
- Thread starter MrStab
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The problem with console gaming is that it's dependent on console manufacturers to remain viable. That's all well and good while the console manufacturers are behind console gaming but, as we've discussed a dozen times before, to continue beyond this current gen of consoles without committing financial suicide they're going to really have to change things up and the room to maneuver is shrinking.Ultratwinkie said:
There are basically 3 options left: abandon the Loss Leader sales model and suffer the launch sales dent that will make when prices are no longer subsidised, raise the dev licence fees and suffer consumer backlash as the price of games rises, or use more off-the-shelf tech. If the console manufacturers can't keep their hardware costs down (and subsidising the shelf price makes this even worse for them) no amount of flash and gimmicks will save them.
The console gaming market at the moment is like a star athelete with an undetected brain tumour. It's going great at the moment but unless something is done soon there's the possibility that it will just keel over without any warning.
You're forgetting about the role RAM plays in most of what you talk about, which is where consoles really fall down.Caligulas.dog said:
I wouldn't say a crash is a certainty but without some fundamental changes it is the most likely outcome. On the other hand, I think the 'app game' and 'social game' rushes are going to bubble before anything happens to consoles.Ultratwinkie said:
Ok Movie Bob, move a long, nothing for you to comment on here.tokae said:
Also, just out of interest I've been noticing a lot of 'Is XXX DYING?!!?!?!?!' threads on various forums I visit.
Either it's just my imagination or there are a lot of people out there that look at the smallest thing and assume it'll never be the same again and it's going to DIE!
What's that? That new program you like isn't on this week but is on next week instead? IS IT DYING?!
I don't think so. Despite Extra Credits, I doubt I will ever enjoy playing on a tablet or in public. The reason being is immersion. I cannot get immersed in a game when I'm sitting at a noisy bus station or coffee shop. And I've never liked touch screens so if games switch entirely over to those, I'm calling it quits.
No its not. And if it is, its dying as slowly as PC gaming.
And whether or not they'll wait, well, how long did sony fans wait for the PS3 and have the PS2?
And whether or not they'll wait, well, how long did sony fans wait for the PS3 and have the PS2?
- Apr 1, 2009
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yes but not in the way you think, console gaming is continuously dying and being reborn, with each new console generation it dies and then so far has always come back, the reason it dies is because for the most part backwards compatibility isnt one of the main things the makers go for so all those old games you have tend to live on borrowed time while the new consoles get all the attention
pc games have it easy, with a lil know how you can run a game from 20 years ago on a new system so they never have the death and rebirth that consoles do
pc games have it easy, with a lil know how you can run a game from 20 years ago on a new system so they never have the death and rebirth that consoles do
This lack of search bar usage and the only options being "yes" or "no" is most disturbing... /sortofbutnorrealllyreferencingsomething
That's way too long between generations. It won't kill console gaming, but I am interested to see how it will affect PC gaming.
Will the few PC-only games (and maybe the PC versions of some multiplatform games) gradually get better and better, pushing PC technology forward and perhaps leading more console gamers to move to PC as they see how much better the games get? Or will it cause the PC to also stagnate as most multiplatform games reach the limit of what current consoles can do, and PC gamers stop upgrading their hardware because it's just not being pushed at all by the games?
Personally, I'd hope to see the first course of events take place, moving many console gamers over to PC and revitalising PC sales which might lead to more PC exclusives, but it'll be interesting to see what happens either way.
Will the few PC-only games (and maybe the PC versions of some multiplatform games) gradually get better and better, pushing PC technology forward and perhaps leading more console gamers to move to PC as they see how much better the games get? Or will it cause the PC to also stagnate as most multiplatform games reach the limit of what current consoles can do, and PC gamers stop upgrading their hardware because it's just not being pushed at all by the games?
Personally, I'd hope to see the first course of events take place, moving many console gamers over to PC and revitalising PC sales which might lead to more PC exclusives, but it'll be interesting to see what happens either way.
Yeah, no. PC's don't cost thousands to upgrade. They don't even cost thousands to build in the first place any more. It costs only tens of dollars to upgrade RAM which will often give a big performance boost, and it costs a couple hundred or less to upgrade video cards. Upgrading is not something you do every year unless you're one of those nutters who absolutely has to have the best, top-of-the-line hardware no matter what, despite the fact that no games exist that'll really give a machine like that a workout.bl4ckh4wk64 said:
Consoles are only marginally cheaper than PC gaming. If you don't already own a good TV to use them with, console gaming is actually more expensive than PC, especially when you consider that even console gamers need at least a cheap crappy PC for internet use and other non-game activity.
We've been hearing the "PC gaming is dying!" mantra for longer than you've been alive but it's still going strong. Console gaming isn't dying either. I really don't think PC gamers are abandoning the PC to move to console, I think instead it's becoming more common to be a multiplatform gamer, owning both a PC and one or more consoles.
Ok... I am going to go out on a limb here and make the claim.... "CONTROLLERS FOR GAMING ARE DYING!!!!" In the future everything will be controlled with your thoughts!
Really? Ok consoles are not dying because they are behind the times and its been 5-6 years since the beginning of the current generation.
If they are dying it has nothing to do with that and more to do with the content delivery systems we use today will eventually become archaic.
Now I will grant you there is a HYPOTHETICAL divide between the performance of PC games vs console games. I say hypothetical because when you get right down to it Even for PC exclusive titles, Developers are not going to develop for the bleeding edge 5000$ homemade (not prefabbed) PCs that they have access to develop on. What would be the point of spending millions to develop a game that can be ran on less than 1000 computers nationwide? For the most part developers are going to stick to a decent medium that is at least plausible for their intended audience to reach. Thing of it is, the current area? Is not that far away from what consoles are currently running at.
Also from a developers standpoint you have to remember that it takes years of refining developmental techniques (Learned mostly through trial and error) to find ways to maximize efficiency and performance. So even if for some reason we get a new console generation tomorrow and they are equivilent to PC made for roughly 1500$. Your still not going to see a massive degree of improvement in what is released. Sure, some improvement like more models on screen at a time, Higher resolutions, smoother performance, but actual better looking? No. Because the plateau of design limitations has not been broken down and surpassed yet.And where is that plautea shattered by developers learning tricks to milk every last bit of limited horsepower? On the consoles, not PCs. Were still in the middle of figuring out how to get the absolute most out of this console generation graphically and performance wise.
So, Yes, possibly console gaming is dying, but not for the reasons cited.
Really? Ok consoles are not dying because they are behind the times and its been 5-6 years since the beginning of the current generation.
If they are dying it has nothing to do with that and more to do with the content delivery systems we use today will eventually become archaic.
Now I will grant you there is a HYPOTHETICAL divide between the performance of PC games vs console games. I say hypothetical because when you get right down to it Even for PC exclusive titles, Developers are not going to develop for the bleeding edge 5000$ homemade (not prefabbed) PCs that they have access to develop on. What would be the point of spending millions to develop a game that can be ran on less than 1000 computers nationwide? For the most part developers are going to stick to a decent medium that is at least plausible for their intended audience to reach. Thing of it is, the current area? Is not that far away from what consoles are currently running at.
Also from a developers standpoint you have to remember that it takes years of refining developmental techniques (Learned mostly through trial and error) to find ways to maximize efficiency and performance. So even if for some reason we get a new console generation tomorrow and they are equivilent to PC made for roughly 1500$. Your still not going to see a massive degree of improvement in what is released. Sure, some improvement like more models on screen at a time, Higher resolutions, smoother performance, but actual better looking? No. Because the plateau of design limitations has not been broken down and surpassed yet.And where is that plautea shattered by developers learning tricks to milk every last bit of limited horsepower? On the consoles, not PCs. Were still in the middle of figuring out how to get the absolute most out of this console generation graphically and performance wise.
So, Yes, possibly console gaming is dying, but not for the reasons cited.
Fair enough. Considering even knowing what parts are in your PC box can get you branded as a 'PC elitist' on this site, some days it can be hard to tell what people mean.Nieroshai said:
Uh, mainstream game budgets have increased as a result of monopolization--you know, barriers to entry--as well, which means that developers often feel forced to design their games for the predominant platform(s) in order for them to have the chance to sell enough that they'll receive a competitive budget allocation from their publisher. Of course, the predominant platforms, have, since 1985 or earlier, mostly been consoles--so even former PC developers, in order to upkeep the market penetration necessary for the desired financing, are shifting to the console stream.xMelior said:
Of course, since Halo more and more PC developers--BioWare, Bethesda, Lionhead, Ion Storm, 2K/Irrational, etc.--have been chasing the console dollar, motivated also by an increasing confidence in the universal appeal of their designs (as well as hardware that's partly closed the historic gap between consoles and PCs, and an early console patron in Microsoft). Generally, this has resulted in watered-down games, though at least we got Knights of the Old Republic out of the Faustian bargain.
So yeah, PC is kinda dead as a distinctive design tradition--but paradoxically, only because what we would've termed "PC-centric" design in the nineties is now too broadly popular to be commercially confined to consoles (the WRPG craze now resembles the FPS one in the nineties!). Expect PC to live on in through indies and a handful of games that favour mouse control (by Blizzard, Maxis, etc.) until their next generation of idealists shows up.