The Big Picture: PC Gaming Is Dead - Long Live PC Gaming!

[matt87_50]

go buy a shiny new ipad
take it home
open the box
turn it on

and then tell me the ONE AND ONLY THING THAT IT LETS YOU DO!

thats right, "plug into your PC"!!

ok, thats a low blow, thats just because APPLE ARE GAY!


my biggest gripe with the 'PC gaming is dead' argument is:

is it? or did it just stay the same size, and get massively overshadowed by the growth in everything else? the, unarguably more mainstream friendly stuff?

like, if pc gaming was 100,000 nerds, and consoles was like, 50,000 slightly less nerdy nerds.

and now consoles are 200,000,000 EVERYBODY... and PC gaming is STILL 'only' 100,000 nerds...

has it really 'died'? it hasn't gone anywhere?? maybe it was always dead??

my biggest sadness is... that PC was rock and roll, and everything else is like the current media industries...

though, in fairness... as you said, if anything, the consoles of the time where even more culturally fertile! so maybe its just the progression of time over the whole industry what ever the shape of your hardware... I guess the PC just acts as a shrine to the 'good old days' some of us (me) still desperately cling to...

still though... pointers suck compared to the mouse... don't get me started on touch... design a game around touch, and it will be AWESOME! but anything else that you try to retrofit to work with it... ugh... and the same is true for all other new control schemes, except some of them are so bad its arguable if even the games specifically designed around the controls are any good!

plug in eye, brain control! sign me up!!! but until then, the PC provides the most input options, and generally, the best ergonomics, most of the time.

but of course, you are right, ironically it was Microsoft that first called this. why? their proclamation wasn't that the PC would die, rather than it would change shape. ie: your phone, tablet, console. are ALL just PCs! hopefully the Iron fisted approach that Apple has taken with all their new platforms to try to make them as LITTLE like a PC as possible, will not be followed by everyone. hopefully Android does one day become the 'Windows of tomorrow' assuring a tailored yet familiar experience what ever the form factor, and most importantly, all the freedom that made PCs so great! so that one day, everything is just a different shaped PC (or with the cloud, everything is just a terminal into your one, 24/7 world wide online 'PC')

just as Bill gates said AGES ago, a few years before he left the monkey in charge...

P.S: I'm not really a MS fanboy. I know the 'freedom' of PCs had its drawbacks too, most of which are BLATANTLY evident in Android atm sadly... and I know you don't need as much control and power on say, an mp3 player..

BUT...

THESE ARE NOT THE REASONS APPLE DO WHAT THEY DO! they say it is... but it isn't... they do it to maintain the most control possible, so that they can bleed you dry...

I work at a company of a couple dosen people that will make at least a million dollar per employee this year, thanks solely to the tight grip of the app store... we should be competing with a whole world of free flash games... but no, every dollar WE make because of this monopoly, comes from YOUR pockets... and 30% of it goes to apple.

there is a perfect example. I DARE you to try and make a SINGLE DOLLAR via something that requires use of an IOS device, without a percentage of it going to Apple!

if someone makes a program for the PC and sells it, not a cent goes to the hardware manufacturer, or Microsoft.

... and we worried about Microsoft being monopolistic...

not that I have ANYTHING against the app store, Its a wonderful thing, and would be very successful no matter what. its the fact that its the ONLY option to ios users... that gets me...

 

[Brian Hendershot]

Am I the only one who thinks it's kinda funny that people take an opinion about the future of video games made by a guy who calls himself MovieBob so seriously?

He did make some good points, though. That's not to say I agree completely, but he's not just trolling for the sake of it.

No, I think it's pretty funny too. He was obviously troll baiting.

That being said, some of the discussions on here have gotten heated and slightly off topic. I am surprised that someone hasn't insulted someone else's mum yet.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

Wonder how long it'll take before people realise that MovieBob meant that you don't need PC's themselves anymore, by that he means that with every other portable device on the planet the days when gaming on the PC has to be restricted to a great hulking behemoth are gone, that there a few situations when games have to be on this device in order to get the most out of it.

I've got a friend organizing a Starcraft 2 laptop party which is not only physically possible but it also reduces the chances of one of us getting severe back pains from lugging around your average system.

In much less words, Moviebob is saying that PC systems aren't needed any more to play games and that games aren't "needed" exclusively for PC systems either. He just likes to mess about with fanboys too much.

Shhh...common sense has no place in this thread. Go back to your corner and think about what you just did!

 

[swankyfella]

Am I the only one who thinks it's kinda funny that people take an opinion about the future of video games made by a guy who calls himself MovieBob so seriously?

He did make some good points, though. That's not to say I agree completely, but he's not just trolling for the sake of it.

No, I think it's pretty funny too. He was obviously troll baiting.

That being said, some of the discussions on here have gotten heated and slightly off topic. I am surprised that someone hasn't insulted someone else's mum yet.

Give it time. The day is young and there's malice in the air.

 

[Woodsey]

NPD doesn't measure digital distribution (or has only just begun to - certainly in '08 it didn't), and its quite easy to achieve $16.2 billion with far less than a billion sales. You're quoting copies sold and I'm quoting revenue.

Helps if you read.

Actually, I was quoting revenue. Total PC game sales in 2008 were under $1 000 000 000 in plain writing. Under a billion dollars. They might not record digital sales but having a source that omits some data is better than LINKING TO A BLOG AS A SOURCE THAT DOESN'T LINK TO THEIR SOURCES.

I just checked in regards to the current numbers coming from the NPD on digital sales (They're doing that, now). I would be able to give a (generous) estimation of total PC game sales of 2008 to $1.5 billion. That's really not that surprising, given that most companies report digital sales as being a rather insignificant portion of their revenue.

Say otherwise? Please site a real source.

Go to the link I sent you, and click on the fucking link they give you.

ITS IN THE DAMN ARTICLE.

And the word is "cite".

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/pc-gaming-revenue-grew-in-2009-as-retail-pc-game-sales-shrank/

Another copy from last year, PC revenue in '08 it says was $11 billion dollars, quoted by the same group, different website.

And considering digital sales are estimated to account for over half the PC market now, I very much doubt that anyone considers them insignificant.

They're obviously measuring something differently somewhere, although either way, we're both showing that the market is bigger (i.e. my point).

Link me to all your NPD stuff, since you've managed to be a hypocrite so far. I gave you a link, all you had to do was go to that and read two lines and click on the link to the report (which you're apparently incapable of), but then you continue to claim I have given a completely worthless source.

Guess what genius, you haven't linked one at all.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

Am I the only one who thinks it's kinda funny that people take an opinion about the future of video games made by a guy who calls himself MovieBob so seriously?

He did make some good points, though. That's not to say I agree completely, but he's not just trolling for the sake of it.

No, I think it's pretty funny too. He was obviously troll baiting.

That being said, some of the discussions on here have gotten heated and slightly off topic. I am surprised that someone hasn't insulted someone else's mum yet.

Give it time. The day is young and there's malice in the air.

Wait..did you hear that?

 

[ImprovizoR]

I tend to ignore most of the things Movie Bob says. He's been so wrong so many times I've lost count. When PC gaming dies so will the console gaming because when that happens, something entirely new will come along to replace PCs and consoles in gaming world. Maybe a holodeck.

 

[Chibz]

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/pc-gaming-revenue-grew-in-2009-as-retail-pc-game-sales-shrank/

Joystick leads to industrygamers.com which leads... nowhere. Still no valid source.

The NPD's numbers are publically (and EASILY) available through their website, but since you insist.

http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100114.html

Now, let's find our data!

retail sales of video games, which includes portable and console hardware, software and accessories, generated revenues of close to $19.66 billion

First number: Sales of video games (including hardware and accessories) is $19.66 billion.

PC game software industry also experienced declines, with revenues down 23 percent, generating $538 million in 2009

Second number: $538 million. There's our PC game sales number.

portable and PC game software industry generated $10.5 billion

Third number: Total game software profits are $10.5 billion.

Console Game Sales = Total Game Sales - PC Game Sales
C = 10.5B - 500M
C = $10B.

QED.

As a note, I know these are the 2009 numbers. I just managed to find them, go me.

On further reflection, the $200 million increase between 2009 and 2010 is probably due to them starting to measure digital sales numbers. Not an actual increase in sales.

 

[Kouryuu]

Whilst I obviously didn't read all comments, the majority of "pc defenders" around just reinforce Bob's arguments.

IT DOESN'T MATTER if you love your PC so much. That you think it will always be unmatched, that all other platforms are a joke and you'll never let it go.

The market is moving, and the investors will move with it.

...

Umh... where did I say PC's will dissapear? Please check my response to WaaghPowa.

you did not, but Bob did.(and you said he is right!)
go read, what a PC is, I will be waiting ........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer

Done?
did you see there somewhere in witch generation of PC's we are? No? that's because we are in the first ever since the first computer was made available to the public. The PC is a idea, not a thing. it is not defined by the tower on the desk or the laptop, not by OS - Mac, Windows or Linux. He fails to define the thing he speaks of.
Even the eye ball gaming thing will need some computing power, and your eye can not get any more personal - Personal Eye Ball computing = PC
If you still disagree, please present us with a elaborate definition of a PC to demonstrate you thoughts on this subject, you may be right on a different

...

...

....

Again, It doeen't matter that you can build a gaming PC for dirt cheap. Average Joe out there doesn't want to do that.

This is a bit of a paradox. PC gaming is an exclusive "do it yourself" club, and admit it, you like it like that. That is Bob's main point, that the functions a PC would fulfil on at home are being replaced by appliance like devices. Just plug it it. A PC is not an applicance unless is a Mac and we know how much that counts for gaming. Price may not be a consideration anymore, but convenience and ease of use is.

That is why the PC Gaming market has played second fiddle to the consoles market for over a decade now.

And here comes the kicker: I believe mobiles and tablets are going to push PC's to third place as they fight for the top spot. When average joe realizes that tables/mobiles do 90% of he needs (email, browsing, Facebook) that's when the relevance of PCs at home may go into serious decline.

Don't think the publishers are considering this? Just check Tim Schaffer's twitter feed. The market for Steam may be healthy right now, but it's the mid term we're talking about here. That may not be the case in five year's time.

In any case, when all is said and done, the big gray box ain't going away, neither are laptops. Its the gaming market for them that I think will decline. PC's will live on, at offices around the world, as well as developer and engineering houses. They'll be used to create games... that run in other platforms. At home? not so much.

Some more educational material on the history of video games, the average Joe way (p.s. Joe is a name, so you should write it with a cap.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X58CdkLVr6A&feature=fvwrel
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3637639460474263178#

Noone has ever said that the PC is a Dominant part of the Game market?
Fact 1
It has never been dominant
Fact 2
It has always been more difficult to get into PC gaming, but more rewarding
Fact 3
PC has no prime function, it is a Multifunctional workhorse
Presumption (instead of fact 4, because I cant prove it without the help of others)
I would say that at least 50% of us PC gamers Started of with a console SNES for me
Fact 5
PC was the engine of development, improvement in the console market
Fact 6
I have a PS2 I play Persona 4 on it, but if it breaks I will not get a new one, I will play Persona 4 on my pc Via PS2 emulators. All games have come from the PC, and will go to the PC.

Sincerely hope you consider what we have to say, cuz we are not haters, we are Lovers of games, we constantly want to improve the experience we have, via graphics, controls or mods, we want this medium to shine, not just to be, but to improve and evolve.
have said the mostly everything I had to so
Have a nice thoughtful evening
Kouryuu

 

[Kouryuu]

Wow, overreact much guys?

Nah, just pointing out some faults in Bob's argument, but i guess that means we are just normal people who cant compare to bobs 1001 IQ in gaming

No, I'm pretty sure you're overreacting.

my last post was overreacting,

...

the post to you was just sarcastic,
chill out.
Stick and stone can break my bone, but words can never hurt me!

 

[Woodsey]

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/pc-gaming-revenue-grew-in-2009-as-retail-pc-game-sales-shrank/

Joystick leads to industrygamers.com which leads... nowhere. Still no valid source.

The NPD's numbers are publically (and EASILY) available through their website, but since you insist.

http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100114.html

Now, let's find our data!

retail sales of video games, which includes portable and console hardware, software and accessories, generated revenues of close to $19.66 billion

First number: Sales of video games (including hardware and accessories) is $19.66 billion.

PC game software industry also experienced declines, with revenues down 23 percent, generating $538 million in 2009

Second number: $538 million. There's our PC game sales number.

portable and PC game software industry generated $10.5 billion

Third number: Total game software profits are $10.5 billion.

Console Game Sales = Total Game Sales - PC Game Sales
C = 10.5B - 500M
C = $10B.

QED.

As a note, I know this is the 2009 numbers. I just managed to find them, go me.

Go to the RPS link, click the link that to you to the PCGA website, read the report. I'm not sure how many times you want me to repeat it.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/25/report-pc-remains-most-lucrative-platform-worth-11b/

"We'll take this report, compounded by the NPD report that retails sales of PC games in 2008 dropped by 14 percent, as solid evidence that PC gamers are the first to take major steps towards exclusively downloadable games."

Evidently they are measuring more than simply retail game sales - they're taking into account subscriptions too (WoW earned a billion - actually read the link this time)

I'm a little confused as to how PC sales could only generate $500m in revenue, considering 10 $30 games, selling a million each on the PC, would turn over $300 million dollars.

And the NPD doesn't account for Steam, which owns something like 70% of the download market and doesn't release sales data. My source estimated, but they're not going to overshoot by $15 million dollars. As I said, they're measuring more than just game sales.

This is also the 3rd year they've done this, and there's been no furor in previous years about them making up numbers/lying.

Even says in your own cited (not sited!) report: "Considering there are many new sources of revenue including subscriptions and digital distribution, industry growth is even more impressive.""

 

[Juggalofx]

The pc will never die as a game platform. The perks when a game is made right for the pc more then out way the perks you get on a console. I prefer my fps played on a pc. Keyboard and mouse the the use of vent beats a controller any day. that being said consoles are just easier and you know the nex game rolling out will just work. Unlike the pc were the next game could cost you 60 bucks and 1000+ bucks for a graphics card. I have my ps3 and enjoy it i always played on consoles (nes was my first and have had almost ever console the came out since minus sega Saturn and xbox360)but will always have my heart in pc gaming.

 

[Kouryuu]

Sadly, I think Bob is correct. However, the "WHY" of it all is the reason I will fight to the last breath to hold onto what we know as "PC Gaming": Control.

Today, out of parts I assemble myself I can and have built a relatively standardized piece of hardware I call my "PC". I choose everything about it, from its chassis to processor, amount of RAM, and add-in cards based on the uses at hand. It is what I want it to be and it does whatever I wish it to do. If I find Linux to be my operating system of choice, I can install it and take full advantage of the hardware. If I want to add a HDTV capture card later, I can do so for the price of the card, which will plug into a standardized PCI-Express slot and add new functionality to the box. If I want to game, I install powerful enough hardware to do so. I can run any software on it, provided it is actually compiled for the hardware and operating system (and sometimes not even that, with tools like WINE). This piece of hardware, this "PC" (and any number of them available in my home that I've customized to different tasks), is technically way more powerful and way more adaptable than any "Console". and "They" hate that.

What Bob seems to accept as an inevitability of progress is actually a type of industry brainwashing. I venerate IDEAS from the old days of computing - that users should have control over their software and hardware, privacy should be protected for individuals, and generally what you pay for should be yours do do with as you with. This is the absolute antithesis of everything Bob was speaking of today. What I worry about these days is that business is implementing plans to lockdown and control every thing you buy on their terms.

Game Consoles are a holdover from the day where computing hardware was so underpowered that it had to be specialized to do a few things well. However, it was also a method of industry control. Today's consoles are very much like computers, if underpowered ones - hell, there are plenty of hacks that allow you to run "PC" software like MPlayer on consoles, but you are not "allowed" to do so. Look at Sony's "Do Everything" PS3 removing OtherOS, a crippled way of running a LinuxOS that was STILL too much control in the user's hands for Sony. Is there any reason that Xbox360 titles couldn't be developed for Windows instead, simply selling controller peripherals? No, of course not.

The ONLY reason everything is moving the way Bob speaks of is that the industry has decided that users are too stupid and complacent to really mount any sort of resistance, nomatter how extensive and draconian the control apparatus of business becomes. They do not WANT you using that "Personal Computer" you have in your house or your lap to run their software, they want you to use a specialized piece of hardware THEY have control over. Not you. Everything in our modern society is moving this way. From game consoles to "AppStores", tablets and handhelds with locked down hardware and software, to even attempts to control YOUR hardware on the PC, like Ubisoft and EA DRM. ALL DRM is a way to try to restrict what your hardware can do to give a business control over what you've bought.

Lets call it what it is - extortion and hostage-taking. The industry is holding entertainment hostage. They say "If you don't submit to doing things our way, completely within our control, you don't get to watch this movie. You don't get to play this game". I'd like to see Bob using his platform to rail against this, not assuring everyone that "Everything is fine. Big Brother is your friend". That is part of the problem, not part of the solution. You should not HAVE to buy a specialty device to access certain content if the generalized device you already own can do so. You should not HAVE to put up with entertainment being held hostage. However, the industry has been right so far that people are weak - they'll put up with anything for their entertainment. Until they stop buying, nothing will change and Activision, EA, Microsoft, Sony and others will laugh right to the bank. Systems like OnLive are the ultimate example - the user pays, but owns nothing but a dumb "receiver" and is streamed droplets of content as the provider sees fit. If things keep going this way, there will be expensive proprietary hardware or software necessary to access EVERY bit of content, and Bob and others should NOT be normalizing this further descent into corporate control.

Very disappointed.

Very good post, not sure Bob has really meant it so, but hey, if that's what you believe, go for it.

There is light yet. there are companies, sees us for what we are.
A good example is Egosoft, a Germany based company best known for the X series space simulators. I do not why, are the just not interested in bleeding us dry or are ahead of the wave but in every game that have a security in it, the publish a path that takes it away after a time. the mod and Dev community has a big part in the next release, just recently a new mod was released on the basis of the previous game - Xtended. where else can a game be tailored to the wishes of the community then of the PC, by Game developers, who care. Go look up egosoft forum and be marveled.
This is just a example, but as long as we have them, as long as modding will exist PC gamers will too.

All Games come from the PC, And they go back to the PC.

 

[A. Smith]

Nibz, here's the thing. What I think the NPD is doing is:

1) Not accounting for Steam (IIRC' 70% of digital distribution, with that being 50% of the market, which means they might be ignoring 35% of game sales)
2) Not accounting for MMO subscription (with 12 million subscribers at the minimum 13$/month for a 6 month subscription, that's 1.9 billion dollars a year, and you can bet the average cost is more then the minimum)
3) Not accounting for microtransactions (including social gaming; Zynga was estimated to have revenue of around 600 million dollars alone; the Mann co. store for TF2 is also raking in cash, and the asian market is full of microtransaction MMOs)

Those three factors could explain a HUGE difference in their numbers. WoW ALONE would sextuple their number. Hell, merely including minecraft (which they probvably didn't include, considering it's both digital distribution AND indie) would increase their 500$ million number by a good 2%.

And you know what? in the case of factors 2 and 3, they might be right not to measure those sales, because they,re not sales of a product. In both cases, you already HAVE the game itself, you're just paying the company so it it changes some info on a server, either giving you the right to use them or giving you an in-game benefit. They're not technically sales of games.

The thing is, though, it's still money spent on PC gaming.

 

[VGC USpartan VS]

Meh... Computers aren't that far behind. The only reason I would sell my Ailenware is if I could turn into Dante from Devil May Cry or Deadpool. So I ain't sellin' my alienware.

 

[Griffolion]

Am I the only one who thinks it's kinda funny that people take an opinion about the future of video games made by a guy who calls himself MovieBob so seriously?

He did make some good points, though. That's not to say I agree completely, but he's not just trolling for the sake of it.

No, I think it's pretty funny too. He was obviously troll baiting.

That being said, some of the discussions on here have gotten heated and slightly off topic. I am surprised that someone hasn't insulted someone else's mum yet.

Give it time. The day is young and there's malice in the air.

Wait..did you hear that?

Your mother is so successful in life... I actually wish she was my mum...

There, that should counter the negativity of at least one...

 

[Naso]

Not that PC is in decline , but rather stupidity is on the rise.

Tell you this if i have a a decent rig , with a decent sized monitor then what are the fuctions of my TV , VCR , DVD and etc? Non that's what , a PC has replaced all of those all the while taking up less space and being capable of much more.

Same with a consolole , why would i ever need it when a PC is already fulfilling it's function?

The future will be about portability and utility , as a whole while other devises wither and die the PC will gorge itself on their functions and remain strong.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

Am I the only one who thinks it's kinda funny that people take an opinion about the future of video games made by a guy who calls himself MovieBob so seriously?

He did make some good points, though. That's not to say I agree completely, but he's not just trolling for the sake of it.

No, I think it's pretty funny too. He was obviously troll baiting.

That being said, some of the discussions on here have gotten heated and slightly off topic. I am surprised that someone hasn't insulted someone else's mum yet.

Give it time. The day is young and there's malice in the air.

Wait..did you hear that?

Your mother is so successful in life... I actually wish she was my mum...

There, that should counter the negativity of at least one...

Well your mum smells like elderberries! Which...smell very nice...I think. I have never smelled Elderberries before.

 

[TBman]

I was thinking about building my own gaming pc or buying an alienware laptop, but after watching this I'm not sure. Does anyone have any advice?