The future of PC gaming

[Vault101]

this is a random throught I had after reading about the upcoming "steam box"

right off the bat I couldn't see the point of this thing $1000 (more for Aussies most likley) for a striped down gaming PC that I "assume" doesnt even have the full functionality of a PC (actually it might, I don't know) I mean at least consoles have physical games as an option..

anyway people said to me its "an entry into PC gaming for those who think its too "hard" which I also couldn't really buy...for $1000 or so you could get a decent gaming computer, not just make it yourself but find somwhere (online or otherwise)

"I" was one of those people...there was no way in hell I was building one myself..so I looked around and managed to get a good deal online (hasnt crapped out on me yet!)

so again....without sounding elitist...is it realy that hard? you know how to use a computer right?

[b/]but then it struck me[/b]

PC gamers, whats your earlyest memory of playing games on a PC? I imagine many of us came from a time where the starndard desktop PC was a common household thing

we never had a "super" powered computer....but as a kid I played alot of older games...worms 2, age of empires 1 &2, rayman 2the monkey island games....

when I was a kid I knew how to install a game

my point is even for kids who didn't grow up to be "gamers" let alone PC gamers its likley them or an older sibling played games on a computer...most likeley a desktop. They have a point of reference..like the kid who gets an xbox and playes Halo...so naturally he gets an Xbox 360...and then the next console

likewise a kid who grew up gaming on a PC decides to takw it further when he's older and gets himself a sweetass monster machine

[b/]younger people thease days, have no such point of reference[/b] sure they use computers, and might install a game or two on their laptop...but even laptops seem to be going out of favour in place of tablets...the devices we use are more user freindly but more locked down

theres a good chance a kid today has never used a desktop....or if they have for work or school then the Idea of playing games on one could be a foregn concept

on tabelts/phones games are downlaoded without the worry of specs

I guess what I saying is could the standard desktop fall out of populaty in favor of somthing more "conviniet" like the steam box?

what do you think?

 

[Luftwaffles]

Back when i was a kid my dad got a pc and some educational games. PuttPutt and Freddie the Fish etc. Good times

Are you worried that desktop gaming will become a niche hobby? It certainly is possible i think, but not for a very long time (i hope).

I mean hey, kids could look at the nice, high quality pictures of games on the web, and pester their parents to get them a decent rig if they be good kiddies and finish their homework. Next thing you know, kids got Component Acquisition Syndrome

 

[FavouriteDream]

I really don't think PC gaming will ever die. Sure, console gaming will continue to have the most consumers but PC is still a large component of the industry - especially RPGs.

The main reason is that PC gaming has suffered is that consoles are easier. You don't have to worry about being future proof and you don't need much expertise to set everything up.

How much money would be ideal to buy a really decent gaming rig custom built? 1400-1600? Consoles are what, 500? And you can play the same games, they just look a bit worse. I can understand why consoles are more popular.

 

[VanQ]

My earliest memory of playing on a PC? It would have been on my parent's shitty windows 95 Hewlett Packard PC that they bought from a mobile phone retailer called "Crazy Ron's." Thing was a piece of shit but geez, I'm not sure which game was the first I played but it would have either been Oddworld: Abe's Oddysey or WarCraft 2. That's not counting things like solitaire and minesweeper and that one game I can't remember anything about except a guy had the line "What 'ave ya got ta barter with then eh?" and he wanted a bottle of booze to give you a key. Or maybe it was Croc, Croc was an awesome game.

But really, the myth behind the high price point of entry on the PC needs to end, it's just not true. There was a time when consoles were just "plug'n'play" but they're moving further away from that now so there are little to no advantages to consoles when compared to PC. Unless you choose to kid yourself.

PCs are going nowhere until we can develop a source of energy that can overcome the limitations of electricity allowing us to create something new and better. As it stands, the PC is the pinnacle of household technology and will remain that way for a good long time.

A note to Vault, next time you buy a PC, don't get a prebuilt one. They're loaded up with hidden software and spyware that slow them down. Find a friend that knows about computers and ask them to build you one for X amount of money. I've been building PCs for myself and my friends for a while now and they always say they've never had a better experience. Laptops don't count, not much you can do about those but buy prebuilt.

Also, you'd be surprised how long something can be commercially viable for even after it's made outdated by new technology. TV is still broadcast over the air these days because old people still watch TV and provide ad revenue for doing so. I'll be an old fart one day but I'll still be playing games on my PC rather than on a shitty iFad.

 

[Vault101]

How much money would be ideal to buy a really decent gaming rig custom built? 1400-1600? Consoles are what, 500? And you can play the same games, they just look a bit worse. I can understand why consoles are more popular.

less than that if your building it yourself mine was slightly less than that including OS and the internet thingy....and that had a markup because it was pre built

A note to Vault, next time you buy a PC, don't get a prebuilt one. They're loaded up with hidden software and spyware that slow them down. Find a friend that knows about computers and ask them to build you one for X amount of money. I've been building PCs for myself and my friends for a while now and they always say they've never had a better experience. Laptops don't count, not much you can do about those but buy prebuilt.

I'm aware of Bloatware.....

There doesnt seem to be a whole lot of pre installed crap on it, it wasnt store bought but custom built

no harm in checking though

 

[Signa]

Hmm, interesting point. My first gaming experience was on the Commodore 64 at the age of 3. I was smart enough to know my letters and symbols that I was taught how to use it and load any game I needed. That didn't stop me from salivating at the Nintendo later, as well as the thousands of hours logged on the SNES, N64, and demo Sega machines at the toy stores. Still, I wasn't shy about playing demos and Monkey Island (among other things) on the 386 and other upgraded machines my dad had.

 

[Silly Hats]

I spent a large chunk of my Gaming life playing MMOs and a good deal of Valve games on a lower mid PC which lasted me years. I had the occasional upgrade, the move to a 8500gt served me well and still looked nice at the time.
I did play an equal amount of PS1 and I also have a ps3 to play a a few titles. Rebuilt a high end PC last year and fell in love with PC Gaming, don't play MMOs anymore but it's improved everything that I wanted back when I was 17.

So I fell in love with it in 05, but my earliest gaming memory would have been Quake or Duke Nukem - though I didn't own them.

 

[Vault101]

[
the steam box is a bunch of crap since for 1000$ you can build yourself a nice high end pc plus buy yourself a controller plus get an adapter and connect the pc to you television.

I'm not disagreeing or arguing over the steambox..I know that

[quote/]building a pc is pretty damn easy.so easy that you can put the hardware in almost any case imaginable.[/quote]
thats the thing...for most people it really isn't...that and it seems like to much work or trouble and PC gaming on a desktop would appear more alien to more people if its an unfamiliar concept to them

 

[Rblade]

heh, prince of persia 3D. And after that probably quake 3 arena.

As for "the future" it's the old argument. For anything that requires precision and a large number of skills the input of mouse and keyboard cannot be beat, yet at least. For that reason alone some kind of machine standing on your desk will always continue to be a thing in gaming. RTS and MMORPG's (good luck binding the typical WoW sidebars to a controller, unless you buy one of those freaky huge special controllers with a little keyboard attached) for example. As long as people want to play those the mouse and keyboard will keep the PC trucking.

O I just thought, take minecraft. I seriously doubt that would work well on a console.

 

[Rainforce]

I agree, Tablets do become kinda of a problem, although nothing can replace a physical keyboard and mouse, not on a touchscreen without any physical feedback whatsoever (as in: feeling the keys, especially their edges).

I myself normally buy prebuild, but buy my OS seperately, so no bloatware (it's piss easy: insert disk, boot pc, follow instructions, press "continue" and "I understand the terms of the agreement" as fast as you can, select the [probably] only drive available, more "continue"s, wait for half an hour, installed.)

and in terms of pricing...mine are always along the lines of 700-800? (including a recent windows copy, although that has now come to an end with win8), and run on hardware that was released one or two months before the point when I buy the machine.

after that I pretty much upgrade a few parts from time to time until I feel like I need to buy a new one because just too many pieces are too old/broken

 

[Dryk]

PCs and therefore PC gaming can never truly die, I doubt a console or tablet device will ever beat a PC's usefulness and versatility for software development

thats the thing...for most people it really isn't...that and it seems like to much work or trouble and PC gaming on a desktop would appear more alien to more people if its an unfamiliar concept to them

Judging from my experiences with building my first PC it's mostly a perception problem. It just seems difficult until you do it and realise that it's not as hard as you imagined.

 

[Feraswondervahnn]

Man, this makes me think of the old windows 95 we had! First game I played on it was Space Invaders, followed by some random Chess game. It wasn't long until I discovered the joys of Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper and the like, but really they're the only games I play on PC now. I look at the newer games for both consoles and PC's and realize I've really fallen out of touch with gaming.

My most played PC games are all retro games, mainly because I find myself less and less interested in modern games, and my most played console is still my N64, which is still has pride of place in my console set up. I wish I had more interest in PC gaming, but it just seems to be exactly the same as console gaming to me, both are lackluster and rarely have an interesting new game that fully utilizes the tech I'd be paying for either way. Could just be me not really liking anything being released other than indie games though I guess...

 

[generals3]

Well desktops are already a rarity for gaming purposes (compared to consoles). But i don't think they'll die out any soon. Just think about it, when you'll have kids you'll be playing games on a desktop and they'll probably get into it by seeing you playing them.

 

[Vault101]

but only because they act with some kind of prejudice to this subject.
people still assume that only the brightest (mentally and physically in terms of skin tone) basement dwellers are capable to do it and they guard their secrets like mad motherfuckers, ignoring that there are assloads of youtube videos that provide instructions and you can even print out yourself some of these or borrow a book out of the local library on how to do it.

Judging from my experiences with building my first PC it's mostly a perception problem. It just seems difficult until you do it and realise that it's not as hard as you imagined.

yes I know...I'm not arguing its difficulty...

the thing is [b/]most people don't give a fuck[/b] no matter how easy it apparently is, no matter what you say "its all just too hard"

why do apple computers sell so well? is it because they are better? or is it because they have a really nice shiny look? if everyone was savvy enough to go with the best performance/cost option then we'd live in a very different world