Why is PC gaming "dead"?

[Grey_Focks]

Devs like valve, relic and blizzard all say "No, it isn't". Who am I to disagree?

 

[Woodsey]

It isn't - and I dare say PC gaming is more popular on this website then console gaming.

That's what all the polls seem to show at any rate.

Well, yes. The escapist has LOTS of PC supremists. It's just the community.

I know, that's what I just said (and I'll take it you mean supremists in the sense of people who champion the PC, not that whole master race/elitist thing).

The point was that it's odd for a multi-platform website, especially one that really doesn't pay much attention to the PC from it's staff (bar Shamus Young really), to have such a large PC-enthusiastic community.

 

[linkvegeta]

I don't quite understand why people have been proclaiming the PC gaming is "dead" for so long I mean I go to the store and there's still a big selection of games..and many games coming out this year

also I know to do it properly you have to buy/build som monstrosity of a machine...but I have my laptop which works reasonably well graphics wise and runs most things on High (though I wouldnt trust it to run Crysis) ok I'm probably not doing it "properly" but anthing that can run far cry 2 on high is good enough for me

the only real reason i could say that it is dead is because of the massive amount of pc games being pirated, its much easier to pirate a pc game than it it to download a console game burn it and have your console modded.

 

[Rad Party God]

PC Gaming: Proudly dying since the 1980's.

Someone get the picture!

Yessir!

To be honest, I'm quite sick of you people saying PC gaming is dead and "I use my console for what it is and I just use my laptop to rant at The Escapist forums, blah, blah, blah..."

Many popular franchises were created on the PC and even the best version of those popular franchises is always the PC port. Well, almost always, just if the developer isn't blinded by their $$$ from consoles and make a decent port out of it.

Calling Crysis as the "worst thing about PC gaming" is just pure BS. It was over taxing pc's 3 years ago, but now it's just old news and about any decent gaming rig can run it AND Crysis 2 will have even lower requirements (Spoiler: It runs on an Xbox).

I'm quite happy and I'm really proud to be a PC gamer, I had a 360 and I couldn't stand the thing, I sold it 6 months later. And yes, I had the heavy hitters from the console, like Gears of War 2, Halo 3, GTA IV and such and I couldn't stand spending money on a really expensive service just to be yelled at my ear by kids whose newest word is "Noob" and "gay".

Keep playing with your consoles, I'll be at my PC while it's happily dying in the next 10 years, if not even more.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

Pc gaming can't DIE. not really. people can live without Xboxes and Playstations. They can't live without Computers (i mean...they...shut up!) and as long as people will have said neccesary PCs and some time to kill, they'll play games. and in a few years, once Steam finishes spreading the love to our fruity little friends (what i like my windows!), PC gamingwill be immortal! [cheesy evil laugh]

yeah, case in point PC gaming can't and won't "die!"......that said [moan/whine] i want RDR and Enslaved!(*sob*)

 

[Lamppenkeyboard]

If PC gaming is dying, it is because of all of the piracy. Releasing a game for a console probably feels more secure for developers. Other than that, the platform itself is going as strong as ever.

For the sake of standpoint, I am going to say that I am a console gamer who just at the moment lacks the means to get a PC capable of running modern (as in the past three to five years) games.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Is it dead? You wouldnt think so the way PC fans whine and moan when a console/pc battle occurs. Of course the flip side of that is that PC gamers look at console players as something less then reputable because the consoles are holding back gaming advancement. So there's evil on both sides.

But is it dead? No, not really. Not at all actually. Casual gaming has taken over, thats whats really happened. Wii/Move/Kinect have drawn people away for the asthetic appeal so thats made a larger market for consoles. The cheapness of console gaming has also boosted its popularity (I know, I know, "PC gaming isnt that expensive" and blah blah blah, but I can tell you now, my friend PC games and he's sunk a good $10K into his rig but he's on the extreme end of it).

But PC gaming is far from dead. Until MMORPGs find a working model on consoles, I dont think PCs will ever really die.

 

[Worgen]

Pc gaming isn't dead yet, just dying.

console gaming is much more dead then pc gaming is
and I can prove it
look at backwards compatability
you can still play an old dos game on a windows 7 machine (either tho something like dos box or zdoom with a game set on the doom engine)
go ahead and try playing a ps2 game on a ps3, chances are you cant, pc gamine just keeps going , console gaming dies and resurrects

 

[Fooz]

i fail to see how its dead, like other people have mentioned the 'Steam' community is huge, not to mention the amount of people that play WoW, also we can add another PC gamer to the list as i have purchased a gaming PC today

 

[Luke Cartner]

No, however it is changing.. If I was a retailer I would believe its dead because no one buys from bricks and mortar stores much anymore. Most purchases are online now...

 

[The Rascal King]

It just has suffered a bit of momentum due to consoles and WoW is all. Assholes who tell you PC gaming is dead are no better than those idiots who say punk rock is dead.

 

[Chibz]

console gaming is much more dead then pc gaming is
and I can prove it
look at backwards compatability
you can still play an old dos game on a windows 7 machine (either tho something like dos box or zdoom with a game set on the doom engine)
go ahead and try playing a ps2 game on a ps3, chances are you cant, pc gamine just keeps going , console gaming dies and resurrects

Which is why console gaming has overall more sales. Yeah.

 

[Double A]

Uh... it's not. PC gaming is alive and well, it's just people who have only played console games thinks it is. Like how most of them think everything that isn't a shooter published by Activision or sports game by EA sucks.

 

[Chibz]

Uh... it's not. PC gaming is alive and well, it's just people who have only played console games thinks it is. Like how most of them think everything that isn't a shooter published by Activision or sports game by EA sucks.

Yeah, people like that REALLY exist. Well they do. They're just the vast minority.

They're sort of like the PC gamers who think that anything that isn't made by blizzard or valve sucks.

 

[Worgen]

console gaming is much more dead then pc gaming is
and I can prove it
look at backwards compatability
you can still play an old dos game on a windows 7 machine (either tho something like dos box or zdoom with a game set on the doom engine)
go ahead and try playing a ps2 game on a ps3, chances are you cant, pc gamine just keeps going , console gaming dies and resurrects

Which is why console gaming has overall more sales. Yeah.

console gaming has a lower knowledge barrier, they are simple and easy to use, pcs are multi purpose and unless you know something about them you will always have to wonder if yours can play so and so. I myself like the knowledge aspect, I like knowing how it works and how to fix it if it breaks down. But allot of people dont have it and so they buy the easiest "cheapest" option

 

[Chibz]

console gaming is much more dead then pc gaming is
and I can prove it
look at backwards compatability
you can still play an old dos game on a windows 7 machine (either tho something like dos box or zdoom with a game set on the doom engine)
go ahead and try playing a ps2 game on a ps3, chances are you cant, pc gamine just keeps going , console gaming dies and resurrects

Which is why console gaming has overall more sales. Yeah.

console gaming has a lower knowledge barrier, they are simple and easy to use, pcs are multi purpose and unless you know something about them you will always have to wonder if yours can play so and so. I myself like the knowledge aspect, I like knowing how it works and how to fix it if it breaks down. But allot of people dont have it and so they buy the easiest "cheapest" option

Console gaming IS infinitely cheaper, has more releases and many of them are superior quality. Here's an example. My wii & Wii Shop Channel & game collection costs about as much as a mid range gaming PC. That is goddamn expensive for the PC, given how vast my library is. Or, alternately, it's the same price as my 360 & PS3 & PSP & DSi XL & Wii. I could either buy a system & library or every console of this gen or a single system that generally lacks games. I wonder which is a better investment /sarcasm.

Console gamers have more "shops" to buy at, and more games per location.

Console gamers have the legal protections of actual ownership of their copy of the game, instead of everything being leased to them.

Consoles are harder to pirate on (Certainly can't pirate a console game without modding the console), so there's more incentive to develop for them.

 

[imperialreign]

Someone get the picture!

Yessir!

I think the picture could stand some updating.

I mean, people hated Spore, what with the DRM and all that...

Yeah, that title should be dropped for something else . . . perhaps STALKER

PC Gaming is more focused than it used to be. It used to be, especially after Half-Life came out, that the best games all around were on the PC. Best graphics, best gameplay, best stories.

Then, when the PS2 and original Xbox came out, console gaming took a major leap forward, especially in the sports gaming and shooter genres, which are the most popular genres right now. So if you want to play any of the "big name" shooters, you pretty much need a console.

The PC is still king when it comes to genres like RTS and most RPGs, and of course, MMOs. Any attempts to make RTS (which is my personal favourite genre) games on consoles have either been laughably difficult to control or horribly watered down.

The biggest problems with PC gaming as it stands today are things like:

1) DRM. Piracy is so much easier on a PC than on current-gen consoles, so the PC versions of games are shipped with stuff like online activation, background programs, etc. The majority of console games don't have DRM, simply because it's a lot tougher to pirate them.

2) Technical issues. It was mentioned above, but it bears repeating. If I shell out the fifty bucks for a game for my Xbox, when I put the disc in the console I'm about 95% sure it's gonna work. Xbox game = works on Xbox. With a PC game, I have to check the back of the box. Well I meet the minimum system reqs, but not the recommended, how will the game run? I have an Nvidia graphics card, the game recommends a Radeon, will that be an issue? How will some of my other programs conflict with this one? I bought Starcraft II on release day, but due to a problem with my home network, it couldn't access the internet to do its authentication, meaning that I've paid good money for what amounts to a manual and a coaster. When you buy a game, you want to know that it will work. Having to spend your evening doing troubleshooting before the game will run can put a major damper on your desire to buy PC games.

3) Complexity. This goes along with "Technical Issues." When I bought my Xbox, I went into the store, said "I want an Xbox," and walked out with a fully functional game system that just needed to be plugged in. If I want a gaming computer, I or the guy I'm buying it from have to know the intimate details of each component, especially if you're not able to pay top dollar. Just look at the myriad options out there for graphics cards. Someone who's not very technically adept would be hopelessly lost trying to make a decision on what to buy.

If the PC manufacturers and game developers could figure out some of these issues, instead of making things harder on the fans, I think you'd see a Renaissance in PC gaming. The platform lends itself to better graphics and deeper/more complex gameplay than any console on the market today. But as it stands right now, the "Big Name" PC games do very well (Civ V, Starcraft II, WoW, etc) while the smaller names get more play on consoles than they ever will on PC.

TL;DR - PC gaming isn't dead, just focused. If they can fix some issues, it would get better.

TBH, the industry is going that way . . . but, at the same time, some PC enthusiasts view the industry is leading itself more towards "consolozation," mostly due to how the big manufacturers (namely AMD and Intel) are moving more and more towards integrated systems . . . bigger and better onboard video and audio, mostly, are pushing in that direction. If Intel ever gets out Larrabe, and if AMD's Fusion take off, we'll see the PC industry quickly start moving in that direction.

As it stands, though, I firmly believe the biggest issue with incompatiblity problems and issues like mostly in the hands of the user. Now, I'm not going to say PC titles don't have problems - that's been an ongoing issue since Pong. Granted, today's bugs and glitches are nowhere near as catastrophic as they were, say . . . 10 years ago. But, the fact remains that the majority of titles (the one's not "rushed out the door" at least) are relatively bug free, with the occasional quirk. On the user end, though, is a whole different story. There's still a massive percentage of the market using "antique" hardware, and a larger portion that don't keep up with software/OS/driver updates. Spending time on numerous tech and game forums, I can no longer count the number of users who were able to fix the issues simply by updating their video, audio or chipset drivers . . .

But, I think the problem there lies in user ignorance - too many users don't know if and or when they need to update their drivers or software, most don't even know how to go about checking . . . ganted, auto-updating utilities make it easier, especially for those who have no idea what hardware they're actually running, but it's not fool-proof, either. The industry as a whole really needs to find some way to address this problem, IMHO, as it continues to give every-day usage of the PC a bad reputation. It's what has lead to users believing that programs don't work, or they're going to have issues, etc. At the same time, there needs to be an easier way for the user to determine what hardware they have, if they need to manually look it up. This is where a lot of pre-built systems fail. The big manufacturers only stout basic numbers instead of providing some kind of "spec sheet" with their systems. Users only see on the box: 4GB memory, 320GB hard drive, 2.4GHz Intel CPU, ATI HD4000 series, etc. There's no way anyone could figure out what kind of updates a user would need from such spec "lists."


Whatever, though - I find it funny. The gaming market has been stating for 20 years now that PC gaming is dying . . . at the same time, consoles are becoming more and more PC like with each generation. I'm simply waiting now for confirmation: the first console that provides a keyboard and mouse out-of-the-box so that you can use a word processor that's bundled with the console

 

[gl1koz3]

Basically, you grow a pair of brain hemispheres and you're all set with PC.

In that respect, once we stop growing them, then it will die. And this is.. um... nevar?

 

[Fiery Killer]

It's just one of those catchy phrases that is made to be repeatable even though it is suspect in the face of evidence.

PC gaming is dead, eat your five a day (globally the number of fruit and vegatable portions you should have are heavily disagreed on), Psychic detectives, repressed memories, Criminal profiling, Astrological consultant. All buzzword crap, all ignorable.

The 3 million Steam users logged on today say no.

Not to mention the 24-ish million other people with steam accounts.

Or the 12-15 or so million people playing World of Warcraft.

 

[Orekoya]

Someone get the picture!

Yessir!

Let's look over the GAMES on that, shall we?

Crysis: Showcased everything wrong with PC gaming.
WoW: Is gaming in the same way killing your children, then eating them for christmas dinner is parenting.
Sims: See above point.
Spore: Pretty much universally loathed.
Fallout: Was PC exclusive. But is now mostly played on console.

And many of the games had (superior) console ports.

PC gaming isn't quite "dead". It's just marginalized. It's not even a side show. Way to kill it, MIcrosoft.

I never understood such logic displayed in this thread when people don't agree with the picture's point. People HAVE been saying pc gaming is dead since 1985, and it's not. The numbers show otherwise. Attacking the games in such a picture really isn't a vital tactic since it usually involves personal preference and not everybody enjoys the same thing. Console gaming has more than its fair share of undesirable titles and shovelware too. Heck, that's practically the only term that can accurately describe the Wii's 3rd party catalog.