Could The Death Of PC Gaming Be Closer Than We Think?
Over the last few years the amount of PC gamers has begun to drop. People have started to favor consoles as their main source of interactive entertainment. Computers have become more of a digital lifestyle tool rather then for enjoyment. This is one of the things that I associate to the increase in Mac sales. With people buying consoles they no longer need a computer that can play games.
However this hasn’t stopped companies like Alienware from flourishing and manufacturers continuing to promote their line of gaming desktops vigorously. For instance the newly releasedDell XPS 730. Truly a beast of a machine. This sort of computer still has its market for those who want an experience that the console does not yet offer.
Long Live The PC
The gaming PC is bound to be around for a while longer, there are still a fair few things that attract consumers to PCs. For instance, they’re more customizable to suit your needs. With a PC you can tune your computer to play whatever form of games you want - something that the console (power wise especially) does not yet offer.
Your also less limited to games, playing a real-time-strategy using the Xbox 360’s controller isn’t the most friendly experience. While with a good old keyboard and mouse, you have far more control. And of course, with a console you are pretty much limited to playing games and watching video content (though Microsoft is slowly making changes with this). On a PC you’re only limited by the software which is available for the platform.
Power is important, let’s face it, if you compare the latest and greatest gaming PC to something like the Playstation 3 there is no comparison (admittedly there is not comparison in price either) but if people are willing to make a large investment they want the best, which graphically wise the Playstaion 3 or Xbox 360 does not have.
Consoles Are King
There are a fair few attractions to the consoles, the price (as previously mentioned) been one of them. You could buy ten Playstation 3’s for the price of the base Dell XPS 730! When you get a console you get a GUI that is fine tuned to the gaming experience and making it easier for you to get to your games straight away. With the PC, it has been designed to do many more things: send and receive email, browse the web, create Excel spreadsheets - the list goes on.
It’s also a lot harder to fit a gaming computer in a home media center experience. You really have to have a separate area, it’s not as easy to game, you can’t simply switch input and turn it on as you can do with a console.
Conclusion
Though desktop gaming still remains to be many people’s preference the future seems to be the console for gaming and the computer for everything else. As for whether this is really a good thing really depends. It may keep everyone innovating and my hope is for PC makers to realize that they are alienating their customers by having such high prices - and therefore make them more competitive against consoles.
It seems, for now, the jury is out.
#1
reemixx → www.reemixx.com
This discussion has been going on for a while. PC gaming will still be around for a long, long time yet. PCs are still the choice for MMO’s (which are obviously very popular), FPS due to twitch response and speed with mouse, and flash based games (which are insanely popular and only getting more so). So, no, PC gaming isn’t dying. There’s just a shift in what KINDS of games are more popular on PC vs console.
#2
Could The Death Of PC Gaming Be Closer Than We Think? → www.tips.luiscorreia.com/could-the-death-of-pc-gaming-be-closer-than-we-think
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptOver the last few years the amount of PC gamers has begun to drop. People have started to favor consoles as their main source of interactive entertainment. Computers have become more of a digital lifestyle tool rather then for enjoyment … [...]
#3
rmaspero → www.rmaspero.com
Nice Post Jonno. I had never thought that people now buying Consoles could be a reason for increased mac sale but it is a very valid point.
#4
Saravanan Sahadevan → www.saranx.com
I strongly believe that there will be shift towards gaming on PC to gaming on Mac. The macs have been known for some time now for their productivity and if they and when they do implement heavy hardware for gaming, It’s sure ready for a shift. Nothing could beat desktop gaming as in my opinion.
#5
Jack Archer → www.jack-archer.com
The gaming market as we know it is changing like no other…
Major AAA games to recently come out (Assassins Creed and Mass Effect come to mine) are not released on PC until MONTHS after the Xbox 360 versions are. Not only that, but they far less profitable and end up on the discount shelf at your local Target or Best Buy in a few months.
PC gaming is a small time niche market, with “World of Warcraft” really being the only think you associate with it now-a-days. Hard core gamers have progressed to a more stream-lined form of gaming: Away from games like Counter-strike and onto games like “Halo” and “Call of Duty” on Xbox Live and PSN.
That being said, popular PC games of the past such as “The Sims” or “Roller Coaster Tycoon” have been replaced with family friendly, multiplayer Nintendo Wii games, such as “Mario Party”, “Super Smash Bros”, “Wii Sports” and “Mario Kart”. Basically, the PC gaming market is far from mainstream anymore.
Anyways, Jonathan - keep it up with the great articles.
- Jack
#6
Calvin Chu → www.calvinchu.net
Ask any PC gamer. Any real PC gamer. They would not go near an Alienware machine. Nor go near a XPS desktop either. A laptop maybe, but for desktops forget about it. It’s all about building your own rig because whilst the barriers to entry for great PC gaming are high, it will still work out cheaper and is more flexible to your needs. Throw overclocking into the mix and you’ll have something that will give your investment legs.
#7
Craig → www.craigmacproductions.com
i’ve always thought this. people keep saying they wont buy a mac because you can’t play games, i tell them thats what i have an xbox for! :)
nice post Jono!
#8
AdamGreat post Jonno, but I respectfully completely disagree.
#9
Jonathan → www.jonathandavies.org.uk
Hey Adam,
Don’t stop there, say why you disagree! I want to know why! :-)
Jonathan
#10
ClassicEpic are a joke and aren’t taken seriously any more so I wouldn’t listen to them.
PC gaming is far from dead. WoW has over 10 million players. Steam has over 15 million users. PC gaming is dying in retail but as a whole it is still very much alive.
Craig, do you get mods, custom gamemodes, custom maps, dedicated servers etc. on a console? There’s a reason why people prefer PC gaming to consoles.
Lol console gaming. Hahaha.
#11
Jonathan Pike → therewascake.com
As a hardcore gamer myself, I have to disagree with some of the points in this post.
I truly don’t believe that Mac sales have increased because gamers decided that they didn’t need their PCs. A much more plausible reasons is the fact that Macs can now run Windows themselves, along with Windows games. A high end iMac has great hardware that will run the most popular games (ex. Team Fortress 2) with great graphical prowess. Also, you have to remember that the majority of new Mac sales have been in the Laptop lines. My guess is that these are either students or business professionals getting the best of both worlds.
Secondly, where are you getting your information that consoles do not have the graphical prowess of a PC? Sure, the highest end machines will always have developers pushing them to the limit - as an example of this, see Crysis (horrible game but it’s beautiful). The beauty of consoles is in their ability to standardize graphics across the board. No longer does one have to tweak settings to get the optimum frames per second - games are optimized out of the box. Another thing about today’s consoles (except for the Wii) is that they display games in HD resolutions. I, for one, really enjoy seeing my games running in high definition on my 42″ plasma TV - something that PCs don’t tend to do very often.
Gaming in general has always had a balance between PC and console gamers. There are different types of games better suited to either. I sure as heck don’t want to play a platformer game (ex. Mario) on a PC. I also don’t want to play an RTS (ex. StarCraft) on a console. It’s in finding this balance does one have the most fun with their games.
@Classic - Yes, you can get mods on a console. See UT3 for the PS3. Lots of great work the community is doing with that game.
#12
Classic@Jonaathan Pike - First of all, where is your proof that consoles run games at HD more than PCs? Hmmm? A console cannot handle 2560×1600 with everything maxed out.
Also, I am aware of UT3. So that’s one game to PC’s ten thousand.
It is possible, but nobody’s utilising it therefore, it is useless.
#13
Jonathan Pike → therewascake.com
@Classic - Sure, you can run a PC game at 2560×1600. But seriously, who does? Not many, to be sure. Also, most monitors aren’t over 30″. I’d rather have 720p on my 42″ plasma.
I’m not saying that PC gaming is lacking much that console gaming is lacking (if anything) - I was just pointing out some of the “native” advantages that consoles have. The average PC gamer will not have a huge monitor that is capable of 2560×1600, nevermind a buff PC that can actually play games at such a monstrous resolution. Heck, I play quite a few PC games but I can’t afford to upgrade my PC right now and thus I’m stuck with pretty crappy looking graphics. The only thing that holds back a console is the TV the user has.
And sure UT3 is just one game. But it shows that consoles are capable of having mods. You say that “nobody’s utilizing it” - UT3 is a relatively new game, give other companies time to come up with their own system.
#14
ORB → shiben.blogspot.com
AAhhh, another of those “PC gaming is dead” posts… yawn!
#15
Jonathan → www.jonathandavies.org.uk
Hey ORB,
Did you actually read the post? I weighed up the pros and cons for each side and my conclusion very obviously stated:
“It seems, for now, the jury is out.”
So no, I don’t think this is “another one of those PC gaming is dead posts”. Otherwise I certainly wouldn’t have written it. Try reading before commenting.
Have a great day.
Jonathan
#16
Craig → www.craigmacproductions.com
I personally, aren’t much of a gamer. So I’m happy with my xbox. I don’t really need mods, etc, when I’m not that heavily into gaming.
What gripes me about this post is the way that it turned into A is better than B argument like most A & B things. (eg. mac & pcs). Just because one person likes something different to someone else, doesn’t mean that they are better or worse.
To be honest your “Lol console gaming” bit pissed me off.
As long as there are people who want to game heavily and be able to customize and continuously upgrade their gaming experience, then there will be PC gamers.
#17
digital lifestyles → melanie.freemusicradioonline.info/digitallifestyles.html
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