ECGC 2011: Is the Gaming Market About to Crash?

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I myself game on my Iphone @ home all the time. Yes, i have to keep it plugged in (damn you apple) but the games are good enough to pass an hr. here or there.
I just don't have the time to commit to MMORPG anymore... I need games i can put down in 10mins and come back in a day to play another hour.

If a person had an HDMI out phone... with a connectable controller... I could really see that being the future.

In the end however you will always want your PC for some serious graphics. (I do still have a gmaing rig) But it is rarely used any more 🙁
 
Consoles need Facebook interoperability to bring Farmville to the 360 and more microtransactions?

I thought he'd be complaining that the clueless business wonks had taken over development, but he seems to be right in line with their ideas.
 
I don't support this argument nor do I support the hating on console gaming. I totally agree that recent games have been mostly sequels and reboots of previous ones and I am getting sick of buying the same game every year, but thats only one part of the market. Indiegaming is flourishing lately with the help of huge titles like Minecraft, and there are still many innovative titles for mainstream gaming, like Portal 2 (technically a sequel, but I dare you to talk bad about it) and Brink. What the author doesn't take into account is the massive casual gaming market that has only recently been targeted. And While I think that the games being made for them are total crap and not worth the sum total of 2s in their binary they are still buying games like crazy, and they can easily hold up the gaming market until fresher franchises can be thought up. Additionally during times of economic hardship (like right now) the public tends to spend more on luxuries like movies and more often now videogames.
While I can't account precisely for whatever statistics he failed to cite in his argument I do have a theory on why game sales might have dropped off recently, and thats is the number of serious gamers has temporarily plateaued and the excess sales came from curious gamers who were offput by lackluster games like MW2 and have since stopped buying more games. I'm sorry my response wasn't well organized I'm in an APEnglish class and cant write a persuasive essay worth a damn :/
P.S. Don't be hating on consoles, they are a low overhead way to enjoy some good and fair, multiplayer and RPG titles
 
Some of the best games I've played lately have been 100% free with an ad attached to it. So if the game sucks I simply provide feedback on the game and move on to the next.
 
There's been a console slump...? I must be living on a different planet.
I mean, I guess personally, I haven't bought a game console since 2008 (late to the party with the PS3).. because there hasn't been any released since then. So maybe after people buy consoles they don't necessarily keep buying more of the same product.

Both the article and the fanboy comments in this thread have been a good read, difficult to take seriously though.
 
did this moron acutaly just imply that gameing is going to die unless its all farmvill?

here are 3 ideas that i have had for YEARS and still havent been made that would be low budget blockbusters.

you know halo forage mode, that came close. give us a blank map, we design the terrain, and the structures are premade and placeable, no matter how big.

on the pc side, allow for modding, console side, allow for mods to be distributed through official channels.

for advanced people, allow for coding and full conversion mods. this would have legs for years. than with number 2, upgrade the engine, implement things that need fixing, and possibly increase the graphical engine.

game number 2.

give me a sword, and a world, and have that world come to an end in 30 in game days. most people will die in 30 days there first run, and there second they will learn the ins and outs of the world.

and third, give me an rpg where you dont play the main character, you play the various side characters, you can get 10-20 story out of that game until you finally get to play the main character and its exploits.

see, 3 great ideas that if driven the right way, will EASILY be top sellers.
 
Bottom line guys, bottom line: have fun.

The hardware is SUPERFLUOUS if the game IS NOT FUN. When publishers/developers understand that shinny graphics/gimmicks (that's a slash to both PC and consoles) are not part of the heart of a true FUN game, that's when they'll start making real profits, no matter the platform they're in. That's a fact, is not even arguable. You all can argue about "cost", but that's something you can manage. Which leads me to say that profit in gaming needs 2 things: balls and ingeniosity (did I get that right? xD). Balls just because you need them to tell the world you're about to break the mold and ingeniosity to not suck at doing that.

Now, the .99c games fenomena is like when Atari and a lot of others (1982-ish) blew up high in the sky from a lack of QUALITY to put QUANTITY in front of it.

The jerkish high ups who are young and never gamed while young, prolly don't know about gaming history (most prolly not a part of an MBA, lol), so they're making the EXACT SAME MISTAKE.

Oh well... At least now we'll start seeing less sucky-mass-production titles and more thought out ones. At least I'd hope to.

And no, being it on a Console or a PC or a Smartphone doesn't have to do with the bottom line at all. I bet I can run an SNES emu on an avg smartphone and have a LOT of fun.

Cheers!
 
Gaming on the PC is my only definition of "gaming"

However, I do offer some credibility to the mobile phone gaming market. After all, I need something to do while I am on the crapper at work, or in line at the DMV.

 
[citation][nom]sevir[/nom]console gaming is in a slump because all the systems are 6 years old. That means 6 year old graphics technology. Get off your butts Sony/Microsoft and Nintendo and come out with new systems.[/citation]
I still play Warcraft 3. If I still had my Diablo 2 LOD key, I might be playing that still. I recently played Sacred too.
All old, look like crap, and are fun as hell. As much as I love my gaming PC, half the reason I'm a PC gamer is because of titles like those, not just for better graphics.
P.S. PS2 games played at 3840x2880 look pretty good to me, all I had to do was up the resolution on the PCSX2 emulator... a lot. Soon as LGA 2011 chips hit the market, I'm going to start playing even more PS2 emulated games (a 3.8GHz i7-920 still isn't enough for some games).

If the console market crashed, I don't think it'd be pretty. While yes, you can build a decent gaming computer for cheap, can your neighbor? Does he even want to?
Above all else, I like console gaming for its simplicity. No worrying about updates, they usually don't crash too often, you don't have to worry about some ridiculous DRM etc. If I don't have a net connection on my PC, I can't play all my games, I have have cracked many of the games I bought because I wanted extra features (usually no-cd, fanpatches/mods, I even did 3 games just so I could use a custom resolution).

I do not much favor this console generation, and it wouldn't hurt me to do away with them, but it'd inconvenience too many others.
 
The one thing that struck a cord with me in the article was his idea of milking the customers with DLC, if this is the direction the game industry takes(I know we have seen this abused already...Cough...Modern Warfare...and countless other I wont bother with listing) I wont be a happy gamer.

Now don't get me wrong I like extra content and expansions for games (as mentioned above Borderlands is a perfect example, got the GOTY and all DLC for $7.50) but when your paying $60 at release for a game and then $15 for each DLC, sorry your have lost my business.

The shape of the economy and they way things seem to be going its not getting better and money isn't growing on trees like it used to(unless you own oil or telecoms) this is just not the direction the industry needs to go unless they really think it out better than it is currently.

I for one have owned a N64, PS2, xBox, XBOX360(never owned more than ~10 games for each because I refuse to pay the full launch price for any game). Over that time I have concluded I am done with consoles. I am not going to keep upgrading and buying everything all over again ~5 years and then being stuck with worthless out of date hardware that no one will want anymore, its just one big money pit. I much rather build a nice PC that can do all that and more, better, and upgrade that every ~5yrs. And then I don't need to go buy expensive controllers and rip-off priced storage or dumbed down tech just to make it affordable and then have sub-par game performance until the next cycle comes to do more of the same. No thanks.
 
[citation][nom]buggeer[/nom]Than maybe you should try The Witcher 2. It's a game made only for PC and with PCs in mind. It's also going to be a great RPG, in which the character development and story are most important. Btw. I suggest you do not try Witcher 1 as it was made on Bioware engine and has pretty weak fighting system (but the story is still great). I also hate games designed for consoles as they usually are made just for money and as a platform for future DLCs.[/citation]
thank you very much...i will give it a try
 
PLEASE GUYS.... You all sound like people who ENTIRELY Depend on them for a living... I'm studying software development, and i can say that games and mods are Really easy to develop, once you have an idea in mind. We dont have to rely on others to take on the gaming industry, We can, by ourselves make what we want to play or do. WE have the TOOLS to do so, we just have to 'take them on our hands'.
Consoles are a lie, they just make the latest game 'affordable' to people who dont want to think about what's the smartest idea to play games, nor the best. I'm still playing Fallout 1/2 mods, Far Cry 1 mods, and you know what? I like them! A lot! And if i whant to play my old Playstation 1 games with an emulator i play them, cause they were great. Gaming is not playing whats the latest title on the store, its what entertains you most!
I'll keep upgrading my hardware, couse that's kind of my hobbie, but as a gamer i'll be playing Mario Bros alongside Crysis 1 with all of its mods, cause that's what a games are: an entertainment. And if we have the tools but not the product on store, we'll make something to fill our needs.
 
Yeah I believe this article,my profits have slumped and we seem to be in a deep economic downturn that most people feel. That does not mean that there will be no more games around,etc. Just that with dwindling profits,there is less likely that there will be as many people devoted to making games and the larger companies want to make profits,not small tiny profits,but sizeable profits to make it worthwhile to make these games.
 
I can hope for, and see, that the next generation of consoles is in need of core gaming change. What I can see is where nearly every game is MMO type of gaming. We need a true jump in MP gaming, ie minimum 100 vs. 100, and have a persistent game world. I know some PC gaming already does, but I would like to see a Battlefield 3 type game quality where there are entire military divisions going against each other. Developers really need to stop doing "ports" as they are hurting the industry as a whole.
 
[citation][nom]zkevwlu[/nom]That's an illusion. People who say PC gaming is cheaper should probably look back on how much money they spent on the gear capable of running those games. If consoles suddenly vanished and every developer started creating games based on the latest technology in the PC market, gaming would get very very expensive. Think how often highend PC gamers replace their gears right now even with consoles hindering modern graphics development. Without consoles the market would spiral out of control. Budget gamers would vanish because budget gears probably gets outdated within months. Everyone who wants to play a decent game would have to shell out 1500 dollars every 2 years to stay on top of the trend.In a nutshell, yes consoles are bad, but we need them. It's a necessary evil that we must co-exist with to make PC gaming still affordable.[/citation]
nothing is necessary, we make the necessary...in the long run pc will have a come back....most games cripple consoles...i have never had that happen on my pc yet
 
This article is just what I had predicted on the market today...if consoles cannot cope-up with the upgrades of technology then the market will downfall...all they brought up are the body-controls which of course are not targeted to all markets (since some hardcore gamers doesn't like these)...they had to keep up with the smartphones, which already has the dual-core technology, gpu and ram.

Yes I know that consoles are for budget gamers. but do you know how technology trend works? If consoles can do hardware upgrades very year, or make the gamers customize their hardware, it will be much better.maybe like a PC but a budget version only for gamers. And that's only my idea for starters. I know there are alot of intellectuals under each console companies there, but they should come-up an idea to upgrade for the mass-market gamers, may it be beginners, enthusiast and experts.

I know the idea of having a new technology every year is very tiring and very expensive,but they know that they have a lot of competition going around and the idea of new technology makes it more interesting. If they want to continue the RnD of consoles, they must do so or the console world will die along with it's predecessors.

Now the question , do you think smartphones can outclass a console in the years time? Now they don't but think about the new dual core smartphones with GPU,RAM and their HDMI access...even the the Smart TVs with their ability to view in 3D and internet browsing, at least they are trying. Now it's their move to upgrade consoles.
 
I believe one of the reasons high end hardwares are needed for pc is porting from consoles. If a PC game were built from scratch to PCs (and were built properly), it will be lighter and better looking than a console port (think GTA 4& L4D). I see PC games used to be more mind-challenging, more out of the box, more forward looking (as a result of the different charachteristic of a pc gamer). I loved the original Starcraft, the Half Life series, Diablo series, Dues ex, Systemshock for being such. However, consoles arrive and we start having more of Gears of wars and alikes. I also believe that the technology available for PCs would help making a much better gaming experience, however rarely utilized as a result of console porting.
 
I have gone from PC gaming to console and I am going back to PC gaming. For fighters the console gaming is sufficient but for FPS and racing the PC has consoles beat.

I don't play games on iOS and Android because there isn't really any games that I enjoy on those platforms. However these are the gaming platforms that will probably see the most growth.

Consoles rely too much on graphics elements that can only be adequately delivered by a PC. With mobile gaming on the other hand, the hardware is becoming increasingly powerful and there does not need to be a great investment for a good gaming experience. Because the crutch of flash and bang fast graphics on mobile devices are not there, game creators and have had to make game that are actually fun and engaging.

I do hope that game studios invest more into PC gaming titles. The consoles are a necessary evil but they are really stagnant pieces. It is hard to get excited about graphics and gameplay that is a better experience on the PC especially if you have experience with gaming on a PC. Mobile will continue to erode the console and PC base that just don't game that much or find the initial and continued investment just not worth it.
 
Indeed,10 /15 years ago games were great, i personely liked the C&C style,Red Alert,Warcraft some shooter i dont remeber the name right now but then in those days they rocked.These days everything is done before, its like they have no great new refreshing ideas anymore.But like that guy said ,why dont we group together and make our own games, i know you have to be talented each in his own section, the problem is what do we know what is technicaly possible. I personely are studying autodesk maya, to create 3d vehicles ,tanks ,airplanes, thats my thing , but i dont knwo shit about programing and creating game engines.I know for sure that there are people with fantastic ideas out here but one single man can not make a change.
I think hardware has made a great leap and nowedays with the latest graphic cards and the better processors we can make a fantastic game, graphics and gameplay.The only thing is we have to make a group with talented people,
Some with fantastic 3d skilss,some software developpers, and some generalists. I for one have a fantastic idea for a new strategic game with a very new strategic insight that gamers will love, The thing is one likes to work on mmorpg,the other on a shooter and then there are people who just want the next best racing game...games nowe days are expensive to develop, but how many bosses are there in a team game designers who all have to earn the big money.Start with a new group of volunteers ,and start working on ideas.
I have this great insight idea that brings strategic games to the next level.But then i am talking in the style of world war games.But then again, we have to have people who have the knowledge of wat is technical possible.
Is it possible to have huge maps, is it possible to have 1000 to 5000 units a player.I think with all the multiprocessor cpus yes. Only problem is the most talented software developers are working for big companies making big money.
But there are students out there or just very passioned guys who could make a diffrence. BIg game companies have great software devveloppers, great 3d artists and concept artists but very few bright new ideas.
Excuse me for my bad english.
 
[citation][nom]zkevwlu[/nom]That's an illusion. People who say PC gaming is cheaper should probably look back on how much money they spent on the gear capable of running those games. If consoles suddenly vanished and every developer started creating games based on the latest technology in the PC market, gaming would get very very expensive. Think how often highend PC gamers replace their gears right now even with consoles hindering modern graphics development. Without consoles the market would spiral out of control. Budget gamers would vanish because budget gears probably gets outdated within months. Everyone who wants to play a decent game would have to shell out 1500 dollars every 2 years to stay on top of the trend.In a nutshell, yes consoles are bad, but we need them. It's a necessary evil that we must co-exist with to make PC gaming still affordable.[/citation]

I agree. While I do like my eye candy, I don't want to spend on a new system every year. Graphics in games today are awesome. Let's just enjoy them and wait for the next level of awesomeness. And I don't mind console ports as long as they are done well.
 
Actually he got the order mixed up...it went from arcades to consoles to PC's and back to consoles...and now consoles are beginning to decline again...in fact MMO's on PC's seem to be the only thing healthy. I really think there will be different platforms for different types of games...simpler games will be on tablets and PC's...mid range games will be on consoles...and more complicated games will be on the PC only.
 
If the hardcore gaming market ever dies (meaning FPS, RTS and RPG), I'll probably just stop gaming. I have enough things in my life that I don't need gaming, I just love the real 'gamer' titles. I've never really managed to get into the social aspect of games. Sure I don't mind chatting to people a bit when playing online, but I don't like having to rely on other people to accomplish anything.
 
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