Nvidia: Console Software Sales are Flat, PC on the Rise

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I haven't turned on my xbox 360 or ps3 for ages, why purchase a console game for more money when i can get more out of the same game for less money on the PC? Getting on average a pc game / month on steam
 
[citation][nom]bystander[/nom]I think you fell victim to sensationalistic journalism. The PC market is still growing. What you read was a journalist saying that it's not growing as fast as it used to, but it is still growing.[/citation]


Exactly there, still growing, but at a slower rate than other PC incarnations like tablets, smartphones or mobile PCs means they are becoming less prevalent in the coming years. It's a matter of time and the desktop will be reduced to mostly power users, professionals, avid gamers or hobbyist. I am not saying extinct or dead, that is an exaggeration.
 
This is a bit misleading, using BF3 promo stills vs BF2 gameplay screenshots. BF2 promo stills still look decent.

Not interested in BF3 at all by the way, waiting for 11.11.11.
 
PC Gaming is not dead, the thing is that it has never been mainstream while console gaming has. Now consoles are getting a subset of features from PC which have made them more popular.
If we want to get PC gaming so mainstream maybe we have to make it available to zombie-intelect-level people. A bootable Linux kernel LiveCD with the game on it and a virtual drive file on a pendrive or disk (at user choice every boot) and you are done. Only you have to get NVIDIA and AMD to make better Linux drivers. NVIDIA is almost there, but AMD lacks in the Linux space. I suppose that promising them good and big advertising would be enough.

Think about it, PS3 flash for OS is about 512MB if I recall correctly. You can put in every DVD or Blu-Ray disc and updated version of the OS, and for games already released you download the update to the virtual disk. That virtual disk file should be stored on an NTFS partition (ntfs-3g) or ext4. You can always divide into partitions automatically, there are already programs that do it.
Or better, just sell a kit with a gamepad, hard disk drive and detailed instructions to install it (it's not that hard on today's PCs). The OS with all its apps will be distributed as described before. Maybe with the kit you could distribute a disc with only the OS if you don't have any game and let test the system to the users. If they don't like it at least they get a new hard drive for their computer and a controller.
All storage needs including updates for games that do not come with them will be serviced by that starter kit or a pendrive, or both.

😛
 
When this news isn't coming from a company whose GPUs are rumored to have been completely overlooked in favor of their competitor AMD for the next generation of console gaming I might have a little more faith in it.
 
when I was in high school my science teacher told me never to extrapolate data on a graph. You cant predict what will happen with consoles in a year or even tomorrow. What if sony and microshaft roll out new consoles the end of this year that are dx11? The all of a sudden the graphics on them are equal to pc graphics and their sales stay way above pc sales. The only reason youre seeing a steady rise in pc games is dx11 vs dx9 in consoles. I bet if you were to plot this graph back to 2000 year by year you'd see that pc gaming took a huge dip around 2004 or 5 and has stayed down till dx11 cards came out what last year? The only thing saving pc gaming is the gamers themselves and the advances being made in graphics that the consoles cant upgrade to. Well those things and the mouse and keyboard LOL
 
[citation][nom]aftcomet[/nom]I hope they don't consider Farmville a game.This isn't likely unless good PC prices come down as the casual market doesn't build their own PCs.[/citation]

Who cares? We just need to ignore that part, its still great propaganda.
 
I hope this gives more attention to PC gamers, usually we get second fiddle and things put in place like dedicated servers that PC gamers hate. I haven't owned a gaming console since N64, and I haven't missed it.
PC's are all around much more upgradeable and, as noted previously, serves a bigger purpose than just games... also is much more portable if you game on a laptop. I will say if you've got a group of buddies over and you want to blow crap up together, you can't beat a console.
I could get behind Filiprino's thought... it's crazy... but, someone will run with it... sooner or later.
 
See the problem with a live Linux and getting off of 11 is the support and costs. MS has a huge advantage over this, even their Xbox 360 is direct X based. Don't get me wrong I like Ubuntu 11.04 but we are not going to go backwards all over again just so games can run on Linux. Plus DX updates faster than we can keep up. Linux has its place like getting an old machine to boot or a non working computer to start up (although Live Pe or winre discs are becoming the best choice). Don't kid yourself linux is not ready for the masses. When i installed Linux 11.04 and immediately wanted to play a audio file it was asking for the Fraunhofer MP3 codec, it was trying to download only to be greeted no codecs found. Wow really. I haven't been asked for that codec since XP's launch. Again comes down to Support! This is the latest and greatest of Ubuntu??
 
[citation][nom]house70[/nom]Poetic justice would be to have Gruener write this article....[/citation]

Man, I wish I could thumb that up a lot more than once!
 
Let me see, spent about $4000 on my pc in the last 2 years, and bought probably about 30 games... You can't just count software sales. Hardware is a huge investment. And bean counters and console gamers "just don't get it".
The pc crowd is more picky, but we are the ones who want to push the boundaries, and casual games just don't cut it. It's rare games like BF3 that makes us want to be pc gamers. Console gamers are just happy playing games with there friends, but PC gamers want games to be like the matrix. Down the rabbit hole we want to go.
 
$4000?? wow that's alot of money you spent. I spent $1700 on my build 3 and counting 4 this coming year, and it is still able to play the latest games lol. *sigh* how many times has it been mentioned that paying more does not translate better ,especially if you paid someone to do it, or if you did it your own the marketing might of gotcha. Just don't give PC gaming a bad rep because of this. PC gaming does not cost 4K that is truly false!.
 



Yeah, well, i do it because I also like modding, as many pc gamers do. That $4000 is surely not because I got the parts at bad prices or because any game in particular "needed it". You could build my system for about $2000 today, but that $4000 also includes a 3d monitor, liquid cooling setup, sli, 5.1 surround sound system, ect. You could build a pc thats better then any console for around $350ish to stay competitive. I'm just saying, overall pc gamers spend more on hardware then console gamers, not because they have to, but because thats just the way we are. Some of my friends spent more then I do. Last year I was one of the first people to get a gtx 480 which costed me $800.00 plus shipping (yeah, I couldn't wait because I wanted one so bad, but to me it was worth it), plus the cooler alone costed me $180, a year later I bought the same card with a water cooler for $300 on newegg on sale. I normally budget myself $1000 a year for parts, but this year I am doing good with my money and haven't wasted much, so I spoiled myself a little. But I upgrade every year whether I need to or not, because I enjoy it. 😀

On a side note, my system is perfectly stable, no stuttering, and I haven't found a game I can't run max. Looking to upgrade again though..
 
Pc gaming is actually around the same cost. People are usually idiots when it comes down to personal finance.

PC: assume a $1,000 basic setup
Subtract the cost of a basic non-gaming PC $(500)
Let's say you buy 15 games a year for 2 years at an average of $35: $1,050
TOTAL: $1,550 every 2 years

Console: $300 initial setup
Games at $50 for 2 years: $1,500
Online service: $100
TOTAL: $1,900

This completely exludes the cost of a nice flatscreen TV because most people who own a gaming PC have one anyways. Also the estimates don't factor in depreciation because all electronics have shit resale. Also, on my phone so I'm am not going to calculate the present value with cost of time.

So is budget gaming really in the Consoles favor? Or do people just believe that because of the cheaper initial cost
 
Yeah, well, i do it because I also like modding, as many pc gamers do. That $4000 is surely not because I got the parts at bad prices or because any game in particular "needed it". You could build my system for about $2000 today, but that $4000 also includes a 3d monitor, liquid cooling setup, sli, 5.1 surround sound system, ect. You could build a pc thats better then any console for around $350ish to stay competitive. I'm just saying, overall pc gamers spend more on hardware then console gamers, not because they have to, but because thats just the way we are. Some of my friends spent more then I do. Last year I was one of the first people to get a gtx 480 which costed me $800.00 plus shipping (yeah, I couldn't wait because I wanted one so bad, but to me it was worth it), plus the cooler alone costed me $180, a year later I bought the same card with a water cooler for $300 on newegg on sale. I normally budget myself $1000 a year for parts, but this year I am doing good with my money and haven't wasted much, so I spoiled myself a little. But I upgrade every year whether I need to or not, because I enjoy it. 😀
Click to expand...

Ah Now that explains a lot. You did not mention modding and liquid cooling. So you went for the extra mile huh 😀
 


I agree completely, but yeah, I think people do just believe that it's cheaper because of the initial investment, but don't forget to add a lil more cost because of "red ring of death" lol.
 


Yeah, here, check out what my friend built "just" to play flight simulator: 😱 😀

sergioflightsim%20(5).JPG


sergioflightsim%20(10).JPG


sergioflightsim%20(12).JPG


sergioflightsim%20(16).JPG
 
Please say that expensive flight sim setup was using TrackIR 5 or some other head tracking device for looking around.
 
I will be honest My Xbox just sits and my PS3 is my blu ray player 8) My gaming Rig takes care of anything I throw at it.

Rage, Skyrim and swtor fiend fiend 8p My wife is going to get so pissed off heheheheheh
 
[citation][nom]jecastej[/nom]Exactly there, still growing, but at a slower rate than other PC incarnations like tablets, smartphones or mobile PCs means they are becoming less prevalent in the coming years. It's a matter of time and the desktop will be reduced to mostly power users, professionals, avid gamers or hobbyist. I am not saying extinct or dead, that is an exaggeration.[/citation]

I'm more inclined to believe that most homes will have at least a single PC, and then add the mobile devices as a +device. I believe it'll be many years before the PC is taken out of the equation.
 
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