PC vs. CONSOLE WAR: PC's are LOSING.

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Dragoncyber's right about the dry-up of PC entertainment software shelf real estate... But really, apart from not being able to enjoy the "tactile" joy of opening a box and the "aesthetic" pleasure of owning a shelf full of colorfully painted cardboard and plastic--sensations to which I am no stranger, am absolutely fond of, immensely appreciate, and understand--in the most open frankness I can muster: there's simply no SERIOUS draw for retail shopping for PC games any longer. [NOTE: This critique makes the assumption that most dedicated PC gamers are also system builders--or at least familiar enough with their systems to make basic upgrades and savvy enough to do a little research before sinking cash into parts and software]

First off, honestly, I can't remember the last time I, or any of my PC gaming friends for that matter, purchased a game at a mall operation or small-chain brick-and-mortar game store like Electronics Boutique or GameStop--most of those places have been overchargin' for PC games since their respective beginnings. The only REAL "benefit" of such stores has always been the various"trade-in-your-old-game-for-store-credit" policies, which have forever been lopsided con schemes with little value to the consumer: Not that such policies were ever a boon for PC gamers anyway; since the so-called benefit of the "trade-in" arrangements were typically denied to PC gamers because of "piracy" concerns. So, if such outlets cease sellin' PC games, I know few who'll shed a tear.

In addition, Walmart's gaming selection in general has been poor for eons--especially in terms of its inventory of Mature Rated games (although I did grab San Andreas there for $10 a few weeks back heh heh). And, apart from a generally lousy inventory across platforms, their add-in cards and PC peripherals are generations old (PCI GEFORCE FX 5500s?!?), laughably sub-par, or embarrassingly overpriced ($220 HD3870s?!?) , so few dedicated PC gamers with their fingers on the pulse of the industry ever shop there anyway--if Walmart leaves the PC gaming market, good riddance, says I...

Further, losing Circuit City might hurt... except that Best Buy pretty much eclipsed them as a destination for retail PC game purchases probably 7 years ago, for me and most of my compadres... That aside, though, think about it-- What was it that made stores like Circuit City, CompUSA and Best Buy such great places to shop for games in the late 90s and at the opening of the 21st century?? In the Silver Age of PC Gaming, those stores offered the shopper a chance to oogle the latest video cards, dribble over Creative Labs' newest add-in, or grab some memory sticks for an on-the-fly upgrade; and, while one-stop-shopping for home desktop upgrades, a quick meander into the PC game aisle made for a convenient chance to glut on reasonably priced software...But, c'mon-- what dedicated gamer still buys PC parts and components at CompUSA, Best Buy or Circuit City anymore??? My gods--the stores are for complete tools these days! No Joke- I saw an x800xt priced ON CLEARANCE at a Best Buy for nearly $300 just a few months ago!! Circuit City still has GeForce 8600 GTSs priced higher than Radeon 4850s as they, no doubt, try to cover their losses by gouging the utterly uninformed. The ONLY reason to buy PC components in one of these joints is if one happens to run one of those ridiculous rebate offers so spectacular that it can't possibly be passed up... or if there's one of those two for one DDR3 Specials advertised that bests the lowest price to be found on Pricewatch.com (which is incredibly incredibly rare)... So why go to those stores? Lately, I've only bought PC games at Circuit City when they've been discounted all to naught (Can't beat Silent Hill 3 for $2.99)

Yeah, I do love the open-box-experience-- so, I'll scoop up a DMC4, Bioshock, Mass Effect, or Crysis at Best Buy and pay full retail price and love every minute of holding that shiny shrinkwrapped box... but truth be told- I only got Mass Effect and DMC4 'cause neither was available on Steam (and I thought it would be since DMC3 is) and on the day that Bioshock dropped for PC, I just happened to be in a Best Buy (and after that SecureRom fiasco, I wished I HAD purchased it on Steam)... why was I even in Best Buy in the first place? My girlfriend wanted a hard to find Jack Johnson CD and if you can't find a music CD in Best Buy, it probably doesn't exist...
 
i will always be a pc gamer, and i will, more than likely, never buy another console (i stopped after the N64).

I tend to think that CONSOLES are moving more and more in the direction of PCs in the sense that they are becoming PCs themselves. The only thing you used to be able to do on a console was play the game, but now you can do many more things (control settings on the tv, chat, online game). I am not sure about everything a console can do, but they seem to be moving in the PC "like" direction. Basically, if you added a keyboard and mouse you would have your own PC.

I like PC games because they USUALLY look better than the same console game, i love my keyboard and mouse, i dislike controllers, PC games have a pretty large range of genres, and i tend to be really good at them (lol sorry for being modest).

The only drawback that i see about PC gaming is that you have to upgrade every few years IF you want to play on the highest settings,which i want.

Trackman2010 posted an extremely good example of how PC gaming is not dying. And i will be buying a lot of those games, especially Project Offset. I have been waiting for that game a long time.
 
I should point out console games generally tend to have lots of money spent on them in terms of marketing all of which needs to be recouped, since PC games like Solar Empire don't have those kinds of marketing budgets they don't need to sell as many to become profitable.
 
Every now and then, comes a doomsday post about PC gaming.

Every now and then, comes a doomsday post about Console Gaming.

Hey !! they are both alive and kicking !!! Dont blame piracy on the PC gaming, it is more rampart on consoles !!!
Only PS3 isn't chipped because ,well, it isn't worth it !!!

Ill save your keyboards from more destruction quoting RobWright.

This is like Groundhog Day, and there's not much in this thread can be considered new information or viewpoints.

Software piracy is stealing. Wait, no it's not -- I'm not physically depriving anything from anyone. Wait, yes I am -- I'm taking revenue away from the game developers/publishers. But wait, they deserve it -- their products are crap and they swindled me with a bad game. But wait, try a demo first before you buy the game. But hold on, demos suck and are misleading. But piracy is scaring away game developers from the PC! Wait, no it's not -- it's a form of quality control and only bad games get pirated. But wait, what about great games like Call of Duty 4 and Sins of a Solar Empire -- those got pirated quite a bit. But those games still sold great, so what's the big deal if a few got ripped....right?
Click to expand...

Oh wait, and the thread link. Pretty good discussion.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/99992-25-pirates-returned-ninjas

Uffff...no im not a spin doctor. Im more sick of this discussions than Nehalem vs Deneb. Really.
 
True - this topic is so last autumn.

Consoles are a good market as its less hassle to develop a game for each console as it has a single, standard hardware+software layout. So games can be pushed out and refined quciker. Different OS's, hardware + GPUs and configurations etc cause all sorts of hassles in PC gaming development.
Its also harder and more of a hassle to pirate console games ( mostly ) and since most console gamers arent as tech savvy as the PC crowd they are less likely to mess about and hack and pirate. So it is a very encouraging market to pursue from a developers point of vue.

But... the fact that Microsoft is still developing PC based OS's based around the Windows platform, and the reality that companies such as Blizzard ( immensely, immensely bouyant from all of their WOW profit ), Valve and Activision are making increasing profits annualy just proves the OP's uneducated post to be quite preposterous.

To boot online distribution sites are getting more hits than ever and are raking in large profit margins. Steam is making a killing by offering deals on older software on a large scale due to the mass audience interesting in momentarily reliving older classics for cheap. This is an entirely different, if not better market as it just couldnt be achieved in store and on a tangible level. Also keep in mind overheads from these online ventures are substantially decreased due to the whole transaction happening via cyberspace. No shipping, printing,packing or packaging costs - no middle man vendors and shippers. A great marketplace if you ask me - which inevatably makes things cheaper for you and me the PC gaming consumer.

PCs and hence PC gaming are going no where. Windows, Intel, APPLE and AMD arent going to let them :)

[ Plus, in about 3-4 years to graphics and processing power of even the PS3 are going to look and seem dated. There will be a lull in the console market as focus is put on better more powerful technolgies and engines which PCs will, as always, be able to take advantage of. PC gaming will get the limelight for a little while till the next generation of Neo-Computers *cough*, sorry, consoles are announced and released. And so the cycle continues. Until of course all the consoles come with mice and keyboards - which would make them dummed down computers... ]
/rant off
 
I blame WoW instead of consoles. For the almost 2 years I played WoW I bought maybe 1 or 2 games. Now that I'm done with that hiccup in my life I buy a game a month (about 50/50 pc/console split).

Anecdotally (spelling?) I wasn't alone. A lot of people just quit buying games when they are playing a lot of WoW because you don't have time for anything else.

*edit, that being said, I think the convenience of console games and the lack of cheaters in online play is making consoles more and more attractive.
 
WoW is definitely a large part of it. MMOs in general really. While stuck on an MMO, attention for other games is very much diminished.

Regardless of the MMO effect on sales though, Valve has reported increasing sales and profits through Steam, not decreasing. That indicates to me that the larger effect is definitely that more and more people are using online distribution instead of going out to Walmart and Best Buy to get the games. Honestly, I wish that Steam and Impulse would publish their sales numbers so that there was a more fair comparison between PC game sales and console game sales.
 
When and if I go into a retail outlet to buy a game, I know exzactly what I am getting (I am a hardcore gamer so I know when pretty much everything is coming out and research it through articles and info on the net). I remember when the isles used to be a bit longer but they were mostly full of crap or stuff you have already purchased and beaten. The console section is getting larger but they are full of mostly crap too. When I buy a game for a console again I know what I am getting and have been expecting it to come out or just have been waiting to purchase it. I guess what I am trying to say is nothing lol. I love all games wether it be on my PC or my consoles.
 
pc's are still where the gamers play. who do you know that built their console?

as long as liquid nitrogen can be used in the pc gaming experience, pc's will not only remain viable, but the choice of those who know.

I feel pity for my console playing friends, and honestly, I believe they feel envy.
 



Bionic Commando Rearmed comes out tomorrow :)
 


The console players were too busy actually playing games to worry about liquid nitrogen. Trust me, console only gamers could care less about that silliness. If they do care, they build a PC and play on both.

Pure pc-gamers are more likely to feel envy because console players actually leave the house occasionally instead of burning 3 weeks of real life to get down Reliquary of Souls or whatever your guild's on now.
 
Pure pc-gamers are more likely to feel envy because console players actually leave the house occasionally instead of burning 3 weeks of real life to get down Reliquary of Souls or whatever your guild's on now.
Click to expand...
That's an absolutely idiotic and childish statement.
 
You are naive if you think pc gaming will ever die. Do you honestly think someday people will just stop making games for the pc? Are you crazy. There are problems with pc gaming that can be improved, but as long as there are pc's there will be pc gaming.

A lot of companies are moving towards consoles, yes but others will step upo and take their place.
 
Say what you want -

Anybody's who's not deflated about the current state of PC gaming has not been a PC gamer for very long.

I remember being in college and going to gamer stores that had wall after wall of PC games (in HUGE boxes). And in the middle were displays full of Voodoo and soundblaster cards, joysticks, etc

I used to spend an hour or so in stores like that checking out games.

That's all consoleland now.

I mean - I love Steam and all, but please. Is that what we PC gamers are left with? We're not even worth the packaging cost anymore?

Anybody who's happy with that, be my guest. Not me.
 
I spend about 20+ hours a week playing PC games, and the last console I bought was an N64. So I'm probably as much far on the PC end of the spectrum as you can get. And I have to admit that I have a hard time finding anything to play these days.

Consoles do seem to be massively outpacing the PC, and it's a real shame. In my opinion gaming has fallen into the same routine as Hollywood blockbusters. It's about generic mass-marketed entertainment with no regard to any artistic value or true innovation in gameplay.

To me, consoles have always felt like advanced toys more than something for serious gaming. Nobody I know that has one has ever shown me anything to dispel that idea. When I think of the few games I've really enjoyed in recent years, I can't help but think of how several of them would have been better without the influence and limitations imposed by consoles being so dominant.

Ultimately, I think the problem isn't that most good games are now made for consoles instead of PCs. The real problem is that as consoles have become dominant, hardly any really good games are being made at all anymore. Most innovations are ones that are in the direction of making gaming into fun toys for the masses, not a serious and legitimate form of media.
 


I'm sensing some envy, mricky. Just an observation, not a judgement.
 



You need to take a step a back and look at what the PC stands for in the world of gaming. All the innovation and new ideas are trailed on the PC first (as both of us are PC gamers I don’t need to list them) and successful ideas don’t end up on the consoles for years and years. Online distribution is just another step forward for PC games, why should PC games be stuck using the same business model as console games? Selling games in boxes in stores is so 20th century, we live in the 21st century now things change, if they don't change products die.
 


Who benefits the most from the elimination of packaging?

If I'm going to shell out $30, $40, $50 for a game why TF can't I at least get a printed manual?

Or at least a $10 discount?


 


Who benefits? Everyone! Reduced cost to game developers (benefit to them) which makes the PC a more attractive prospect to release games for (benefit to us). Plus, I've currently run out of shelf space for the vast number of games I have.

Printed manual? What for? So you can read it while having a crap? I think the last time I read a game manual (years and years ago) was the WoW one while it was installing and updating. I don't really find it necessary for games these days. There are very few games that you would actually NEED to read the manual to be able to play, and even then it would be better in electronic format so that you could quickly search for specific topics if you needed to.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't games on Steam already available for less than at retail? Take into account bundles like Eidos's everything pack (20 games for £50) and it's a bargain!
 
#1 reason your seeing less games in stores... Digital downloads
#1 reason your seeing less hardware in stores.... Its cheaper online

Seriously i can pay $500 for the same card i can find online for like $200 anymore. why buy at a store imo.

Consoles arent a fad whoever said that. They have been here for decades.

To the guy that said computer makers have to sell them for $400 with top of the line hardware.. First a console should do that for more then 1 month.

PC games arent dieing pc games are just getting really really really bad. Its like every game i look forword to playing is so poorly written its not worth playing. Dont get me wrong i wouldnt play a console for anything i cant stand how dumbed down alot of games on them are (cant think of many or any games on a console i really care to play) even if there was one it normaly came out on PC first and was done way way better there.

I will forever be a PC gamer simply for the fact its always evolving im not stuck with hardware that was outdated the day a console hits the market and can NEVER upgrade it to play the eye candy my computer can if i just spend a couple hundred on a new video card that can last as long as 2 years depending on my preferences. For people like me PC gaming is expensive but we demand the best not just good enough to play this game we wana see it all in 30 inch graphics.consoles cant even come close to delivering what i want in a game. If game developers want more people to buy thier games put some thought into them. Dont put out 10 games a year that you spent little time on makign and wonder why everyone downloads it to play here and there instead of making a steller game like half life where everyone likes it so damn much they just buy it cuz they know the game wont ever die.

PC gaming isnt dead and wont die as long as developers actualy care about the software they are putting out. I personaly pirate software on a try before i buy basis. Like it or not thats what i grew up on and think im wrong or not i will continue to do that. i buy most the software i try but there is alot out there im glad i didnt buy to find out i hated it.

This is for the people complaining about games not being in store thinking thats a sign pc gaming is dieing (rolls eyes) I LOVE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS i hate having to keep track of all those usless box's and keys. Good riddence to box's ost cd's and keys and all that stupid plastic.

I been gaming on pc's since before the 286 (yeah not really good games of course) and been gaming since a little before atari. i stopped playing consoles after snes and sega cd had every console even hand helds. They didnt really keep my interest like the pc games did. i never went back and dont see any reason to.

Dont be stupid if pc gaming dies that means gaming died all together same for console gaming. both would have to come to a end for a single to come to a end. GAMING WILL NEVER DIE NEVER its to adictive people will game even if the new medium in which they do it is VR and pc's and consoles die. Im sure they wont call it gaming anymore but jesus it will just be a virtual game to me 😉
 


I think this.

I think that.

Therein lies the problem, I think.
 
Manuals were the paper things i never took out of the box and lost the box when i tossed it somewhere. last time i read one was when i got atari games and was to young to really understand the concept's you learn as you get older.
 
Lol. I never used to read manuals becuase for me, they contained just too many spoilers. I like playing a game where i dont know every exact thing that is in store for me.

I remember playing Diablo. I ignored the manual and loved finding new weapon types and armour classes. My mate on the other hand read his manual cover to cover repetatively. And when i chatted to him about the game he liked it but wasnt really as immersed. All he wanted was the end armour and the big axe that he saw in the pictures in the manual.

Plus its like a man asking someone for direction because he got lost and is a failure. It tears away a piece of your soul by doing it.
 
Hehe.... I bought the Orange Box because well hell downloading anothe 4GB was too long for me even @ 500KB/s+. I built a new machine just for Half Life 2 Episode 2 and didn't want to wait to play it.

The box is nice to have because it makes it easier to install stuff but I didn't get a manual. I got a piece of paper with the serial number for it on it.

Oh but you do get a manual for TF2. Right click it in Steam and go to View Manual.

I think Steam is a godsend to both PC gamers and game makers. Why? It makes it easy for a gamer because the game is forever tied to your Steam ID meaning if you lose the disc you can redownload it via Steam. It also helps to stop piracy so the game makers can make money to continue making more games.
 
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