Are PC games dying?

[RobDowneyJr]

I quit PC games recently. Theyre dead to me

 

[yoda291]

I quit as well, but my opinion is that, so long as there is still a copy of starcraft circulating asia, PC games will never die.

 

[Freejack2]

Anyone remember Midtown Madness and Midtown Madness 2? I thought they were great games. Guess what? Midtown Madness 3 is coming out for the X-Box only!
I think there will still be some pc games, but when half of the systems out there have only 8mb 3d video capable of only the most basic rendering it limits the market. For most cases maybe only 1/4 of the computers out there are capable of doing more than a PS2 or X-Box can.
If you were a game developer with a limited budget where would you spend your money? The 80% of sales in consoles or the 20% of sales in PC's?
I think what will happen in the future is games for the pc will get scarce enough that it will change what people buy. I think most people will buy a console and a basic pc. There is no point in getting the latest and greatest pc if there is nothing that needs a lot of processing power. Manufacturers will at that point no longer see any real demand for powerful video cards or processors. PC gaming is almost dead. I'd give it a couple of years before most of the major game makers stop making games for the pc.

Want proof?

This Article is an abstract from the Interactive Digital Software Association's report for 2002 sales.
The skinny is 80% of all games sold last year were for consoles. I wouldn't be suprised to see 95% by 2005.

While the news will please game developers, according to the IDSA's research, the news doesn't look so good for PC and Mac gamers. Sales figures for last year show that console games accounted for 5.5 billion dollars US worth of sales, while PC games sold a measily 1.4 billion dollars US in comparison.

One obvious trend apparent from the 2002 data is that console software is capturing an even greater share of the market than ever before, accounting for 80% of industry software sales compared with 65% five years ago. Again, this is another reflection of the fact that the market for consoles is aging and broadening far beyond its original base of teenage boys.
Although not stated in the IDSA's report, the fear amongst some in the industry is that the ever-growing increase in the popularity of console games might encourage further publishers to develop console-only titles and drop PC and Mac game software altogether

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: chocobaR
Rest assured, PC games are not dying.

 

[theNEOone]

Originally posted by: wizardLRU

Originally posted by: chocobaR
Rest assured, PC games are not dying.

They aren't dead yet. But I actually do think they are dying.

R.I.P.

 

[apoppin]

Actually this generation of consoles are "dying". The PS2, X-box and GC are showing their age.

THIS is the year that PC graphics BLOW-AWAY the consoles . . . and it'll reign SUPREME as the "real" GAMER's MACHINE at least 'till PS3/XboxII and GCII in 2005.

I really wanna see Doom III "run" on an X-box (let alone a GC or PS2).

 

[z0mb13]

Originally posted by: irl33thax0r
PC games will never go out, console hardware will not be able to keep up. Most of the times the hardware is obsolete before it even goes into production. Console RPGs I must say are better than PCs, but the FPS will always belong to the PC.

and also RTS games

 

[datalink7]

lol... I remember when the PS1 came out.

"PC games are on the way out!" They cried.

Then the N64 came out.

"PC games are dying!" They said.

Then the PS2.

"This is the end of PC gaming" You could hear them shout.

Now the XBox and Gamecube are out.

"Are PC games dying?" asks kasparov.


The answer? Hardly.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

Originally posted by: Freejack2
If you were a game developer with a limited budget where would you spend your money? The 80% of sales in consoles or the 20% of sales in PC's?

I have a tough time believing this. Ask a statistician how accurate surveys are.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: datalink7
lol... I remember when the N64 came out.

"PC games are dying!" They said.

Then the PS1 came out.

"PC games are on the way out!" They cried.

Then the PS2.

"This is the end of PC gaming" You could hear them shout.

Now the XBox and Gamecube are out.

"Are PC games dying?" asks kasparov.


The answer? Hardly.

the psx came out before the n64

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: datalink7
lol... I remember when the N64 came out.

"PC games are dying!" They said.

Then the PS1 came out.

"PC games are on the way out!" They cried.

Then the PS2.

"This is the end of PC gaming" You could hear them shout.

Now the XBox and Gamecube are out.

"Are PC games dying?" asks kasparov.


The answer? Hardly.

the psx came out before the n64

Yah, oops. I put them backwards accidentally.

Point still stands.

 

[kami]

I hate consoles -- and I hate how console games are killing PC games. Low res and low graphics -- substandard in my opinion to what i can get on my P4/Athy system w/ a GF4/5.

I wouldn't make a statement like that til you've seen an Xbox game on a HDTV Also you get all of it for 200 bucks...less than the price of the latest top of the line video card. How can you go wrong? Also, more and more Xbox games are starting to support higher resolutions such as 720p (1280x720)...when Xbox2/PS3 come out they'll surely support HDTV resolutions as a standard.

It'll seem that way.


Then DOOM III will be out.

Yeah but Doom 3 is also coming for XBox, and Carmack stated specifically that it'll retain all of its visual fidelity on the Xbox. So I'm faced with two scenarios:

a) I can either spend well over $500 to upgrade my PC to get Doom 3 running well with the details on, then I can sit in my chair and play it on a 19" monitor with headphones since of course my PC isn't situated correctly to have surround sound from my home theater setup.
b) Buy Doom 3 for my $200 Xbox console, turn out the lights and enjoy it comfortably on the couch, on a big screen, running through my home theater system, volume up high listening to trent reznor's soundtrack in true Dolby 5.1.

Option B sounds the best to me.


I used to be anti-console til I saw the light and got one. I'm sorry but I just enjoy games a helluva lot more on a console now...it might be because I'm more of a casual gamer now though. I'm not in clans, I don't spend countless hours trying to get high in the ranks, etc. nor can I justify spending all the money upgrading my PC anymore.

The one thing where I think PC's will always reign supreme is strategy games. I play Warcraft 3 all the time but that's really the only PC game I play right now.

Do I think PC gaming is dying? hell no...there's still a huge market out there.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: chocobaR
Rest assured, PC games are not dying.

 

[BennyD]

pc gaming will always be around, because pc's will always be around

i can't see companies starting to use modded xbox's to do thier accounts with

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: Freejack2
Anyone remember Midtown Madness and Midtown Madness 2? I thought they were great games. Guess what? Midtown Madness 3 is coming out for the X-Box only!
I think there will still be some pc games, but when half of the systems out there have only 8mb 3d video capable of only the most basic rendering it limits the market. For most cases maybe only 1/4 of the computers out there are capable of doing more than a PS2 or X-Box can.
If you were a game developer with a limited budget where would you spend your money? The 80% of sales in consoles or the 20% of sales in PC's?
I think what will happen in the future is games for the pc will get scarce enough that it will change what people buy. I think most people will buy a console and a basic pc. There is no point in getting the latest and greatest pc if there is nothing that needs a lot of processing power. Manufacturers will at that point no longer see any real demand for powerful video cards or processors. PC gaming is almost dead. I'd give it a couple of years before most of the major game makers stop making games for the pc.

Want proof?

This Article is an abstract from the Interactive Digital Software Association's report for 2002 sales.
The skinny is 80% of all games sold last year were for consoles. I wouldn't be suprised to see 95% by 2005.

That article is a bit misleading. I'd love to see how that 5.5 billion breaks down among the four (4!) different consoles. Since when does 20% of total marketshare somehow equate to a "dying platform?"

More proof that everybody on the internet is a financial analyst.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: ziplux
The copy protection argument is bullshit because its easy enough to install a mod chip in any console on the market, and if you can make a 1:1 copy of the game CD you're all set even without a mod chip. Copy protection is no deterrent to even moderatly advanced users.

Yet the piracy numbers for computer games is much higher and your typicall gamer is much more atune to getting that warez version to work on their PC then on the XBOX. The flexibility of the PC has made Piracy much easier on the PC then the XBOX will ever be. SO If a company invests a ton of money into developement they KNOW that 20-30% of users will pirate the game. WHereas for your console player that number is much lower.

 

[Dudd]

As everyone has already said, PC gaming isn't going anywhere. True, consoles dwarf PCs, but I'd be surprised if PC gaming isn't increasing, albeit at a slower rate. You'll always have your flight sims, your strategy games, your FPS, and a bunch of other random stuff thrown in, such as The Sims, SimCity, RollerCoaster Tycoon, etc.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: kami

Then DOOM III will be out.

Yeah but Doom 3 is also coming for XBox, and Carmack stated specifically that it'll retain all of its visual fidelity on the Xbox. So I'm faced with two scenarios:

a) I can either spend well over $500 to upgrade my PC to get Doom 3 running well with the details on, then I can sit in my chair and play it on a 19" monitor with headphones since of course my PC isn't situated correctly to have surround sound from my home theater setup.
b) Buy Doom 3 for my $200 Xbox console, turn out the lights and enjoy it comfortably on the couch, on a big screen, running through my home theater system, volume up high listening to trent reznor's soundtrack in true Dolby 5.1.

Option B sounds the best to me.


I used to be anti-console til I saw the light and got one. I'm sorry but I just enjoy games a helluva lot more on a console now...it might be because I'm more of a casual gamer now though. I'm not in clans, I don't spend countless hours trying to get high in the ranks, etc. nor can I justify spending all the money upgrading my PC anymore.

The one thing where I think PC's will always reign supreme is strategy games. I play Warcraft 3 all the time but that's really the only PC game I play right now.

Do I think PC gaming is dying? hell no...there's still a huge market out there.

Doom III will "barely run" on the X-box compared to a Radeon 9700 (sub$200 when Doom III is out ~ November).

And "other" games that use the Doom III engine and Unreal (II) Warfare exgine will OVERload poor little X-box for ALL of 2004 and deep into 2005 . . . not to say PS2 and GC.

That $200 X-box becomes eX-box and goes into the closet while you dust off your PC, yank out the old GPU for another, grab the keyboard and get set for PC Gaming again.

 

[stspad]

Originally posted by: amdmang

Originally posted by: ncircle
as long as money can be made selling them, there will be pc games.

they better get better copy protection. its just too easy to DL them for free..

wtf?! you download the game. play it. and then complain that its to easy to get? if it was hard to get, retards like you would never get it!
im not against or for warez, since most of the software for the os i use is free anyways. but for god's sake your contradicting your self. your like a poser anti-warez nut. lol how pathetic

 

[arod]

Originally posted by: Oakenfold

Originally posted by: Carbonyl
I saw a special on discovery channel (and that's the inspiration for my current sig) which say they are dying. They say Stealing the games combined with high poroduction costs is killing the industry. Anyone else see that recently?

What I don't get though is that Piracy is HUGE in other countries outside the US.
Look @ Places like China, talk about fruity two shoes.

I agree whole heartedly, if it's a good game the least you can do is BUY THE software and show your support.

Well I know Im a lot more concerned with getting games and always get the warez version beofre I but the real thing. I didnt always do that and got burned by some games that were "supposed" to be good but got rushed out to collect my cash now. I will never make that mistake again.

 

[apoppin]

Today's News: Console games earn more than movies

FIXED (I think . . . if not, see my "reply" ahead)

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
If they do where would Video Card makers find anybody stupid enough to pay $350.00 for a Video Card?

here.


as long as the darkage servers and battlenet stay up, my games arn't going to die

 

[theNEOone]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Today's News: Console games earn more than movies

I don't see any news article on the page you linked to. Are you pointing us in the right direction?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: theNEOone

Originally posted by: apoppin
Today's News: Console games earn more than movies

I don't see any news article on the page you linked to. Are you pointing us in the right direction?

Oops - HERE

 

[xirtam]

Perhaps a better question would be...

...are consoles becoming PC's?

Everquest has been released for the Playstation 2. I thought I'd never see the day.