I think im done with pc gaming

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: SoundTheSurrender

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: SoundTheSurrender
You can obviously see how game devs. are focusing on Consoles more. People pirate games like crazy on the PC, there is no market if it isn't profitable. Oblivion WAS MADE FOR THE 360. Many other games are made for the 360 then ported to the PC. The 360 is practically for PC gamers that don't want to spend 1500+ dollars for a gaming rig.

see my post here... $500-ish gaming rig

granted, monitor is not included. but for $500, that's a pretty bada$$ system capable of playing every game, though obviously not cranked up. you don't need an uber gamer rig. i'm running NWN2 with all details up, minus shadows, at 1024x768 on an X850XT and Sempron 2800+

Sorry, that not impressive enough for gaming :-/ I could never return to a gig of ram. The 939 is out of date as well. I have a 2500+ with 1.5 gigs of ram and a Geforce 6600 and I'm doing fine anyways. My point isn't really about price for a gaming rig. My point is that game developers are focusing on the console market.

that isnt impressive enough? i ran a p4 2.4C (not overclocked at the time) with 512MB of ram, and a geforce 2 MX 32MB for the past 3-4 years up until this summer, when i finally upgraded to 2GB of ram and a 6600GT. played nfs underground/underground 2/most wanted on the lowest settings but who cares, i had fun playing it though it looked like crap.

sure game developers are focusing on the console market. people dont have to spend money to upgrade to play the latest games, but there are also PC only games (crysis and WoW comes to mind). titles get ported to/from the PC all the time so really, everyone wins/loses at the end.

i like console and PC gaming both. i enjoy doing multiple things on my PC, while playing console exclusive games on their respective console. yes, the PC side can get frustrating because of patches, buggy code, EA type games (its true), or whatever, but so can the console side.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

It's not good enough to play for my standards and it would not be a boost to what I have right now, S939 is dead, 1 Gig of ram is not enough and the video card isn't impressive. I know it is a budget but playing at the lowest setting is a sad sight. If I were to spend $500 I would rather spend a extra $200 - 300 to get quality stuff that can upgrade.

 

[drag]

If you want some statistics on this sort of thing...

http://theesa.com/facts/sales_genre_data.php
http://www.philsteinmeyer.com/40/retail-pc-game-sales-off-57/

Puzzle games and Flash games make up 60% of the sort games average people play
Console game sales are worth 6 billion+, Computer games sales have fallen under a billion (linux server sales now outstrip computer gaming sales, if that is pathetic enough for you)

Computer games sales have fallen steadidly since 1999. They are currently generate less then half the sales that they used to do during their best times. They have fallen under the 1994 level, even when not adjusted to inflation.


It's realy quite sad. Certainly PC games have the greatest potential for fun vs console games, but with console games you have a lot more innovation and a lot more game makers competeting.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

There is no market, or a very niche market for computer gaming. It is so much easier to steal a computer game vs. stealing a console game online. With he rise of Vista I can imagine it falling even shorter. I'm starting to loose my touch with gaming on the pc. My next pc purchase when I'm out of college is going to be a Mac.

Look at how much shelf space ebgames use to have back then for computer games. It had a decent amount of distribution. They shrunk it to like 2 shelves in the middle of the store while all console games have their own huge section on the wall. Even the nintendo ds/gba wall is bigger than the pc games section.

 

[drag]

Well I don't think that piracy is really a big deal.

Now games are so big and expensive and only a handful of people are making them and they realy aren't that much fun. Used to be you had hundreds of game makers, a person could start up a gaming company like any other small business. Lots of ideas, lots of innovations and while most failed (as is natural with any business) a few got successfull. Unfortunately for gamers they all have been bought up by big makers and now there is only a handfull of big commercial makers.

I think that when most of the big game makers abandon the PC game market then you'll start to see a comeback. Smaller, simplier games will be much more popular. Indie games mostly, stuff that can be played on a work PC with onboard graphics cards. (which nowadays perform as well as low-end PCIe cards)

Especially when people get to run their own worlds and such. In a sort of distributed fasion, like websites. The major downsides to the console is the enourmous amount of control that makers inflict on their end users.

Both the Xbox and PS3 are effectively personal computers anyways. Harddrives, Operating systems, memory, video cards, networking, etc etc. They are just very closed. I've heard that the major difference between Xbox360 and a Windows PC is that with the Windows PC people are encouraged to make many different sorts of applications for it and with the Xbox 360 they have to pay Microsoft the right to do so.

 

[0roo0roo]

its a big deal, when you see sims all topping the charts for years in pc market you know its mostly because those ar ethe folks least likely to be warez monkeys. its all about the mighty dollar, and the ease of warezing pc games just shrinks the market vs consoles.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: drag
If you want some statistics on this sort of thing...

http://www.philsteinmeyer.com/40/retail-pc-game-sales-off-57/


Computer games sales have fallen steadidly since 1999. They are currently generate less then half the sales that they used to do during their best times. They have fallen under the 1994 level, even when not adjusted to inflation.

Total nonsense! What game came out in 1999 that changed the PC game market? Ever hear of Everquest? Instead of buying new games, PC gamers started subscribing to MMORPGs. Just add in World of Warcrafts 7.5 million subscribers paying $14 a month to play and you'll see the money spent on PC games has skyrocketed. Then when you start adding in all the other MMORPGs, online sales, and digitial distributions you'll see that PC gaming is doing better than ever. That useless article you link to is only adding up brick and mortar sales.

Just read your own link.

This data only reflects traditional, brick and mortar PC game sales in the U.S. Of course, console game sales have been much better, and the two strongest segments of PC gaming - MMORPGs and casual game downloads, are omitted from this data.

 

[apoppin]

yet the "trend" is *down* for PC games and *up* for consoles

there is a LOT to be said for consoles

... for PCs there are 'mods' and a few types of games suited 'best' for it ...
... that's about all

 

[Thraxen]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Total nonsense! What game came out in 1999 that changed the PC game market? Ever hear of Everquest? Instead of buying new games, PC gamers started subscribing to MMORPGs. Just add in World of Warcrafts 7.5 million subscribers paying $14 a month to play and you'll see the money spent on PC games has skyrocketed. Then when you start adding in all the other MMORPGs, online sales, and digitial distributions you'll see that PC gaming is doing better than ever. That useless article you link to is only adding up brick and mortar sales.

Just FYI, people spending all their money on a handful of games doesn't mean you have a healthy market. It means a couple of devs are raking in all the money and everyone else is screwed.

 

[crownjules]

Originally posted by: Thraxen

Just FYI, people spending all their money on a handful of games doesn't mean you have a healthy market. It means a couple of devs are raking in all the money and everyone else is screwed.

Then everyone else needs to step it up. Online distribution methods make it even easier these days for developers to get their product out to the masses - they no longer need a distributor willing to burden the risk of publishing a game with unknown potential because the cost of digital distribution is significantly cheaper then the old gamebox, manuals, and game package.

The money is clearly there in the PC gaming market. Developers (I feel) have become very stagnant of late and just recycle the same trash and repackage it with a new look and say "HEY LOOK PRETTY GRAPHICS COME PLAY".

 

[NeoGeoFTW]

But I like console and PC gaming, and that's when it costs you the most!

 

[KeithTalent]

I would assume we will start to see more and more developers going towards a Steam-based approach, with online game delivery and possibly eliminating physical purchases entirely (still a long ways away for that scenario though).

In theory this should help reduce piracy, at least a little, and should also (again, in theory) reduce the cost of games to the consumer.

I know a lot of people hate Steam (I do not), but I really see it as the future for PC gaming and it may help mitigate the 'threat' of a console-dominated, PC-gaming free world.

KT

 

[w00t]

I agree with you console gaming is taking over it seems

Also you won't have to give up the mouse and keyboard if you get an Xbox 360 along with another device xfps 360

thread on including a review inside:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=33&threadid=1981711&enterthread=y

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I would assume we will start to see more and more developers going towards a Steam-based approach, with online game delivery and possibly eliminating physical purchases entirely (still a long ways away for that scenario though).

In theory this should help reduce piracy, at least a little, and should also (again, in theory) reduce the cost of games to the consumer.

I know a lot of people hate Steam (I do not), but I really see it as the future for PC gaming and it may help mitigate the 'threat' of a console-dominated, PC-gaming free world.

KT

I am not a fan of steam

reasons:
excess memory is used
you have to run it to play
offline doesn't always work
ads when you open up steam with there new games
theme can't be changed to your windows theme
steam updates include nothing to prevent cheaters
etc...

edit: to keep it simple it's annoying and not needed therefore I don't want it.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Total nonsense! What game came out in 1999 that changed the PC game market? Ever hear of Everquest? Instead of buying new games, PC gamers started subscribing to MMORPGs. Just add in World of Warcrafts 7.5 million subscribers paying $14 a month to play and you'll see the money spent on PC games has skyrocketed. Then when you start adding in all the other MMORPGs, online sales, and digitial distributions you'll see that PC gaming is doing better than ever. That useless article you link to is only adding up brick and mortar sales.

I agree with you. To exclude online retailers is, in and of itself, a HUGE mistake when trying to do research like this. And then to go ahead and exclude MMORPGs is another huge mistake. So let me get this straight, PC gaming is down if we ignore Steam, Everquest, World of Warcraft, Ebgames.com, Amazon, then PC gaming is down. Oh noes!!

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
In theory this should help reduce piracy, at least a little, and should also (again, in theory) reduce the cost of games to the consumer.

One thing, for me, that could reduce my desire to "acquire" a game is a decent demo. I find it hard to spend $50 on a game purely on screenshots and name alone, but it seems developers are content releasing demos months after the release of a game or not at all! This was the case with Rainbow Six Vegas. I wanted to try it on the PC to see if I enjoyed the experience more, but Ubisoft said there wouldn't be a demo. Well, that left me with one option.

Except the fact that it took way too long so I just bought it anyway :laugh:. I'd still like to try something before I buy it. For example, Bionicle Heroes sounded kind of interesting, so I downloaded the demo and gave it a try. It was alright, but I don't think I'm interested enough to buy it for the PC or XBOX 360.

Personally, I don't see myself ever stopping PC gaming. I may slow down at points, but I'll still spend the money to keep my PC up to date. I love having that beautiful gaming experience, albeit maybe not all the time.

 

[jim1976]

When consoles will be able to give me AA/AF in the amounts that I want, provide me with crisp textures and excellent IQ, give me resolutions up to 2560x1600 for 30'' monitors, the ability to mod everything the way that I want and can actually provide me with some good TBS/RPG/MMORPG or other games of similar genre in sufficient amounts then I can discuss if PC gaming is dead.. Until then I'm quite happy with my PC as my high end gaming platform, and I have a XBOX360 to play games that are unreleased in my PC, or take too long to come out..

 

[spaceclamjr]

you dont HAVE to play everything with high detail or high resolution
you dont HAVE to spend thousands on building new pc's and upgrading
anyone who'd got you thinking you NEED to is wrong
dont be disillusioned by eyecandy, GAMEPLAY is where its at

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: spaceclamjr
you dont HAVE to play everything with high detail or high resolution
you dont HAVE to spend thousands on building new pc's and upgrading
anyone who'd got you thinking you NEED to is wrong
dont be disillusioned by eyecandy, GAMEPLAY is where its at

Why can't I have both? That's why I hate the Wii arguments that it's alright not to have superb graphics just because the gameplay is good. Technology is there, and the technology isn't horridly expensive... why can't it be implemented? Why provide one when you can provide both aspects of a "good game."

 

[jim1976]

Originally posted by: spaceclamjr
you dont HAVE to play everything with high detail or high resolution
you dont HAVE to spend thousands on building new pc's and upgrading
anyone who'd got you thinking you NEED to is wrong
dont be disillusioned by eyecandy, GAMEPLAY is where its at

That's fine. But the key difference is that I WANT to
So a console cannot provide me all these..
It's like saying to me me you don't need you high end stereo and speakers or TV or an expensive car you can do your job with less..My eyes/ears/knowledge/experience/taste disagree with you..I know I don't have to, I want to so I have to pay the premium for it. It has and it will always be like this in the high end market.. But apples to apples..A high end PC can never be comparable to a console in terms of gaming,especially in the GFX department

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: w00t
I agree with you console gaming is taking over it seems

Also you won't have to give up the mouse and keyboard if you get an Xbox 360 along with another device xfps 360

thread on including a review inside:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=33&threadid=1981711&enterthread=y

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I would assume we will start to see more and more developers going towards a Steam-based approach, with online game delivery and possibly eliminating physical purchases entirely (still a long ways away for that scenario though).

In theory this should help reduce piracy, at least a little, and should also (again, in theory) reduce the cost of games to the consumer.

I know a lot of people hate Steam (I do not), but I really see it as the future for PC gaming and it may help mitigate the 'threat' of a console-dominated, PC-gaming free world.

KT

I am not a fan of steam

reasons:
excess memory is used
you have to run it to play
offline doesn't always work
ads when you open up steam with there new games
theme can't be changed to your windows theme
steam updates include nothing to prevent cheaters
etc...

edit: to keep it simple it's annoying and not needed therefore I don't want it.

reasons:
excess memory is used - what, you only have 64k memory and need every last byte or what?

you have to run it to play - i agree here, that is kinda dumb, but most people have internet connections that are always on so its not really that big of a deal.

offline doesn't always work - never had a problem.

ads when you open up steam with there new games - oh no, 1 click and its gone. or wait, does this take up excess memory?

theme can't be changed to your windows theme - you can minimize it so it doesn't even show up. how long are you looking at it anyway that it bothers you that much?

steam updates include nothing to prevent cheaters - huh? i forget what its called but they do have anti-cheat software.

so you basically have 1 somewhat valid and rational reason to not like steam, but not by much.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
In theory this should help reduce piracy, at least a little, and should also (again, in theory) reduce the cost of games to the consumer.

One thing, for me, that could reduce my desire to "acquire" a game is a decent demo. I find it hard to spend $50 on a game purely on screenshots and name alone, but it seems developers are content releasing demos months after the release of a game or not at all! This was the case with Rainbow Six Vegas. I wanted to try it on the PC to see if I enjoyed the experience more, but Ubisoft said there wouldn't be a demo. Well, that left me with one option.

Except the fact that it took way too long so I just bought it anyway :laugh:. I'd still like to try something before I buy it. For example, Bionicle Heroes sounded kind of interesting, so I downloaded the demo and gave it a try. It was alright, but I don't think I'm interested enough to buy it for the PC or XBOX 360.

Personally, I don't see myself ever stopping PC gaming. I may slow down at points, but I'll still spend the money to keep my PC up to date. I love having that beautiful gaming experience, albeit maybe not all the time.

QFT. one of my biggest gripes (other than releasign games that aren't finished) is no demo. i don't know what it takes to make a demo but when i see no demo i have to think there must be something wrong with the game that they don't want people to see what the game is like before plopping down their $50. i've been burned several times because of this. you'd think i'd know better by now.

 

[skace]

I believe the anti-cheat system is called VAC or something like that. Oh and you can get rid of that ad at the start in Steam's perferences, just change what window it starts on from whats new to your games. And Steam does have skins, I don't know how to skin for it but if I did I'm pretty sure you could create one to match your windows theme.