The state of computer gaming - the beginning of the end?

[deerslayer]

I enjoy both. I love playing Unreal Tournament both new and old on the LAN at home with my friends. It's great to sit down and hang out in the basement playing some GTA or a nice game of hockey on the PS2. I don't think either one will kill the other because there will alway be people on both sides of the argument that one is better than the other and there will always be a market for PC games.

 

[daddyo]

Within 10 years, consoles will merge with PC's. Even now, the functional and technological differences between the two are very subtle.

I might even venture to say that the XBOX2 could quite possibly be the first result of the merger.

 

[mikable]

I might even venture to say that the XBOX2 could quite possibly be the first result of the merger

XBox 2? Hmmm seems the XBox is a merging already. HD, CPU, Ethernet, GPU....



The Intel P10 or the Athalon Gpxyz3 will collect dust in the basement next to the Xbox5, and the PS6 and the nintendo Gamepolygon.

Hardware makers will still continue to make money with hardware, and software companies will make money with software. Right now none of the Console hardware earns the respective makers any money. In fact they lose money on it. Why build money losing hardware when you can just market the software that makes the money?

 

[BD2003]

Even though console makers lose money on every console, game makers have to pay nintendo, ms and sony a sh*tload for every single game they sell. Being able to make games for your own system without paying licensing fees also brings in a ton. Altogether it more than makes up for the hardware losses.

 

[Electric Amish]

Never... for 2 reasons....


1) RTS
2) Multi-player

amish

 

[wizdum]

when you buy a computer, for more money than you buy a console, do you boot up straight into a game? no. you have an operating system. you have applications. you have stuff to do your homework with. etc etc etc. PCs are worth the upgrade money because theres SO MUCH MORE things you can do with it! i used to be a hardcore console gamer. got my first computer. never bought a console again. PCs just have a HUGE fun factor because of multiplayer. because of microphones. because of keyboards. because of game ladders. and, last but not least, technology. the xbox is only a p3 750(700?) with a gf3. now we have p4 2.8's and gf4 and radeons. it's like the only reason i play games now is for multiplayer. i can't be happy sitting down with a console and say im happy because i beat the computer.

fun factor is extreme on computers.

with pcs, you get everything a console has to offer, and much much much much more. the pc gaming industry is doing better than it ever has been! it's growing rapidly! maybe the real question is -- when will PC's take over consoles?

 

[wizdum]

He thinks that people will grow tired of paying $200-$400 for video cards when that is more than the entire console

grow tired? i loving buying a new video card!

 

[wizdum]

one more thing.. lol .. i keep thinking of other things just because this 'beginning of the end' is so untrue.

when's the last time you ever heard of someone killing themselves over mario? ehmm... never? yeah, never.

like 3 weeks ago or sometime.. what's that big game thats owned by NCSoft... anyway.. some guy died from dehydration from playing the game too long. some kid shot himself in the head with a shotgun because he lost his char. on everquest? these are not things that are good and we do not like to think about them BUT there is a point here.. do you see how addicting PC games are and RTS and MMORPGs are? these kind of games would SUCK on a console? think about it -- do you wanna play d2 on a ps2? ehh.. nope. it would suck. no wonder blizzard hasn't made it for a console yet. it doesn't BELONG on a console.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: thorin

Originally posted by: GoodRevrnd
Racing games are better on console anyway.

Get a steering wheel and pedals for your computer and you'll never say that again.

Thorin

Amen Brotha!

amish

 

[BFG10K]

He thinks that people will grow tired of paying $200-$400 for video cards when that is more than the entire console.

As opposed to growing tired of buying games that are on average more expensive on the console than they are on the PC?
As opposed to running games at a crappy TV resolution, refresh rate and frame rate on a console?
As opposed to having an active gaming library only as long as you have the console and don't upgrade to a newer one?

No way, PCs absolutely murder consoles for games.

 

[mikable]

See you guys are all looking at it from a PC Vs Console.


IT's NOT

The PC will become an appliance in the future. A sealed box you plug in and turn on for the masses. Consoles will become more computerish. with HD's Networks, and various display options. The two will merge into a single box that will supply all your nessasary connections and computational power. It will be wireless both for display and networking. Little jason Jr. will be happy to frag away upstairs with the lates FPS, Sara jr. will chat with all her friends, Dad will check stocks, and play his favorite real time or turn based game with or without his buddys, mom will check in on all of them with the Admin account and block Jason and sara till the homework gets e-mailed in. Later they will watch a video feed from the play on demand service. At bed time the network will go into secure mode and turn on the alarm system.

Intel sold the Dell the CPU (he could have bought the cheaper home server system from Gateway with the AMD subsystem) Micron sold the memory, Ati sold the Graphics solution, Nintendo sold the controllers...Microsoft get the royalty for the operating system. Sony, gets it's share for the RTS game dad played, Sega developed the FPS Jason had, etc...

NO PC


NO Console

Just the home system server.

It's silly to think they will remain seperate boxes because they are to similar already.

 

[shadware]

First, my UT2k3 stuff to answer a question
1024x768
32-bit color
All details on normal setting
Decal stay normal
All others checked except trilinear filtering


Second.
I was just thinking... Console makers make their money from selling games, correct? PC hardware makers usualy have nothing to do, and profit in no way from the software sold to play on the computers their parts are in. Consoles like the XBOX are coming more and more like computers. But they will never take over computers, because, as previously said, all of the other applications. I can see Microsoft attempting this, but if they do, will it really matter? In the small chance consoles attempt to take over PCs as a whole, they will have to up the price of them (since they wont get the guarateed revenue of games), and thus they would become just like current PCs. It would be pointless. So since consoles arent taking over PCs, then PC gaming will be here to stay. Because as long as there are PCs, there will also be PC gaming.

 

[DeRusto]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Never... for 2 reasons....


1) RTS
2) Multi-player

amish

I would have to agree with Amish on this one..with one exception 2) should be Mass Multi-player
Consoles are great for many types of micro-multiplayer and as long as computers and consoles are seperate entities, they will both have different rules to play by. I don't see EITHER of them going anywhere very soon.

 

[BD2003]

I simply dont buy the fact that PCs are all going to become appliances in the future. I dont doubt that some form of this will arise, and it may be good enough for the masses, but buildable, customizable PCs arent going anywhere. In fact, I think it will ALWAYS be cheaper to build it yourself.

For example, look at audio. Back in the day, if you wanted to listen to music, you had to buy a amplifier, two speakers, and a turntable. Sure, you could buy them together, but mini-systems as we know it didnt exist. They came about eventually, but did that spell the death of the component system? Absolutely not. Most people do elect to go with a mini-system, but if you want high quality components, putting it together from separate pieces is the only way to go. You can now buy HT in a box, but they suck compared to full components HT setups.

PCs in their current form will always exist, because people like me are going to pay for them. I'm not buying no appliance PC in the way I'm not buying no silly mini system. I might buy them for other people, but not for me. If theres a market for it, they'll make it.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I've always felt that gamers really push the computer industry. Why push the envelope of CPUs, RAM, videocards if PC games didn't exist. The industry would just crumble without us.