Just a little random thought I’ve had recently, just as I was remembering about how PC games use to be in big cardboard boxes, 10 times the size of its contents, and of course always in front of you as you went inside the shop door…
…Now not so much, I walk into ‘Game Station’ and struggle to find the 2 small shelving units of PC games, with not even a hint of any actual good games I’d part my cash for, and when I turn round to leave – I’m confronted with rows upon rows of console games, as far as the eye can see.
In a recent survey, people who rated top 10 games of all time, none of them were after 2008, and one was even 10 years old. What does this tell you? They are wrong? No, not really, PC game developers seem to be disappearing, and the quality of games seems to be heading in a devastatingly strong negative correlation.
Developers who once created pc games are turning to consoles, probably because of priacy, and because console games are most likely cheaper to create, and publishers are 2 a penny, but they are turning there backs on the true power of PC games, we all know hardware completely surpasses that of a console, and are clearly capable of doing much more than dragging empty selection boxes on the desktop or playing time sucking flash games.
Piracy
A lot of developers are blaming piracy, however I don’t buy it personally. They are quick to jump the gun and blame pirates, ARR! – However, they do not factor in actually how piracy probably equates to large proportion of sales. Generally, and almost always, pirated games do not work online, and usually this is a huge element gamers enjoy. Piracy is a try before you buy for a lot of gamers, if they like it, they lust for more, and lust for competition online, this means sales.
As for direct cost of these millions to the industry. Excuse me, it’s digital, they aren’t loosing a penny, it’s not costing them a penny either. If the pirates were riding into the game stores on plastic pretend pirate boards wielding novelty swords and eye patches from the local fetish / fancy dress shop, I would understand this point – but this is not happening yet, so I don’t buy it.
What’s Left?
1 Major genre of gaming is keeping PC gaming alive, although I personally loathe it. Massively multi-player online role playing games (MMORPG’s). With its millions of players on the likes of EVE online, and World of Warcraft. These games are keep PC games alive – although I hate to admit it. Other than that, publishers are turning more and more towards Steam as a major publishing platform, personally I welcome it, as again, it keeps this platform alive – but Give it a year or two, and they will almost disappear from the retail shops….forever.
dreamhunk on 16 February, 2009
nice article I want to add to it, I want to wide your knowledge about pc gaming, game devs and big cmpanies.
lets start with the numbers of games on the pc.
http://adrianwerner.wordpress.com/games-of-2009/
As you pc gaming still has a ton of new games. Big companies like sony and micro soft want to destory pc gaming. They go to the stores buy up all the space for their console games. whil pc gamers get pushed to the back. Stores like gamestop and EB ganes make their money on used games market. In fact EB games and game spot employees have been spreading lies that pc gaming is getting fazed out. They even tryed to have limit on the number DOW 2 preorders. Best buy and future have huge lanes for pc games.
The ression is also making retail stores cut down on self space because alot games are just not selling.
As for console games they are not cheaper to make in fact high produstion costs are destorying game devs on consoles. mirco and sony have lost billions on consoles. Mid way, interplay, pandemic, factor 5 and other companies have all gone bankuprt because of high prodution costs.
as for pircay there is pircay on consoles. In fact the console pirates make a living off of console games. console games also get pirated faster than pc games.Nintendo lost 1 billlion to console piracy.
dreamhunk on 16 February, 2009
you may wnant to check this site out it has alot of links I have posted on it. alot of info on there
http://digihub.smh.com.au/node/236#comment-2949
dreamhunk on 16 February, 2009
By the way there is a ton of genres you just can’t get on consoles, like TBS,RTS,RTT,TBT,MM,SIMs,space sims, ocean games.
There is alot of crapy games from big production companies sp alot of people are now turning to indie games.
Elderan on 16 February, 2009
Gameplay over graphics, hardware is one of the greatest strengths and the greatest weakness of pc gaming. Too much variety, to many different combinations makes it a lot harder to program for. The only reason console games are easier to program is mainly due to pc gamers being idiotic in their pursuit for “that extra 1 fps”.
Even the most powerful graphics card can not make crysis enjoyable for me. Also no pc processor can out preform a cell processor, unless its self is a cell processor
so the ps3 wins on that front. True not on a graphical point.
Consoles live for 5-7 years a generation. Can you play the latest games on a pc that is 7 years old?
I am not going to defend console gaming, or pc gaming. I enjoy both equally as much. Pc gaming offers more portability, more strengths in community, online play with true freedom. VoIP you can control. Dozens of applications and merits. It saddnes me pc gaming is its own downfall in some aspects.
dreamhunk on 16 February, 2009
please know your hardware before unfactual statements about pc gaming.
a $200 pc is more poweful than the ps3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-j69RnEBAc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GPI9xDmRjk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y2nJmKzOVY
Alan Hamlyn on 16 February, 2009
thanks for your thoughts dreamhunk
Alan Hamlyn on 16 February, 2009
bill said to me about console games cost more, i’m will to budge on that one – i agree they cost more to make (depending on the game) – thanks for your contributions – they are appreciated
Elderan on 16 February, 2009
Dreamhunk, none of those videos reference processors. Pixels, ram and graphics card do beat those of a console, that is not my point. My point is the cell is only part in the ps3 that can match and most of the time beat modern PCs.
Also using a youtube reference that at 1:24 actually says in essence that pc monitors can be double the resolution of 1080.
That is very much true, but the reference he gives is a monitor that is 2560 x 1600, that is only 520 pixels greater then 1080p, not double.
Bill Nunney on 17 February, 2009
I think that PC gaming is doing just fine. I may have stopped buying games from shops but i still buy them through Steam, or from the developer site. I have like 70 Steam games now
@Elderan
A console may last 5-7 years, but they cant be upgraded, and the graphics start to age after about 5 years. In that time i may have spent more on my PC but i will have the highest graphical detail, with smooth framerates. Its the point of being a PC enthusiast…