PC gaming is dying. Again.

by Steve Parsons { Mar 24th 2005 at 11:25AM }

Once every 6-12 months, someone, somewhere, writes an article about how PC gaming is dying. atari joystick So quite why the author of this piece seems to think he's so special with this proclaimation I've no idea. He also believes that enjoying a game console means you have the IQ of a glass of water… Let me repeat: To all you console owners, which includes a good chunk of us here at Joystiq, including myself, Mr. Anthony R. Brock believes we all have the IQ of a glass of water because we enjoy consoles. Ironically, he condemns Electronic Arts (and, somewhat bafflingly, Eidos), a company who, if I stuck with the PC, I'd HAVE to buy baseball games from, whereas, as a PS2 owner, I have a choice.

I remember reading much the same arguments in PC magazines before the turn of the millenium, about how PC gaming was on it's last legs, consoles would own all… And yet, here we still are. The author also leaves one huge, gaping hole in his argument. The fact that when designing a PC game, developers have to contend with a million different hardware and software configurations. Whereas with designing for the console, they can design a game, boot it, and if it works on their test machine, they know that it will work on every machine out there.

So, is it a scathing critique of the PC gaming industry? Or elitist, arrogant posturing from someone who thinks that, just because they game on a PC, they're better than you? You decide.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

elliothtz @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

I think there's a point in our lives when we need to accept that videogames are videogames. Boil it down to the essentials and videogames are made for one purpose: entertainment. Sure there are edutainment games for kids and training games for the military, but for 99% of all games made, they are soley for entertainment. This being said: who cares how you play them as long as you enjoy playing them. I don't care what console loyalty you may have or what 'killer hardware" setup your pc may have. I don't care if you own every console ever created. It's about the games, stupid.

Eliteism gets you nowhere. Refusing to play a game because it is on a certain console is rediculous. It's a freaking console, not the Communist Party. Refuse to play games because you don't care for them or can't afford the hardware platform it's on. Don't pigeon hole yourself into thinking that one system (including PC's) is absolutely better than another. It's rubbish. Congratulations; You've just bought into a particular company's hype and profit machine.

Besides, everyone knows that the Dreamcast is the ultimate system.

Codejoy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Long live the dreamcast, and the NGP :)

Well I think its a very moot point, as long as there are RTS's there will be pc games. NO way you cut you can have an rts (in all the glory of rts's) on a console. Come close, yes, the same, never. Actually my theory on all this ties into a great article I saw on gamedev.net:

http://www.gamedev.net/reference/design/features/wageslave/

I find that my console play time increases as my free time decreases. And vice versa, if I find myself with lots of time on my hands I play more PC games. Typcially you can get more satisfaction with shorter play times out of a console, but the pc is the long haul type of games.

And another reason why pc games will always be alive: its more or less free to develop games for the PC. No insane expensive development kits needed. There you have it.

Oh and now for the random interjection of opinion:
There hasnt been a better RTS than Rise of Nations, best RTS ive ever played hands down, and I dont see such a game making it to the consoles anytime soon...

CaptSnuffy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

I'm an avid pc gamer and from what i see the industry is going anywhere but down, PC gaming is always going to be there, it's not going to crash all of a sudden.

awmvannierop @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

I think game developers will always continue creating games for the PC. Consoles change every 3 or 4 years and will bring up an entirely different programming architecture with them. Whereas PC�s seldom changes from programming architectures. This way the developer is much more accustomed to program for the PC platform.

You always see that console games get technically interesting at the end of their current generation. I think a lot of developers can see this as a disadvantage when they have to start all over again exploring the next generation consoles. This way PC games will always be an easy way to produce.

6hostblur @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Until consoles bring a decent mouse and keyboard over to their systems, PC's will still be king of FPS.

Guslav @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

IQ of a glass of water? pleeeeease. on one hand you have people who insist on their games working the way they are supposed to, and get their system for peanuts. and on the other, people who spend thousands of dollars on a constantly updated rig that can play games once you have been through a painful troubleshooting process.

i love RTSs and half-life 2, but beyond that it's xbox and ps2 for me...

Guslav @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Jasamcarl @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

I would like to see the stats on the specifc types of game genres that the pc relinquishing to the consoles. I suspect they are action 'twitch' games, i.e. the ones that are all about immediacy. The comfort of the console serves those games well in my mind.

I use my pc primarily for strategy games. And there is no shortage of those, whether you are talking about the mainstream rts or the more traditional, deeper turn based games that are being produced by indie developers. That side of the market, the one that the pc does best, is doing fine from my vantage point.

Thus I doubt pc gaming is going through a rapid and terminal decline. Its simply going through a long term readjustment now that it is not longer the only game in town.

Tyler J. Smith @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Bah humbug, I say.

While I don't agree that PC Gaming is dieing, and if it is, I posture that one of the reasons is the lack of stores that carry a broad selection of PC Games these days.

Around here in Pittsburgh, the once-PC dominated video game stores with small sections for console gaming, has inverted. The PC sections of these stores has simply shrunk, and the console market has expanded. Example: GameStop. The walls were once dominated by PC games, and the consoles had their rightful place in a corner. Yet, nowadays, the consoles have taken over, and the PC selection has diminished to a small rack of games, many of which are not even new releases! I know, for me, I can't find all of the new releases anywhere.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy both gaming on consoles and PC. Yet, it irks me to no extent that I have to resort to ordering games online because stores simply do not carry a wide selection anymore. Example: Nexus - The Jupiter Incident. After searching high and low, I have to buy it over the internet. It really cheezes me off. Gone are the days of anxiously tearing apart a PC box to get my first glimpse at the instruction manual, or just to simply look at the contents of the package. Instead, I have to wait for the FedEx guy to arrive. Woopie.

Where's the line at, anyway? The XBox is basically a mini computer anyways. I'd rather own a Northwest Falcon Frag Box and a nice monitor than a bloody Xbox for crying out loud.

Those're my two....midiclorians.

Obadiah @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

The comments from Joystiq some it up: I've read this article so many timees over the year I could practically recite it word for word (you just need to swap out the "classic" game titles). Games are the ultimate expression of our intelligence and our ability (given the opportunity) to conquer the universe. We're there to have fun and be entertained. Sure, Republic Commando was a lot of mindless shooting... but it was fun. This guy seriously needs to move out of his parents basement and realize that games are what we do in our spare time when we aren't living our ACTUAL LIVES.

Obadiah @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

CRAP! Always proofread your posts... it's supposed to say "games are NOT the ultimate expression of our intelligence". I'm an idiot.

Roy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Although this guy is a whiner, there is no denying that the PC industry is on decline. I'll list some reasons why not already mentioned.

Hackers/crackers: It's much easier to pirate PC games than console games. Discourages publishers from the platform.

Cheaters: It's much easier to modify the game and cheat in online multiplayer. Ruined the game for everybody.

Video card companies: Gouging on hardware prices of cards needed to play the latest games. When just the card costs more than an entire computer system, something is just not right.

The PC platform has a lot of going for it, but the open architecture of it will be it's biggest downfall. It can be argued that as long as the consoles don't include a keyboard/mouse the PC will live on. KBM on next-gen consoles is unlikely, but realize that the young people currently growing up with a controller in their hands and unable to afford the latest and greatest won't care about KBM a few years down the road. In the end the PC will be for niche games, niche gamers and not enough return on investment to continue to publish on the platform.

Eric Pobirs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

The portion of the revenue pie attributable to PC gaming may grow or shrink but there is simply no way to kill off the PC game market unless the PC itself goes away. Even though it was often the least suitable platofrm for gaming the products kept coming all these years because it was the one platform that wasn't subject to the failure of any one vendor. You could even build your own. Even at the component level everything has multiple sources.

The same factors that make PC game development painful are also those that asure immortality. It isn't a static platform but one that has grown and evolved continously since its introduction. As important, the cost of entry for a budding young game coder is effectively zero. Just about anybody is going to have a PC as part of their household equipment. Even the cheapest PC these days has a good usable frame buffer for detailed color graphics and audio that would have been the envy of all once upon a time. Open source prgramming tools are readily available for downloading as is an immense library of information and instruction in their use. From there you just add effort and see what talent lurks within.

If the PC stopped performing this function the console industry, as well as many other sectors of software development, would find themselves in a crisis as the pool of entry level programmers shrank to a tiny fraction of what the PC currently provides.

Creative 9000 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Interesting read. I would have to agree with everything Anthony R Brock wrote, but I doubt PC games will die anytime soon, but the quality sure is declining.

And as for consoles, they are an inferior platform for games and I have always though so. Frankly, console games bore the sh*t out of me. Majority of them are acrade style games. I mean really - who plays arcade style games anymore? And as for first person shooters on consoles, who wants to play a dumbed down version of the PC original?

Console games are less challenging and of course, will never look any better than thier dedicated harware will allow. The PS2 and Bbox games started to look dated ages ago. Give me my Radeon X800 pixel shader DX9 goodness any day of the week.

A. Jacobson @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

My vote's with elitist, arrogant posturing.

striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

The IQ of a peruvian glass of water? Oh, so he's talking about fanboys, I surmise. I can see what he means.

Elliot @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Ive heard it all before - The PC is still the best platform for developers to experiment new ideas - Do people really need examples:

Medal of Honour, Call of Duty, Sims, Doom, Half-Life all on PC first.

Also they do not have to pay the likes of Sony/Ninendo a percentage of the profits.

Ive owned or a least played every console out there and whilst still own a PS2 for Friday night 2 player games - I will never stop being a PC fan due to the fact it will always keep evolving and lead the way with new ideas such as the World of Warcaft Everquest 2, Matrix online...

There is plenty of room for both in my world :-)

chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

PC and consoles are merging anyway. If the xbox doesn't show you that I don't know what will. An xbox is pretty much has the same hardware that you can get in a pc. see link http://gear.ign.com/articles/306/306618p1.html Soon the only difference between a console and pc will be external apperance, OS, were you bought it.

Until then, I will allways enjoy PCs better. If you buy a console when it first comes out there like 300 dollars, (I can't remeber exactly how much PS2 and xbox were when they came out, sorry). Poeple allways talk about how PCs are more expensive then console. Don't poeple with console normally have PCs anyway. If you spent the 500 dollars it cost to buy a ps2 and xbox, and added to the 800-1000 you already spent on the pc. You would have one nice pc. Not the greatest, but you would be able to play all the latest games, and they would look better than the ps2 and xbox. I have a ps2 that I got awhile ago, the last game I bought for it was gta san andres. It was fun, but it looked like sh14. It looked like half life 1, and that came out in 1999.

While there are some good console games, that require alot of thought to play. There a alot of console games, that consist of killing hordes of cookie cutter enemys, that have only one tactic which is run at you and shoot. If your only experience with consoles are these games, than I can under that you might think people that play consoles aren't that bright.

The pc I owe today, is basicly the same computer that I bought in 2000, when I left home. I have upgraded it and in the last 5 years I've spent about 3000 dollars, including initial cost. Its worth it to me. Not only are the graphics and performance better, but I don't have to wade throu all the lame console games to get to somthing good. I know poeple don't just buy the console and the games any more either. There are all sorts of hard drives and xbox live stuff you can buy now, none of its cheap. I can't believe a any one would bad mouth a pc, when they spend money to make their console more like a pc.

If you think more poeple crack/hack computer games. You odvisouly haven't seen all those sites that sell chips for ps2s and xboxs.

Also, how can you have a game and never patch it. Any console players that say you don't have to patch console games, thats bs. I played games on my ps2 that had bugs. Like getting stuck in the floor. Graphics glitches. Balance issues. Thats way you can never have any RTS on the console, they can't be patched. Any unit balance issues found after the game will never be fixed. Also, a purely console player, will never be able to play any mods. They will never be create any mods. The whole idea of console is restrictive, you will never have the ability to create additions like you can on the pc. There are some great mods out there, and they're free, but if you play on a console you miss out. Consoles are nice and user friendly, just like AOL. You never have worry about them breaking. Oh no wait, they do break. And when they break, you have to buy a new one. Or pay some one to fix it. Any one with half a brain can keep there pc in decent order. Simply by keeping there antivirus up to date, defragging there hard drive, and making sure you have enough space for a page file. If you have to spend more than a half hour on any problem that doesn't have to do with a hardware failure, you should be shoot. If your to lazy to do some minor maintence to your pc, then just keep your console. Keep your sh14y graphics, lame gameplay and lame AI.

The best games you have, other than sports and fighting games, are ports from PCs. Would you like an example. How about halo. The original halo was being developed for the PC and MAC, when microsoft had to find some way to save there lame console. http://actionvault.ign.com/features/specials/e3-01halo.shtml

Percy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:46PM

Being mostly a PC gamer myself, and a former console gamer, I would say that the worst part of PC gaming for me is that it is a lot more costly. You're always needing to upgrade. You're always needing this and that. It's just more work to keep up with. That's my only gripe about PC gaming. But if there is a certain game coming out for consoles that I want to play, then I won't hesitate to play it just because I am a "PC gamer." It really is all about the games, but everyone also has their preferences as to how they want to play those games.