Yeah I know pc gaming isnt dead....but take away ports, and you don't have enough pc releases to sustain a monthy magazine review section. They couldnt be satisfied owning the software end of gaming (windows) they needed to own the hardware itself...the xbox.
Windows has to be the largest user base in the world, why wouldnt Microsoft just utilize this and squeeze Playstation out of existence? The graphics would be better, not be limited to the constant state of the xbox/360 hardware.
The situation is so dire that CPU magazine which is for PC power users, has to review xbox/playstation 3 games in their game section. What's the point of all these uber machines if we are just playing ports? Every game feels the affect of this, whether dumbed down, or graphics lowered down so they can run on the lower end consoles.
I hated all those supposed must have mods for Oblivion.
First of all, PC games are not dead and certainly not killed by consoles. Consoles are for action/sport games etc where as PC games are more for RTS/MMORPG and other more indepth games for grown ups.
Secondly the reason Micro$oft left the PC gaming world is because they cannot control the platform (the hardware) so they cannot win the "war" against piracy. So they gave up and created the XBox where they have full control of the platform.
Just to see if they could.
It was a bet between Gates and Jobs to see who could destroy more PC market share in a 10 years time. Bill brought the X-Box and Steve the iPod/Phone/Pad with all the apps so no one needs a PC anymore.
I've been playing PC games for far longer than I've been an "adult." You don't have to be "grown up" to enjoy PC games, and you don't have to be a kid to enjoy console games. Not to mention that there are plenty of deep console games.
I started playing PC games just a couple years after I started on NES as a kid. I have no idea why some people try to generalize the gaming population like that either. It is silly.
Which is the "lesser evil"?
While PC Gaming is by no means dead, or even dying, per se, it is in a decline. And like people have said, this is a slump that will eventually pick back up. Market trends.
But supporting Blizzard is supporting PC Gaming, albeit indirectly. But no more so than supporting any single Developer/Publisher. Well, less so now that they're owned by Activision... (Which I abhorrently oppose btw, but what're ya gonna do?)
But if you really think that buying any PC game produced by EA is supporting the market, then you really, really, REALLY need to take a damn good look at how many games EA publishes that aren't direct-ports of console games, or simul-released on both Consoles and PC's. They don't sink any real money into PC games, they make Console games, and then spend a little extra to port them for near exponential profit, provided they move enough copies. Yes, I'm biased against EA. But I've become biased based on objective reasoning and observation, not just because I disapprove of their business practices. (Which is another reason in and of itself, but not really on-topic.)
Which is the lesser evil...? There's a lesser evil between IPhone's and any product M$ produces? Ehh, I guess I'd have to go with XBox... The ORIGINAL XBox, clunky controller and all. Speaking of...
I think the bet was to see who could piss off the PC market more, via destroying the market. Jobs got the one-up on Gates here though, by choosing to avoid the bet entirely, and cause Gates to destroy a market he's currently out-pacing Jobs in anyway. Unfortunately for Jobs, he underestimated the incompetence of M$, forgetting that anything they release will be broken 9 times out of 10... XBox360... Neither one of them is winning the bet. =P
I think it's only is decline- for those who are using the console model. The console concept does not work on the PC due to modding and back catalogue, which creatres so many more options, that people are generally willing to not pay the price-gouging prices that you get with consoles.
You don't even need a monster to get decades of worthy games.
As long as people can make money producing PC games, there will be PC games. It's just that unless you're Blizzard or Valve, you can't just print money. Everyone else lacks either the quality popular games, or the discipline to do it.
And it's not as if there haven't been duds consoles. I mean when a console is released that is a dud, that's almost a generation of dead weight for Nintendo, Sony or MS to deal with for awhile. PC's might have duds once in awhile, but if we get a generation of meh video card, we can just wait until the next year, or if the OS is crap, stick with the old one for while. I remember when everyone was suggesting that Nintendo was dead in the water, dying, old school, lost to an ever ending decline because of one of their releases and yet... they picked up again didn't they? It's never a sure thing.
Nintendo can go die for all I care. The Wii was crap when it was released, and it still is. I plan on picking up Kinect asap...and no, it isn't for sports or dance/fitness games.
PC gaming isn't dead, but it's nowhere near as rewarding as it used to be. Developers don't make games for PCs terribly often, they make games for 'multiplatform' which except in rare cases means the exact same game with a different control scheme. The big publishers still actively making games for it are hated for using DRM or for releasing casual games or other stupid reasons.
I still buy PC first, but I know how much money I'd save if I'd stick with the 360. It's very tempting if the current gen of consoles ever gets replaced.
Your biased opinion means nothing. The Wii is a success. It made Nintendo a lot of money and they are not dead despite the hostility from people who think themselves to be some kind of elitist in the gaming community. The point is, you can't count on any of these companies to be out for the count or at the top just because you wish, really, really hard.
well thing is its been in a decline for years, and the greater the steam the consoles pick up the less exclusive or important or unique PC gaming is. If PC gaming is descent this year by next year it might be cut in half. And once a console has like 6gb of RAM.... ohhh boy forget PCs.
Like now BF 3 is going to console as well. If i hated how PC gamers tried to ruin bad Company series, im going to hate how console gamers are going to ruin the BF series.
Some people here have a descent point how PC gaming isnt dying. But when they release a PC games sales report of the month you see millions of game units sold and people are like "see PC gaming isnt dying" But what it shows is.
1. Blizzard.
2. Blizzard.
3. EA multiplatform
4. Activision multiplatform
5. Rockstar multiplatform
Wheres the creativity of PC gaming. To me thats what it was always about. And im sure you all agree to. Maybe thats why PC gamers play GOG.com so much.
PC games will still own super strategic RTS or TBS, for sure. But most of these strategic games are coming from Eastern Europe or Germany.
I think it's kind of a downward spiral in terms of new game creativity. PC games lose market share, which causes stores to dedicate less space to pc game titles. Less space for titles means only the big blockbusters can get wide exposure. This makes it hard for the non mainstream titles to sell. Which of course can hurt sales even more and cause shelf space to go down even more.
The good news is that there is plenty of PC game creativity from independent developers, and the rise of direct download may mean that stores may eventually no longer make or break games by deciding how much space to give them.
I never said they were out. I also never said it wasn't a success. And I never said they were dead.
I said the Wii was crap.
Fixed.
True.
[quote who="Savyg" reply="67" id="2814753"]True.[/quote]
Well I guess that just makes a difference between us. There are plenty of things in this world I don't care for, but I don't label them as crap just because I don't like it.
I'm sure there's more than one.
Microsoft hasn't done any thing to destroy the pc industry, the industry has more or less done this to itself over the past few years. 2k has repeatidly shot themselves in the foot by putting terrible drm like games for windows live in their games. Then of course there is the fact that there really hasnt been a lot of worth while titles on the pc lately. The indie game community is about the only thing that has been keeping the pc industry afloat. With the exception of a few noteworthy pc developers that have gone the extra mile for their pc customers, almost all of them have been shoveling out terrible pc versions which dont sell because they ultimately suck. Great games some of them may be, but it doesnt matter if the game is poorly optimized and terrilbly unstable.
Heh, well I did say A difference
Anyway, Nintendo is pretty much the only company in the gaming/tech world I have such disdain for. They've done some unique things in hardware, but pretty much everything they release is a remake of something they did twenty years ago and they aren't even competing outside of that.
I can't respect a company whose claim to fame is riding a popularity wave....for twenty freaking years. The hardware thing is interesting, but how long can they keep it up if their competitors are on the ball?
Maybe the Wiis success will revitalize the company and I'll see something worthwhile come out of it. But so far it's just more of the same.
If you really think their success is due to their remaking old series, you haven't been playing the games much (if at all) Just because it has "Mario" in the title doesn't make it the same as the previous Mario games. They do in fact do new things, even if they use the same characters. Find me an older Kirby game that is comparable to Kirby's Epic Yarn. And who cares if the character is 25 years old if the games are fun and still feel "fresh" enough?
And it's not like the other companies don't do it. Halo is almost 10 years old now. Do you honestly expect Microsoft to just sit on that franchise for the next 10 years, even with Bungie gone?
I don't care what they do with old series as long as they're still introducing new ones.
And because it has Mario in the title I have no interest whatsoever in playing it. If the gameplay is SPECTACULAR but I couldn't care less about the game world, what's the point?
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account