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The Future of Gaming Consoles v P.C.s
Arakazi
Member UncommonPosts: 911
I was reading an article the other day about the the console wars between Sony and Microsoft. In the article the reporter asked tech heads, gamers and developers on their thoughts. Predictably the Xbox 360 won in terms of games available and value for money. Personally I thought that the article was a rehash of an old story, but two things the software developer said struck me as interesting. Firstly he voiced his frustration that both consoles did not use a common programming platform and that in the future he believed it was inevitable that this would change. Secondly he believed consoles as we know them will become a general entertainment system in which you can browse the web download games, movies music and watch T.V. I thought “hey, that's what I do with my P.C!”
I own an Xbox 360 and I rarely use it. The games available on it are usually boring button bashers, although I love playing fifa 09 on it. But it consoles have a lot going for them. They are cheap in comparison to P.C.s with the money I use to buy a video card with I could buy a Playstation 3. They are very accessible, you don't have to worry about drivers, system requirements, especially when you haven't updated your PC for while. When I buy or hire a Xbox game I expect it to work flawlessly, but when I buy a P.C. Game I'm never really surprised if my P.C. Suddenly crashes. You can also sit on a couch and just control everything with the controller. No need to sit at a desk with the mouse and keyboard. I tried plugging the P.C, into my T.V., but it was just too awkward and ended up hooking everything back to my desk.
But most of their games are so boring! And CoD 4 is much better with a mouse and keyboard. And since we have the option of using the mouse and keyboard we have more options and control. Look at the latest civilization game for example. On the xbox it was shallow and too quick to Finnish. But on the PC it was complex, deep and required patience - a better game all round. It also goes without saying we have MMORPGS.
However, I don't think Gaming P.C.s as they are now will see the end of the next decade if consoles added all the features that that it currently lacks – keyboard, mouse, good web browsing etc. Maybe we will see a P.C. Console hybrid that has the value for money and accessibility of the console with all the features we get from a P.C.
Comments
As long as consoles don't come with all this stuff, PC gaming is STRONG!!!1111!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZPNQ-KnoA0&feature=related
I seriously put question marks behind you actually owning an Xbox360. Cheap Button bashers? NONE of the top rated and most popular games on the Xbox360 are button bashers as most of them are shooters, in fact, none of the games I own are button bashers.
PC gaming just isn't doing so hot right now. The quality of the games are below console games according to metacritic/gamerankings, but the price tag is still brutal. A console also has a much more dominant position as entertainmunt hub: Near the TV. Hooking up a PC to a TV just isn't comfortable and desks will never match the comfort of a couch
PC gaming will always trump console simply because consoles are becoming PCs.
The Official God FAQ
There won't be a death of either consoles or PC gaming; mainly because of the strengths you pointed out in each one.
I'd like to add that the possibility of PC gaming is always going to be there whether or not anyone actually supports it (close to what's occuring now outside of MMOs by and large), but that's only because PC gaming is still more than anything else a 'possibility' for PCs that people are always going to have anyway.
PC gaming isn't a platform yet. More developers need to support Games for Windows, as its the only viable platform out there that'll catch PC gaming up with consoles. Right now, Games for Windows has a lot of protocols surrounding retail and useability (common branding, 360 Controller support, the play directly from drive featured in Halo 2, etc.), but it has a lot of room to grow on the software end to catch up and surpass Steam.
But that's PC gaming's merit, the possibility of it is eternal so long as PCs are sold for any other use at all.
Now the deal with consoles is, its controlled by the very same people that control the PC Gaming market. So it's nothing PC Gaming can ever "beat". It's also quite obvious where the bulk of support is between PC and consoles.
Frivolous things like mouse and keyboard vs. controller aren't defining differences moreso than common sense preferences. Certainly some people prefer mouse and keyboard, but that's largely because we're at a desk with a flat surface. It wouldn't make much sense to use a mouse and keyboard on the couch; I'd prefer a controller and headset.
So it's more about gaming in the living room vs. gaming in the office, and really even that isn't so much a battle at all. As the OP pointed out, consoles are increasingly becoming able to do more and more of what PCs already do. You have to wonder then why a company like Microsoft doesn't invest a quarter as much as it spends on Xbox 360 into furthering Windows as a gaming platform, or why Sony didn't put as much money into making the Vaio brand cost-effective, gaming capable and equipped with Blu-ray.
It seems obvious to me that most are prefering the outlook of gaming in the living room, and on apparatus' specifically made for gaming. At the same time, I don't think the ultimate goal is to shutter PC gaming in favor of consoles attached to the television, but moreso bridge the gap between 'em so things like 'Live Anywhere' are more of a reality, and less a disaster like Shadowrun.
In short, give it ten years or so, no one will care. You'll be transferring save data from your PC to your console back and forth and playing the exact same games depending on where you are. To me all it seems is that the market has deemed it better to move the living room towards the office more than move the office to the living room., the goal is still the same.
Consoles aren't becoming PC's. Just because they get more media features does not mean they suddenly become PC's.
Console and PC gaming are merging as we speak. The Xbox 360 and PS3 are just a first step in that direction. In less than 10 years there will be consoles that will do almost everything that a PC can do with less overhead( Less money and less compatibility issues). The only thing these future consoles won't do that a PC can do it the boring stuff like spreadsheets and accounting/business type programs as the console will always be first and foremost for entertainment. But everything you do that is "fun" on your PC the next few generations of consoles will do it better for less money.
Now I do not think that this will bring about the end of PC gaming but it will change the way we look at it. The future of gaming is closer than you think it is. Consoles have already far surpassed PC games in regards to sales and this trend will continue to grow. As consoles get smarter with more online features most that just use their PC's for gaming will move to the new consoles. I already use my Xbox more for gaming as it's just easier, looks better and has 0% compatibility issues. The PC will always have it's uses but gaming is more and more moving in the direction of consoles and this trend will definitely grow with the next generation of consoles when they release.
This is already happening now and will only continue. If you refuse to see it than be prepared to be left behind. You better get used to the idea that in the not so distant future if you're going to be seriously gaming you're going to be doing it on a console and not your PC.
Bren
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You mean like this?
Yeah, you can turn your PC into a media center with stuff like MythTV, Beyond TV and XBMC, just to name a few, but that's a little much for Joe sixpack. Especially when you consider that our good buddy Joe gets everything except games through the Tivo he leases with his satellite or cable subscription.
On the console side, Xbox 360 and PS3 were moving in this direction from day one. Both allow you to download movies and TV episodes. I think that both allow you to stream movies from Netflix (but I'm probably wrong on that). Both play DVDs, although PS3 also plays Blu ray and I don't really think I want all that mess. The only thing these systems need to do is provide the ability to record live TV and provide a listing service in oder to be the complete package. This is why a lot of TV junkies skip the HTPC and just install XBMC on a PS3.
While I plan on going the MythTV route, the future doesn't look so hot for the PC....
Consoles aren't becoming PC's. Just because they get more media features does not mean they suddenly become PC's.
Yeah its largely media focused. The better way of looking at it is our optical drives in our PCs and our consoles and the software that supports them are becoming more like what's in our entertainment cabinets.
Productivity is entirely skipped, and that's the primary purpose of a PC (arguably). I think one area consoles will have to go though is a browser for the web. They're behind cellphones when it comes to that.
Seeing as the lolbox 360 and teh ps3 sells at a loss and the WII dominates in profits.. i see a very bleak future for high end graphic console gaming.
They will all go for the cheap hardware casual Wii gaming route.
Its the other way round.
www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58497
Furthermore, in 2009 the PC Gaming Hardware Market, approaching $19 billion, is forecasted to eclipse the hardware market for all gaming consoles combined by almost $2 billion. (Console costs include the console, a certain amount of accessories, and a factor for the cost of an HDTV to display the games on.)
jonpeddie.com/press-releases/details/pc-gaming-daunted-but-unbowed-by-recession/
lol
Its the other way round.
www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58497
EA carries Sims 2 and Spore. Activision-Blizzard would be similarly optimistic; but they're the only two that can be with proven success.
Success in PC software sales is very narrow. Success can exist amid the stagnation of WoW's 10 million plus subscribers and Sims 2 100 million plus box sales. But stagnation is still stagnation. Good for EA, good for Blizzard, not so much other companies and us; 'less we're playing Sims 2 and WoW.
Some great news for the casual gamer.
"For all of these reasons, we think this cycle will last longer than those in the past, and don't see new hardware coming until 2011 at the earliest, and 2012 to 2013 more likely (if at all – if new services like OnLive take off, or if Xbox Live and PlayStation Network become more and more robust, there may not be a need for another console cycle)."
www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/analyst-sees-no-end-to-current-hardware-cycle
Again, you're ignoring the finer details.
What they consider "PC gaming hardware" is any PC that can run games. My sister bought a computer lately, this is considered gaming hardware by that report. Except she doesn't play games on it, in fact, most people don't. This is the mistake EA also makes, just because there are a lot of PC's around doesn't mean they result to software sales, and ofcourse it's obvious that nations like Korea and China, where PC gaming is big, play their own kind of games.
PC software sales are getting dwarfed by console software sales.
Xbox360 is not running at a loss anymore btw.
its you thats ignoring the finer details.
The JPR PC Gaming System Hardware Market report is a unique analysis that does a bottom-up forecast of systems based on GPU and PC shipments.
JPR updates the data in the PC Gaming Report every quarter to compensate for changing economic conditions, GPU and PC shipments, and the information in this release reflects our latest results.
The report shows the expected shipments in three classes: Enthusiast, Performance, and Mainstream for both desktop and the newly emerging notebook category. It shows the distribution of branded sales (HP, Alienware, etc), non branded ("White box"), aftermarket component sales and DIY sales, as well as peripheral sales of gaming components.
and when did the 360 break even on their sales?
Its the other way round.
www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58497
Sorry but the actual cold hard figures don't lie.
Form the ESA's website:
Sales & Genre Data
According to data compiled by the NPD Group, a global market research company, and released by the ESA in January 2008, computer and video game companies posted records sales in 2007. The industry sold 267.8 million units, leading to an astounding $9.5 billion in revenue. Of these sales:
* Game console software sales totaled $6.6 billion with 153.9 million units sold;
* Computer games sales were $910.7 million with 36.4 million units sold; and,
* There was a record $2.0 billion in portable software sales with 77.5 million units sold.
This was data released in 2008 about 2007 sales figures. The gap between Console and PC game sales has grown even wider since then. I would trust the NDP Group and the ESA a lot more than Shack News.
Bren
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It says right there that its including everything in the report meaning all PC's that are in theory capable for gaming.
The Xbox division has been profitable since last year.
NDP only keeps track of U.S retail box sales and lumping all consoles against the PC made me lol
Anyone who uses a gaming GPU will logically play games and how much profit are they making off the hardware sales?
I wouldn't use hardware sales as an indicator of how healthy the PC gaming market is. I think sales of games is a much better indicator than that. I think most people who play games would own both a PC and a console. In my experience looking at the playing habits of my friends is that the vast majority of them play games on their consoles and use their PCs to browse the web, and many of these PCs can easily play games. Also if you go into a store that sell games most of their floor space by a long way is taken up by console games. The PC section tends to be made up of a few mainstream games and a large selection of budget titles. The industries own figures reflect this. However, I don't think I've said anything that we already didn't know the PC gaming market is becoming smaller and more mainstreame.
Anyone who uses a gaming GPU will logically play games and how much profit are they making off the hardware sales?
GPU's are used for a lot of things, not just gaming and nearly every store bought PC out there now comes with a "gaming" GPU.
Microsoft made a profit of 524 million dollars in the 2nd quarter of 2007, which is obviously a lot more now as they are running on pretty much even on manufactoring costs - selling price and much more Xbox360's have been sold.
Seeing as MS and Sony isn't delivering a new console in the next 5 years or more am 100% certain a lot of gamers will folk back to the PC.
The future of the PC gaming industry is going to grow even larger.
The majority shitty PC comes with a business GPU or on board cards..
Guess the 360 arcade POS is a great seller.. lol
The majority shitty PC comes with a business GPU or on board cards..
Nvidia controls a third of the GPU market period, and their flagship brand is GeForce which is considered for gaming.
I don't think you get the point. If people started buying PS3s as much as they bought PCs and Blu-ray sales went through the roof but game software sales stagnated, what'd be the worth in championing the PS3 as a gaming platform? Plenty of worth if you judge based on what it COULD do versus what its actually used for most of the time.
And that's the problem with PC gaming, the software sales are stagnant and developers outside of the MMO genre are by and large preferring consoles.
It's a problem. We could deny it all we want but it'll do no good. PC gaming isn't fine as is, and antagonizing consoles won't make things any better. There's clear and evident reasons why developers and publishers move away from PC and went to consoles (probably piracy more than anything else).