PC gaming on the decline?


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Everyone on the console world are happy to play the current game, but as soon as a new one comes out they jump onto the next biggest thing and then sell the old game.

PC games dont work like that<snipped>

To me, this is a very important factor. There has always been a healthy market in second-hand console games. So if you go and buy MW2 on PS3, get tired of it after a couple of weeks, you can bring it back to Gamestop or wherever and trade it in for that week's hottest title. You can't do this anymore with many PC games because of SecuROM, Steam, CD Keys etc. DRM is failing miserably at stopping piracy but it works well at stopping resale. If you buy MW2 on PC you're pretty much stuck with it unless you can sell it to one of your mates. Though if it really does use Steam then you can't even do that now as it'll be tied to your account.

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The whole piracy claim is a crock for the majority.

the ps2 was/is pirated beyond belief. and its still selling great to this day along with its games. else, they wouldn't still be producing ps2 versions of recent game releases.

good games sell regardless. games wouldn't be breaking sale records if this wasn't correct.

there are only a handful of demos that ever got released for pc games as a whole.

people usually pirate a game, and if they like it, they buy it. the pos games never get purchased.

countless people continuously bought a game cause hey, it sure looked cool on the box (they all do).

but when you installed it, it was just not worth the $.

guess what, can't get your money back either, cause you broke the packaging.

another thing is people invest alot of money in their rigs to have a great gaming experience.

seems like everytime a decent game comes along worth playing, one ends up having to invest more money on upgrades to meet requirements all over again.

blame the consistency of poor quality games, or better said inconsistency of quality games on the pc for these past few years that leads people to resort to consoles.

at lease there, there's a demo for almost every game. no money wasted.

seems like wow is the only big pc exclusive left. even that's losing its momentum.

stick a fork in pc gaming, cause it's done. unless you're emulating of course :p

Edited by niqqa
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PC gaming is on the decline. PC gaming is on the decline because of neglect from developers, and the cost of having a descent gaming computer, as well as the knowledge required to keep that computer up-to-date. Most people don't want to get into PC gaming. They either don't want to deal with it, or can't afford it. The console is much easier for the average person to purchase, and use. Because of that, there are more console gamers than PC gamers, and because of that, there is more profit to be made in the console gaming category. Developers want to be profitable, which is understandable and makes sense completely. This is why you see less PC exclusives, and more PC ports. Piracy is an issue, but it is not the whole reason. The bulk of the reason why PC gaming seems to be on a decline is simple, console has a higher user base.

All that being said. I am a PC gamer at heart. I own a PS3, and it's fun. But I enjoy gaming on my PC much much more. My PC can do everything my PS3 can do and more, including play Blu-Rays.

I don't think we will ever see PC gaming as popular as console gaming until hardware becomes more affordable, and easier to use for the gamer. The average gamer doesn't want to have to deal with installing new drivers and downloading patches. I think digital distribution services such as Steam, have the right idea with patches automaticaly being pushed from their servers to the users' PC, that's one less thing the gamer has to deal with. If you can get hardware manufacturers in the same boat, that would also help. But you always have the problem of compatability, because of all the hardware that is out there, the developers have to provide support for such a broad range of computer specs. So ultimately, it doesn't look good for the PC gamer.

I don't think it will ever die though, ever. What you will see is more ports, a game being made for the console gamer in mind first, because that is where the money is at. I don't have a problem with this personally, however, I would appreciate it if they spent the time to optimise the game for PC, isnted of a quick port, here ya go method.

my 2 cents

/quick edit/

The only thing that really scares me is games being 'simplified' for console gaming. I love micro-management games. Grand strategy games that are extremely complex and take days to learn and years to master. And I love playing RPGs that don't hold your hand all the way from point a, to point b. I am human, I have a working brain, and I love to use to it. I want to know when I'll get a proper Sim City 5!

Edited by chevyordeath
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Money.

The big reason is money/value for most people. A PS3 or Xbox is a far cry cheaper than a PC that can play the latest greatest game well. Many people may love PC gaming, but only have one computer in their home. Well, if you only have one (good) computer and 2.5 people (with more people using Neowin/facebook/twitter/email/... now), then what? I have old windows games that I "can" make work, but it's a pain because they are old, but this is no problem with console games. Console games have and hold some amount of resale value for longer. People can take their game and resell/trade it almost anywhere, then get something else they want (new or old). On the flipside, there is WoW, and games like it. This is where the PC money stops. If MANY PC people only play one game, and that game also saves them money in the long run, who takes the loss? Not the console players who have no PC or PC playing time, but the PC game players.

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It's sad that the pc gaming has declined. Oh well, maybe it will turn around in the next 24 months.

As soon as the next WoW expansion comes out and they start running Ozzy ads again it will pick up lol

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I've been a PC gamer for, what... 6 years I originally had a PS, then a PS2 I then got a PC. But I find myself not playing too much on the PC now. PC games can be better but you also need to keep up with hardware which can be costly My current PC struggles with NFS:Shift and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. My PC isn't top end and never was Dual core AMD with FX7600-GT. Its out dated but it does everything else I want just fine.

I bought a PS3 last year and am slowing getting back to console gaming. At least over the next few years I don't need to worry about hardware upgrades.

My PC gaming has definitely declined over the past 3 years...

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It's a simple issue of punishment some pc gamers were bad and pirated to no end and a lot of the time the community just says oh you shouldn't have done that but then goes and checks out piracy for themselves and decides the person was justified. So when a little child is bad what do you do? You take away their toys in this case games or games developed specifically for the pc. Sure the child will now kick and scream but they can have their toys back when they learn to behave with them which I don't see happening for a long time.

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Maybe it seems like a bit of a decline because every other console gamer I talk to complains about how much they would have to spend on "teh uber leet gaming rig."

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I used to be a pc gamer die-hard. I just bought a PS3 for the blu-ray. I always thought that console games were nothing but button pushing exercises.

I tried PS3 games, but the big sellers, like GTA, left me flat. Also, how can you play Oblivion on a console with the 20 mods I had installed? I could actually edit the files of the game to tweak it to the minutiae! I could make customs skins! A console can't do that!

Then I noticed the lack of pc games being published. I blame piracy, it's just too easy to steal a pc game. Why should developers bother? I wouldn't if I was them.

So I thought I'd try try console gaming again. Infamous. Valkyria Chronicles. Call of Juarez:BIB. Batman:AA. Drakes Fortune part deux. Wow.

I'll miss the modding, but I'm sure that it will happen at some point for consoles.

Also, the argument about not having to upgrade the pc was lame, I thought, until I realized that since I do much less pc gaming now, I don't need to upgrade my pc every year. My ram. cpu, still does the job for my tasks other than gaming.

PC gaming may not be dead, but it is shifting to casual games like from PopCap. Serious games are breathing their last breaths on the pc.

Also, aren't 3-d games coming soon to consoles? 3-d on a pc screen? :pinch:

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I dont get this

You dont need a ubler gaming machine to play PC games.

I just don't believe that PC games are on the decline at all.

The new generation of kids only know about Consoles but thats because most little talibans have them.

My son is 13, he uses a PC and has watched me play CS, BF2, WOW.

He wants his own wow account because he loves the game, he also loves BF and CS.

But he has a 360 and plays GOW, HALO, COD4.

So i guess it all depends on the mix of people you roll with or your parents.

If your parents have never been into having a PC in the house and all you had was consoles, then that is all you will know.

But when you get older you wont be doing your work on a 360 controler or a wii stick you will be working on a PC.

And then they will come into contact with someone that plays PC games and be shown the ligh.

I have not bort a PC game since WOW last exspansion, I play BF2 a few times a week. I wish I could be on it more but i can't atm. But I would never give my PC up at all, I still got games that X-com enemy unknown, and Flashpoint (which at the time I could not run on my crappy PC lol)

If i could find a copy of X-com i would buy it, but the version I have is for windows 95 :laugh:

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Gaming in general is on the decline. The only games coming out nowadays are:

Guitar Hero-esque sequels and spinoffs

FPS by the dozens

Sandbox games of boredom

Where's my platformers? dungeon crawlers? turn-based rpgs? strategies? games with actual color and style?

There's a few purchase worthy titles across PC/360/PS3 but most fall into the generic, bland, or remake category. The late 90s was IMO the high point of gaming.

Edited by Xilo
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Check out Steam, They have new games released all the time. Games for consoles are marketed along side the console, PC games don't get nowhere near as much marketing as the console ones. I don't think PC gaming is on the decline.

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Gaming in general is on the decline. The only games coming out nowadays are:

Guitar Hero-esque sequels and spinoffs

FPS by the dozens

Sandbox games of boredom

Where's my platformers? dungeon crawlers? turn-based rpgs? strategies? games with actual color and style?

There's a few purchase worthy titles across PC/360/PS3 but most fall into the generic, bland, or remake category. The late 90s was IMO the high point of gaming.

Is this serious?

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I'm completely serious.

Like I said, there are a FEW (though this season is getting better) purchase worthy titles, but most are garbage or just another remake. Look at the PC games, almost any even worth considering (decent gameplay, story, support from developers, etc) are so bland looking or still just another FPS shooter/FPS rpg/sandbox game.

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My son is 13, he uses a PC and has watched me play CS, BF2, WOW.

And those games do not require a high spec PC, my 4 year old PC plays these games. More modern games require better graphics cards and more RAM. This is the reason I switched to consoles, paying out ?299 of atleast a 4-5 year investment was better for me. Then ?200-600 every 2-3 years to upgrade/replace a PC.

Plus, although slightly better now, bad drivers with some games cause crashes and BSOD on PC's that can be frustrating.

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And those games do not require a high spec PC, my 4 year old PC plays these games. More modern games require better graphics cards and more RAM. This is the reason I switched to consoles, paying out ?299 of atleast a 4-5 year investment was better for me. Then ?200-600 every 2-3 years to upgrade/replace a PC.

Plus, although slightly better now, bad drivers with some games cause crashes and BSOD on PC's that can be frustrating.

Totally agree, got fed up with games requirements constantly raising, and bought my first ever console last year (I'm 30!) as I wanted a platform that would have the latest games released for it an which wouldn't be out of date in a year. Still love WoW and CS:S on PC though!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Games at 90s was much better. Colonization, Civ1-3, Master of Orion 1,2, Master of Magic, Warlords 1,2... It's perfect games. Not just simplified 3d demos for wide auditory

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The last game I bought wasn't even a game -- it was the last WoW expansion. The PC gaming scene is really stale to me and I can't tell you any games I'm excited about unless they come from Blizzard. But even then, it's only Diablo 3. I look through the PC gaming section at Walmart every week when I get groceries, and I always leave disappointed. It's nothing but the same old crap recycled over and over.

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It's nothing but the same old crap recycled over and over.

You could say the same for games on any console :p And Wal Mart and most stores usually have a CRAP pc game section with nothing but old games...

Hell I usually can even find 360 game I want at Wal-Mart. All they have is like every edition of guitar hero and rock band :/ I just tried to get dirt2 the other day and they didnt even have that.

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PC devs cant blame piracy

PC games in general have been of a lower quality overall

Ill eventually go console, probably whent he neg gen stuff comes, but ill always have an up to date PC for gaming

SC2/Next WoW xpac/Half life 3, big titles like that havent come out in a while, when they do well see a rise in pc gaming again

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Game shop in my town, gamestation, the pc section is now pathetic, it was bigger but now its a very very small section with hardly any games, prob like 10 games on the shelf.

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