Desktop gaming in the next 5 years

There's a reason most of us (and most people I've seen at lans) have a tower case.
Technology & Price isn't there yet.

If I could carry around a pc in tablet size with all the ports I need for KB/mouse/screen etc.. oh wait, laptop. To think something even smaller/portable would be cost worthy/good enough for gaming? hawh.

One day, just not any time soon.
 
I dont think desktop gaming will go away, but I think the desktop will change quite significantly over the next 5+ years.
My main line of thought being that at some point the touch interface is going to have to make an appearance onto the desktop world which means there is going to have to be a change somewhere.

My bet is with technology similar to Microsofts gaming table with your monitor slowly curving (like a seat) towards taking over the physical keyboard.

TouchScreen.jpg

This will be sitting on your desktop, not becoming it though!

I cannot see the mouse dying for purely ergonomic reasons (also you try taking the Logitech MX 518 or my MX Revolution from me or any gamer and we will brake your fingers).
I do however think the keyboard as it is will be taken over by the touch interface because the keyboard as we have seen with touch interfaces can be replaced because from an ergonomic perspective all I need to do is lay my hands down.

As with all things we see iterations of the same technology only better developed and touch screens and 3D are now making heavy come backs and I think are ready to start making mature steps into more immersive touch and 3D (non glasses) interfaces. People will want to own them for gaming as they will add more, so they will sell and thus take over the market. Forget what you are connecting to (maybe the full cloud), you are still going to have to sit there and actually use the software on something.


One of the things I have noticed is that when you think of a desktop, you should be thinking of the best of the best technology and not an aging dinosaur.
If the desktop was a car, it would be an F1 with X-Box and PS3 being BMW and Audi (take your pic) and the laptop being Ford (and the other mainstream manufacturers), the touchpad would be a motorbike (a powerful toy with a small range of practical uses), the smartphone being a bike (practical)
 
A multi platform game is surely going to make more money than an exclusive? I don't know what kind of money Sony and Microsoft throw at devs to attract them. So MMOs, RTSs, Sims and all the Indie games that are PC exclusive don't count? Minecraft doesn't count?

You pay Microsoft and Sony to make games for them, unless you do exclusives / they are publishing. You lease devkits, support, and certification, they also take their share of the product, and all these things ain't cheap!

PC exclusives do count for the enthusiast PC market. I'm more concerned at the enthusiast end, having really high technical games. PCs still have a healthy lead on the technical front, and there is still demand them, and the expensive hardware. I don't really see it disappearing, but producing games isn't getting cheaper.

There are two ways really. The bottom-up, do a console game, and then do a PC version with better graphics (MW3), or the top-down, do a big show off PC version, and downscale everything to the console level (BF3).

As long as we have the later, it's all good :)
 
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One of the things I have noticed is that when you think of a desktop, you should be thinking of the best of the best technology and not an aging dinosaur.
If the desktop was a car, it would be an F1 with X-Box and PS3 being BMW and Audi (take your pic) and the laptop being Ford (and the other mainstream manufacturers), the touchpad would be a motorbike (a powerful toy with a small range of practical uses), the smartphone being a bike (practical)

That has got to be one of the greatest explanations I have ever seen for this.

However touchscreen can not replace keyboard until proper tactile feedback is developed. This is why I have gone back to a phone with a HW keypad as touch keypads just don't do it for me and I cannot imagine trying to game on a touch keyboard.
 
I agree with arknor. Pcs will always be the cutting edge of technology. It's going to be a niche market compared to comsoles and tablets which are so mainstream, but it'll never die out.

This, however so many idiots in this thread.
Tablets can already be docked to screen/mouse/keyboard so there's your biggest fears gone.
I do think desktops will be a niche Market. There's just no need for this big ugly box which is so unflexable.
On flip side with Microsoft unifying windows. What plays on a tablet will play on a desktop. In 6 years time we will be on windows 10.

As for the car/motorbike terminology. Rubbish, you aren't thinking ahead and ignoring existing technology.
Not sure 5 years is enough time, it takes a while for people to accept and find the benefits in new tech.
 
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I don't believe consoles will do anything to PC Gaming, we might miss some big titles in the future but there will still be a large number of games coming out for PCs. This platform is upgraded progressively, wide range of accessories, development tools, engines, open source, etc. Finally, you can make a decent and successful PC game for free, not so much on consoles.

Besides, large vs small scale, do you seriously believe we're gonna see a technological twist?

Tablets WILL be able to do many of the everyday things we do on desktops now but they're raw power will never be anywhere near the technology achieved on large factor desktops, not until we reach a point where tablets and desktops are obsolete anyway.
 
consoles and tablets will die sooner than desktops which are irreplaceable.

Just what. A desktop is very replaceable, especially for the public masses.
It's very unflxiable and takes up huge room. Most of the mass public want portable and don't have any use at all for masses of cutting engine perfomamce. Tablets are going to explode and desktops are going to contract in the coming years.
 
AMD have already announced that they will stop making high end desktop CPU's and will focus on mobile tech, this is just the start of things to come!
 
If cloud computing keeps on gathering momentum then the power of the hardware sitting on your desk or in your hand will become much less relevant over the next few years.
 
Just what. A desktop is very replaceable, especially for the public masses.
It's very unflxiable and takes up huge room. Most of the mass public want portable and don't have any use at all for masses of cutting engine perfomamce. Tablets are going to explode and desktops are going to contract in the coming years.

Which isn't much of an issue for gamers as that's not the market that tablets will be replacing.
 
If anything kills off desktop gaming it will be consoles.

They won't, seen as the technology they are based on is old PC tech...

Desktop gaming PC's are pretty much used as a fancy BETA test for console hardware, with the most stable hardware being selected for console gamers. Even the next generation of consoles won't be anywhere near as powerful as a PC at the moment and the synergy between windows 8 and the next microsoft console will mean that games won't be "ports" in terms of quality as they will both be dx11 onwards, which for PC gamers is a very good thing.
 
AMD have already announced that they will stop making high end desktop CPU's and will focus on mobile tech, this is just the start of things to come!

They are not stopping desktop CPU's, they are focusing more of their effort on other CPUs.
 
Which isn't much of an issue for gamers as that's not the market that tablets will be replacing.

It is though as there's a lot of gamers because they have a desktop. I for one am looking to get rid of the desktop and then having to rely on other means of gaming. Which isn't great, but is spending loads of money and room on a desktop justify the gaming and I won't be the only one thinking that. Especially with web browsing games taking off and so many being cross platform.
So yes there is a knock on and the even bigger knock on is the next generation of gamers. Who want have desktops in their upbringing. As i said this isn't going to happen in 5years, but this is where it's going.
 
It is though as there's a lot of gamers because they have a desktop. I for one am looking to get rid of the desktop and then having to rely on other means of gaming. Which isn't great, but is spending loads of money and room on a desktop justify the gaming and I won't be the only one thinking that. Especially with web browsing games taking off and so many being cross platform.
So yes there is a knock on and the even bigger knock on is the next generation of gamers. Who want have desktops in their upbringing. As i said this isn't going to happen in 5years, but this is where it's going.

I doubt it.

If you're getting rid of your PC to replace it with mobile technology, you weren't a serious gamer in the first place.

Most people I know would rather keep their PCs, even if they're slightly more powerful then the consoles as desktops are a lot more flexible.

A tablet would replace nothing for me.
 
So the Market Is 100% series gamers is it? I don't think so. I used to be a serious gamer and but circumstances change. It's still my only platfform of gaming. As gamers move away you are left with seriouse gamers only and as such a reduced niche Market.
Especially as the serious gamer stigma died out and you get seriouse gamers on consoles.

Of course a tablet would replace many of your desktops functionality. Do you really want to be sat in one location browsing these forums.
 
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