Why PC Gaming is Surging

Scrutinize said:
It never died though, just became digitally distributed. Shops and physical media distributors claimed it died as they couldn't compete with the business model rather than admit defeat. It has always remained very strong in other continents especially asia.
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I know it never 'died', I was trying for sarcasm, Maybe it's too early :p
 
Bennie-Mac said:
But on the other hand PC gamers seem to get screwed over quite a lot with console games either not making it to the PC at all or being delayed for months after the console release.
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But with the PC gaming market, if we build it, they will come. The games, and they won't be bad ports.
 
My ps3 since I bought it has had very little use, so little infact I cant warrant the expense to buy one of the new gen consoles. Im also finding it hard to get excited over ANY games coming to console. Im waiting for the new GTA to come to PC.

I bought a gaming laptop to play in the front room to be more social with the misses. Steam and orgin have made it easier for people to download and buy games. LAN events are getting more popular (yes we went through a phase where it dropped off) and not to mention the ability to mod and enhance a game.

I now go back to any console and it puts me straight off. FPS is hard work without a mouse and keyboard, graphics have little or no AA. I played F1 2012 on my PS3 and I hated it, the frame rate was dropping in silly places. Plugged my laptop into the TV and got the xbox controller out and it was nicer to play graphics were better and online was more fun.

This is just my own personal experience but im not sure everyone else would agree...
 
Over the last few years, while still owning my gaming PC, I bought and sold both an Xbox 360 Slim + Kinect, and a PS3. The reason? Beyond two PS3 games (MGS4 and Uncharted), I did not complete any other games (started GOW on 360 before realising how generic it was). Kinect was good to keep the kiddies entertained but even that was left gathering dust after a few weeks.

What do I still have? Yep, that gaming PC, still being upgraded, benched and tweaked for max performance - and used for a number of other typical day-to-day tasks (of which browsing the Internet and Emailing/Social Networking with friends, family and work-colleagues is the main Use Case).

As the younger console gamers go into working life, I think the trend for console-to-PC migration will increase if the PC platform continues along its current trajectory. Despite the best efforts of some companies (EA) to stifle and lock down mods and other user-generated content, as well as move to a profit-driven DLC model, there are still enough other companies who have no problem with allowing the platform to flourish and thrive on its own terms. So why mention the younger console generation? Well imo as their tastes mature and time decreases, they will be more demanding on getting the best quality experience. At present, PC is the place where this happens.

It is also the place where the big corporates and the small indies can thrive together because the eco-system is not locked down by one Provider (Valve does not count because it is one of many on-line gaming platforms, and moreover, they have not made it their sole purpose to screw consumers over like EA).
 
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I've been pushed away from PC gaming completely by the ridiculous prices of GPUs. I don't play enough games these days to spend hundreds of £ just on a graphics card that can play new games as they should be played for a couple of years before needed to be upgraded.

I'd rather spend £300 on a console that wont need to be changed for 6 years+

I've gone from doing gaming 80% on PC 20 % Consoles to about 90% consoles 10% PC.

Next gen will only help this more.
 
Used to be 95% PC and 5% console
CS/Homeworld/etc on PC and mainly driving games on Consoles

Now my gaming is MUCH less overall, but it is 100% on PC.

My PC is fairly old spec, but can still play i-racing over a 6 screen Maize at full settings :)
 
HybridX said:
One thing to always remember too is that when you read all the doom and gloom reports about pc sales being down, these are always based on info from dell and hp etc which dont at all represent that something like 85% of pc gamers self build so their sales arent quantified.

I would be interested to see what unit sales are for components direct to the end user over the last 10 years
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It's only been the last year or two that online downloads such as Steam have even been counted in the industry figures. Kind of ridiculous that people have been predicting the death of PC gaming for the last 20 years, even though sales keep going up, whilst they are not even counting direct downloads.
 
XeNoN89 said:
I've been pushed away from PC gaming completely by the ridiculous prices of GPUs. I don't play enough games these days to spend hundreds of £ just on a graphics card that can play new games as they should be played for a couple of years before needed to be upgraded.

I'd rather spend £300 on a console that wont need to be changed for 6 years+

I've gone from doing gaming 80% on PC 20 % Consoles to about 90% consoles 10% PC.

Next gen will only help this more.
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I think the now is the best time to get into PC gaming on a budget.. The reason the very latest GPU's are expensive is because let's face it they are totally overkill for most gamers. Unless your at a resolution beyond 1080P or on mulitscreens..

From a budget point of view there has never been a better time to build a gaming capable rig, something that would rival PS3 / PS4 capability would be very inexpensive.

PlayStation for the exclusives and PC for everything else :)
 
Scrutinize said:
This doesn't surprise me but the article missed out or only lightly touched on the following:

1) PCs for gaming are cheaper and more diverse than they have ever been. 10 years ago when the xbox and PS2 were king a gaming PC was £1200 -£2200. Even during the early PS3 and 360 years a good gaming PC was still close to £1k. Now £500 gets you a perfectly capable gaming PC with quality graphics. You don't need an i7 with £500 graphics card to get a good playable experience. Equally a £500 laptop will game quite happily at lower res and a £1k laptop will be really good. 10 years ago you just didn't game on normal laptops bar some easy RTS.

2) Consoles were great for split screen social multiplayer which is where mp gaming was at, whereas the PC has always been network/internet based multiplayer. As social interaction has changed and consoles have moved to network/internet based multiplayer there are no discerning benefits to them over a PC. In many ways the PC was ahead of its time on this.

3) The back catalogue of PC games from the last few years with graphics that still make the consoles weep is huge and ridiculously cheap. The content of PC strategy and RPG games can be measured in the hundreds of hours for many, most console games seem to be done in 10-20 hours. I can still re-play through the command and conquer RTS series and not get bored. I will still happily play the X beyond the frontier series with game mods. The only older console games that have replay value to this extent are the GTA series (also on and better on PC) and the odd final fantasy game (also on PC), oh and Skyrim (also on and better on PC).

4) Many big seller games are cross platform and this gives the intrinsic advantages of the PC even more headway such as; greater OS/Software flexibility, ability to do everything else (that consoles don't) other than games, mouse and keyboard etc etc etc. RTS and MMORPG games are never done as well on consoles as they are on the PC.

5) We have a more technical generation that have come through now. When I was at uni we had only just had the computer labs in for coursework. Some people still submitted hand written assignments. Consoles were plug and play and nearly everyone had a PS1 or N64. Gaming PCs were for the nerds/geeks and techies whereas now, the majority have one, and understand and can make the most out of PCs with confidence.
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Your response is missing one, vital, yet important aspect to console gaming that PC gaming can not provide, or at least, provide as well, and that is socialising (oh, and cheats). But, given I know you, it doesn't surprise me that you left it out :)

2 people are not going to be comfortable sat around a 22" monitor split screening a game, and, if your PC is connected to your TV, then it's primary use is as a gaming machine and you may aswell have bought a a console.

This is where consoles excel, especially ones like the Wii and the options of Kinnect. A PC can't offer that level of socialism outside of the multiplayer experience that consoles have offered for years.

And, as I said, hackers. The number of cheats available to PC gamers will always be exponentially higher than that of consoles...
 
Boomstick777 said:
Humble Bundle is the shiznit, do I feel bad about getting Dead Space, Dead 3, Crysis 2 Maximum Edition, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Medal of Honor and Mirror’s Edge for $1 dollar.. Hells no :p


Actually I couldn't do it.. I paid $5 dollars :D
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When was that, is it still available?
 
Steam and similar have revolutionised PC Gaming for me. Previously, consoles were convenient, you just turned them on and played. Now PCs are so convenient for gaming I rarely turn my 360 on. With Steam and a decent internet connection you can be playing any game you fancy within the hour. It's so simple, you just click on the game in your library and click play now.

I'd be interested to see piracy figures too, I reckon digital downloads will have had a big effect on that too. It's so easy, and with things like the Steam sale and the sheer amount of competitors out there fighting for sales, cheap enough to make piracy less worthwhile.
 
Django x2 said:
2 people are not going to be comfortable sat around a 22" monitor split screening a game, and, if your PC is connected to your TV, then it's primary use is as a gaming machine and you may aswell have bought a a console.

This is where consoles excel, especially ones like the Wii and the options of Kinnect. A PC can't offer that level of socialism outside of the multiplayer experience that consoles have offered for years.

And, as I said, hackers. The number of cheats available to PC gamers will always be exponentially higher than that of consoles...
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You can have just as much fun gaming/socializing outside of multiplayer with a PC then with consoles in fact probably more.

I have/as have many many friends had much more fun gaming on a PC then with consoles.
 
Django x2 said:
2 people are not going to be comfortable sat around a 22" monitor split screening a game, and, if your PC is connected to your TV, then it's primary use is as a gaming machine and you may aswell have bought a a console.
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27" screen and 42" telly here ;)
 
I'm sure Minecraft has something to do with it. Both my kids love playing Minecraft on their pc's. They're only 7 & 8.
 
Adam_101 said:
You can have just as much fun gaming/socializing outside of multiplayer with a PC then with consoles in fact probably more.

I have/as have many many friends had much more fun gaming on a PC then with consoles.
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Together, in the same room, in the comfort of your lounge?
 
There shouldnt be a versus scenario between co soles and pc imho, both sides cater for different people and users on the whole. Some like me also have a pc and console and use them both for seperate things.

Its only drama queens who insist in whisking up a crapstorm to get 3mins of fame and pretending to be a journalist (aimed at the ign writer not the OP)
 
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