PC Gaming is Dead

[Gimpymoo]

I am not seeing that bantered around so much now as it used to be around 5 years or so ago.

What has changed?

Have the masses finally accepted that its demise was never happening and for the foreseeable future, never will?

Who started this "rumour"? Cliff Bleszinski? Yes "CliffyB", we never forget, you turncoat. He came home to roost while eating crow so is forgiven

I find it ironic that in a time when technology has been stagnant for the most part, PC gaming has become stronger while back when hardware improvements were moving along at pace, it was apparently doomed.

I think the strong performance of the PC against the new gen consoles may have helped.

Prior to this console gen, the PC traditionally took a whooping with the new console launches. This time round, the PC was already in a good spot and even after a not even "mid" cycle "refresh", the consoles are still struggling.

I also think that PC "Ports" are being taken much more seriously from the "AAA" publishers, catering to the platforms strengths.

I remember a decade ago, PC ports were rarely given much hope, being able to bind keys was considered a luxury.

We are nearly at the 10 year anniversary of the Resident Evil 4 PC release - LOL

 

[Gimpymoo]

Even microsoft want to bring the console and PC Ecosystem closer together. Probably not as close as we would all like but its closer than it ever was few years ago.

The only thing Microsoft want to bring "closer together" is Console game pricing to PC

The funniest thing about the last 10-15 years is that while consoles went after PC, mobile came out of nowhere to mess everything else up.

Valid point.

In my opinion, mobile has created its own userbase which did not exist before it.

These are people who would not go out of their way to play games before they had a mobile but would gladly play "Snake" on the commute to work. That evolved into the Java games then eventually to where we are now.

Anyone who seriously wanted to play games then "on the move" had a Gameboy or PSP.

Was the Gameboy the most sold gaming device, ever?

In my view, all mobile did was set game quality back 2 or 3 generations.

 

[Gimpymoo]

I think it may have something to do with the extended life of PC components as well as PC games being much better value that console games.

I'm 33 and have been a PC gamer since my teenage years. From the age of 18 I bought a new rig every other year as the old hardware soon became obsolete.

I'm still running a 2500K which was released in 2011 ~ coming up to 6 years ago! Granted I've treat myself to an R390, SSD and new monitor since then but otherwise PC gaming has become a lot more affordable and I can still run games on max settings and hit 60fps.

Hitting the "1080p" wall has meant upgrades are not needed as frequently now as they were. The console peasantry has been slowly dictating PC progression. For the most part though, a lot of people are happy with 1080p/60fps for the time being. Personally, it is all about 21:9/120fps+ but we are a little way off that becoming "mainstream", still teething problems.

Anyone chasing 4k/21:9 however may have a different story if chasing that dragon, but that is the beauty of the hobby right? The freedom to do anything, if you wish and have the cash.

I remember gaming at 1024x768 and my rig being pushed to its knees

Worth noting though, at the time, consoles were running 480p.

Back then though, the PC ecosystem was independent was not so dictated to by the console market like it is now.

 

[Gimpymoo]

I've always had both as I like console for things like NHL and FIFA and PC for Dawn of War and Euro Truck Simulator.

I tried to play a RTS game on a console and I couldn't work it at all, the mouse and keyboard makes controlling units and selecting buildings so muck easier.

Gamepad support on PC is one area which has improved a lot over the years.

Native controller suppport, albeit mostly limited to a single controller type (Xbox) has made things much better. Previously on PC, developer support was difficult as it was not known how many buttons the user would have on their gamepad.

Gamepad use on a PC back pre "Xbox" controller days was sometimes just not worth the hassle unless for a simple game with 2 buttons as the UI prompts made no sense depending on the controller you were using. Nevermind trying to use more than one controller? Anyone remember using a gameport splitter?

Still baffles me that using two keyboards/mice on one PC still requires black magic to work. Even then, is a bit iffy.

EA were the only ones I think to design the game around a certain controller (Logitech). Not ideal, but it tidied it all up.

 

[Gimpymoo]

That's not what ironic means. Also, technology slowing down means that over time the costs if entry into PC gaming will drastically drop for what isn't much different to the average gaming computer.

Why is it not ironic?

Irony
A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects.

This is "PC Games" though, seems petty to pull people up on grammar skills or their apparent lack thereof.

 

[Gimpymoo]

Sorry this is just a load of hogwash. Maybe a few a very small minority & I bet you find the same in console players, such generalisations, what someone spank you so you still crying?

I agree.

In ANY community you have good and bad eggs.

The beauty is, you find a server full of filth, move on

I play TF2 MVM a lot and more often than not, have good times.

There can be an element of elitism in some games but that is down to the individual communities, not PC gaming culture as a whole.

 

[Gimpymoo]

Majority of the thread has been rather cordial.

 

[Gimpymoo]

VR may push things back towards consoles as the power requirement is less (?) or the consoles are more efficient at it see ps vr.

That is a good point regarding the performance gains using less power on a propitiatory system.

All depends how much VR is accepted. I hear lots of noise but am still waiting for that "killer" app to show me how awesome it is. Everything just seems like a proof of concept tech demo at the moment.

It could very easily become another "3D".

I also only have one "working" eye so I am not certain if it will work for me or others in similar situations.