So PC Gaming Really is Dead, Right?

I just never wanted to believe that it would come to this. PC gaming is practically dead these days. Case in point, the latest issue of PC Gamer. They mention that the developers of Hellgate London, one of the few PC exclusives, has closed shop. Then I look at the review section. Most of the titles were ports from the consoles. The few exclusives received horrible reviews.

Then I looked at the PC game release list on gamespot. I could only find two true PC exclusives for the rest of the year: Colonization and Spore. It's like the only pro-PC developer is Blizzard. The market is just a barren wasteland especially when you look back to 10 years ago. I remember whole sections in Walmart being devoted to PC games. Tons of great strategy games, lots of expansion packs. 3DO was huge. Great studios like Ion Storm. All gone. IS there any hope left? What happened to Disciples 3?

I just never wanted to believe that it would come to this. PC gaming is practically dead these days. Case in point, the latest issue of PC Gamer. They mention that the developers of Hellgate London, one of the few PC exclusives, has closed shop. Then I look at the review section. Most of the titles were ports from the consoles. The few exclusives received horrible reviews.

Then I looked at the PC game release list on gamespot. I could only find two true PC exclusives for the rest of the year: Colonization and Spore. It's like the only pro-PC developer is Blizzard. The market is just a barren wasteland especially when you look back to 10 years ago. I remember whole sections in Walmart being devoted to PC games. Tons of great strategy games, lots of expansion packs. 3DO was huge. Great studios like Ion Storm. All gone. IS there any hope left? What happened to Disciples 3?

jeffbase33

I just never wanted to believe that it would come to this. PC gaming is practically dead these days. Case in point, the latest issue of PC Gamer. They mention that the developers of Hellgate London, one of the few PC exclusives, has closed shop. Then I look at the review section. Most of the titles were ports from the consoles. The few exclusives received horrible reviews.

Then I looked at the PC game release list on gamespot. I could only find two true PC exclusives for the rest of the year: Colonization and Spore. It's like the only pro-PC developer is Blizzard. The market is just a barren wasteland especially when you look back to 10 years ago. I remember whole sections in Walmart being devoted to PC games. Tons of great strategy games, lots of expansion packs. 3DO was huge. Great studios like Ion Storm. All gone. IS there any hope left? What happened to Disciples 3?

jeffbase33

here is the real facts

http://www.gamedevresearch.com/2008-state-of-game-development-survey.htm

[QUOTE="jeffbase33"]

I just never wanted to believe that it would come to this. PC gaming is practically dead these days. Case in point, the latest issue of PC Gamer. They mention that the developers of Hellgate London, one of the few PC exclusives, has closed shop. Then I look at the review section. Most of the titles were ports from the consoles. The few exclusives received horrible reviews.

Then I looked at the PC game release list on gamespot. I could only find two true PC exclusives for the rest of the year: Colonization and Spore. It's like the only pro-PC developer is Blizzard. The market is just a barren wasteland especially when you look back to 10 years ago. I remember whole sections in Walmart being devoted to PC games. Tons of great strategy games, lots of expansion packs. 3DO was huge. Great studios like Ion Storm. All gone. IS there any hope left? What happened to Disciples 3?

OoSuperMarioO

i liked death rays photos better

[QUOTE="OoSuperMarioO"][QUOTE="jeffbase33"]

I just never wanted to believe that it would come to this. PC gaming is practically dead these days. Case in point, the latest issue of PC Gamer. They mention that the developers of Hellgate London, one of the few PC exclusives, has closed shop. Then I look at the review section. Most of the titles were ports from the consoles. The few exclusives received horrible reviews.

Then I looked at the PC game release list on gamespot. I could only find two true PC exclusives for the rest of the year: Colonization and Spore. It's like the only pro-PC developer is Blizzard. The market is just a barren wasteland especially when you look back to 10 years ago. I remember whole sections in Walmart being devoted to PC games. Tons of great strategy games, lots of expansion packs. 3DO was huge. Great studios like Ion Storm. All gone. IS there any hope left? What happened to Disciples 3?

naval

i liked death rays photos better

Part of the problem is also society hitting an all time Low. Case in point.

http://kotaku.com/5037975/parents-let-kid-drop-out-of-high-school-to-focus-on-guitar-hero

This is something a console gamer will do LMAO!!!!

If it died then it rose its zombie butt from the grave, because it's awfully active for a rotting corpse. Hell being dead is hardly slowing it down, last I heard 70% of developer are still working with PC.

And the only way to kill a zombie is to shoot it in the head, so i think were going to be OK.

As long as no one with a shotgun shows up.

PC gaming lives as long as PCs in general do.RK-Mara

true but does not mean it be enjoyable experience if the only thing that be there is wow,sims, or any mmo genre

And the only way to kill a zombie is to shoot it in the head, so i think were going to be OK.

As long as no one with a shotgun shows up.

gozalo

games for pc

2008

http://adrianwerner.wordpress.com/games-of-2008/

games for 2009

http://adrianwerner.wordpress.com/games-of-2009/

there is more on the way

Let me explain how "on top" the PC platform is:

Even IF there were no PC exclusives and only multiplats, PC gaming would still be superior. What console can run games at 1920x1080(and higher) with AA and AF ? And thousands of mods? And free,lagless dedicated multiplayer?

Exclusives: no platform has many exclusives any more - it's the state of the industry today. Multiplatforming is the way to go. It's hardly indicative of any decline of PC gaming.

Shop wall space: most gamers buy their games online these days, and shops are responding to that shift by reducing the number of units they have available. The same thing will happen with console games, eventually. The high street can't compete with online retail, and online retail will eventually one day not be able to compete with digital distrubtion. It has nothing at all to do with the popularity of PC gaming.

Strategy games: the PC is still very dominant. Next year we have Dawn of War 2 and Empire: Total War (and probably a SoaSE expansion?), while the year after (or possibly late the same year) we have StarCraft II. There's also Spore and Colonization, and no doubt many others. Christ, man - how many more awesome strategy games do you need?

Great studios: they come and go, like always. We lose one, we gain another. Right now, there's GSC Gameworld, CD Projekt, Relic, Creative Assembly, Telltale and more. And all of these guys are PC exclusive developers (besides Telltale who also develop for Wii).

Expansions: well, besides RTS games, there's really been a shift in the industry away from expansions. It might be because of multiplatform development (as expansions aren't as viable for consoles) or it might be because of the rising costs of game development - or something else entirely - but we have seen a decline in the number of expansions available, and most expansions are outsourced. It's a shame, but it's hardly a huge deal.

Your move.

I blame EA for it. They took over so many PC developers, now all of PC gaming is virtually in one companies hands... EA's main cash flow is consoles, so if they are so kind, they port to PC, but we get a garbage game either way. I'm really surprised Spore is actually coming out on PCs before the consoles.Old_Gooseberry

EA's biggest money makers are pc games. Spore can't run on a console. The second biggest income for was the PC ps3 was first. EA is beefing up on qauility games for pc because it sells really well. I have to agree EA is eating up all the game tittles on pc and console.blackdreamhunk

I wouldn't say spore won't run on consoles; but rather I would question its practicality.

Installing stuff in mass is not practical on consoles, we saw that with the poor performance of the Sims games on consoles; you cannot milk expansions on a platform that avoids installations. With games like Oblivion you can resell the game with the expansions included, with Spore there are going to be many many different expansions like the Sims; how do you handle that on consoles? You cannot simple store it all on the HDD.

So like I said, possible? Sure. Practical? History has something to say on that matter.

[QUOTE="blackdreamhunk"]EA's biggest money makers are pc games. Spore can't run on a console. The second biggest income for was the PC ps3 was first. EA is beefing up on qauility games for pc because it sells really well. I have to agree EA is eating up all the game tittles on pc and console.AnnoyedDragon

I wouldn't say spore won't run on consoles; but rather I would question its practicality.

Installing stuff in mass is not practical on consoles, we saw that with the poor performance of the Sims games on consoles; you cannot milk expansions on a platform that avoids installations. With games like Oblivion you can resell the game with the expansions included, with Spore there are going to be many many different expansions like the Sims; how do you handle that on consoles? You cannot simple store it all on the HDD.

So like I said, possible? Sure. Practical? History has something to say on that matter.

so much for the plug and play days. Those days are over lol.

I blame EA for it. They took over so many PC developers, now all of PC gaming is virtually in one companies hands... EA's main cash flow is consoles, so if they are so kind, they port to PC, but we get a garbage game either way. I'm really surprised Spore is actually coming out on PCs before the consoles.Old_Gooseberry

Yep. EA totally killed many great IP's like Ultima and Wing Commander. They put all their PC investment into MMO which usually flopped. Anyone remember Motor City Online? lol What idiots could have thought this game had a long term success? The Sims Online was a HUGE failure too.

Well, as far as I can tell PC's

1) Have the greatest performance of any gaming platform

2) More titles are released on the PC than any other platform as far as I can tell

3) More exclusive titles are released on the PC than any other platform.

4) It's the most common platform, while only a releativly small number of the PC's out there are likly to be used for gaming, it's nevertheless the, by a huge margin, the most common platform out there.

Right now Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are spending millions upon millions to advertice their platforms, to get them PC time, exclusive coverare and so on. That more than anything is what makes the PC look like a weak platform. However just because Sony, Microsoft or Nintendos PM people dosent spend their time yelling about the virtue of a platform dosent mean that the platform is dead or dying.

I just never wanted to believe that it would come to this. PC gaming is practically dead these days. Case in point, the latest issue of PC Gamer. They mention that the developers of Hellgate London, one of the few PC exclusives, has closed shop. Then I look at the review section. Most of the titles were ports from the consoles. The few exclusives received horrible reviews.

Then I looked at the PC game release list on gamespot. I could only find two true PC exclusives for the rest of the year: Colonization and Spore. It's like the only pro-PC developer is Blizzard. The market is just a barren wasteland especially when you look back to 10 years ago. I remember whole sections in Walmart being devoted to PC games. Tons of great strategy games, lots of expansion packs. 3DO was huge. Great studios like Ion Storm. All gone. IS there any hope left? What happened to Disciples 3?

jeffbase33

huh? No pc exclusives? DoW2? Empire-Total War? WAR? Warhead? Clear Skies? need i go on? The multiplat thing will get worse too. Development costs are rising for big games, devs need to go multiplat to make money. If anything this is where the PC will shine. Small dev studios will start on PC, SoaSE, STALKER etc. Just because these games have small budgets does not mean they are bad. I can't believe people still spout this "PC gaming is dead" line.

To me console gaming is dead. Re hashes of old games with better graphics, no thanks.

Is PC gaming dead?attirex

If it is, we're all necrophiliacs.

pc platform is the most popular in the WORLD. not necessarily the us, but in MOST countries in the world, at least 90% of the gaming population are pc gamers because there are not many consoles there. how is pc gaming dying? its just that there are alot more unofficial sales from piracy(buying crysis for a dollar in china for example) and a HUGE amount of online sales via shops like steam.

pc still remains the number one platform for fps', rpgs, rts', tbs' and mmorpgs. consoles only get sports games, racing games and fighters.

not to mention how even the most mediocre of gaming rigs(around $400 or so) can provide way better graphics than the consoles because of the higher resolution and raw power from the pc.