PC gamers: do not despair

Reports of the death of PC gaming are greatly exaggerated. Gameplanet explores some of the reasons PC gaming has lost the spotlight and where things are going. Could there in fact be a bright future ahead for PC gamers?

"If you're a dedicated PC gamer, there hasn't been a lot to celebrate lately.

"It seems that ever since Microsoft and Sony figured out how to attach their consoles to the Internet, there's been a steady prioritising campaign under way to attract the hard-core gamer away from the PC, and towards either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The reasons for this are many and varied, but it doesn't take a genius to see why these corporate giants have a vested interest in where you spend your gaming dollar.

"Whilst PC gamers have generally been content to sit back and receive whatever titles developers are willing to make, Microsoft and Sony have waged a new kind of war. Backed by billions of dollars and armies of PR people, they've cultivated a new take on console gaming that not only appeals to a wider audience, it positively oozes these three extremely important traits: practicality, perception and addiction."

[Rageanitus]

Its always the console fanboys that make it seem that pc gaming is dying.

They have said this every generation.

Its always the same argument

Oh look the console has pretty decent hardware, and there is no need for any more hardware power. Further more pc gaming is expensive blah blah blah.

BMW's are pretty dam expensive but there are still quite a few ppl buying it. Not as much as toyota's but still

[Strife Lives]

Consoles and pcs exclusivity to bmw and toyotas lol. Thats plain stupid.Pc gaming,is a niche.one that,I dont wish to be apart off.when we look at the big picture,its not a matter of bmw vs toyota. Nope,more like the zune and ipod. Sorry mate,Me,I'd rather be an ipod guy lol. And,its more socially acceptable.and when in Rome,I prefer chilling on a couch rather than at a table.Also,upgrading pcs to play games. Thats. .got a dork factor plugged into it.You can be a hardcore gamer and not be a dork you know,just get a console.

[y0haN]

yah man who cares if you find console gaming tedious so long as you aint got the dork factor the ladies are all over you.

Get out, ignoramus.

[Rageanitus]

but I guess you fail to understand.... hehe typical console fanboy argument.

The reason why I bring up BMW is because their cars and their brand is geared to enthusiast drivers.... but you still see MANY not enthusiasts buy their cars because of their control and power. Hence there is still many sales on the BMW front.
Explain this to the many hardcore and non hardcore gamers who play wow.

Furthermore its funny how you bring up the dork factor in PC gaming. sorry but that is a very ignorant closed minded comment. IT just seems that you are insecure about oneself with the comment above.

Try and answer this..... what makes PC gaming more dorkey vs a console gaming? Cuz I've seen many more console fanboys oarguing nonsnense on the public streets about how console a has better hardware vs console b without having a clue as to how computer architecture works.

[Zyrusticae]

That's... pretty damn ignorant. There's just no positive way to paint that comment.

It's not at all like the Zune vs. the I-Pod. That's just a weak analogy. Consoles are static; they're always as powerful as they are when they are first released. Only recently, when they started adding hard drives to the things, have they had any kind of real upgradable component (wi-fi and such things are "accessories", not hardware upgrades).

PCs, on the other hard, are fully upgradable, fully customizable, and capable of much more power than a console except in the first six months of a console's release (after which the PC catches up once more). Hell, in the case of things like SLi/Crossfire, consoles may never actually catch up to the power of PCs. Yes, it's more expensive, but you get what you pay for. (Plus, if we're going to factor in the cost of a good monitor, we have to factor in the cost of an HD screen as well, and that's just not very favorable to the console side).

There is simply no suitable analogy for comparing the two; it's PC vs. Console, and that's it. I suppose you could stretch it and say that the difference is more like trading card games vs. miniature games like the Warhammer series; the trading card games give you room to customize your deck, while with a miniature game like the Warhammer series you not only customize your pieces, but also the details *of* those pieces, carving and painting each one to perfection. But even then, it's not a good analogy, as the customizing of said miniatures is more art than science (and building a good PC is definitely science).

Would you look at that? You got me ranting. Good job, fanboy.

[pow3r of t3h c3ll]

Enjoy your comfort article you PC n00bs!!!

PC gaming is finished cus its as overpriced as the xbox!!!