Amiga.org
The "Not Quite Amiga but still computer related category" => Alternative Operating Systems => Topic started by: stefcep on October 11, 2005, 11:34:22 AM
-
With the high specs, low price, ease of use and and uncomplicated setup of the new generation of consoles, will the PC no longer be the platform of choice for gaming? And as PC hardware upgrades are largely determined by games where does this leave the future of the PC in terms of hardware advancement? Ditto for Microsoft? Is Nintendo dead either way?
-
People said this with each generation of consoles that emerged since the PS1. Wait and see, I guess...
-
With the high specs, low price, ease of use and and uncomplicated setup of the new generation of consoles, will the PC no longer be the platform of choice for gaming?
I don't think so on any of the counts. For the most part, the games people play on PCs aren't the same style of games as are played on the consoles. People have been predicting that consoles will overtake PCs for several generations. Yet PC sales are as strong as ever.
And as PC hardware upgrades are largely determined by games where does this leave the future of the PC in terms of hardware advancement?
Well, I think the biggest threat here is that video card manufacturers may be pricing themselves out of market. Who exactly is willing to spend $800 (two $400 SLI cards) to have the greatest video for 6 months until the next gen chipsets are released? I might expect to see video card development cool down a bit. But that's not really related to your question, and honestly, I don't think it'll matter a bit. As Longhorn (or Vista or whatever it's called this week) will dictate plenty of upgrades and new systems sold.
Ditto for Microsoft?
Why would it matter to them? Outside of DirectX, has Microsoft ever done anything to attract game companies to come to Windows? Their market is e-mail, web browsing, and office. Offering some new glitter features and a promise of more security should be all that is needed to get the masses to update.
Is Nintendo dead either way?
I don't think so. They'll remain as a niche player. And, with their strange innovations and such, they will distance themselves from the XBox 360/PS3 war coming up.
-
There was a recent article about this on Tom's Hardware a few weeks ago. The answer: no, the PC is not dead, because by its modular nature it inherently offers the state-of-the-art in games, plus that it can cope with games of much higher complexity than a game console. I really cannot imagine playing RTS games on those.
-
PS2 and XBox already rule the gaming market with help of handhelds (PSP, Nintendo DS).
On the other hand PC is still needed for word processing and Internet but consumer market is moving toward portables.
-
I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!
-
i dont believe consoles will take over completly. but everyone should be aware of that pc games will bring very little new invention to gameing as we know it. for a long time gamer like my self i find the most pc games boring and i found out why when i got a xbox(ofcoz it was a modded xbox). its now clear that the consols brings a new breath of life into games(just look at nintendo and its reviolution). on a consol you can bang the hw all you want to, on a pc there is alot thing you must think of before doing this and that. on the consol they dare to try out new things on a pc they just go the old safe path.
in the future the pc will be build in the tv and other product you can interact with, so the pc we know today will not be the same. for games you will have your own box becouse of its hw banging, everyone know running a game on a hw sucking os is not ideal.
if you want to have fun gaming again, the consoles is the way to go. and if you are a cheap ass as me you buy consols when there is a new one around the corner, yesterday consoles have still alot of good thing going and they are not expensive as the new ones ;)
________
LovelyWendie (http://www.lovelywendie99.com/)
-
I very much doubt even games on consoles bang the hardware as much as you think they do. The reason: games have grown far beyond the capabilities of hardcore assembly hackers; in other words, ease of programming is a major factor in deciding how to tackle a certain problem. In addition, there is almost no need to spend months upon months trying to optimise routines: any half-decent optimising C/C++ compiler produces code of sufficient quality. There will of course be shortcuts, but from the programmer's point of view, these can just be hidden behind an API. They program the API---supplied by the manufacturer of the console---and the API itself handles the rest. That things are operating much faster than on a PC is of course obvious: the API doesn't need to handle the intricacies of a full multi-tasking environment.
-
...As long as you have Counter Strike for the PC, no. :-)
-
Flight Simulators, RTS, homebrew games, Emulators... long life left.
-
The PC will never die as a gaming platform. As a programmer I've only worked on console games, but we all still used to play PC games at lunchtime / after work, even though we were surrounded by consoles. The experience of playing a PC game and playing a console game are so different. PC games are, in general, much more sophisticated. The problem with PC games is that most of them lose money, with many selling as few as 4-5,000 copies. As a PC games publisher / developer, you absolutely need a top-selling game if you want to stay in business.
Nintendo will not disappear either - of the top 5 selling consoles in history, 4 are Nintendo:-
• Gameboy Series, Nintendo, 110million
• Playstation, Sony, 74million
• NES, Nintendo, 62million
• SNES, Nintendo, 49million
• N64, Nintendo, 28million
Nintendo's saving grace is their catalogue of franchises - Pokemon, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Donkey Kong etc. These are Nintendo exclusives and people will always want to play them. I do think that the PSP will have a detrimental effect on sales of Nintendo handhelds, as will the new generation of mobile phones.
Many people consider the Gamecube to have been a flop, but Nintendo were / are still in profit throughout the life of the 'cube, while Microsoft lost billions on XBox.
-
The next big thing to happen is Open Source games. It hasn't as yet realy happen but it will. All that need to happen is good game engine (which is open source) and few mod's doing some levels in open source then things will start to happen.
Some very big things could really happen this way. Sadly so far the Open Source games are way below what people today are expecting to see.
-
The next big thing to happen is Open Source games.
Not necessarily open source. In fact, probably NOT open source. (Free models don't work as well for entertainment as they do for productivity...) But smaller community development teams. You start to see it happening out at the cutting edge of driving simulators. Sims like netKar and rFactor have a small team of developers and no real label backing. These are programs that major players won't touch because they are too realistic and detailed to sell to mass markets. (See the pathetic offering that is EA's SimRacing compared to Papyrus NASCAR Season '03.)
There are plenty of niche market vacuums in catering to the several thousand enthusiasts in various markets. Small community development teams can fill those voids with quality products.
-
@Lando, you are right that gaming is more sophisticated on a personal computer.
I don't ever plan to buy a gaming console because I have personal computers to use for games. For my children, I would have an old computer instead of a game console because the educational value is much greater. For a console, my preference would be Nintendo or Sony instead of Microsoft. Microsoft has a reputation of unethical activity with the companies it does business with. Stealing technology, backing out of contracts, and much more. The X-Box games cost way too much and a higher percentage of them have vulgar or violent themes. - Lars
-
PC games sales rise as consoles end their life cycle and dip as new consoles are released. History repeats itself.
Nintendo's Revolution controller could eliminate the PC mouse advantage on FPS and RTS games. To bad it may be limited to 720x480 progressive scan unlike the other 2.
Nintendo knows how to make money, release a quality product that doesn't break ... and stay profitable.
-
Of course PC games will not die - here's why
A PC can be used for other things - internet, WP, music, video
Consoles have still failed to make omnipresent internet/online use a reality.
Mice are better for so many types of games - I know this might seem like an academic point, but silly points like this always make the difference from a marketing point of view.
Look at the popularity of online games like World of Warcraft, HL2, Dawn of War, etc etc etc. Games that have communities, i.e. forums and chat - try doing that on a console (again, the fact that you CAN get a kb for most consoles is academic)
Its easier to pirate games on a PC - this was (an unintended) selling point for the Amiga supposedly...
Consoles life cycles are long, PCs can be upgraded much more regularly.
Console games are expensive, and development can be limited to a few software houses.
The list goes on....
-
People tend to play PC games because they can, not because they have bought the latest gaming machine.
Simple fact is if they want a gaming machine then they will buy a console. A PC (or any other computer) is an all round machine capable of just about anything, playing games is just one of those things.
Just because a new console comes out does not mean the end of the machine in nigh.
-
@logicalheart
I don't ever plan to buy a gaming console because I have personal computers to use for games.
that was what i was thinking before also, but if you have played a fps or rts you have played them all... online rpg games is pretty much where all the fun in pc game is. some of the online games you must pay a few to play, but thats where the pc gaming is going in the future "pay to play"...
Microsoft has a reputation of unethical activity with the companies it does business with. Stealing technology, backing out of contracts, and much more.
yes thats why you get a used cheap moded xbox now your not supporting mickysoft...
I would have an old computer instead of a game console because the educational value is much greater.
everyone have an old computer somewhere for that use allready. kids want to play the games their friends play. if their friends have a xbox they want one to, if their friends have a heavy duty pc they want one... its just the way it is..
The X-Box games cost way too much and a higher percentage of them have vulgar or violent themes..
as i said before you get a modded xbox, then you can download all the games. you dont have to spent any money on games, thats what smart people do now days... as a grown up you can find info on the games if they have vulgar or violent themes, google is your friend there...
________
Coach Purses (http://icoachhandbags.com/)
-
Sony is showing of their ps3..
The booth of joint Cell developers, Sony, Toshiba and IBM featured a real-time ?digital mirror? simulator powered by the cell processor. A model was seated in front of the simulator that was then able to display a 3D model of the person that matched the movements and facial expressions (!) of the person in real-time.
Read more HERE (http://www.ps3focus.com/archives/131).
remember to look at the amazing video, that you can dl on the site!! this just show where consoles are today :)
________
Vapormatic vaporizer (http://www.vaporshop.com/vapormatic-vaporizer.html)
-
As long as consoles can't do 1024x768@85hz screens on VGA monitors I don't think so.
-
Week 39: 11 out of the 20 best selling games in Sweden are PC games, and 6 of them in top 10 position.
Considering that there are many other consoles, XBox, Gamecube, Playstation 2, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS and Playstation Portable battling for that same multiformat list one could say that PC games sells outragelously well here in Sweden.
-
@Crumb
have you heard about hdtv and 100hz??? thats whats xbox support if its 1024x768 dosent matter... and if you connect your consol to a vga monitor you can do that also.... its not super nintendo days anymore you know :)
________
Ipad Guide (http://ipadguides.info)
-
so:
buy a console, buy a monitor for use with said console, buy speakers
or:
buy console, and tie up your hdtv with games(for a family man this isnt the best option for me)
or:
buy a pc that you can use for tons of stuff.
btw most people dont buy every new grafx card that comes out. you can skip a few and still be perfectly capable of playing all the games out there. my older brother buys used to buy every card that came out and new mobos etc regularly i alway bought used stuff and skipped new and we always played the same games. a frame rate over 30 is a waste as long as control stays the same, a game running at 200fps looks identical to one at 50fps if screen options are all the same.
-
In response to the toipc,
I don't really think so.
Although the next gen consols are very powerful, they are not really that upgradeable or expandable.
You can chuck 4,5 graphics cards in a PC run a wall of screens etc.. I have seen it done. Somone posted a link just recelty.
ATI themselves have a dual radion design which combines two graphics cards to work together in displaying information from games and other applications.
You can upgrade a PC CPU to a faster one, and expand it's connectivity by adding in cards to do so, eg, SCSI/RAID multi CPU, firewire, and CD/DVD drive combo and multiples TV cards, you name it.
I personally think that until consoles become more expandable and PC like in nature, they won't really compete.
But yes, the next gen consoles do seem quite powerful. I'm sure the next gen PCs will be too :)
-
Commercially, asking if the (gaming) PC is dead is a valid question. Given that a B-grade PS2 games reportedly sell more units than A-grade PC titles, its not hard to start wondering if the PC games scene is on the decline.
Unlike consoles, the PC isnt a one trick horse, its primary functions are practical, day to day functions. Id compare it to a family car whereas a console is more like a motorcycle.
Another thing the PC has going for it is market entrenchment, they're almost ubiquitous. Console makers can only dream about PC-like market values. This situation isnt going to change overnight nor is it going to lose significant momentum any time soon.
It's human nature to make the most of an expensive device. I think the majority of PC games are bought by people who own a PC for practical purposes and just buy the odd game to play on the thing as well. There will always be people willing to tap this market. Additionally, the niche that do buy PCs for games, arent suddenly going to defect to what has always been seen as inferior technology.
Technically, if the specs of the next gen consoles are anyting to go by, there's not too much for the PC to get worried about. Dual GPU's, multicored 64bit CPU's and RAM measured in gigabytes are already here. Dedicated Physics Processors and fibre-optic interconects are just around the corner.