Death of PC gaming. For real this time.
News
Posted March 26th, 2008 at 8:47pm
by Corey Tamas
It’s the statement that’s easy to make, and people keep making it: PC gaming is dead or dying. And it’s been said again: MSNBC reports that consoles have once and for all killed PC gaming. For real this time. No, seriously.
Jokes aside, the claim isn’t as far-fetched as I make it seem: PC titles tend to be ports of successful console games and come out months after the console version has hit the shelves. Developers often sing the praises of consoles, saying how much easier it is to design to one system instead of the wide variety of specs you find on PCs. And honestly? If you want to play top-drawer games… would you want to spend a few hundred dollars getting yourself set up with a console or possibly thousands for a comparable PC? It’s a compelling argument… but the PC isn’t without its gaming stars:
Peter Molyneux, chief of Lionhead Studios, told game blog Shacknews last week that he thinks the PC is becoming a casual gaming machine — an anathema to hardcore PC gamers everywhere. And last month, Epic’s Cliff Bleszinkski said PC gaming was in “disarray.”“What’s driving the PC right now is Sims-type games and ‘WoW’ and a lot of stuff that’s in a Web-based interface,” Bleszinkski told MTV.
Am I sorry to see it like that? I don’t know; I think that it all comes down to the gamer. If his/her needs are met (long term and short term) then I’m no longer so concerned about the platform. If the era of PC gaming is over it only means there’s a good alternative elsewhere. On the other hand, I use a Mac so you can guess that I’m already somewhat used to not having a lot of games as it is.
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