Slashdot Mirror
Is Console Gaming Dying?
mr_sifter writes "PC gamers love to obsess over whether PC gaming is dying, but bit-tech thinks it's time to look at the other side and examine if console gaming is really as secure as publishers would have us believe. All three console manufacturers suffered from the recession — this year, Sony announced its first net loss in 14 years; a stunning ¥989.9bn, which includes record losses of ¥58.5bn in its gaming sector. Microsoft also announced its first loss since it went public in 1986 in the second quarter of this financial year, with a $31 million US loss coming straight from the Entertainment and Devices division, which is responsible for the Xbox 360. Not even Nintendo has escaped the financial plague either, with sales of the Wii dropping by 67 percent in the US, 60 percent in Japan and 47 percent in the rest of the world. In addition to reduced profitability, casual games and the rise of the iPhone further suggest the current model is not invulnerable."
He's right. Console games are still great for the kids who don't know where the real gaming is. Seriously, though - console gaming is the ONLY place for most of the good sports titles. Even the PC version of NBA 2k10 is an afterthought compared to the console versions. EA doesn't even make NBA LIVE for the PC anymore (though some might consider that a blessing).
I like PCs because I know that even in 5 years, when your xbox can't even produce enough pixels to cover my 22" monitor and has to upscale its renderings, my PC will be (for the price of a graphics card) right back up at the top of the line for graphics. And really, I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about with regards to 'compatibility issues'. How about the 'compatibility issue' of not being able to play 360 games on my PS3?
For me, and hopefully for other people as they move out of the stone age, buying computer games is easier than buying console games. Four or five clicks on Steam and I have a full version game slowly filling up my hard drive. I can't believe people still bother with all the 'putting the disc in the tray' nonsense. I'd like to know how many console gamers are playing a game literally the minute it's released. Most of the gamers I know are standing at the back of a line in the freezing wind on release night while I'm sitting at home happily watching the 'decrypting preloaded content' dialog.
You are right about more games, but then again, that's your fault. You and people like you, who settle for mediocrity, guaranteeing that it's catered to. Now PCs just get crappy console ports which were rushed out with minimal testing because, not-so-surprisingly, frat boy Halo gamers are more easily manipulated by changing when you sell your crap than by actually improving the quality of the product.
After I graduated and put my CS degree to use, 60 bucks isn't as bad as it used to be.
I never liked consoles either. Ever. Fuck that shit.
PC gaming is where its at, and always has been.
You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
2. Consoles obviously aren't as powerful as PCs, but again, 1 seems far from happening.
I don't really agree with this statement.
My PC at work is far more powerful than my gaming PC at home in terms of memory, processor, disk transfer speed, but it doesn't have a 3D accelerated gfx card, so it couldn't be used for playing modern games. The latter is true for nearly all PC's in existence.
You do realise all consoles have a games on demand option now to download games too if that's what floats your boat right?
Oh, and:
"a $100 graphics card will get you better graphics than a console at a lower price than a console."
Have you ever actually seen a console game? This kind of clearly false comment would suggest not. Or by better graphics did you just mean more pixels, even if the contents of those pixels combine to create far inferior quality images?
Oh, and did I forget to mention that the different between my retail 360 games and my Steam games (including those bought at retail but that have to be activated via Steam) is that I can actually sell my 360 games on?
How about when Steam's setup completely fails as it does and I can't even activate my game to play?
What about when your games just simply don't work as in the recent Saboteur article here on Slashdot?
How do any of these stack up to a better experience?
In fact, have you ever even been near a console? None of your comments would suggest you have, because they're simply wrong. I'm not saying PC gaming doesn't have it's advantages- I'd never play an MMO on a console for example, but you just don't seem to know anything about console gaming judging by your comments.