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PC Gaming Is Back in Focus at Tokyo Game Show (bloomberg.com)
After taking a back seat to consoles for the past few years, personal computers are enjoying a resurgence in gaming, thanks to the popularity of e-sports, customizable machines and faster software releases. From a report: This week's Tokyo Game Show will feature a main-stage tournament for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, a hit online survival PC game that's been downloaded more than 10 million times since March. Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One consoles are heading into their fifth years, while Nintendo's Switch is in a bit of a lull before new titles are released for the year-end holiday shopping season. Spending on gaming-ready PC rigs are on track to climb an average of 6.6 percent per year through 2020, while the market as a whole is projected to decline 3.8 percent annually, according to Gartner. Revenue from PC titles will grow by 3 to 4 percent over the coming years, while console-game sales are seen flat, according to DFC Intelligence. Written off years ago for being too expensive, complex and bulky for mass appeal, gaming PCs are seeing a resurgence that could even threaten consoles, according to Kazunori Takahashi, Japan gaming head at Nvidia. "The abundance of titles and the popularity of e-sports is bringing a lot of excitement to PC gaming," said Takahashi, whose employer supplies graphic chips to PC and console makers. Even in Japan, "it's not unreasonable to think that PCs can eventually become a presence that threatens console gaming."
PC gaming will always be superior due to available control scheme. Consoles could have captured that space one they became network-enabled if they didn't squander it at building walled gardens.
I used to be turned off by PC games because I hate playing with a keyboard and mouse. But with most games on PC now supporting controllers the same as they do on consoles, it's really becoming a level playing field. And with more mod availability, better graphics options and more hardware customization options, the PC has a strong leg-up on its console competition (for now at least).
As consoles are becoming more and more PC-like and PC's become more-and-more console like, I think it may be a dead issue soon. You'll just play you game on whatever medium you prefer, and get the same experience either way.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
... everyone just got tired of the the console fanbois constantly shouting trying to drone everyone else out.
Not everybody has been sucking at the tit of Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. In the PC space there have been a ton of AAA and Indie games that just aren't available on console.
Console are nothing more then walled gardens on a gimped PC. (Hey consoles, how's that 120 fps working out? What, you can't do it and you _still_ struggle to do 30 fps @ 1080p BWUAHA.)
PC have been infinitely more customizable. The first to support 22-bit graphics (Voodoo), 32-bit graphics (RGBA), 4K, 120 fps, SSD, etc, consoles are always playing catching -- signified by the "PC Master Race" slogan.
The keyboard + mouse blows the gamepad away for any sort of precision. i.e. I'll seriously doubt we'll ever see StarCraft (1 or 2) on a console anytime soon because console peripherals never sell well. Hell, with Starcraft 2 I can STILL bog down my i7-4770K + GTX 980 Ti.
This same cycle happens every console. A new console comes up. Everyone gets excited over "exclusives", then in a few years everyone goes back to a bigger and better gaming experience on PC -- for those that can afford it -- and whines about all the shitty console ports. Rinse and Repeat.
Consoles have their place, but PC gaming is still around and always will be. You don't need some bullshit license to release your game on PC.
There are quite a few reasons why PC gaming didn't die 20 years ago when its obituaries were announced the first time. Or 15 years ago when it died again. Or 10 years ago. Or ever since. The reasons are simple.
Consoles had everything stacked in their favors to take over. There's really a LOT of upsides to consoles, all of which have been thrown into the gutter by their makers. Let's think back a few years, shall we? Let's go back to, say, the 1990s. PC gaming was a mess. So many different setups, no standards, drivers you had to invent and reinvent every other game you wrote, and the same shit for the ones wanting to play. Reconfigure this, memory-optimize that, IRQ settings here, DMA configuration there. Consoles were hassle-free gaming. Plug that cartridge into your NES, your Sega Master system, your NeoGeo or whatever you had and you were good to play. Easy. No fidgeting.
And no loading times! Stuff it in, turn it on, play! That was probably the first thing they lost with the advent of the first CD based consoles that made loading times from effin' FLOPPY DISKS look fast!
And the hassle free part was gone soon, too, when consoles started to become more and more fault-prone. Has there been a generation of consoles since PS1 and XBox where you could rely on them actually still working 2 years from purchase? For the sake of the all-holy copy protection, consoles have become a veritable nightmare when it comes to hardware stability.
Next thing they lost was the input advantage/disadvantage battle. Consoles used controllers, PCs used keyboard and mouse. Which of course means that certain games played better on consoles (like plattformers and arcade flight games) while others played better on PCs (like FPS, RTS and other games where point-and-click/shoot is more relevant). Now, PCs did get their console controllers quite soon. Not to mention the nearly inexhaustible supply of other periphery from flight sticks to steering wheels to ... you name it. Only very recently console makers realized that yes, there is actually a market for such input devices (with the noteworthy exception of Nintendo, who produced an incredible amount of input devices... sadly they insisted in making some NOBODY in their sane mind would WANT to use instead of producing what people would actually be using). And dropping the ball immediately again by providing only overpriced crap that you can use with THEIR product, ONLY their product and only with THIS version of their product. In other words, my PC steering wheel I bought 10 years and 3 PCs ago still works. Do you honestly expect your PS2 steering wheel to work when PS5 comes?
And I didn't even get into the area where you can actually upgrade your PC while you're stuck with whatever the console maker deems "good enough".
Personally, I think consoles dropped the ball when they insisted that they really need to have a full blown operating system that took away the key advantage these machines had over PCs: Exactly that they did NOT need that overhead and could apply their whole processing power to delivering a gaming experience.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
ESports isn't a category of games.
Of course it is. The term refers to video games with competitive multiplayer that remains interesting among expert players and whose publisher grants a license for leagues to stream their matches.
PC gaming runs $1000+
Even $1000 is less than the total price of this generation's consoles: PlayStation 4 Pro ($399), Xbox One X ($499 once it ships in November), and Nintendo Switch ($299).
Actually:
Even $1000 is nearly the sum total price of this generation's consoles: PlayStation 4 Pro ($399), Xbox One X ($499 once it ships in November), and Nintendo Switch ($299).
And, once you have either the XBone or PS4, the other gets pretty optional. Plus, any of them are cheaper than a top video card alone. (ballpark, anyway, not checking).
Yes, PC gaming is awesome, it's just less so at twice the HW cost.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
OK, now go ahead and calculate games' prices too.
Getting sweet game deals from isthereanydeal.com is valid for PC but not so much for consoles.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
You know...if dropping a grand every once in awhile is going to break your bank, perhaps your time would be better spent trying to educate yourself and do whatever to get a better paying job, rather than wasting time playing games....?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
The speculators will kill the cryptocurrencies for us. They're keen on making a big deal about how much the value swings around and they've made a mint because of it. The complete opposite of what a currency should do.
A really expensive PC computer hardware that will became obsolete in a year, adding the added a high price for games we have something that is not for most people Versus a console priced at the same price as a regular laptop that won't become obsolete for a while (at least 3 or 4 years for Microsoft and nintendo and 5 years at least for PlayStyation).
Doesn't happen anymore. A six year old PC is good enough to play most games equivalent to how a console plays them.
if dropping a grand every once in awhile is going to break your bank
It's not just a grand. As games change from shared-screen multiplayer to online multiplayer that requires a separate machine per player, it can be two grand to four grand depending on household size.
perhaps your time would be better spent trying to educate yourself and do whatever to get a better paying job
That depends on exactly what you mean by "do whatever", especially for someone who has been turned down repeatedly for jobs that use his degree.
OK, now go ahead and calculate games' prices too.
Just as Steam has sales, PlayStation Store has sales. Consoles also have the "Greatest Hits"/"Player's Choice" rereleases of disc games. And if you live in an area where the best available Internet access is satellite or LTE at $5/GB or more, you'll appreciate the bandwidth savings of disc games.
Compare a $700 desktop PC to a $700 combination of a PS4 Pro and a docked Switch. The $700 PC can still run applications other than home entertainment, such as applications to further your education or run your home business.
Smartphones are good for 1- or 2-button or point-and-click games, not so good for other genres. In particular, I fail to see how platforming, with precise control of movement, jumping, and firing, is possible on a flat sheet of glass, nor how much of a market there is for phone games that require a third-party clip-on gamepad.
https://www.penny-arcade.com/c...
#DeleteFacebook
That's all fine and dandy, but people have to understand what the guy is talking about in it's own cultural context:
The japanese market has been famous for quite a while to have a very tiny PC gaming market.
It's still in the last place even if it advances a bit, because it was never very successful.
You have consoles not doing very well in recent years, with XBox One being a huge failure.
If you count Switch as a console though, we might see a complete reversal since absurd lines are forming to get a lottery ticket to buy one.
Portables comes in second place, and there's probably no other country that proportionally buys as many portables as Japan does.
3DS is still a huge success even after all this time and after all the puzzling new versions, but probably the most striking thing is that the Vita is a success in Japan despite failing in the west. New Vita games are still coming out in Japan.
But the real first place there is mobile. Nothing quite sells like mobile games in Japan. It has sprung out of nowhere and completely dominated the gaming market in a matter of years.
But hey, I'd love for the PC games market to grow more in Japan... you can always find some of the most unique, weird, and different ideas coming out in doujin games (japanese indie games). If they have a bigger local market, more devs will come, and with more money in the bank, more chances of proper localizations.
Just as Steam has sales, PlayStation Store has sales. Consoles also have the "Greatest Hits"/"Player's Choice" rereleases of disc games.
Are there any 3rd party websites selling games at discounts? I wasn't talking about Steam only, I was talking about a whole ecosystem, literally dozens of websites offering games at a discount (shady grey-area websites are not considered, they suck). And then there's gog.com...
And if you live in an area where the best available Internet access is satellite or LTE at $5/GB or more, you'll appreciate the bandwidth savings of disc games.
Thank God, I don't. I love my 18 bucks a month Gigabit Fiber :)
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
The first PCs were essentially consoles after all!
Twinstiq, game news
Nothing beats a plug and play experience when you want to relax. Things screw up on PC and I never know if a given game is going to work. On console, I can buy a game on release and be guaranteed that I can finish it, and still be able to run all my old games as well without issue.
I've had driver updates break old games, break new games, your GPU choice can screw you over, and a whole bunch of other crap I don't want to even think about. I've been down that road.
I'll use PCs to emulate console games and enhance them with 3D support, high definition, etc, but I won't rely on it for enjoyment because I want a guaranteed-to-work system. Got kids and a job and no time to mess around.
Twinstiq, game news
As if there aren't other mass market retailers that can have sweet game deals like say...Amazon, or Wal-mart, or Target, etc etc.
Are there any 3rd party websites selling games at discounts? I wasn't talking about Steam only, I was talking about a whole ecosystem, literally dozens of websites offering games at a discount
You mean websites like Amazon or Wal-mart?
Sure Digital games on the Playstation ecosystem are PSN marketplace only, but physical discs are still a thing. Remember, one of the reasons PC games went digital so strongly is that PC publishers, unlike Sony, NEVER started using Blu-rays.
If you've got a PS4 pro or even a cheaper base PS4 you really don't need a $700 PC. You can make do with an even cheaper one. And lot of people do their computing on mobile devices, and who says a Switch is required? Not everybody is interested in the Nintendo franchises.
As games change from shared-screen multiplayer to online multiplayer that requires a separate machine per player,
It does? You do know that some online games let TWO people play shared screen with other players Online. A good example of this is Diablo 3 on consoles. you can have ANY mixture of local and online players.
Also who says that more than one person wants to play games at the same time.
And while multiple-of-the-same-console households aren't common, they do exist. I know a couple that has THREE PS3's. (though only one PS4). The same couple has MULTIPLE portable game machines (DS's and Vitas) and a tablet AND phone for every person.
That depends on exactly what you mean by "do whatever", especially for someone who has been turned down repeatedly for jobs that use his degree.
you might want to think about your youtube channel, remember tech companies might google you.
Consoles only have two advantages really, and even then not even that is secure.
#1 Consoles have the ability to be plugged into your TV, and use controllers. The whole controller VS keyboard/mouse argument aside it is nice to be able to sit my ass on a couch for hours at a time to play Skyrim or whatever. That said, there is absolutely nothing stopping people with a PC from hooking it up to their TV and buying a controller if they really want to now. Only difference is one take a small bit of configuring while the other is automatic.
#2 Cost. A console is a lot cheaper than a PC. Though one could argue that the specs on those consoles make it an unfair comparison to a fully fledged gaming PC. However it is still a bit less expensive than a cheapo PC gaming rig. That said, years ago I had my Xbox360 and all my games stolen. I had to make a list for the insurance company. The problem with the above argument is that console makers have inflated their game prices a lot over the years. At 75$ plus tax per game it adds up. I think I got nearly 2000$ and a very large chunk of that was console games. How much was that PC gaming rig that you play DOTA2 on for free again....? So yeah I don't think the ToC is as disparate as it is made out to be.
No, not generic websites, but the likes of HumbleBundle, BundleStars, GamersGate, Games Planet, GOG, not to mention aggregators such as isthereanydeal.com.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
generic websites with deals are still deals as are the deal on the PSN store directly.
And I notice that only ONE of those websites you mention are in the US, perhaps those cater to cheapass former-pirate Eurogamers?
Because HERE gamers buy from generic websites as well as PSN or the Xbox store. And places like Amazon or Wal-mart have deals, in a couple of months there will be huge Black Friday deals on games.
Try to remember that gaming culture in America is NOTHING like that of Europe. We aren't a bunch of ex-commie-land pirates and scandinavian pirate enablers who hate consoles
And more gently, you might not be aware that in the US console games and PC games cost the same and are generally discounted the same. It's not like eastern europe where PC games are like 10 euros and console games 70 euros or something.
For example in poland the Nintendo switch is 1499 zloty, that's US$419. In the actual US the Switch costs $299.
so when Eurodudes like yourself say console gaming is more expensive...Americans look at you and roll our eyes at you.
Wow, talking about that superiority that earned Americans so much stereotyping and hate throughout recent history... you represent it very nicely.
Look, when I visit a website I don't give a flying fuck which country it's from. I only care whether it's useful to me.
Yes, consoles and console games are expensive around here. Yes, PC games are more widely available and generally much cheaper if you look in the right place.
And yes, my 18 dollars a month Gigabit Fiber internet connection allows me to install a large game in 5 minutes.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Wow, talking about that superiority that earned Americans so much stereotyping and hate throughout recent history.
Considering the fact that personal computing, console gaming and computer gaming were ALL invented here....maybe you should stop playing games then.
Yes, consoles and console games are expensive around here.
Have you ever wondered why? Have you ever thought that the higher prices for console games and hardware is artificial protectionism?
Yes, PC games are more widely available and generally much cheaper if you look in the right place.
your cheap PC games are essentially being subsidized by Americans.
And yes, my 18 dollars a month Gigabit Fiber internet connection allows me to install a large game in 5 minutes.
From a government owned and/or subsidized ISP?
Considering the fact that personal computing, console gaming and computer gaming were ALL invented here....maybe you should stop playing games then.
Yes, much like the Internet was invented by Al Gore.
Console gaming was conceived by a German dude (Ralph Baer). But hey, fine, whatever.
Have you ever wondered why? Have you ever thought that the higher prices for console games and hardware is artificial protectionism?
So? There's VAT and other taxes which, lo and behold, are partly used to even out the development discrepancy between EU countries.
your cheap PC games are essentially being subsidized by Americans.
Where the fuck did that retarded idea come from?
From a government owned and/or subsidized ISP?
Nope. It actually is that cheap in my "third-world country" which your fellow Americans were very impressed with when they came here on vacation. My Internet is offered by a privately-owned ISP, which competes with 4 others and they all have coverage - so it's real competition, unlike in, hmm, how should I put it... oh yes, "the country that invented computing".
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
If you've got a PS4 pro or even a cheaper base PS4 you really don't need a $700 PC. [...] Not everybody is interested in the Nintendo franchises.
Nor the Sony franchises for that matter. So if exclusives aren't the deciding factor, the fair comparison is between a desktop PC with a discrete GPU and the combination of a base PlayStation 4 and a desktop PC with integrated graphics. As of two weeks ago, a $160 GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is cheaper than a $300 PS4.