PC Gaming Will Disappear When PCs Do
Posted by Stropp on January 21, 2009Have you heard that tired refrain recently?
It usually goes along the lines that PC gaming is dying, stagnating, or in serious trouble. There's often a variation that console or mobile phone gaming will kill the PC game. I reckon I've seen comments like these from video game luminaries on and off for well over ten years now.
Just like Video killing the Radio Star, it hasn't happened, and nor will it. At least not until PCs -- and I'm not just referring to the x86/Windows class of personal computer -- no longer exist. Video has been around for decades, and Radio still manages to live comfortably and profitably beside it.
Even if all of the big game publishers: EA, Ubisoft, Blizzard, and the like agree next week that PC gaming is dead and drop all plans to publish any new games for the PC, there are still a huge amount of so called independent game developers who develop small and generally fun games for the PC.
The thing is, despite a huge console market, a huge number of people own personal computers of varying varieties. That's a big market that will likely not disappear. So what happens if publishers stop making games for PCs?
It's said that nature abhors a vacuum, and I think this applies equally well to the PC gaming market. Just as those odd little mammals took advantage of the ecological gap left by the extinction of the dinosaurs, if the big boys disappear, the PC game ecological niche will be quickly filled by all sorts of evolutionary freaks.
In fact, I imagine the indie game development community would love nothing better than to see the extinction of big game publishers. It would open up the markets to a whole range of new game genres as well as evening out competition of the old favorites.
So I guess the question is: how long will the humble PC be around?
I think we’ll see the death of PC gaming right around the same time we finally see the “paperless office” that I’ve heard the “experts” blabbering about for years…
Ah the fabled paperless office. Ranks up there with the abundant free time we were going to have. Lies all lies.
Most human activites move toward the cheapest way to do things. For many people the cheapest way to play games online is with the computer they already have hooked to the internet.. When cell phone access to the internet becomes cheaper that will be a common platform also.
Hi Molly, thanks for commenting.
I absolutely agree with this premise, but there’s something you’ve missed. People will tend towards the cheapest most efficient way of doing things. In the case of MMORPG’s they’ll be willing to opt for a PC over a mobile phone, and pay more, because the PC provides a better experience. You can’t play 1920×1200 on a 27″ monitor with a mobile.
That’s not to say mobile phones will not be viable, but they’ll have their own games that provide the best experience on that platform.
Another thing to note, is that I used the term PC as personal computer, not IBM PC or x86PC. I believe that the form of the PC may change from the clunky desktops and laptops to something else in the future. What… I don’t know — if I did I’d be buying shares. Things change, that’s the only constant.
But whatever form the PC takes in the future, PC gaming will live on.
Add A Comment
Subscribe to the RSS Feed For These Comments