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What's Killing PC Gaming
As it stands – the computer is one of the world’s most technologically advanced pieces of equipment. It single-handedly took the Information Age into flight at the end of the 20th Century, and today can be as small as a pocket watch.
A computer can produce the most mouth watering, high definition visuals known to man, and it is the most customizable gaming experience available… Fact! Yet it is the fastest declining device to play video games – just take a look at the revenue results for the millennium:
Some people will argue PC Gaming is as strong as it’s ever been. Especially with online titles such as World Of Warcraft and Maplestory holding records for most MMORPG subscribers and making browser based games a force to be reckoned with. Without a doubt in my mind, while there is a computer, people will still be playing games on it. So why is the PC Market deteriorating?
When I speak about “The Death Of PC Gaming” I am thinking from a different perspective. Anybody who follows the industry should notice when it comes to retail shelves, less and less space is being allocated to PC titles. Or in digital-distribution terms, less people are clicking the buy button according to their results. More alarmingly, more and more multi-platform developers are treating the PC as secondary priority. These days, it’s not uncommon to see titles being released on other platforms with not so much as a consideration for PC. But why? What has put the platform on such a decline to the point where Microsoft themselves do not wish to release Gears Of War 2 on PC? Let’s take a look.
Laptops/Netbooks
It is no secret that there is a current surge of people purchasing Laptops over the last few years. They are great little things to have – it enables you to work from anywhere, send a quick email or even access your favourite films on a long train ride. I wont lie to you, I adore my Laptop. Unfortunately, all of this comes at a hefty price – with PC Gaming being the victim. Laptops aren’t made with playing video games in mind – meaning they aren’t rigged out with beastly CPUs and GFX cards. Sure you can upgrade some high-end laptops or even have one made for gaming in-mind, but that is more exception rather than rule.
Intimidation
To be frank, undoing the screws and slotting in an extra Memory stick is not hard and does not require a lot of skill, yet a lot of people think so. People seem to be somewhat intimidated by their computer. Some must think that underneath the casing there are oil tanks and pumping jets which might explode in their faces at any given moment. Ironically enough, it’s in fact the opposite. It’s like putting together a jig-saw – with the only difference being each part costs $100+.
Piracy
OK – Here’s the tricky part. I assume many of you can take your fair share of responsibility for this one. It has become far too simple and far too tempting to just add a game to your download queue and get it without actually paying for it. I am sure you all have your reasons from:
“I couldn’t afford all the games that were coming out”
or even my personal favourite
“I was just testing the game, I was going to pay for a copy if it was good”.
Despite how you try to break it down, its still theft. You’ve taken something without paying for it. Which in turn, on a large scale, seriously cuts down the developmental revenue. If the developers pay all this money to develop and publish their games, then get nothing in return, how will they find funds for the next game?
When Epic Games President Michael Capps was asked about the state of PC Gaming due to piracy he stated: “Crytek just put out some numbers saying the ratio was 20:1 on Crysis, for pirated to non-pirated use. So guess what? That is why there is no Gears of War 2 on PC, because there is no market, because copying killed it”
Instead of restore the platform, we have just shot ourselves in the foot. Because when several pirates overwhelm the number of paying customers it’s time to find a new audience, which Epic have.
(Editor’s note: Although piracy is indeed ploughing through development and publishing companies at the moment, there are services such as Steam and Xifre that are pumping life into the near catatonic PC Gaming platform. This will be discussed in an as-of-yet unwritten article)
Game Consoles
When PC developers get dissatisfied with their profit, where do they turn? To Game Consoles, as a lot less piracy takes place on Game Consoles such as Xbox 360 and PS3 – meaning the developers get a bigger cut of the profit pie.
Xbox Live is another factor – it has revolutionized the way people played their video games online. Before this the only alternative was the computer. But with other online services available, a lot of people jumped ship and experienced what the Xbox 360 had to offer with its user-friendly service, meaning no more sitting through as many unstable servers and updating pesky drivers.
Another bridge that has been crossed is that developers have now started utilizing alternative platforms to publish their titles on. With Microsoft owning both the PC market and the Xbox 360 market it opened a lot of new opportunities such as BioShock and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to be released on PC and Xbox 360 simultaneously – with neither of them being shallow ports. But with the Xbox audience getting titles that were previously PC exclusive, it left less reason to stick with a PC.
Vista
Arguably the final nail in the PC Gaming coffin. When Vista was announced to be coupled with Games For Windows it seemed to be a beacon of hope shining through a dark, cloudy mist. Sadly, it fell short of Microsoft’s bold claims. It seemed Vista’s high security system annoyed certain indie developers as certain programs that did not have the necessary certificates were blocked by the OS, meaning they were unable to develop and publish their titles under such tight conditions.
Vista has been known for its problems, especially when it comes to its high system requirements. For example, Microsoft recommends at least 1gb Memory to run Vista smoothly, meaning less Memory left for all your other software – meaning games typically ran a little slower than on XP (Which didn’t require anywhere near as much memory to run).
Despite Microsoft’s initial promises with Windows Vista it did more to harm PC Gaming than it did benefit it, yet Microsoft promise to lead PC Gamers into the prized land with Windows 7 – although, by then it will be more of a resurrection, as we desperately need pulling out of the aneurysm that PC Gaming is currently enduring.
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