Console Gaming annihilates PC Gaming in '07

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/848/848038p1.html

January 28, 2008 - Consumers spent nearly ten billion dollars on videogame software last year, according to data from the NPD Group and the Entertainment Software Association. The bulk of that was on console games, which saw $6.6 billion in sales. Handheld software saw $2 billion, while PC games trailed with $0.9 billion.

This data represents U.S. software sales and does not include hardware numbers.

People get so mad at me when I state that PC gaming is becoming obsolete. I have no reason to believe otherwise. Consoles have finally surpassed computers... by essentially becoming computer-like themselves. However, I am surprised the difference is that large.

Then again I much rather play Call of Duty 4 on Xbox Live rather than Steam where people cheat and kick you out for using a P90 or sniper rifle.

[Pchan 5,162]

Wow ... that's a lot of money.

[Dubird 6,815]

The only reason I don't do console gaming is the cost. It's just too damn expensive anymore. You gotta shell out $500 or so for the console itself, which will be obsolete in a few years, a lot of times you have to pay on online fee (xbox live, i'm looking at you!) for the system, plus the MMOs that have online fees, and then shell out around $80 for the games you want. I simply can't afford that. I have enough trouble keeping my PC somewhat current. ><

[Pchan 5,162]

I just don't have the time for it ... between studying and watching anime, cooking, guitar practicing.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

The only reason I don't do console gaming is the cost. It's just too damn expensive anymore. You gotta shell out $500 or so for the console itself, which will be obsolete in a few years, a lot of times you have to pay on online fee (xbox live, i'm looking at you!) for the system, plus the MMOs that have online fees, and then shell out around $80 for the games you want. I simply can't afford that. I have enough trouble keeping my PC somewhat current. ><

See, I have the opposite view. I got tired getting to play a few computer games and within a few months my computer couldn't run the newest games at their maximum level. I just grew tired of spending time toning down all the graphics, just to play a game. I rather just pay one large sum every 4-8 years on a new console and play games that all run at a consistent level. the PC offers no limit for the developers, while the Console boxes them into certain parameters. They push the limits and I think the challenge makes for better games.

I guess for MMOs it is a double punch on Xbox when it comes to fees. A subscription to Xbox live is the equivalent of buying 1 game a year. $80 for a game? sheesh I hope its a special edition pack or something.

[Dubird 6,815]

actually, i don't have a problem with playing games at less than perfect of what they can do.....it'd be nice, but that's not a problem for me.....i mean, i'm only now at the point where my system (well, previous system) was unable to play the newest games.....and i had that system for about 4 years.....plus, i upgrade a little at a time, so it's easier for me to afford it.....*shrugs*.....i've always wanted a modded xbox, but i would rather put my money into one machine that will do everything i want instead of two machines that have to split it up.....don't get me wrong, i like console gaming....i like the controls and it's quicker to start a game up.....but i just can't afford both, so i stick to PC....

[Myk JL 1,731]

I've become more of a PC Gamer. Granted I don't buy as many games for it as I do for my Wii. But I can go a weak or more without playing my Wii. My PC on the other hand I've gone on almost everyday whether playing old or new games.

I don't know... Maybe because I don't like recharging batteries. I know I played my Xbox every single day. If I could afford PC upgrades right now or get off my @$$ & work for money I might end up not playing my Wii for over a month.

[the56ker 100]

well this is because most people download there pc software as oppose to going out and offically buying it

[Ladywriter 7,783]

I think I played Twilight Princess and FF12 3 or 4 times last year X'D

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Is it really that surprising? It was only a matter of time considering how good consoles are becoming now and considering you only need to upgrade once every 5-6 years it's much more cost effective also. I'm just waiting for PC gaming to become obsolete.

[Myk JL 1,731]

Is it really that surprising? It was only a matter of time considering how good consoles are becoming now and considering you only need to upgrade once every 5-6 years it's much more cost effective also. I'm just waiting for PC gaming to become obsolete.

PC Gaming will never be obsolete.

[gokuDX7 2,871]

well this is because most people download there pc software as oppose to going out and offically buying it

I agree, I don't know to many people that pay for their PC games anymore . Well unless their mmo games that require a credit card.

and I also agree with Myk JL, PC gaming will never be obsolete. That's like saying Apple is obsolete because more people use windows still .

The second reason is because it's far easier to program games for the PC not to mention the Xbox is basically a PC so it makes it easier to port games back and forth. Theres also free/open source/shareware games out there that don't/didn't get added to your little statistics page. People that make the claim that PC games will be obsolete are nuts. Go back to your PS3 fanboy hut DeathscytheX .

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

PC Gaming will never be obsolete.

Eh, it might eventually happen (since starting my major I've noticed a few trends with my studies). Not going to say in out lifetime probably but I doubt it'll be along forever. PC Gaming is taking a turn for the worse and has been for the last few years but thats really a discussion for another topic.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

If there are no sales in the PC gaming market because its all illegally downloaded, why would developers keep supporting PC gaming though? If the reason PC games don't sell as well, is the one provided, PC gaming will indeed become obsolete to the point that only one genre will be constant (MMORPGs). Companies flock to where the money is at.

[gokuDX7 2,871]

If there are no sales in the PC gaming market because its all illegally downloaded, why would developers keep supporting PC gaming though? If the reason PC games don't sell as well, is the one provided, PC gaming will indeed become obsolete to the point that only one genre will be constant (MMORPGs). Companies flock to where the money is at.

When you have systems build on the PC model and you have company's looking to make money anyway they can, then obviously they're gonna continue making it work for the PC too.

I should have changed that MMORPG to "online games" since those are stupidly hard to pirate. Single player games that don't require Internet on he other hand are pretty simple to pirate but todays trends are more pointed towards online game play then single player action so company's are still making money.

Another thing to keep in mind about the stats you posted is that the Xbox260, Wii, and PS3 just came out within the past year and a half so people are going nuts buying games for them to try out. Give it some time and you will start to see the numbers flattening out. At least till a new console is made.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Console games have been beating PC games for a while now. The lead just grew, and with the blockbuster hits that are coming out in 08 that will not be on the PC, I doubt the numbers will be anymore favorable to the PC stats.

The game may work for the PC, but someone that buys an Xbox360 game is going to play it on the 360, because they have a 360 that has the right specs for the game to run flawlessly. The percentage of those that will play it on the PC is very small. As far as I know, the only games that are double compatible are 1st party Microsoft games, because MS has a computer gaming division. It saves them money from having to release two formats of the same game, a cost cutting move. Systems were build on the PC model to beat PCs which they have successfully done.

The Gaming market is still heavily single player, the FPS genre is the one that had been geared mostly towards multiplayer with the slowly decaying fighting genre in pursuit.

Essentially its the computer gamers that are harming their own beloved market. pirating games isn't like downloading free music. A music artist hardly makes a dime off their record sales, the recording studio does... so even if the studio goes out of business, the artist will always be there to make more material. In the gaming world, the studio is the artist and once it dies... like many have, there is no new material.

[gokuDX7 2,871]

Console games have been beating PC games for a while now. The lead just grew, and with the blockbuster hits that are coming out in 08 that will not be on the PC, I doubt the numbers will be anymore favorable to the PC stats.

The game may work for the PC, but someone that buys an Xbox360 game is going to play it on the 360, because they have a 360 that has the right specs for the game to run flawlessly. The percentage of those that will play it on the PC is very small. As far as I know, the only games that are double compatible are 1st party Microsoft games, because MS has a computer gaming division. It saves them money from having to release two formats of the same game, a cost cutting move. Systems were build on the PC model to beat PCs which they have successfully done.

The Gaming market is still heavily single player, the FPS genre is the one that had been geared mostly towards multiplayer with the slowly decaying fighting genre in pursuit.

Essentially its the computer gamers that are harming their own beloved market. pirating games isn't like downloading free music. A music artist hardly makes a dime off their record sales, the recording studio does... so even if the studio goes out of business, the artist will always be there to make more material. In the gaming world, the studio is the artist and once it dies... like many have, there is no new material.

You bring up good points but the fact is, you will never see gaming go obsolete on PC/linux/Mac. It just wont happen, and id be willing to bet money on that. You may see less games being made but that doesn't mean it will become "obsolete" in the future.

You have thousands of open source games being made everyday from people all over the world. You also have company's of popular games like HL and Quake allowing programmers and graphics artists access to their game engines. Theres also the same company's making their games compatible for Linux and Mac now. Not to mention thousands of Linux developers all over the world that program free/paid games as well. So you can't really base the popularity of the PC only on "paid games"; where as the Consoles only sell Paid games so obviously the statistics would be higher. The topic should be changed to "Consoles Robb people of their money more then PCs".

Btw, theoretically all Xbox 360 games could be run on PC. That's why company's that make games for the Xbox normally come out with a PC version within the same month or sometimes way before (ie. all the Quake games, HL games..etc).

So I'm sticking with what I've been saying since the start, PC gameing will not go obsolete.

[Dubird 6,815]

as long as the Xbox is based on Windows technology, PC gaming will always be around. For minimual cost and effort Microsoft could release a game for both PC and Xbox to cover both groups of gamers. No other console can do that. Yes, console gaming is big and has apparently eclipsed PC gaming, but there will always be a good source of PC gamers.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

When I say obsolete, I mean severe lacking of high budget, high production, big name games that everyone buys and plays.

Quake, Unreal Tournament, and Half-Life are starting to shift their marketing towards the console banner. They cane make big bucks not only on the game, but on professionally made map packs via PSN and XBLA. The Orange Box came out the same day for PC and 360. Then again Steam is the only financially viable platform on the PC.

Freeware games? Those are more of time killers than a source of entertainment. I've tried so many freeware games back when I didn't have a constant flow of money to put into gaming. My desperate need for new material was never satisfied.

[gokuDX7 2,871]

When I say obsolete, I mean severe lacking of high budget, high production, big name games that everyone buys and plays.

Quake, Unreal Tournament, and Half-Life are starting to shift their marketing towards the console banner. They cane make big bucks not only on the game, but on professionally made map packs via PSN and XBLA. The Orange Box came out the same day for PC and 360. Then again Steam is the only financially viable platform on the PC.

Freeware games? Those are more of time killers than a source of entertainment. I've tried so many freeware games back when I didn't have a constant flow of money to put into gaming. My desperate need for new material was never satisfied.

Then you shouldn't be using the word "obsolete" when describing PC gaming. The day it becomes obsolete would be the day they stop making graphics cards.

Have you played many free/shareware games because it seems like you haven't. They're more then just simple flash games you play using a web browser . There's thousands of really good games out there for free that could easily rival most of the popular paid games. Most of which are made in Korea.

Quake (id Soft) and HL have always been working towards the PC and console market. So nothing has changed there. People just notice it more now that they ported the newer Quake/Doom engine to console.

Sorry if I seem annoyed but I kinda am. You're the first person I have ever hear this nonsense from. I almost fell out of my chair in shock when I saw your post lol. It makes absolutely no sense why gaming would go obsolete, so you may want to use a different word when talking to your friends about such things or else they will think you're crazy like I do .

[Dubird 6,815]

baa-psh. We already think he's crazy, what else is new?

I do think console games are becoming bigger and PC games aren't as popular. But something occured to me this morning that you're forgetting about PC games: the free modding community. I don't know anyone that makes mods for console games. The only possible exception would be the xbox, but it's more difficult to distribute them. As long as game modders out there want to customize their games and make new modlues and maps without having to pay anyone, PC gaming will still be popular. Maybe not as much as console, but it won't become obsolete.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Then you shouldn't be using the word "obsolete" when describing PC gaming. The day it becomes obsolete would be the day they stop making graphics cards.

Have you played many free/shareware games because it seems like you haven't. They're more then just simple flash games you play using a web browser . There's thousands of really good games out there for free that could easily rival most of the popular paid games. Most of which are made in Korea.

Quake (id Soft) and HL have always been working towards the PC and console market. So nothing has changed there. People just notice it more now that they ported the newer Quake/Doom engine to console.

Sorry if I seem annoyed but I kinda am. You're the first person I have ever hear this nonsense from. I almost fell out of my chair in shock when I saw your post lol. It makes absolutely no sense why gaming would go obsolete, so you may want to use a different word when talking to your friends about such things or else they will think you're crazy like I do .

Lets look at some definitions of the term obsolete.

1. to make obsolete by replacing with something newer or better; antiquate.

2. Outmoded in design, style, or construction: an obsolete locomotive.

3. of a discarded or outmoded type; out of date:

4. imperfectly developed or rudimentary in comparison with the corresponding character in other individuals

These are only a few of the ways the term obsolete can be used. I think I used it for the purpose I intended it to mean. The Gamecube, N64, and Xbox, are Obsolete. People still play them, however. PC gaming may always be around, but the chance of it ever being the creme of the crop as it once was is unlikely. Its not nonsense, its statistical fact. I still play PC games, but that doesn't change anything.

[Myk JL 1,731]

baa-psh. We already think he's crazy, what else is new?

I do think console games are becoming bigger and PC games aren't as popular. But something occured to me this morning that you're forgetting about PC games: the free modding community. I don't know anyone that makes mods for console games. The only possible exception would be the xbox, but it's more difficult to distribute them. As long as game modders out there want to customize their games and make new modlues and maps without having to pay anyone, PC gaming will still be popular. Maybe not as much as console, but it won't become obsolete.

I'm sure I knew that too, but I didn't think I was allowed to talk about it...

The modding community has some of my interest. Some mods have either become major games or inspired major games. Something that's impossible in console gaming.

Besides that console gaming can't advance much with out PC Gaming. If console gaming had to advance gaming it would only happen little by little on a 5 year basis. You wouldn't see as much difference between newer & older consoles.

[Pchan 5,162]

I see the console gaming market as a 'trendy' business like getting a new Nike shoe even though you've got 5 others, just because you wanna fit in. I also believe it's not the game sales that are hitting both pc gaming and consoles or bringing about those figures, it's the basic console that brought out those figures. I'll explain - everyone has a laptop these days or a pc at home, kids use their parents' or sisters or brothers, but that's not the same for your Xbox's or PS's or Gamecube's/ Wii's. You have to buy the whole thing afresh. Console sales are much higher in that sense ... it has little to do with the games I feel, because look at it this way - on the street you get both pc games and consoles games pirated which means it's not accounted for in the sales figures reflected by the company analysts, which ALSO means that you cannot use that as a standard of measure to account for anything <-- simple business logic that I'm using. All in all, it's an unfair analysis for both mediums. But, that's just my ungaming thought flow process X'D ...

[Kiteoto 253]

Tsk--I love PC gaming so much more. I'd just as soon drop 2k and build a fully wicked gaming PC that will play games that come out in the 360 AND the Ps3, rather than drop about 1k for either the 360 or the PS3, and then lose stuff that is other wise exclusive to the other. IE: PS3 owners will never get a shot to play BioShock, while PC will be able to pick it up and smirk their way to the undersea bank. I've also heard that Prototype(something I'm lusting after) will be a Ps3 & PC only, nothing for the 360, and this game is going to be obscenely wicked. Not sure how accurate that info is, but you never know. There's also PC only stuff that, in all honesty, blows the shit out of anything on the Ps3/360. Personally, I don't think any console will ever put out anything like Neverwinter Nights. Neverwinter, to me, is the best MMO I've ever seen..especially since individuals can create and run their own servers. The closest thing I've seen to this was .hack//FRAGMENT, something I wish that Japan would have ported outside their boarders...'cause if they would have sales would have been so epic that the game would still be operating.

In case you haven't heard about .hack//FRAGMENT, it was huge..an actual .hack MMORPG, and it merged together your Ps2 with your PC in a fully epic way. On the PC you could build your own dungeons, custom maps, custom monsters, background music, EVERYTHING was customizable, and then you set up your keywords--and uploaded it to the system, allow any other play access to your Dungeon, or you could place a password on it and make it something private for just you and your friends. Then you could head over to your Ps2, log on, and take part in the game, just like you would Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star Online...I just don't see why this game didn't take off in Japan, .hack//SIGN is EXTREMELY successful, and I know it has a huge fanbase in the States--I don't understand why they didn't port it and allow the servers to really fill up. The idea of being able to combine PC and Console gaming--that's what I think the industry is REALLY heading, not to the eventual out-doing of the other side, but rather a beautiful union, combining the strengths of both(ie: using the PC for map creation/customization/ect.) and allowing the more streamlined interface of the Console to create a wonderful playing environment. As long as someone is willing to hook up a keyboard to their PS3/360/Wii, (hopefully via wireless connection) I don't see why communication would be hurt either.. personally I would love to see a Neverwinter port to all three consoles(obviously taking graphics into consideration on each, downgrading where needed, and writing custom interface for the wii, of course) As epic as that would be to crate--I think that the sales would be equally massive.

Just think on that..an mmo, with a full off line campaign(and unlimited downloadable Mods to play through as well) full of DnD level customization, and people being able to run their own servers, make their own haks, mods, all of the open development that we could create on the PC and upload to make available for enjoyment on the console! If you want a sample of how much downloadable content head here and type hak or mod into the search, or anything really--assuming your familiar with Morrowind and all the mods made available for that--it's on that scale, if not larger due to the ability to play online.

PC and Console NEED to merge like this..even if it's not the Neverwinter franchise--something like this needs to be brought about, hopefully without a monthly fee, and without any download fees--seeing as up to now on similar PC only games the content is 100% free.

Opinions?