Three words: World of Warcraft

Lots of mainstream console games are being ported for PCs, and I believe, at the rate PC technology is advancing, it will be cheaper to upgrade to be able to play the higher-end games. The reason I can say that: graphics technology is leveling off. The details are becoming more and more minute, and any developer will tell you, because of that, gameplay is going to be key more than ever. Graphics are coming to a standstill.

Also notice how consoles are working to become more PC-like.

There is also the big fact that separates PCs from consoles - PCs can be used for more than just games.

Consider: would you honestly trust a console to write your term paper on? Or create 3d movie graphics? Or balance your checkbook? PCs have a greater degree of versatility that enables them to perform a bewildering variety of tasks, both creative and mundane, including some things that would literally choke a console, like movie-quality 3d modelling, skinning and rendering. The versatility and power of the PC is often used to justify the price of these machines, and rightly so - what other machine can do so much, and offer such freedom of control?

Well, there IS the argument about PCs versus Macs, but that's not a discussion I'd like to get into.

The point is, whether or not console games are at their zenith or their nadir, PCs will still endure...because they can do more than just games. After all, you don't expect Draginol to program Gal Civ III using an XBox, do you?

first of all, they aren't selling at as much of a loss as you might expect, since they mass-produce a single graphics card in far greater quantities than pc ones are made. in the end, its cheaper to have a low-end pc and a new console, even though console games are too expensive these days, than a high end pc. EVEN IF you pirate all your games for pc. the reasons I stick w/ pc (unless halo 3 is less of a disappointment than halo 2) are the modding community for half-life2 (and hopefully oblivion and galciv2) and the fact that mouse and keyboard are simply better for shooters and strategy than a controller stick, end of discussion.
are mods really worth all that money?? imo, yes. modded morrowind is a joy to play, it is incomparably better than unmodded, which is all you can get on console. I am disturbed that microsoft plans to SELL mods over xbox live.
and btw mmorpgs can be played just fine on a console, its not like the control scheme is overly complicated

Its really hard to say where the market will head because different companies have different agendas. Sometimes the same company can have different agendas!!

Some argue that the PC is doomed because developers hate the added costs of developing for so many hardware configs, users prefer console gaming for its ease of use and multimedia companies want to crush it because it allows rampant piracy to occur. Additionally they would say that consoles are working to become more PC like so they can eliminate the PC altogether!

I'd disagree with that however because even if we have something like software watermarking which requires mandatory DRM chips in our PC's it's unlikely you would get a situation where you couldn't build your own PC due to the popularity of that market.

The argument about graphic cards and pcs slowly topping off is definitely true. Five years ago, when the PS2 and Xbox comes out, people expected the PC of today to be pentium 6 pushing 8000 Mhz basing upon the changes from the previous 5 years, but that obviously hasn't happen, nor will it any time soon. The 'rapid' developement of the PCs have slowed down to a crawl from its earlier days, and now people are just releasing minute upgrades as opposed to drastic changes. On the other hand, the graphics industry has gone a long way in the last 5 years, with newer generation cards coming out every year or so, significantly better than their predesesors. The current battle between Nvidia and ATI is reminicent of Intel vs. Athlon a few years back, that has resulted in a lot of better toys for us. Though, they are definitely very expensive. It remains to question though, how long can this go on? I don't think we are going to see many new improvements for a while yet, simply because it seems like we've started to reach the limit that our current technology can provide. So unless someone discovers some new miracle methods, this 4 year old computer of mine will still be top of the line for many years to come if I just get the latest video card. (Maybe I should build some more research labs on earth and research the miniturization line... ah crap, too much GalCiv2 for me).

On the otherhand, this also means that consoles won't be going very much farther either, since they are dependant upon the technologies that the PC churn out. It's not so much that Consoles are besting PCs, it's just that they've started to become "PCs designed to play games." In a sense, the consoles are better because they are optimized just for this fact, and their cost reflects their ability to not do all the other things that a PC can.However, I KNOW that I'll always have a good PC around, just because I need it for all the thousand things I do with it aside gaming. On the other hand, since my PC can play the games, do I really need to buy the consoles too? What really gets to me is that in order to get the most out of the latest consoles, I would also need to set up a home theatre system that would probably cost twice my 'expensive' PC. So to me, consoles aren't that much better.

Added to this fact is that the games that I usually enjoy the most are ones that can be modded. There's just so much satisfaction in being able to tweak that one thing about the game that you have always hated. This alone, can make the game a thousand times better.

PC gaming will always be ten times more expensive... but then remember, you get what you pay for.


It's pretty much that simple. If you can afford to keep up with PC technology, your gaming is going to be so, so much more "everything" than a relatively inexpensive console can be.

On a side note, the console tends to limit the community aspects of PC gaming.

How many gaming clans that have been around more than 5 years and have more than 100 legit members for consoles?
Now count the same communities for PC gamers.


You get what you pay for, its a fact of life

Because when i get home from work...i dont have the time or the will to Install/update the drivers...directx...then check compatibility issues...mount images etc...i just want to relax and play a little and nothing can compare to consoles in that case. Because in the console world PnP means "plug and play" vs "plug and pray" in the PC world.

And that is why PC gaming is destined to contract.

Eventually, what will happen is that so-called "professional" developers will abandon the PC. They will switch their development to consoles who have a much larger user base. Those who don't will be independent developers (like StarDock, MoonPod, etc) who don't need to sell 2 million copies to make back their development costs.

Look at how FPS games have exploded on consoles, despite the fact that dual-analog control is significantly inferior to mouse control. Console gamers want most of the kinds of games you find on PCs. The only barrier to entry has been the lack of appropriate User Interface devices. Both PS3 and 360 have USB ports for you to plug mice and keyboards into. And Rev comes with a very interesting mouse to use. So the trend is going to continue, if not accelerate.

You also have to consider that Console Software and Games are developed on a PC itself. Again, as previously stated above PC's aren't slated toward a specific use, they are much more versatile, which explains such steep prices for hardware. And the fact that developers of consoles are trying to widen the capabilites of consoles to be more PC like (since PC's are so versatile) must show that PC's are superior to a console system in many respects, consoles could never claim absolute superiority.

Also, from your post I assume you mean superior in the idea of market price and not performance and graphics. Performance and graphics wise the PC will always be superior.

If ultimately consoles are to become more PC like and versatile than to simply play games, expect there market value to rise higher than the $300-$400 per unit price.

Not sure if someone has already said this, but the thing that really draws me to console gaming over PC is the fact that when I put the game in the system, it's going to work. I'm not going to run in to some compatibility issues or get some crazy error message. Even with galciv2, it took me a day and a half to get my computer to run it (outdated driver that isn't supported by the manufacturer anymore). I used to have a great, top of the line system, but PCs get outdated so fast, it's not worth the money to upgrade them. It's just frustrating that PC game designers try to make the coolest, cutting edge games but you need a $4,000 Alienware computer to play them. For strategy games, you really don't have a choice, it's PC all the way. But almost any other genre, it's console hands down. Just one guy's opinion

This thread is a joke, trying to compare a PC to a Games Console is like trying to compare a modern Aegis cruiser to a war world 2 cruiser. The ww2 will always out gun the Aegis in terms of firepower, but the Aegis will rip it a new one in a proper battle. Why because it is basic around an advance form of combat that doesn't rely on actually see the enemy. The Aegis could sit 20 miles away radar lock via GPS and missile it into dust.

This is the same with PCs, all game consoles are are fancy graphic cargs a cheap CPU and a bit of ram. All it can do is run games. Thats all it is meant for, anything else and it starts to grind. A PC on the other hand is versitile to the extreme, not only is it module in design but its core programs offer a variety of different applications other than just games. We have all seen how bad consoles are at doing anything other than games. I've seen just recently how poor the internet is handled on a PSP. Though of course it is impressive that it can do it at all. Looking at game console evolution, it is clear that they are evolving more and more towards PCs rather than moving down their own path. Most next generation consoles now are designed purposely to be versitile like the XBOX360, allowing internet connection, online gaming, and utilization of a hard drive. In my opinion, they will never beat a PC simply because to beat it is to become it.

Long live the PC.

Last time I checked GalCiv2 wasn't developed on a games console Another reason why PCs are better.

What does annoy me about the xbox 360 and xbox- is that it runs games via direct x - which is the same as on the pc, but they won't allow pc users to use x-box games, Which is a shame as most people have spent large amounts of money on a high end pc. As there are a few games that i would want to play on the pc that are out on the xbox 360.


This is absolutely not true. The XBox uses a very modified version of DX that is basically not compatible at all with PCs. Sepcifically, it's memory management for video and DSP management for Audio are nothing like the PC version.

Also, you'd be suprised at how well PCs run games if you set them to the quality of the consoles (the Xbox360 does 1280x720 at maximum...)

we'll get stuck with all the crappy Japanese games which imho just suck. Whatever innovation they could have taught us has been taught, all I see coming from Japan these days is repetitive boring anime-style drivel. YAWN.

So you're saying you prefer the hojillionth GTA clone, poor mindless action game, or pretty much anything coming out of EA? Because the world really needs another Madden that is practically identical to the last game which really wasnt that great to begin with.