The Future of PC Gaming... Is The Future of Console Gaming?
Published July 07, 2008
If an impartial observer was looking down at the state of gaming in 2008, he might feel saddened by the state of PC gaming. PC hits like Half-Life 2 and the Command and Conquer franchise, once in the domain of computers and computers alone, are now available just as easily on consoles, as are classic PC titles like Doom. Even those which are PC-only cannot escape constant rumors of being ported to consoles, like Crysis. All signs point seem to a slow downhill slide with PC gaming ultimately being a casualty of the escalating console wars.
But that perception couldn't be further from the truth. PC gaming is not dying — it is evolving into something we are much more familiar with. It is not PC gaming that is dying, but the perception of "console gaming" that is biting the bullet. And there's plenty of evidence to back it up.
There are a remarkable number of similarities between the current crop of consoles and PCs. The new generation of consoles all have built-in memory or HDD options, something that was almost non-existent in the gaming industry a few years ago but has been commonplace in the computer market for decades. They also are no longer simple game-playing machines. You can download and watch movies on the PS3 and 360 just as if you were on a PC or Mac, or communicate across the world with other users and friends using various messaging services. Not surprisingly, each console also has a main menu screen from which all of these various services can be accessed, not unlike a PC desktop and/or start menu. And like PCs, consoles now require regular firmware updates to patch holes or add necessary features to the system. None of this is some stupid coincidence, not by a long shot.
The biggest and obvious clue of this might come from last generation's leader, Sony. Think about the name of their gaming branch: SCE. Sony Computer Entertainment. Sure, part of that may have to deal with the face that Sony did once publish PC games, but the name has never changed, even when the PS3 and PSP became the main focus. Dig deeper, and you'll see a pattern with Sony's development of consoles: they've evolved from a simple CD-based console to a massive multimedia machine that also happens to play games. With its massive size, the PS3 does resemble a new-age PC, and the fact that it runs Linux isn't some coincidence. Nor is the fact that we're starting to see the idea of user-created content appear in games like Unreal Tournament III in a way very reminiscent of a PC title. One might also be able to point out the pure power of the Cell processor and how it compares with the newest ones from AMD or Intel, or how Folding @ Home works just like a number of screen-saver programs available on the Internet for years. Kutaragi and Co. weren't lying when they called the PS2 or PS3 a "computer" back in the day, because that's really what they are. Especially in the case of the PS3, which is really just a PC that's built for gamers.
- The Future of PC Gaming... Is The Future of Console Gaming?
- Published: July 07, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Gaming
- Filed Under: Gaming: Computer, Gaming: Nintendo Wii, Gaming: PlayStation 3, Gaming: Xbox 360
- Writer: Brian Szabelski
- Brian Szabelski's BC Writer page
- Brian Szabelski's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
I agree with the analysis, which raises the further question for me of the obsolescence of software and gaming rental laws. Why can an outfit like GameFly rent PS3 games for a "computer entertainment system" but not PC games for a desktop? Is there really that much of a difference anymore? The lines are getting more blurry as the laws struggle to keep up with technological innovation.
I think that GameFly does not rent PC games based solely on a (IMO smart) business decision. 1) will they make enough money from PC game rentals and 2) how many of those sales are going to go to piracy, defeating the purpose of a rental model in the first place.
I don't think one is turning into the other. I think the two are hitting a happy medium.
Be sure and tune into our show Tuesday night at 9:30 as we discuss PC gaming!
Ken,
One, and certainly the overriding, reason GameFly and other rental outlets don't rent PC games is because the copyright laws are written such that they cannot rent or lend them (with an exception made for government-run and non-profit entities like libraries).
The exceptions for profit rental ventures are for "video" game systems. The law specifies a difference between a "personal" computer and a "video game system." My point, in agreement with the article, is that there isn't much difference between the two anymore, and that the law making such a distinction is therefore obsolete (or nearly so).
It isn't as if you can't hack an Xbox360 and run copied games on it...that issue has to do with how specialized the proprietary codecs are that encode the various disks. It so happens that PCs typically use very common codecs. But how long will it before you simply buy and download a specialized codec and driver to run PS3 games on your computer?
Emulation of PS3 and 360 games on a computer? That is a long way off. My point was on the business (money) side of things, nothing to do with legalities.
Home consoles are still a very much "closed box" system. You do not build a PS3, you buy one.
The Xbox 360 still has not been cracked open like the Xbox before it. And it is a bit of a surprise (to me, at least) that the PS3 has not seen custom firmware, because it is a rampant problem on the PSP.
I think because of the basic difference that you can build your own PC, and you buy a pre-built console, the two forms of gaming are still differentiated. As I said above, they are coming to a happy medium, sharing traits of both.
I can't believe you managed to stretch that idea to two pages, it's a little obvious don't you think mate
The author seems to have one sided love for PC. What is the point? PC has those functionality first and console copy them. Therefore PC is doing really well. WTF? Yes, console is becoming more PC like but still not a PC.
I think the author's vision has one major issue is that hardware don't need to evolve, software is everything. I believe the next IT revolution is on hardware front. Look at the PS3, it outruns even the fastest PC nowadays. Can PS3's processing power finally enable machine talk to human like another human or Photo realistic graphic?
The PS3's processor doesn't outrun any decent PC processor today, it's 2 years old already.
If people made games for the fastest computers only, then they'd end up with amazing things that the PS3 can never do.
If people made games for the fastest computers only, then they'd end up with amazing things that the PS3 can never do.
Hell, if people developed an OS that would actually utilize the capabilities of the fastest computers, no one would give two sh!tes about consoles!
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Finally somebody that thinks the same. I was getting real tired of explaining myself (though I know im not done)to people that rather PC gaming dying it was actaully consoles. I used this same argument too that Consoles are turning closer into PC's then anything. Too right