PC: The Largest Threat to Next Gen Consoles (according to Gametrailers)
- Thread starter EternalTruth
- Start date
Fess
Member
PC matters because the two most powerful next gen consoles are mid spec gaming PCs this time. There is nothing really magical about them, no Cell, no Emotion Engine, no super computer performance etc, it's just PC parts that are already on the shelves. And almost every third party game is multi platform these days, and comes to PC now, with better graphics, resolution and framerates. And you can use PS/XB controllers if you want. Why wouldn't PC matter?
Sentenza
Member
It's funny how you're constantly ignoring that if "good value" was such an overwhelmingly convincing argument they would make PS+ optional and not a mandatory paywall.
If Steam would suddenly introduce a mandatory paid subscription and then give away two crappy old games as compensation, you could be sure you would hear a lot of complaints on the PC side.
If Sony does that on console, it's the greatest act of kindness in the interest of consumers, apparently.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
I'm happy about that or any success for great games from big or small studios. I definitely did not miss that and actively have applauded and posted in threads (can't remember when they were posted) in the past. I love the success the Star Citizen guys are having with their respective project and I haven't even invested in that yet. Minecraft is something I've admired from the sidelines and am actually buying it on PS4 at launch. I don't why it took me this long but the prospect of playing it with my kids in local co op with a controller is certainly tantalizing.
Dictator93
Member
That is an interesting thing to say. Why do you think people purposefully are OK with imprecise input devices?
Are you ok with them?
I personally want my games to have the least amount of input lag and the most amount of control as possible. So i can play the game to the best of my ability and make up my own gameplay.
Precise input like the mouse also enables a wider variety of genres. That is not to say that controllers are also not genre specfiic (the D-pad namely). But it is hard to imagine someone purposefully wanting to play games with less precise controls if they had a choice.
SniperHunter
Banned
They give away new games too...gravity rush, xcom enemy.uknown, dragons dogma. It is a really good service ;/
Giving away games across three platforms...it is a great service
derExperte
Member
I'm sitting right beside you with my PS3, 3DS and now Vita on which I enjoy a good many exclusives. I only see it more from a PC gamers point of view and get the impression that 'ours' get downtalked constantly by people who don't know a lot about PC gaming.
I'd rather he continues.
PC player base and the amount of games getting more and more each year again and again. The consoles starting again from zero, they will need a minimum of 5 years to even reach the same level they have now with the current gen. Till then the PC is alot bigger than it is now, how is this not a threat?
That's true.
I was checking out PSN games the other day and I think I saw TLOU still priced somewhere around 50 quid or something. It appears if you want "good" deals you pay for the PSN+ service, I find that a bit funny. I'm probably wrong as I hardly buy things from PSN.
geordiemp
Member
I am happy for people who like gaming with a mouse and kb, I don't and many console gamers don't, therefore console gamers will be console gamers and PC gamers will be PC gamers
Back to the original article, no, PC is not and a threat to console gamers.
Console is not a threat to PC gamers.
Dictator93
Member
Tell that to Cliff. He seemed to really dislike PCs this most recent gen.
Sentenza
Member
I don't doubt it can be a good service, as my hypothetical Steam paid subscription could be a good service too.
Being mandatory is precisely what devalues it, and trying to justify its being mandatory as "a great thing" just because for someone it can be good value is incredibly short sighted.
What if someone just doesn't care about those games?
What if someone already bought all of them?
Where's the great value for these people, beside having to pay for multiplayer on PS4?
iamshadowlark
Banned
Considering how I game on TVs, it would probably be nice to get this in a HD set, but I wouldn't pay extra for something like this.
It's a threat to the longevity of the next console life-cycle, just like it was this gen. Any amount of console gamers who went PC later on this gen due to the long life-cycle is a loss and a considerable threat. (And in the way these companies profit mostly, from the game sales AND the mandatory paywalls, NOT the console sales!)
The initial adoption rate and console userbase doesn't matter as much if they lose some of those users in the long run. (which is when they make most of their profits, not at the start) It's not gonna be that big of a problem, but there's a lot of interesting tech coming on this round as well.
The initial adoption rate and console userbase doesn't matter as much if they lose some of those users in the long run. (which is when they make most of their profits, not at the start) It's not gonna be that big of a problem, but there's a lot of interesting tech coming on this round as well.
Dictator93
Member
What features would you pay extra in a TV for?
I think getting the game to display and perform correctly would be a big part of a gamer's display purchase. I know that is why I went for 120hz.
Killing_Joke
Member
Isn't it the other way around? Budget priced consoles are more of a threat to PC's then the other way around imo. People are crying about over priced WiiU, Vita, X1, but 1k+ rigs are a threat? Plus doesn't 3rd party games sell significantly better on consoles? Not saying PC is dead or not a threat entirely. It will always be big competition by the end of the day.
Surprised this thread isn't more focused on the laughable 5 spot for the WiiU.
Surprised this thread isn't more focused on the laughable 5 spot for the WiiU.
Stallion Free
Cock Encumbered
It would certainly incentivize buying a Sony set over another brand in for future upgrades though.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Doesn't G-SYNC require you to mod new HW in with compatible sets or buy a new (G-SYNC certified) one altogether?
SniperHunter
Banned
Yea you are totally right. Thing with PSN+is that the money goes to the devs who are offering the "free" games. It really helps the smaller devs, but you are right paying for online and sales is wrong.
Everyone's going to have a strong opinion, but that doesn't mean it's more valid than another.
Indeed, that's pretty much my position. PS+ hasn't been all that good for me, I buy games I want to play when they come out. Often a better version too.
Now that Sony require a subscription for basic functionality of their next-gen console, they'll have a huge subscriber base and a much smaller incentive for them to keep the quality of PS+ games wise where it is now.
What did they say about Ouya that made sense? Please elaborate.
PC has ALWAYS been more powerful and open. The sole reason of the console market existing is because of a certain conveniences and exclusives.
derExperte
Member
PS+ doesn't change the (insanely high) prices of newly released AAA titles. It just gives you a slightly higher discount (maybe 15%) during sales or sometimes for preorders which adds up over a year but it's not like you would get TLOU for 50% off. The main draw and why people like it are the free games (plus if you look around you never have to pay full price for a year).
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Consoles have nothing to worry about then since tablets are slowly killing the giant hulking desktops, the masses no longer need to own.
One look at GTA V's sales show how little PC gaming matters to the industry.
One look at GTA V's sales show how little PC gaming matters to the industry.
I can see a game not being released on the platform having irrelevant sales the same way Uncharted makes the Xbox 360 irrelevant...
The birth of Minecraft on PC and its propagation is nowhere near irrelevant to the industry. It's apparentely so relevant that a certain company wanted to keep it exclusive to only one console platform for a reason.
That and let's not even get into MOBAs...
Price? Too many driver/hardware issues? Not convenient? Friends are on consoles? No Halo/Uncharted?
Sentenza
Member
They specifically stated that it isn't necessarily the OUYA itself they are talking about, as much as a whole bunch of possible similar devices coming out in the next years.
yongeandcollege
Member
I'm pretty sure mobile computing is a major threat to the traditional PC / desktop. Mobile computing should be ranked higher.
1. PS Plus can be used as a discovery tool. "I have this free game, might as well give it a try. "
2. If the PS Plus install base gets higher it means Sony can afford to get some if the bigger games on there. MS is doing that Ganes with Gokd thing on 360 so I dobt expect Sony to slack on this.
one game with more active online players than the whole xblive or psn, thats really insane.
geordiemp
Member
Exactly, it really is a PC centric game that you need a PC for.
There again, Diablo crossed over to consoles (being devils advocate with myself again LOL)
I think it'll be the opposite.
This gen the PS3/360 did a pretty terrible job of being media centers imo. Most people used it for netflix but thats it. Too slow and cumbersome to use it for browsing and social media that MS/Sony originally envisioned in their concept videos.
Kinect 2 and PS4's touchpad controller could change this.
I could see a future where everything is accessed from either the living room gaming console, or a tablet. PC still used for excel.
Part of the reason I think nvidia is so gungho on mobile processors and titans. PC is losing low-midrange gaming.
This gen the PS3/360 did a pretty terrible job of being media centers imo. Most people used it for netflix but thats it. Too slow and cumbersome to use it for browsing and social media that MS/Sony originally envisioned in their concept videos.
Kinect 2 and PS4's touchpad controller could change this.
I could see a future where everything is accessed from either the living room gaming console, or a tablet. PC still used for excel.
Part of the reason I think nvidia is so gungho on mobile processors and titans. PC is losing low-midrange gaming.
Yeah and Diablo probably sold nothing like the PC version. But when GTA does that and gets lower sales on PC, it's "proof no plays PC!".
And yeah, It's really odd for people to say "LOOK THESE CONSOLE GAMES SELL MORE ON CONSOLES!" - compare a PC game to a console game, not a console game to a console port.
Which ones are coming out on PC? Like the guy who got banned earlier in the thread, it's one of the few genres I remain interested in (and one that's definitely lacking on the PC... even though I can't wait for the English version of TITS2 to come out!)
do you have anything to back that up? i mean, all i see is lots of dwindling console numbers and lots of metrics which show growth in all sections of the PC gaming market.
johan andersson broke down how i envisage the future home, whereby every screen you own is essentially an access device to a high powered server PC you keep in a cupboard somewhere.
H_Prestige
Banned
Just like PC destroyed this gen right?
D3 had over 10million sales in the first 3-4months.
D3 on console has around 0.7mio on both together.
MutonCommander
Banned
PC is going to become a very real threat very soon. A $300 Steam Machine would threaten next gen consoles directly.
derExperte
Member
Unfortunately for all those closed studios GTAV only matters to Rockstar. Who knows, maybe it gobbled up so much mindshare that it actually hurt other games.
And come back when tablet sales actually impact PC gaming. Right now it's only growing.
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
A thing I learned in the past 8 months is that nvidia should never name a flagship card again with a name that doesn't include a number, because people that in the first place didn't knew enough to refer by these cards by name now can't stop saying "titan" like it means anything, or know what they are saying.
Sentenza
Member
Wut?
No, not "like that" at all, considering the scenario is completely different right now.
What made you think your comparison was so clever, exactly?
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
So you agree that the WiiU will sell the most this gen too?
I swear, the PC-gamer condescension on GAF sometimes is just sickening to read through.
Console gaming and PC gaming still each have their own unique strengths. If you want access to the best of every genre, you'll need to partake in both. Don't act like PC is all you need and that consoles are only for casuals.
If every great console game was also released on PC, then you'd have a strong argument. But that's far from the reality.
Console gaming and PC gaming still each have their own unique strengths. If you want access to the best of every genre, you'll need to partake in both. Don't act like PC is all you need and that consoles are only for casuals.
If every great console game was also released on PC, then you'd have a strong argument. But that's far from the reality.
People tend to focus on hardware sales when these topics come up, and although I think console hardware will see a fairly big drop off, I think the bigger problem is going to be software. Over the last few months the games I've spent the most time playing are cheap or FTP games on my smartphone or PC(Puzzle and dragons, POE for example). This gives me less time and inclination to spend $60 on console games.
What happens if people buy a PS4 or XBone and only use it to play the occasional AAA game like GTA and are content otherwise playing cheap/FTP games? I have a feeling we are going to see high profile games still sell very well, maybe even better than this gen, but a lot of mid-tier games bomb spectacularly.
What happens if people buy a PS4 or XBone and only use it to play the occasional AAA game like GTA and are content otherwise playing cheap/FTP games? I have a feeling we are going to see high profile games still sell very well, maybe even better than this gen, but a lot of mid-tier games bomb spectacularly.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
How so? Steam is not a household name like Playstation and Xbox, and they certainly wouldn't be coming in at $300.
A steam machine would also be missing first party exclusives, which believe it or not, are enjoyed by console owners.
I don't know about you but I would instantly choose PC exclusives over modern console exclusives. The platform has a fuckton of variety that is invisible to many on GAF due to the lack of a marketing overlord like Microsoft or Sony.
I like playing games, though, so I'll wind up buying a PS4 at the very least.