Here is the article:
what does everyone think about the article?
That it’s about as newsworthy as the “college students often drink to excess” stories that appear every year?
How many times do we have to go over this topic?
Let’s discuss it again in two years when we’re all running 4GHz machines with GeForceXLS cards, while PS2/XBox/GC games all look about the same as they do now. Until then, it’s all just a rehash of what we talked about last week.
I think that it’s hard to predict a trend based on one bad year, but who knows. It could be true, I guess. I find it hard to care. Unless games I like show up on the console, it really doesn’t matter to me what everyone else is playing.
There are only a handful of games I like every year, and so far they are usually PC games.
The deciding factor in what platform will be more popular is not technology, but accessibility, and consoles have a huge advantage. You don’t have to install console games. You don’t have to worry if your PS2 is fast enough to play the latest releases. No patches. You easily can play on your couch with your friends around.
Until the barriers of entry for retail PC games are removed, the PC sales will trail console sales in the same way that sales of cars with standard transmission trail those with automatic transmission.
-Scott-
Another week, another chance for AIM to declare the PC dead.
I spent an hour today in CompUSA. I browsed the Gamecube section, because I thought of getting Metroid for a gift to my sister. But I also scanned the PS2 and Xbox shelves as well.
Absolutely none of those games appealed to me. Platformers, fighting games, wrestling games, all of them just were bleh. I outgrew them over a decade ago.
And as I was trying out a demo of Quantum Redshift on Xbox (which lasted all of about 5 seconds before I shut it down), the middle aged guy standing behind me with his wife was also telling her that he doesn’t want a console for Christmas because all the games are too “arcadey”. They look nice, but he said they’re meant for 12 year olds. He did tell her that he wanted Combat Flight Sim 3 for his PC.
Ooh. Bad choice. CFS3 is kind of a trainwreck.
Finally time for me to say this…
YAWN.
If you read the story, the number of PC titles was down. The actual sales-per-title number was higher. So this is far more an example of publishers putting their resources in the console market than lack of demand. More people are buying each PC game than before. 9.6% fewer titles, yet sales were down only 6.2%. That’s a sign of publisher priorities, not buyer priorities.
But then again, we talked about all of this [size=4][color=darkblue]last fucking week[/color][/size]. This ain’t Usenet, AIM, where were we pick three topics and rehash them for eternity. Find something new to talk about.
Until I see an Age of Wonders 2 or even an Age of Mythology on consoles, they’ll always be second-tier gaming entertainment. I enjoy 'em and all, but nothing beats a meaty turn-based geekfest on the PC.
I have a blast with my consoles, still. Yes, I agree that for more “cerebral” gameplay, I still use my PC. But I like games like Vice City, Football, platformers, etc. I wouldn’t play these games on my PC. I just don’t like them that way. My wife and I can have a lot of fun together playing console games, whereas my PC is for solo/internet play. I doubt I will ever “outgrow” consoles, though I am only 28 now, so who knows? At any rate, I disagree with the claim that they are for 12 year olds. When people say things like that I feel sorry for them. Putting age limits on things doesn’t really serve a purpose. You either like it or you don’t, but don’t blame your age, at least not so categorically. Granted maturity means that I don’t like some games, but not ALL console games. That’s just unfair generalizing.