A few years ago I wrote on OSNews several articles (1,2) about workstations. After three years I had to stop, because there were no workstations left on the market, they became legacy and were not sold any more. Now with the rise of mobile devices with touchscreen and wireless network connectivity virtually everywhere, the question becomes valid, what will happen with the desktop computers, are they still needed, or will they follow the workstations on their way to computer museums?
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Member since:2006-02-15
I too belong in the crowd that plays on both consoles and PCs: some games work excellently well with a pad and a large screen, and some games are almost unplayable with a pad. There's lots of games that I'd never be able to play on a console, like f.ex. any player-versus-player shooter; you need fast and precise controls and a pad just doesn't cut it for those situations. Or RTS games, MMOs: RTS games again often require fast and precise controls unless you play on a very easy difficulty, and MMOs lose their whole point if you can't type text or you have to resort to the incredibly slow and annoying on-screen keyboard method.
But then again, all these are merely restrictions created by the industry. Nothing is stopping them from adding a keyboard and mouse to a console, nor is anything stopping them from creating their console games on PCs and listing a game pad as a requirement. It is easier to control separate crowds, as the ancient Romans so well understood: "divide and conquer" works always.
Member since:2009-08-26
Yea but this time the pc is really getting slapped around. Last gen the pc was able to attract more developers by having significantly better graphics and network play. Now that consoles are in HD and have network access the difference isn't as significant. Developers are fine with current tech and like how console owners are far less likely to pirate.
NVIDIA and ATI keep adding advancements to their cards but game developers don't care. The gamer with the $300 video card just isn't worth targeting.
Member since:2006-03-27
This was true three years ago, when the actual console generation was new; today any PC which is just a little above average can do the same. This year we will see a lot of new, interesting games on the PC, that have been already announced.
And this was true for the previous console generation, when it was new.
And this was true for the previous generation of the previous generation.
And so on...
Member since:
2006-03-27
This sounds like the 2010s version of the '90s "PC versus console" war, doesn't it?
We all know how that war ended: a lot of people buy consoles, but the PC gaming market is still huge. A lot of people actually owns both a console AND a gaming PC. Or even more than one of both categories: I own a PS3, a gaming PC/workstation/server, and my notebook is a decent gaming machine as well.
This will happen again: we will end up with a lot of consumer devices, undoubtly, but this will not kill the PC.