Are computer (PC) games dying?

[Datajack Franit]

Yeah, they're dying! I remember the time I bought my first PC mag.. Tomb Raider, Riven, Monkey Island 3... shops are filled with shoot 'em up crap nowadays

[Imran Siddiqui]

John, I think you are doing yourself a disservice by not picking up RPGs on the computer! It is there that the innovation in PC games it. Morrowind and Neverwinter Nights are perhaps two of the best RPGs ever made. The RTS genres are lagging yes, but every genre goes through it. The fact is that RTS have long been devoid of innovation and it'll take a few lean years of them before they can come back with innovating game play.

Right now, the RPG category is very interesting.

If you are into FPS, No One Lives Forever 2 just came out and it is supposed to be a wonderful game. Grand Theft Auto 3 is supposedly a great action game.

--

And Hell, if you REALLY are down... look at January!! On the same day, Simcity 4 AND Master of Orion 3 are coming out!

It just depends on genre. That and I think some of the more 'clone' game makers have moved to consoles (thank God )

[sabrewolf]

Originally posted by Lemmy
Computer games will never die, and here's why.
Everyone can make a game for the PC, while you need a license (and an expensive one too) to make games for the consoles.
So i tihnk Jaakko is right about "guerilla games", and games don't need to be distributed, there are some games that are doing ok, and are only available through online purchase.

lemmy,

well actually there will probably be a licence need for PC-games. intel (in cooperation with Mi(r0$0ft) is building a chip which only will execute signed software. and you'll probably have to get an expensive licence from either Mi(r0$0ft or int31.

let's just all hope this doesn't happen

[Dis]

They will never truelly die out. They will always be some games coming out. But PS and X-box will make up most of video games coming out.

Blame this on your fellow piraters. They are the reason companies are getting away from making good games for the PC.

[Dis]

P.S. at Best buy computer games still command 5 shelves both sides in my city. Many of these are business software and kid game though. This also includes discounted old games. But that's still a lot of shelf space.

don't forget they made the boxes smaller. This frees up more room.

[monolith94]

Two of the best developers are doing less and less for computers and moving to console: Bungie and Blizzard.
Sad, sad, days!

[mrmitchell]

oh ****...

and when I was just getting into computer gaming too, i mean, not just some civ3 on the side, but really into it...

I hope they're not dying...

(this post conveyed no useful information )

[monolith94]

Speaking of dying out adventure games...

http://www.gamespy.com/goty2002/pc/index10.shtml

[Asher]

PC games are dying economically. Piracy is at alltime highs and sales have actually decreased for PC games in 2002 despite record sales in videogames in general.

They'll always be around but console games will remain king sales-wise, as it's been for years.

[Shi Huangdi]

No they're not. Their is still a number of high quality PC developers out there that are consistently making good new games. For all of you talking about Blizzard moving to console- they just had a game that made amazing sales, Warcraft III in which they made alot of profits. I think considering how much they can sell on the PC they are not going to give up on PCs anytime soon. They are also coming with a new computer game soon, World of Warcraft, and given Blizzard's fan base as well as the MMORPG fan base it'll probably get amazing sales. Blizzard's new Starcraft game that you talk about will not be an RTS, more like a james bond type of game. I am sure if they ever do make SC II it'll be on PC. Paradox has producded a number of games and appears to have found a substantial niche market that they can make money from. They made Europa Universalis II, which didn't have great graphics but I felt it was the best computer game ever made. There is still a substantial TBS market on the PC- Civ3 sold well and MOO3 will probably also sell really well. RPGs of course are doing well and you should check them it out. RPG used to look dead a few years ago, now they are strong again. I think PC games will always be with us.....

[Adagio]

It's not piracy that kills the games. What kills the games, is the "cheap" games released all the time (I'm talking about all those games released unfinished... filled with bugs). 5+ years ago, it was hard for people to get patches for games (to repeair bugs), therefore back then, the games has to be playable when released. Nowadays it's like they (them who makes/sells the games) think: "Well... everybody has internet access now, so lets get the game out quick, and then we could later just patch the game"...

5+ years ago, most games where finished before they where released, now most games aren't even finished years after release...

I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay for bug-filled games...

And if everybody else feels the same way as me, then it's no wonder why PC game sales is low...


Also take note that, console games is in the same situation as PC games was 5+ years ago (= hard/impossible to patch), wich requires those games to be finished when released (Which they are)...

[Odin]

I agree that the reason that PC games are having a hard time is because of the latest buggy game debacles. (Ultima 9, Civ3, Empire Earth, etc.) PC games will rule supreme after Infrogrames and Activision figure out that they should delay the game if it buggy, not release it full of bugs, like Civ3.

BTW, PC RPGs are much better than console RPGs, I remember when I first played Ultima 6 on the ol' 386.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by ADG
It's not piracy that kills the games. What kills the games, is the "cheap" games released all the time (I'm talking about all those games released unfinished... filled with bugs). 5+ years ago, it was hard for people to get patches for games (to repeair bugs), therefore back then, the games has to be playable when released. Nowadays it's like they (them who makes/sells the games) think: "Well... everybody has internet access now, so lets get the game out quick, and then we could later just patch the game"...

5+ years ago, most games where finished before they where released, now most games aren't even finished years after release...

I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay for bug-filled games...

And if everybody else feels the same way as me, then it's no wonder why PC game sales is low...


Also take note that, console games is in the same situation as PC games was 5+ years ago (= hard/impossible to patch), wich requires those games to be finished when released (Which they are)...

Good job, you didn't mention Civ3 anywhere in that post

I think that consoles will become big for a while longer than they usually are (due to the declining quality of PC games) because I believe that consumers are willing to purchase a bad game with a label and keep it as opposed to purchasing a bad game (or even a good game!) that crashes on startup. Civ3 falls in the former

Hopefully however SimCity4000 won't be "just another rehash", MoO3 will be all that its expected to be, and RoN will be a huge revolutionary hit in the RTS world.....and hopefully games like those will pop up and breathe live and vitality to the PC gaming industry and consoles will begin to die out (Come on, how many times can you play Halo over and over and over and over and over?) and PCs shall reign in a benevolent heaven

And then it'll start all over again. Oh well.

[Lord_Davinator]

hmm I must admit that I have been out of the PC gaming world prefering the streets of vice city for a while... but I say that PC games wont dies its just that there are too many below par games, the PC game industry needs a few big solid games it should start sprutting after that again...

btw Tassadar 5000, you mention RoN as being a revolutionary hit in RTS, what is RoN for one thing and why?

[FrostyBoy]

ADG: Agreed. I bought Black and White, and it was full of bugs. I knew someone who bought CTP and that was full of bugs. He hasn't bought another game since and neither have I. If companies expect us to buy the games, they'll have to release them as solid products. And what do you think will happen when PC games goes down to 1/10th of the gaming industry? Hackers will just shift their work to the bigger market. It's not THAT hard to copy console games. Publishers and game producers, don't learn, they have the potential and oppotunity to make a great game and make great sales and maintain a good reputation. But they choose not to, they choose the fail-without-a-doubt road. There's only one company I would buy games from and that's Rockstar. I don't trust anyone else anymore, simply because of their reputation.

Remember also that Microsoft wants the X-Box to succeed. So Microsoft's next OS could likely cause more problems for game makers who want to make game for PC's, eventually they'll find it too costly and either shift to one of the consoles or just go bust.

Then you have the next generation of game players. The older you get, the less you play games. How many between the age of 8 and 15 play consoles for games rather than on a PC? I'd say about 90%! And because of that, it will get worse for the PC as time goes on.

I think what you are seeing now is the PC gaming industry beginning to die. However, what I think will happen is that you'll be left with only a few companies that can afford to make PC games, and of course, they won't have competition, so they can release the game whenever they want to, and the games won't be small, they'll be massive and everyone who plays games on a PC will buy it, because you KNOW it will be good and be a rock solid game. This will happen in 5-10 years.