Death of the PC game?
By deactivated-57b1d7d14d4a5 84 Comments
Oh no! Not another one of those topics. Myself? I've always scoffed at people who said that the PC was dying. I've always maintained, and still maintain, that the best games in the industry are PC games. In the past few years we've seen renaissance of sorts for indie games, and the PC is leading the charge. Innovation is at an all time high.
A month or so ago I saw a video on escapistmagazine.com talking about the death PC games, but perhaps more importantly, the death of the PC itself. And that, finally, has me worried. Because, from what I've seen, he's not wrong. He goes on to say that the death of the PC does not necessarily mean the death of PC games, but is that really true? Let me explain my concern.
A Short History
It was back in 1977 that Apple released the Apple II. The Apple II is mostly responsible for moving general purpose PCs out of the hands of hobbyists and into the hands of consumers.
On the other hand, phones have never been a technology that encourages freedom. The telcos have been in power a long time, and they aren't about to give any away. Increasingly "smartphones" are becoming the new notebook computer. There will always be a place for the general purpose PC, I think, but the future of PC for everyday consumers may very well lie with Apple and ATT. And that has me very concerned.
The PC and its place in the game industry
People prefer the PC for a variety of reasons, and it's no wonder PC gamers are so often laughed at. Most of them are pretty terrible. It's no wonder people think your an elitist moron when it seems like the only reason you spend $800 more than them for a gaming machine is to play the same games they do with slightly better graphics or somewhat more efficient controls. Now I love a powerful computer, and I'll be the first Mouse/keyboard advocate in any discussion, (you can't beat that level of versatility, not even with motion controls or touch screens. At least, not yet.) but that's not the point. Many months ago I had to get rid of my powerful gaming machine and switched to a budget notebook I bought from wal-mart for less than 300 bucks. More and more I find myself plugging a 360 controller into my PC to play something that doesn't require a keyboard and mouse. But I'm still a PC gamer. Why?Among the big industry players, there is an atmosphere of fear towards risk. This is not a new problem, and the PC is not excluded. When a generic shooter as bad as Gears of War is considered hugely innovative, you know you've got a problem. Peter Molyneux has recently gone on to say that Minecraft was the most innovative game he's seen in 10 years, and I believe him. It's no secret that big companies don't consider a new idea worth pursuing if they can't find a way to repackage it five or six times. And the best place for innovation is the PC.
It's really got nothing to do with the quality of graphics or the input devices given to the player. It's the software developers. With a PC, you can get up in the morning and decide your going to make a game and you don't have to ask anyone for permission. If you're lucky, you might even go on to sell a couple million copies before development is even finished! Other platforms like Microsoft's Xbox might do their part to encourage smaller developers for their platform, but that one of the best selling indie games for the xbox is "I MADE A GAME WITH ZOMBIES IN IT" speaks for itself. For platforms like the xbox and the iphone, developers are restricted to certain programming languages, certain design practices. You're limited by rules and limitations. You'll never see a game featuring the columbine massacre on your iphone. You wont see a game written in java on your xbox. The atmosphere of "I can do anything!" is what makes the PC so great. It's what makes the PC such a great platform for creating new ideas, and it's why the PC is so important for the evolution of the industry. If we lose that freedom, we may be playing games that are fundamentally unchanged from the likes of Gears of War or Modern Warfare until the end of eternity. What fun. :|