Do you think we will hear the "PC is dying" again?

I know at the beggining of last gen everyone was saying that, even publishers were always complaining about the PC. Do you think we will hear the same later this gen or has that passed?

Let's put it this way...

I hope so, because that would mean games pushing new consoles to a new level of graphical fidelity and hopefully new gameplay enabled by that power.

But no, I have a feeling this generation of consoles will actually always be overshadowed by a modern gaming PC. The only real hampering factor might be sheer processor core count, but that didn't make a difference last generation (a decent Core 2 Duo was enough for almost all of last gen).

Actually, I overthought it. The real answer is yes, because someone on the internet will always be that way.

Again? I thought it was just publishers whining about piracy, and us whining about DRM.

nah

PC as a gaming platform seems much bigger now than the start of the last gen. As long as developers can keep up the good PC ports, I don't think that attitude will happen again.

We will hear "PC is dying" again for certain. It's a great clickbait headline.

Considering the new consoles are much more like PCs in their architecture, there is no reason we shouldn't see a continuation or even improvement in the quality of PC ports (possibly even emphasising the gap between PC and consoles even quicker this generation). In that regard it looks pretty positive for the PC right now.

Nope, not this time.

Originally, I played all my games almost exclusively on consoles. From a sega master system all the way up to the 360. At a certain point I cobbled together a semi-decent gaming rig and never went back to the consoles.

Nowadays, my rig is significantly more powerful than the current gen consoles. I think there are a lot of people who have invested money in powerful gaming PC's, and the PC market has grown quite a bit. The PC market has taken up a lot of the slack over the last four years or so in terms of providing higher graphical quality and a multitude of diverse experiences. It is more established now than ever, so I don't think it's going anywhere. Especially with Steam being what it is.

That said, I am looking forward to seeing what developers do with these new consoles. It might take a little while, but when the machine gets rolling I think there will be some very interesting and exciting games in the future of all platforms.

Just as life always finds a way, the internet will always find a way to predict the death of everything ever at any moment.

PCs are cheaper and easier to use than they ever have been, and Steam has made PC into a cohesive platform, PC is here to stay.

Nope, the PC is cheaper than consoles and now has a stable way of distributing games. This is also the first time ever where console hard launched way behind PC hardware in terms of power, it is night and day already and will only get worse. Not only will there be new hardware for the PC, but all these new low level APIs from Nvidia, AMD and even DX12 will open up access. Benchmarks of BF4 show lower end systems get MASSIVE gains from Mantle, it finally makes low end viable to play demanding games, on the top end of things the FPS went from 100 using DX - 160 using Mantle... 60% increase!

If anything we'll hear consoles are dying first, in fact there are already rumours of Microsoft selling off Xbox.

No

The difference between the PS4/Xbox One and PC isn't night and day yet. It's certainly noticeable, but it's not like the difference between Far Cry 3 on consoles and Far Cry 3 on PC. But there certainly is a difference, and the gap is only going to get wider. As it stands, my mid-tier PC didn't suddenly become a low-tier PC for modern games, though that could still happen when The Witcher 3 comes out.

Anyway, is there going to be doom-saying for the PC anytime soon? I don't think so. All the doom-sayers are busy with Nintendo, and everybody else is busy enjoying games. And a lot of people like PC. And PC now has stable distribution platforms. It's a much stronger, much tighter platform these days.

Hopefully. I've heard enough, "PC is the only way to truly experience games!" to last me several lifetimes, I want my schadenfreude. I'm (mostly) kidding.

PC games are always 'dying.' Just like books and the middle class.

The truth is, PC gaming is the strongest it has ever been, except maybe the period of 1997 - 2004. Arguably, more great PC focused games came out during that period than any other period of time. Well, great and still largely playable today. Many PC games of that time have laid down the foundation of modern gaming, such as the original Call of Duty.

The original Xbox is what led to the decline in PC focused games in the early 7th gen, when 'PC games are dying' was at its strongest. The original Xbox proved not only that the FPS genre (previously all but PC exclusive) could work and sell gangbusters on consoles with the original Halo, but also provided a much easier infrastructure to port over PC games than either Sony or Nintendo. Next thing you know these formerly PC focused American video game companies were focusing on consoles with the Xbox 360 as the lead platform, which is when American gaming developers overtook Japan. If not for Steam, PC gaming may very well have all but died in the early part of the 7th gen of consoles.

Now, Steam is a force of nature, PCs are easier than ever to set up, and consoles are somewhat focusing on balancing price advantage with computing power, which means PCs will remain the leading platform for potential graphics and performance, even at the start of this generation. There is even a massive emerging competitive gaming market focused almost exclusively on PC gaming, fighting games being the exception.

Developers are still complaining about piracy, but they've largely shed the notion that one pirated game = one potential sale lost. There's a profit to be made in PC gaming, and the profit is more lucrative than theoretical lost sales. Even Ubisoft eventually dropped their 'always online' requirement for PC games, and I can guarantee you that it was an economic decision.

So, no, PC gaming is not dying. Though some asshat will always say it to get a rise out of people.

We will hear that when all of the great console exclusives start to come out, and we will hear the bemoaning of pc elitists for the rest of eternity. It's a vicious cycle that's been going on forever. People can talk about their pc's like they want to fuck them all they want, and console gamers can continue to be ass holes who argue which shiny plastic box that plays games is better.

The fact is, consoles aren't going anywhere and PC isn't going anywhere. They are both great places to play video games, regardless of your 'alignment' (I seriously wish GB didn't have that option in user settings). The only issue is that when people spend money on things, they feel the need to validate their purchase by A) thinking its the best thing ever and B) arguing on the internet about the alternative being shittier.

That's really what's ruining games. Games are about having fun, experiencing new things, being shown new ideas/concepts, seeing, feeling, hearing, and interacting with a growing artistic medium. That's why I come here and talk about games. That's why I care about games. People arguing over which console is better, how consoles suck, etc... You're shitting on everyone elses enjoyment. That's fine, go ahead and continue to do that, but realize that you are the plague of society.

(note: Im not talking to anyone specifically in this thread. When I say 'you' Im referring to a subset of the internet that feels the need to argue over stupid shit).

I was thinking about that a lot ... I don't think it will happen again. The world around PC games has changed a lot since the last gen consoles came out, people are much more down with PC gaming in general and I feel like a lot of people got a gaming PC the last few years because the PS3 and Xbox360 clearly were showing their age.

Also the jump from last gen to this gen on console is not as much of an eyeopener to a lot of people because most of them are used to how stuff can look from the PC so instead of leading the way people think games should look the current gen is merely catching up to how people think games should look.

I think in the next couple of years the new consoles will drive the developent of some really good looking games and the PC will catch up with watever power it needs to compensate for the closed, more efficient architecture of consoles.

I think we have some really good gaming years ahead of us.

Thanks to Steam and last gen stretching on for so long, more gamers have gaming pcs. I don't think we'll see that phrase for a while.

Oh sure. In say, two to three years it'll start up again. PC getting shitty ports, developers favoring the consoles, that sorta thing. Will PC's actually be dying? No, don't be silly. But people will start saying it again.

The XBO and PS4 still barely have any games for them, once that starts cooking then people won't be so hot on PC's anymore. PC has Steam which is pretty damn awesome, but i feel like theres some unforeseen disaster just waiting to strike with steam. I don't know why, but theres just alot of faith in steam and theres SO many ways they could screw people over or screw up, and everyone eventually screws up. So....

So yes, people will start saying "PC gaming is dying" again in a couple years once the new consoles get games to back them up. Will it actually be dying? No.

Hear it again? Yes. Be a legitimate concern? Not any time in the next decade.

Totally. As tablets and smart phone push deep into the general public they will push the PC into the basements of hobbiest and right back into offices. Most people have no need for a PC if they can check their email and shop online. When the majority doesn't use a PC sales will dive enen farther than they gab and we will here the PC is dead...again.

Everything is cyclical. Hell, someone is already posting something about how the fact Sony is at over 6 million consoles sold in less than four months is a bad thing for the industry. These types of people are only out there for the click bait or to get attention. Remember all the people who told us about 8 years ago that the iPhone was the future of gaming and that it would hinder PC and console games. Yeah, those douchers.

Not for a while, the console owners are going to be argueing between themselves for a while to come, giving the performance difference between the machines.

It comes and goes. I wouldn't worry.

Only in terms of like pc as we know it today. If the whole steam box thing kind of takes off it could change a few things, game streaming will probably shake a few things up also. It's more and more moving towards tiny little pc's you stream or plug into your living room with full controller support run through a steam UI. Which is nothing like what a pc was last time everyone was freaking out.

When you have shit like star citizen raising 40 million freaking dollars in crowd funding it's hard to see things looking as glum as they were in the last console cycle.

I think you are always going to have industry pundits that will say this as it makes for a good topic. I'm sure there will be cyclical changes we will see where sales may slow down then pick back up and that seems how it has always been and will continue to be into the foreseeable future.

With the whole indie movement and alternative platforms like SteamOS, things are just going to continue expanding and getting better for those who game on the PC.

Not really.

This time "consoles are dying" seems to be the industry's boogieman.

Part of me wishes multiplatform games would all die, and everything would become exclusive to a single platform.

This would end all the dick measuring discussions from console and PC gamers alike and let people focus on what's really important, the games (not to mention games would be finely tuned to the platform they're on instead of being quickly ported on a tight budget to make the deadline). Unfortunately devs like to make money.

With the news that Titanfall is only running at 792p, it's pretty clear the new consoles (or the Xbox One, at least) simply aren't as big a step forward as people were hoping for. When you can build a $600 PC that runs Titanfall at 60fps 1080p and the $500 Xbox One can't, there's a problem, and the gap is only going to grow larger. Unless we get some new next-gen consoles in 3-4 years, I wouldn't be surprised if Steamboxes start to seriously eat into the console market.

Depends how you look at it, from a gamer's perspective, the amount of 75 percent off sales makes the PC feel like Apple's App store sometimes. But of course, the PC having those types of sales on the regular will naturally eat into a publisher's profits, even if they get their games in more hands. Though it's also a trend that is creeping it's way into consoles. I'm not sure it really matters though. The games will keep coming. Though it is a trend that means we have to deal with more and more micro transactions.

It's possible, but I don't think we'll hear anything like that anytime soon. The Pc is much more lively now than it was at the start of the last gen.

Funny enough, all I have been hearing lately is how consoles are now the one dying and are in bad shape.

PC wasn't "dying" because new consoles came out. It was dying because steam and other digital storefronts hadn't been fully established yet along with controller support for PC also not being standardized as it is now.

Once the new consoles get up and running (within 2 years) I can see this happening, I don't think it will be taken as serious because games are designed for both the PC and consoles more so now than ever, but that won't stop someone from saying it and other believing it.

*looks around* The internet's still going, right? Then yep. It's likely being said somewhere as I type.

God I hope so

I agree. You can pretty much switch out anything for the term PC. I mean WII U is going through it right now.

We sure will. We'll also hear that all 3 console makers are going out of business, phones are the only viable platform for games in the future, and Apple is going to release a console that is going to completely change the game. In other words, the same ridiculous bullshit we hear every year.

In the western world, yes, kind of, as more "average" users start to switch to tablets and laptops exclusively and desktop computers become old fashion only the 10 or so million hardcore gamers will be the only ones with great desktop PCs that can actually run the AAA titles of the now current gen games. But when the next gen comes around streaming will be common place and anyone will be able to play games any where.

Yes, and it will be just as wrong this time.

We never die.

In terms of clickbait, it seems like the whole "one console future" was big for awhile. I'm not sure where that ever stemmed from, if anything it's been trending exactly the opposite to more and more devices popping up that people can play games on. It's pretty unlikely that there will ever be one option.

I thought the PC was already dead, especially since it doesn't have 8Gb of GDDR5

No I don't. The PC is a really healthy platform that has improved since the days of 2008 when vitrually every PC game was bad. Now we are on the right track but the greatest is threat is the rise of DRM that requires you to be online all the time, lack of modability in modern games, and DLC which precipitates game development. Sadly, the first and the last I don't see progression with anytime soon which is definitely detrimental to PC gaming.

It always comes around again. The cycles seem to be getting longer, though.

I think the pc will always be the home of the most underground gaming movements, though. The openness of the platform kind of guarantees that.

Hey you guys heard about this Steam?

PC gaming has seen a renaissance the past 3-4 years. It's not dying, but some asshole out there disagrees with me.

No

because the new consoles arent that impressive price:performance ratio wise, at least not nearly as much so as the last generation and Steam has become a thing bigger then the thing it was in 2005-2009

I'm sure they headlines will pop up at some point for click bait purposes, but they'll be more empty than ever.

And also more democratized. Despite having various distribution platforms and clients (e.g. Origin, UPlay, Steam, Desura), the PC's somewhat open ended nature doesn't gate anyone from wanting to play a game due to being a platform-exclusive and gated behind hardware which is the case with the consoles. There are caveats such as the price of components, being able to build your own rig if you want to keep things cheap versus buying one that's pre-built, technical issues of games not working well or having issues with certain graphics cards, etc. though over-all despite all that the PC is still a great gaming platform.

Surprised and disappointed half the posts aren't "PC is already dying!!"

Anyway, what everyone else said. People are going to say it but it isn't going to happen. Same as every other year.