I dont think console gaming is going to be gone any time soon, I think its going to do the exact opposite and grow. There will always be the casual gamer that buys a console, look at the wii its winning the console wars and it was thought to loose cuz its graphics wernt as good as the others. Its still hard to find one now days and there are ps3 and 360 all over the place. Wii's are cheap and get the job done for a casual player.
Now the people that like MMORPGs and FPS and RTS they will do gaming on the PC cuz is better controls mouse and keyboard cant be beat when comes to control and precision. But the casual gamers might like the more platform and console only games.
Another thing is there are a lot of kids growing up also and they play a lot of console games and handheld games My little brother and sister have a ps2 and play it all the time. They do have a few PC games but dont play them cuz they are to hard to control.
But there are people like me that have a console and never touch it... I have a 360 and I havent played it since I beat Mass Effect. What can I say im a MMORPG player and the game I play is a PC only title. Although I did play FFXI on both PC and 360 and liked it on the 360 more.
I love online games they are just awesome they are 2 of my favorite things put together that I enjoyed growing up... RPG's and a chat room. When the internet first went mainstream I was alway on it. Mostly at night cuz we had dial up and didnt want to tie up the phone..... Was always chattin it up when I wasnt playing RPG's on my PS1.
Instead off the big box full of cards I think we'll start seeing many well-designed little boxes containing diffirent parts of the PC.
Wont happen. Too expensive concept.
Uhh actually..Though in terms of relevance it's a bit far off, this could be a sign. The AMD XGP. It's basically a plug in box of dedicated graphics card for mobiles (laptops/notebooks). But who's to say that it can't be tweaked for consoles? **shrugs** Not a console fan myself btw.
Virtualization is definitely the future, however, I don't think his timespan is correct. Eventually We'll have nothing in our home but an internet pipe a monitor and input devices but that's farther off than 5 to 10 years in my opinion.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
"In fact, in five to 10 years I don't think you'll have any box at all under your TV. Most of this stuff will be virtualised as web services by your content provider."
In fact i believed that there will not be even TVs in 10 years from now. PCs will dominate the Hardware market since it is cheaper to include all these services and devices in a machine able to handle many types of information... until i played Metal Gear Solid 4 in a PS3. Sandy Duncan apparently did not.
Originally posted by lkavadas It's just a matter of entertainment equipment unification. Right now my PC functions as my home stereo, my DVD player, my cable box, my TiVo, and everything else that a PC does. The only reason I even a bought crummy as Xbox 360 was because of my Guitar Hero after bar party lust. Seriously, if GH didn't exist I would never have bought an Xbox. I think right now the only thing lacking with PCs is peripherals in games which is pretty difficult for developers to tackle since there is no standard anything. No standard joystick, no standard controller, there's not even any real standards between keyboards and mice. Peripherals aside, this unification of mediums will eventually make consoles go extinct. And admriker4 is correct, PCs simply advance much too quickly in this age for consoles to remain competitive for long. It also doesn't help that a modern console costs about half as much as a decent gaming rig. Y'all would be pretty surprised to see what a grand will get you on New Egg. The whole $6,000.00 Falcon NW/Alienware days are dead. PCs be cheap now.
You know... I've seen my dad buy external USB peripheral boxes. They could technically solve this problem by just using these (if you plan on playing with more than one controller on a USB I mean... otherwise, just one controller will do, no box needed) and just hook up a USB controller. I have yet to see any controllers nowadays, that aren't USB compatible. Heck even 360 controllers are on sale for PC use as well.
I think what they'd need to do now, is make it so that PC's hookup easier to your TV so that, you can play with your friends on a bigger screen than the TV monitor. Otherwise, the technology for multiple controller peripherals is already available.
Originally posted by Gameloading I sometimes wonder what these executives are smoking when they make statements like this. Console sales have been increasing enormously over the past 10 years, and they show absolutely no sign of slowing down. The Playstation 2 is STILL selling to this day, 7 years after release, having sold more than 120 million units worldwide, and now this person is telling us that the console market is going to crash and burn? It's quite funny, I have seen two people say this and both of them were from Microsoft.I think the statements have more to do with the poor success of the Xbox brand then the actual state of the market. I also don't really see PC's becoming a central medium point. I don't really see the average joe (which IS the mainstream market) hooking up his PC to a TV.
Both my older brother and my dad have their computers hooked up to their flat screens in the living room. Both of them average joes, my dad EVEN MORE SO since he just doesn't "understand that techno-babble you young'uns use!" yet he, as old fashioned as he is, did it. I myself WANT very badly to do it as well, but my PC is somewhat outdated, and doesn't have the card or cables for it. Otherwise, I'd be doing the same. So again, 2 average joes in one family that already have it, and myself will hopefully do the same once I either upgrade or buy a new PC.
Originally posted by Beatnik59 The things that consoles do better than PC: 1) Gimmick perepherals (Guitar Hero, WII)
Really? What about guitar hero 3?
Here's an image of a GH3 PC player and the "gimmick peripheral" that came with it
2) Cinematic gameplay (Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto) with great cutscenes
oh come on, you have to be joking! If they started focusing more PS, Xbox or Wii games for PC, do you think the quality would be different? What are you smoking???? the graphics fro FFXI are the same for both the PS and the PC version and if you think PC CAN'T rival the graphics of consoles, then you're just being delusional! What about Halo? Mass Effect? Call of Duty? there are a number of console games that are for PC that play just as well, if not better, than their console counterparts
3) "Party" games where players play in the same room (Madden, fighting games)
Guitar hero 3 is what then? chopped liver? Just because the industry hasn't bothered to tap into the big potential that the PC can offer, and bring out more "party games" doesn't mean it doesn't have the "capabilities" that consoles do. If anything, the PC has the most potential than consoles. End of story. Oh, so you know, I remember back in the late 90's actually playing a fighting game similar to street fighter (I believe it was Tekken, but don't quote me on that) with a friend on the same computer. Granted we had to use the same keyboard since we didn't have a controller back then, but I'll make you a bet that would not be a problem today.
The things that PC does better than console: 1) "Data coordination" (looking at a load of stats or a bunch of units like in RTS) 2) Long term, multi-session strategic play (The Sims, Sim City, Medieval Total War) 3) Repetitive activities (AKA, Grinding)
No, this is what MMO's do! Call of duty/halo for PC are the same as the console version. Or are you saying that somehow they are more "grindy" than their console counterparts? Dude seriously, get some facts straight before opening your mouth and saying such nonsense!
Oh, I just wanted to add also, with regard to point 1. There are already people that have been able to hack into the Wii peripherals, and make their controllers work on their PC's... It won't be long either when the PC will also have it's own "Wii" controller. If it happened with the 360 and PS2 controllers (which both have a PC counterpart) it will happen for the Wii controllers as well... so much for Consoles having that "up" on PC's
Also, another thing to add to point 1 is this: "Guitar Rising" (Yes, you have to use a REAL guitar, which, personally is a heck of a lot better than pressing buttons) http://www.guitarrising.co.uk/
This is silly. Your dad who hooked up is pc to his flatscreen is less average joe than others But that's not really the point. In 3 or 4 years, there will be new consoles that have something to offer over pc, for less money, and less hassle. Everyone will buy them. A year later, people will finally be able to afford to upgrade their pcs to match what their consoles can do. It's just the nature of things. Also, PC games tend to be buggier, do to the wildly varying configurations, and the release now patch later mentality. Although this philosophy has crept into consoles, which is disgusting, and money grabbing producers are rushing games out the door with bugs that can't be fixed in a patch too. I never thought I would see a console game freeze, but it has happened several times in the last few years.
Of course, pc games crash and freeze every week or month, so it's still worse on the PC in regard to stability.
I don't think consoles and pcs will ever completely unify. The idea of having a nice dedicated box for games, that does games well, is somewhat contrary to the idea of a machine that can handle any task you throw at it while letting you configure it down to the lowest level - even modifying the drivers that run the hardware. If pc's eventually get more stable, then I think it could happen; but with Windows as the leading OS I don't see that happening any time soon. Not that other OS'es are really that much better.
Besides, just looking at the market, I think PC games are more in danger of drying up. I wouldn't be surprised if in 5 years or so the only pc games available will be jewel quest clones, and independant developers churning out little unnoticed gems that make them no money.
But really, my bet is that there will be a back and forth of consoles or pc being on top at any given moment, just as there has since the beginning.
I think this opinion suffers a bit too much from misunderstanding how normal people work. A normal person just wants a specific gadget for a specific job. The trouble with PCs is that they require maintenance and knowledge to get them working sweetly and without hassle, and even then they will sometimes not work properly and will need knowledge to get going again. OTOH if you standardise them too much around any task they cease to be PCs (i.e. universal machines).
Hence, there will always be room for specific boxes for specific jobs, even if some people are happy with universal machines (I love my comp), most people will prefer to have separate things that you can switch on and they do one thing well and without hassle.
What's far more likely in the future is more "convergence", i.e. with more specialised gadgets being able to talk to each other and have secondary functionality that's somewhat universal, but not quite as universal as the PC.
Originally posted by saluk This is silly. Your dad who hooked up is pc to his flatscreen is less average joe than others But that's not really the point. In 3 or 4 years, there will be new consoles that have something to offer over pc, for less money, and less hassle. Everyone will buy them. A year later, people will finally be able to afford to upgrade their pcs to match what their consoles can do. It's just the nature of things. Also, PC games tend to be buggier, do to the wildly varying configurations, and the release now patch later mentality. Although this philosophy has crept into consoles, which is disgusting, and money grabbing producers are rushing games out the door with bugs that can't be fixed in a patch too. I never thought I would see a console game freeze, but it has happened several times in the last few years.Of course, pc games crash and freeze every week or month, so it's still worse on the PC in regard to stability.I don't think consoles and pcs will ever completely unify. The idea of having a nice dedicated box for games, that does games well, is somewhat contrary to the idea of a machine that can handle any task you throw at it while letting you configure it down to the lowest level - even modifying the drivers that run the hardware. If pc's eventually get more stable, then I think it could happen; but with Windows as the leading OS I don't see that happening any time soon. Not that other OS'es are really that much better.Besides, just looking at the market, I think PC games are more in danger of drying up. I wouldn't be surprised if in 5 years or so the only pc games available will be jewel quest clones, and independant developers churning out little unnoticed gems that make them no money.But really, my bet is that there will be a back and forth of consoles or pc being on top at any given moment, just as there has since the beginning.
LOL! Oh come on! this is the year 2008 for crying out lout, not l978! computers aren't THAT hard to figure out! Again, if even my father who, as old fashioned as he is, was able to hookup his computer to his own TV so he could not only watch DVD's, but do other computer related activities, I'm sure this trend will increase more and more until the computer ends up taking over as the main entertainment station in the house. I know it already does in mine since I spend more time watching news, TV, play games etc. I barely even turn on the TV anymore, and I'm about as average joe as you can get and yes, I'm seeing this trend already growing where I live as well. Hell, my work place gets their news shows in the break room from streaming internet media, not the regular TV channels.
There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, consoles have now to offer that the PC can't do at the same quality or better. No, I don't see this trend changing in the future. I'm sorry, at one point in time, I might've agreed with you because consoles WERE cheaper to buy back in the day over buying a computer, but now a days, when even the price of a PS3 (even with the bigger harddrive or whatever) CAN be comparable to a low end PC that can play just as well (if you know what you're looking for, which isn't even that hard now a days) I think most rational people will go for the PC. I'm sorry, but the PC technology is growing and improving a lot faster than consoles can ever catch up to. Not to mention that, it's cheaper to upgrade a PC than it is to end up purchasing yet ANOTHER $500+ console and toss your old one, and buy games specifically for that console. In other words, can't play PS games on a 360 or Wii. As another poster stated. The console is a CRIPPLED PC and it will ALWAYS be as such.
In fact, for all those touting about how better consoles are over PC's, I invite you to look at the following thread which I found very informative, as well as entertaining
They have a number of really good games listed, some are obviously shoddy, but you can't expect all of them to be great. Even consoles have really crummy "WTF" games
Boy ,I disagree with the article! The Wii sales have been astronomical and I think console gaming is just gonna keep on growing.
As will PC gaming...just at a slower pace than consoles. PC gaming is harder to sell- not everyone with a PC can RUN the games on their machines. Consoles are the opposite- you buy a console and you can play every freaking game made for it wonderfully! With no lag or monthly fees either!
This is like the whole the end of the internet in 2012.....
Consoles are easy and aren't complicated. Some people prefer to keep things simple. All things considered, computers are always going to have more than consoles so. It's the competition that's convinced him to believe that way.
Originally posted by Bunktown207 That guy should be fired!!!!!!!!!!! This is like the whole the end of the internet in 2012..... Consoles are easy and aren't complicated. Some people prefer to keep things simple. All things considered, computers are always going to have more than consoles so. It's the competition that's convinced him to believe that way.
Where do people get this assumption that computers are "hard" and "complicated"??? for god's sake my 5 year old niece has a computer in her own bedroom, and no, it's not a cheesy "hello kitty" toy computer that you see in toys R' us, I mean it's a $600+ piece of equipment and yet she's quite capable of using it. I should know since I gave her the computer in the first place (It was my old one from 5+ years ago, so rather than toss it after buying a new one, I gave it to her)
Honestly, you console gamers really don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to arguing how "easy" consoles are over PC's. I mean honestly, you'd have to be a complete ignorant moron or someone who has been living in a cave for the rest of their lives, to think that PC's are "too complicated". Again, I could see this argument being valid back in the days of windows 3.1, but NOW????? I'm sorry but PC's have become "dumb dumb proof" since Win98/NT and even more "dumb dumb proof" since XP. If you honestly can't figure out how to play a game now a days in a PC then you must be way beyond idiot proof. Hell the PC allows for easier control customization of your controllers to fit your play style, something that not all console games have. Hell the games even give you display instructions in case you really are so air headed you can't figure out how to play/install etc.
if you're a Mac user, consider yourself lucky because they made Macs more accessible or "idiot proof" from much earlier than 98 (lucky bastards lol!).
Originally posted by Vendayn My PC is better than both a Xbox360 and a PS3. My PC can handle better graphics than those two consoles can AND does more stuff Xbox360/PS3 are really just a PC, so I see no need to get one when my PC is better anyways and was only a bit more expensive. And all my parts I bought 2 years ago that made my PC better than those two consoles are now CHEAPER so it would even cost less today to build what I have now than when I originally got it.
One exception is the Nintendo Wii, that is just plain fun and the numbers show it is the most popular console. Nintendo Wii is fun with friends and the whole family, plus I really enjoy playing on it...problem? I can only play at my cousins house because it sells out so quick and I haven't got it yet.
Anyway, Xbox360/PS3 are a rip off, I need not waste money on them when my PC is better and probably about the same or a little more expensive than those two consoles.
Well believe it or not, you can go on YouTube and find some people that found ways to hack the Wii controllers and use them on PC's. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future they make PC compatible Wii controllers, just as they did with PS and 360 controllers.
Here are some interesting YouTube vids I found showing this
(he hacked it into his lap top so he could show off a head tracking simulator that he did. It looks AWESOME! and personally, I too wish they would make games that are THAT interactive and immersive)
Where do people get this assumption that computers are "hard" and "complicated"??? for god's sake my 5 year old niece has a computer in her own bedroom, and no, it's not a cheesy "hello kitty" toy computer that you see in toys R' us, I mean it's a $600+ piece of equipment and yet she's quite capable of using it. I should know since I gave her the computer in the first place (It was my old one from 5+ years ago, so rather than toss it after buying a new one, I gave it to her)
It's not so much that they're complicated in themselves, it's the old problem that because there are so many different types of hardware, game developers have a hard time making games that install and run easy first time on absolutely every PC that exists, so if a problem does crop up and if you're not a techy minded person and/or don'thave the time/patience to get the game to run on your system, then it will put you off PC games.
There's also the other consideration that if your PC isn't up to spec, you won't be having the same gaming experience as others, so you might feel you're kind of losing out.
A dedicated gaming machine doesn't suffer from these problems. Every game (nearly) works first time, and everyone has the same gaming experience.
These are not inconsiderable benefits for casual gamers, and even for hardcore gamers too (I woudln't consider someone a really hardcore gamer if they don't have a box or two lying around, because there are lots of great games on consoles, they're not all "dumbed down" compared with PC games, although I agree that sometimes PC games have been "dumbed down" to cope with consoles).
The long and the short of it is that there will always be a PC games market so long as games exist, they will always be on the bleeding edge driving technology forward, AND there will always be dedicated gaming machines too, simply because they're convenient.
Originally posted by Vendayn My PC is better than both a Xbox360 and a PS3. My PC can handle better graphics than those two consoles can AND does more stuff Xbox360/PS3 are really just a PC, so I see no need to get one when my PC is better anyways and was only a bit more expensive. And all my parts I bought 2 years ago that made my PC better than those two consoles are now CHEAPER so it would even cost less today to build what I have now than when I originally got it.
One exception is the Nintendo Wii, that is just plain fun and the numbers show it is the most popular console. Nintendo Wii is fun with friends and the whole family, plus I really enjoy playing on it...problem? I can only play at my cousins house because it sells out so quick and I haven't got it yet.
Anyway, Xbox360/PS3 are a rip off, I need not waste money on them when my PC is better and probably about the same or a little more expensive than those two consoles.
Well believe it or not, you can go on YouTube and find some people that found ways to hack the Wii controllers and use them on PC's. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future they make PC compatible Wii controllers, just as they did with PS and 360 controllers.
Here are some interesting YouTube vids I found showing this
(he hacked it into his lap top so he could show off a head tracking simulator that he did. It looks AWESOME! and personally, I too wish they would make games that are THAT interactive and immersive)
In regards to that video I posted. The author states that the VR tracking is really only useful for one player at a time (for now) Well what better medium to use it than MMO and FPS games? Granted, it would mean that a lot of the 2+ player console games would not be able to take advantage of this technology. But who cares? This would be perfect for online gaming, which is dominated by PC gaming anyway! If there are any developers reading this, don't wait for the Wii to make it's controller available for PC like the 360 or the PS2. Simply make your own version and employ this technology. If this guy was able to do it from his laptop at home, I don't see how well paid developers wouldn't be able to do the same! Beat consoles to the punch! (Yeah I know, a little too hopeful there, but you never know)
I don't see consoles dying when its even easier then ever to play games with such rental services like Gamefly. I really never have to purchase a game ever again, unless its a game I will actively play for 4 months or more. Most games, console and PC, are not worth the value of the purchase price compared to rental services offer to the enthusiastic gamer. Piracy is an issue with PCs limiting its rental base.
Originally posted by protoroc Piracy is an issue with PCs limiting its rental base.
Obviously you haven't heard of game emulators... sorry, but even the GameCube (as tough as they try to be on protecting their copyrights) wasn't safe from piracy, and I wouldn't be surprised if a PS3, 360 emulator was already in the works or is already working, I don't think even the Wii would be safe, heck they already hacked the controller, it wouldn't be long before they put an emulator and the controller hack together.
Sorry, but if it can be hacked, it will be, be it PC or Wii games. This is fact. I used to live in a south american country where they even had pirated consoles, an example, they sold the Nintendo side by side to what was called the "Nichi-man" console it was essentially a nintendo with nintendo games, the only difference was that they altered the cartridges so that you could only play "nichi-man" cartridges, Yes I bet there is a new pirated console as well. Sorry, I know it might not seem like it to most americans here in the U.S. but even consoles get hacked/pirated.
Edit: I found this SNES pirated console called the action + super 6
Here's the "Nichi-man" as we used to call it or the LT-906 according to the website and there are TONS more! Now obviously you won't find anyone pirating any consoles beyond SNES/64 anymore for OBVIOUS reasons. I'm sure that, since then, it's become a lot easier to get caught making counterfeit consoles, not to mention that their performance quality STUNK!. But, there are still computer emulators that can play N64, PS, PS2, Xbox and Gamecube games and you won't have to shell out any money for a crummy pirated, under-performing console.
EDIT TO ADD: Oops I guess I was mistaken, according to this article, pirates had even been doing Xbox consoles as well, and not only that, but they did a BETTER job than Microsoft did with their first Xbox. Obviously for the 360, microsoft had to change strategies to where they adopted some of the pirate's ideas.
I just cant even begin to imagine what technology will be like in 50 years or 60 (if im still alive by then lol).... think back 50-60 years what we had..... such a big difference... imagine what could happen in 50-60
Console gaming = a controller you can sit and play with, not have to be stressed out, 10 button hot keys, a = stats, b = backpack, and c = you get the idea....
1 controller, 8 buttons, 1 udlr cross, and 2 analogs.
Now tell me how to hook a console controller up to a PC that is going to let me, watch, Alt or Shift or F1, without having to bring up a separate screen with more button pressing...and then push push push my way over to that function in the middle of a fight.
Forgive me for posting this on the MMORPG forum, but with how I see it Age of Conan is going to be the deciding factor in how consoles are going to relate between PC's and consoles with their transition to the Xbox360....And as of now, as much as I enjoy running through Tabula Rasa quests, I'm still a Final Fantasy fan at heart.
Bottom line, like the Wii is leaned towards the fitness/health side of gaming, PC gaming is leaning towards PvP, and consoles are more of the Recreational enjoyment, its f00lish to think that any one of these are going to just disappear. But if I'm going to be the reason that console gaming dies? then at least I'll still get enjoyment out of the solid non-massive ones that I didn't have to scramble to find the keys.
But I'm the one that still rocks out SNES on Znes. That said it's pass out time, nighty night.
Comments
I dont think console gaming is going to be gone any time soon, I think its going to do the exact opposite and grow. There will always be the casual gamer that buys a console, look at the wii its winning the console wars and it was thought to loose cuz its graphics wernt as good as the others. Its still hard to find one now days and there are ps3 and 360 all over the place. Wii's are cheap and get the job done for a casual player.
Now the people that like MMORPGs and FPS and RTS they will do gaming on the PC cuz is better controls mouse and keyboard cant be beat when comes to control and precision. But the casual gamers might like the more platform and console only games.
Another thing is there are a lot of kids growing up also and they play a lot of console games and handheld games My little brother and sister have a ps2 and play it all the time. They do have a few PC games but dont play them cuz they are to hard to control.
But there are people like me that have a console and never touch it... I have a 360 and I havent played it since I beat Mass Effect. What can I say im a MMORPG player and the game I play is a PC only title. Although I did play FFXI on both PC and 360 and liked it on the 360 more.
I love online games they are just awesome they are 2 of my favorite things put together that I enjoyed growing up... RPG's and a chat room. When the internet first went mainstream I was alway on it. Mostly at night cuz we had dial up and didnt want to tie up the phone..... Was always chattin it up when I wasnt playing RPG's on my PS1.
next thing i know your pc is controlling your whole house
i~ku~ra
If you merge PCs and consoles, the result is simply - a PC. Since consoles are really nothing but artificially crippled PCs.
Wont happen. Too expensive concept.
Wont happen. Too expensive concept.
Uhh actually..Though in terms of relevance it's a bit far off, this could be a sign. The AMD XGP. It's basically a plug in box of dedicated graphics card for mobiles (laptops/notebooks). But who's to say that it can't be tweaked for consoles? **shrugs** Not a console fan myself btw.
Virtualization is definitely the future, however, I don't think his timespan is correct. Eventually We'll have nothing in our home but an internet pipe a monitor and input devices but that's farther off than 5 to 10 years in my opinion.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
"In fact, in five to 10 years I don't think you'll have any box at all under your TV. Most of this stuff will be virtualised as web services by your content provider."
In fact i believed that there will not be even TVs in 10 years from now. PCs will dominate the Hardware market since it is cheaper to include all these services and devices in a machine able to handle many types of information... until i played Metal Gear Solid 4 in a PS3. Sandy Duncan apparently did not.
You know... I've seen my dad buy external USB peripheral boxes. They could technically solve this problem by just using these (if you plan on playing with more than one controller on a USB I mean... otherwise, just one controller will do, no box needed) and just hook up a USB controller. I have yet to see any controllers nowadays, that aren't USB compatible. Heck even 360 controllers are on sale for PC use as well.
I think what they'd need to do now, is make it so that PC's hookup easier to your TV so that, you can play with your friends on a bigger screen than the TV monitor. Otherwise, the technology for multiple controller peripherals is already available.
Both my older brother and my dad have their computers hooked up to their flat screens in the living room. Both of them average joes, my dad EVEN MORE SO since he just doesn't "understand that techno-babble you young'uns use!" yet he, as old fashioned as he is, did it. I myself WANT very badly to do it as well, but my PC is somewhat outdated, and doesn't have the card or cables for it. Otherwise, I'd be doing the same. So again, 2 average joes in one family that already have it, and myself will hopefully do the same once I either upgrade or buy a new PC.
Oh, I just wanted to add also, with regard to point 1. There are already people that have been able to hack into the Wii peripherals, and make their controllers work on their PC's... It won't be long either when the PC will also have it's own "Wii" controller. If it happened with the 360 and PS2 controllers (which both have a PC counterpart) it will happen for the Wii controllers as well... so much for Consoles having that "up" on PC's
Also, another thing to add to point 1 is this:
"Guitar Rising"
(Yes, you have to use a REAL guitar, which, personally is a heck of a lot better than pressing buttons)
http://www.guitarrising.co.uk/
This is silly. Your dad who hooked up is pc to his flatscreen is less average joe than others
But that's not really the point. In 3 or 4 years, there will be new consoles that have something to offer over pc, for less money, and less hassle. Everyone will buy them. A year later, people will finally be able to afford to upgrade their pcs to match what their consoles can do. It's just the nature of things. Also, PC games tend to be buggier, do to the wildly varying configurations, and the release now patch later mentality. Although this philosophy has crept into consoles, which is disgusting, and money grabbing producers are rushing games out the door with bugs that can't be fixed in a patch too. I never thought I would see a console game freeze, but it has happened several times in the last few years.
Of course, pc games crash and freeze every week or month, so it's still worse on the PC in regard to stability.
I don't think consoles and pcs will ever completely unify. The idea of having a nice dedicated box for games, that does games well, is somewhat contrary to the idea of a machine that can handle any task you throw at it while letting you configure it down to the lowest level - even modifying the drivers that run the hardware. If pc's eventually get more stable, then I think it could happen; but with Windows as the leading OS I don't see that happening any time soon. Not that other OS'es are really that much better.
Besides, just looking at the market, I think PC games are more in danger of drying up. I wouldn't be surprised if in 5 years or so the only pc games available will be jewel quest clones, and independant developers churning out little unnoticed gems that make them no money.
But really, my bet is that there will be a back and forth of consoles or pc being on top at any given moment, just as there has since the beginning.
I think this opinion suffers a bit too much from misunderstanding how normal people work. A normal person just wants a specific gadget for a specific job. The trouble with PCs is that they require maintenance and knowledge to get them working sweetly and without hassle, and even then they will sometimes not work properly and will need knowledge to get going again. OTOH if you standardise them too much around any task they cease to be PCs (i.e. universal machines).
Hence, there will always be room for specific boxes for specific jobs, even if some people are happy with universal machines (I love my comp), most people will prefer to have separate things that you can switch on and they do one thing well and without hassle.
What's far more likely in the future is more "convergence", i.e. with more specialised gadgets being able to talk to each other and have secondary functionality that's somewhat universal, but not quite as universal as the PC.
There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, consoles have now to offer that the PC can't do at the same quality or better. No, I don't see this trend changing in the future. I'm sorry, at one point in time, I might've agreed with you because consoles WERE cheaper to buy back in the day over buying a computer, but now a days, when even the price of a PS3 (even with the bigger harddrive or whatever) CAN be comparable to a low end PC that can play just as well (if you know what you're looking for, which isn't even that hard now a days) I think most rational people will go for the PC. I'm sorry, but the PC technology is growing and improving a lot faster than consoles can ever catch up to. Not to mention that, it's cheaper to upgrade a PC than it is to end up purchasing yet ANOTHER $500+ console and toss your old one, and buy games specifically for that console. In other words, can't play PS games on a 360 or Wii. As another poster stated. The console is a CRIPPLED PC and it will ALWAYS be as such.
In fact, for all those touting about how better consoles are over PC's, I invite you to look at the following thread which I found very informative, as well as entertaining
"Why it's good to be a PC Gamer in 2008/2009"
http://forums.gameaxis.com/showthread.php?s=c45e9366e2c83b472dca2a805aeb62d4&t=1480713
They have a number of really good games listed, some are obviously shoddy, but you can't expect all of them to be great. Even consoles have really crummy "WTF" games
Boy ,I disagree with the article! The Wii sales have been astronomical and I think console gaming is just gonna keep on growing.
As will PC gaming...just at a slower pace than consoles. PC gaming is harder to sell- not everyone with a PC can RUN the games on their machines. Consoles are the opposite- you buy a console and you can play every freaking game made for it wonderfully! With no lag or monthly fees either!
That guy should be fired!!!!!!!!!!!
This is like the whole the end of the internet in 2012.....
Consoles are easy and aren't complicated. Some people prefer to keep things simple. All things considered, computers are always going to have more than consoles so. It's the competition that's convinced him to believe that way.
Where do people get this assumption that computers are "hard" and "complicated"??? for god's sake my 5 year old niece has a computer in her own bedroom, and no, it's not a cheesy "hello kitty" toy computer that you see in toys R' us, I mean it's a $600+ piece of equipment and yet she's quite capable of using it. I should know since I gave her the computer in the first place (It was my old one from 5+ years ago, so rather than toss it after buying a new one, I gave it to her)
Honestly, you console gamers really don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to arguing how "easy" consoles are over PC's. I mean honestly, you'd have to be a complete ignorant moron or someone who has been living in a cave for the rest of their lives, to think that PC's are "too complicated". Again, I could see this argument being valid back in the days of windows 3.1, but NOW????? I'm sorry but PC's have become "dumb dumb proof" since Win98/NT and even more "dumb dumb proof" since XP. If you honestly can't figure out how to play a game now a days in a PC then you must be way beyond idiot proof. Hell the PC allows for easier control customization of your controllers to fit your play style, something that not all console games have. Hell the games even give you display instructions in case you really are so air headed you can't figure out how to play/install etc.
if you're a Mac user, consider yourself lucky because they made Macs more accessible or "idiot proof" from much earlier than 98 (lucky bastards lol!).
Well believe it or not, you can go on YouTube and find some people that found ways to hack the Wii controllers and use them on PC's. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future they make PC compatible Wii controllers, just as they did with PS and 360 controllers.
Here are some interesting YouTube vids I found showing this
"Head tracking VR display"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
(he hacked it into his lap top so he could show off a head tracking simulator that he did. It looks AWESOME! and personally, I too wish they would make games that are THAT interactive and immersive)
I think linear thinking doesen't realy work well here. Maybe Sony isn't crazy after all planing a 10 year life span for PS3?
It's not so much that they're complicated in themselves, it's the old problem that because there are so many different types of hardware, game developers have a hard time making games that install and run easy first time on absolutely every PC that exists, so if a problem does crop up and if you're not a techy minded person and/or don'thave the time/patience to get the game to run on your system, then it will put you off PC games.
There's also the other consideration that if your PC isn't up to spec, you won't be having the same gaming experience as others, so you might feel you're kind of losing out.
A dedicated gaming machine doesn't suffer from these problems. Every game (nearly) works first time, and everyone has the same gaming experience.
These are not inconsiderable benefits for casual gamers, and even for hardcore gamers too (I woudln't consider someone a really hardcore gamer if they don't have a box or two lying around, because there are lots of great games on consoles, they're not all "dumbed down" compared with PC games, although I agree that sometimes PC games have been "dumbed down" to cope with consoles).
The long and the short of it is that there will always be a PC games market so long as games exist, they will always be on the bleeding edge driving technology forward, AND there will always be dedicated gaming machines too, simply because they're convenient.
In regards to that video I posted. The author states that the VR tracking is really only useful for one player at a time (for now) Well what better medium to use it than MMO and FPS games? Granted, it would mean that a lot of the 2+ player console games would not be able to take advantage of this technology. But who cares? This would be perfect for online gaming, which is dominated by PC gaming anyway! If there are any developers reading this, don't wait for the Wii to make it's controller available for PC like the 360 or the PS2. Simply make your own version and employ this technology. If this guy was able to do it from his laptop at home, I don't see how well paid developers wouldn't be able to do the same! Beat consoles to the punch! (Yeah I know, a little too hopeful there, but you never know)
I don't see consoles dying when its even easier then ever to play games with such rental services like Gamefly. I really never have to purchase a game ever again, unless its a game I will actively play for 4 months or more. Most games, console and PC, are not worth the value of the purchase price compared to rental services offer to the enthusiastic gamer. Piracy is an issue with PCs limiting its rental base.
Obviously you haven't heard of game emulators... sorry, but even the GameCube (as tough as they try to be on protecting their copyrights) wasn't safe from piracy, and I wouldn't be surprised if a PS3, 360 emulator was already in the works or is already working, I don't think even the Wii would be safe, heck they already hacked the controller, it wouldn't be long before they put an emulator and the controller hack together.
Sorry, but if it can be hacked, it will be, be it PC or Wii games. This is fact. I used to live in a south american country where they even had pirated consoles, an example, they sold the Nintendo side by side to what was called the "Nichi-man" console it was essentially a nintendo with nintendo games, the only difference was that they altered the cartridges so that you could only play "nichi-man" cartridges, Yes I bet there is a new pirated console as well. Sorry, I know it might not seem like it to most americans here in the U.S. but even consoles get hacked/pirated.
Edit: I found this SNES pirated console called the action + super 6
Here's the "Nichi-man" as we used to call it or the LT-906 according to the website
and there are TONS more!
Now obviously you won't find anyone pirating any consoles beyond SNES/64 anymore for OBVIOUS reasons. I'm sure that, since then, it's become a lot easier to get caught making counterfeit consoles, not to mention that their performance quality STUNK!. But, there are still computer emulators that can play N64, PS, PS2, Xbox and Gamecube games and you won't have to shell out any money for a crummy pirated, under-performing console.
EDIT TO ADD: Oops I guess I was mistaken, according to this article, pirates had even been doing Xbox consoles as well, and not only that, but they did a BETTER job than Microsoft did with their first Xbox. Obviously for the 360, microsoft had to change strategies to where they adopted some of the pirate's ideas.
http://thepiratesdilemma.com/the-tao-of-pirates/how-pirates-lost-the-console-wars
So again... what was this about consoles being safer from piracy than PC games?
I just cant even begin to imagine what technology will be like in 50 years or 60 (if im still alive by then lol).... think back 50-60 years what we had..... such a big difference... imagine what could happen in 50-60
This article is 100% correct.
----ITS A TRAP!!!----
Console gaming = a controller you can sit and play with, not have to be stressed out, 10 button hot keys, a = stats, b = backpack, and c = you get the idea....
1 controller, 8 buttons, 1 udlr cross, and 2 analogs.
Now tell me how to hook a console controller up to a PC that is going to let me, watch, Alt or Shift or F1, without having to bring up a separate screen with more button pressing...and then push push push my way over to that function in the middle of a fight.
Forgive me for posting this on the MMORPG forum, but with how I see it Age of Conan is going to be the deciding factor in how consoles are going to relate between PC's and consoles with their transition to the Xbox360....And as of now, as much as I enjoy running through Tabula Rasa quests, I'm still a Final Fantasy fan at heart.
Bottom line, like the Wii is leaned towards the fitness/health side of gaming, PC gaming is leaning towards PvP, and consoles are more of the Recreational enjoyment, its f00lish to think that any one of these are going to just disappear. But if I'm going to be the reason that console gaming dies? then at least I'll still get enjoyment out of the solid non-massive ones that I didn't have to scramble to find the keys.
But I'm the one that still rocks out SNES on Znes. That said it's pass out time, nighty night.