And don't tell Blizzard its dying, they've been selling millions and millions of copies of each one of their games for years now. We couldn't possibly break their little illusion! It would be too cruel!

Gamestop isn't really a game retailer, they're a used game reseller. You can't trade in PC games, so they devote no space in the store to it.
PC gaming isn't dying. As long as Blizzard keeps WoW up and running, it can't die. As long as Nvidia and AMD are in business, it won't die. Consoles becoming more popular doesn't actually necessitate PCs becoming less popular.

I don't know, "What should I do until Skyrim comes out?" and "Top ten most anticipated games" seem like close competitors. :laugh:

Ok, I can see that. But even the retail stores here that do sell more pc games don't exactly sell a lot. Maybe I just don't have the right stores here.

Piracy builds character... for the industry.

The thing is, in my experience DRM doesn't even slow software pirates down. This leads me to believe that the DRM is not intended for the purpose of stopping pirates. Some people think that DRM is actually there to hurt the used game sales market. To me this makes a lot more sense, especially when you look at how a lot of modern DRM schemes are laid out (tying your game key to a personal account, limiting activations, etc.) Of course, I have no idea, but it seems to me that DRM does a lot more to hurt second-hand game sales than software pirates.

I think if I were the owner/CEO of a major game studio, I'd want PC gaming to die. It's easier to pirate PC games so making them for consoles will make more money. It's as simple as that.

People are able to mod their consoles and pirate those games as well. :shrug:

The number of people who pirate on console vs. PC is very different. It's much more difficult to get a pirated copy of anything on a console than on PC. In fact, I can spend the 30 seconds right now to start a download of, well you know. Not saying I do that stuff, but it really is that easy to do.

As long as people use PCs or any desktop computer, they will play games on them too. I'd bet that the traditional console gaming model will be the first to fall.

Geez, it been dying for two decades now! Someone pull the plug already!

And console gaming won't die either, consoles will just evolve into PCs :hehe:

Clearly you have never been to Bangkok.


It already failed once, it could easily do so again.

# of pirated versions does not necessarily equate lost sales.

People may use a pirated copy to ensure a game runs properly on their hardware, or is actually any fun to play - sorta like an unlimited demo.
I can also understand why people would pirate to circumvent various security checks with the game such as DRM.


An example:




I do not think PC gaming is "dying". As long as there is a market for PC games, there will be people making games catered to that market.
Possibly less "AAA +++ Xtreme" big-budget titles, but it really doesn't matter as most usually imitate Call of Duty or World of Warcraft.

PC gaming also differ to console games because of things like mod-tools and map editors.
I don't think WarCraft 3 is a fun game, but I got it solely for all the custom maps. That results in the "interest curve" for the game (I just made up that term ) doesn't fade out as quickly, because the community will actively support it.

Look at TES: Oblivion and Fallout and consider how much more value they have gained through community made mods.

I don't know about XBox, but i have Resident Evil 5 and Dead Space for both PC and PS3, and the graphical difference, especially with DX10 enabled RE5 is major.

I only have the PS3 for exclusives (console and PS3), all multiplatform games i buy for PC. Look better, control better, and are cheaper. The above mentioned games were used that i bought to see how big the graphical difference between the versions is. Again, major. As in "why don't i just rub dirt in my eyes" major

Speaking of, Crysis 2 high resolution texture and DX11 mode downloads finished. Time to give the graphics card a workout.

Same here, about to start it up here in a couple minutes. Hopefully my 6970 should max it.....

Keep an eye out on the memory usage. I tried it out with my 8 GB's and the game at one point was at 3,3 GB in task manager. In your sig it seems you have 4 GB and since Windows uses some it could result in poor performance due to pagefiling

But is it worth gaming on the PC simply for the awesome graphics? I've never been a graphics guy, I can easily start playing my Dreamcast and Playstation and enjoy it just as much as my Playstation 3, and it's simply my opinion that a lot of developers seem to find more interest in developing for the consoles. Like, a lot of PC versions for big titles are released later. Of course, there are many more advantages beyond graphics for PC gaming, but if gaming is my sole purpose, I'd rather do it on the system that is far more simple, the consoles. I still get annoyed by the fiddling of settings and whatnot on a PC and all the upgrades, and so I always just used my consoles because games come ready to play, and again graphics aren't exactly the most important thing of a game for me. Rather play the original Metal Gear Solid in all it's crappy graphics galore rather than a maxed out Crysis. Anyone agree?

I agree PC graphics look better, I was just saying if I turn down my settings on my PC my games look like crap, where I can play 360 games and they always look good (to me). This was in reply to whoever said you could play new pc games with second rate parts and it'll still look as good as a 360.

Can consoles make mods for videogames?

Then no, its not dying.

graphics are nice but for me the mouse & keyboard are king & also for capable games mods can be awesome. & I have never played Crysis

PC isn't much more complex than consoles though. People use their PCs every day to do countless other things, it's not much of a stretch to simply launch a game from your desktop and just play. There's also no need to constantly upgrade your PC. Considering most games are designed around the static hardware of consoles to begin with, one can easily get by for the entire generation with one GPU upgrade (and in that sense PC gaming can very well be cheaper than consoles).

Maybe, maybe not. I like options. The PC gives me a ton of them. I'm sure my opinion is going to differ from those of others because I'm a techie, but I don't find PC gaming to be all that complicated. There's definitely more pre-meditation involved than with consoles, but for me it's a good trade for the flexibility, the modding, the ability to use any controller I want to (be it a 360 controller or a mouse and keyboard), smoother framerates, much shorter load times, unlimited saves, free online services, cheaper games (in most cases MUCH cheaper), and I could go on. I totally see why people wouldn't want to deal with it, but for others it's quite worth it. It really depends on the person, I guess.


Sure you can turn down the settings and make it looks like crap, but you probably don't need to. The hardware in the consoles is 6 years behind current PC equipment. Granted, it's a bit more efficient than PC gaming hardware was 6 years ago, but that only gets you so far. Even budget gaming hardware can run console-equivalent settings in games without "breaking a sweat." 1280x720 with little AA, no texture filtering, and low-res textures is child's play for modern hardware. Of course, that will change when the next generation of consoles is released. That's when PC gamers will need to upgrade their hardware as opposed to just doing it for moar eye candy.

It's not dying, but it looks like it is due to being overshadowed by the newer consoles. Consoles are just easier to maintain, so when a game comes out for both I get it for the much easier console and I'm guessing that's how a lot of other gamers feel. There were just as many PC gamers 10 years ago, as there is now (give or take a few hah) but with all the console gamers now, it doesn't seem like it. PC gaming is stagnant, doesn't rise, doesn't fall and as long as good games keep coming out for the PC, like Skyrim and Diablo 3 and certain MMOs, then PC gaming will continue to be it's stagnant self. Especially when those titles are PC exclusive, or have something that's PC exclusive (like the CS).


Also Wingus, it's not that they are entirely complex (they are for some people, consoles are inherently much easier to operate, buy console, plug in, turn on button etc) but that they cost more. Why pay 700-900$ when you can pay $300 and get decent enough graphics?

Also I find that if I'm not running high graphics in LOTRO, DDO, or GW (yes I only play MMO type games on the PC) that they look like crap otherwise.

PC gaming has been dying for as long as I can remember, and I'm old enough to remember quite a bit.



I far prefer the PC to any console ever made, and I don't give a rip for graphics. There are the already mentioned Mods and the controls. A mouse allows for much more precise movement than a thumb-stick, and a keyboard has way more buttons than any controller ever made. And if you happen to like the controller then you can still use it for anything you want. There is also the fact that when the next next-gen consoles come out you will most likely not be able to get any new games until you spend several hundred dollars on a whole new console. With a PC you can usually run the game fine because the PC is years in development over the last console, it will take a little bit before you have to start turning down settings. At that point it's simple matter of changing out a few parts, you can get away with spending less than the price of the new Reduced Price console. Plus you get the ultimate level of backwards compatibility, I can play Oblivion, Fallout 3 and coming soon Skyrim on the same rig that I play Arena, Fallout 1 and Space Quest 3.

Then again, why pay $300 and $60 for games on a limited system when I already have a PC that I can add a $80 - $200 video card to, get my games for $5 - $40, and have no limitations and better quality? I see where you're coming from, I'm just playing devil's advocate.