Help "Save" PC Gaming

[Andy Chalk]

Help "Save" PC Gaming

PC gaming may or may not be dying, but if you're not happy about the possibility then PC Gamer U.S. Editor in Chief Kristen Salvatore has a few suggestions about what you can to do make sure it doesn't happen.

In an article on NPD Group [http://www.gamesradar.com/f/how-you-can-save-pc-gaming/a-20080827134247901029] that don't take into account non-retail sales, a situation she describes as "absurd," adding that even the NPD's Anita Frazier wrote in March 2008, "I can tell you that non-retail sales related to PC games in bigger than what occurs at retail, so the PC games market is clearly still thriving."

Nonetheless, Salvatore adds that arguments about the impending doom of the PC game market have some element of truth to them, and suggest that if PC gamers as a whole want to ensure the continued vitality of the platform, they'll need to seize the reins themselves. She makes a few suggestions for improving the PC situation, including becoming "a platform champion."

"Microsoft [http://www.microsoft.com] obviously isn't doing it, so it's up to us," she wrote. "Get educated about how your PC works, at least insomuch as it affects your upgrading schemes. As Dan Stapleton said recently, 'If PC gaming is costing you 'thousands' per year, you're doing it wrong.' Today, $700 will get you a new PC that'll handle just about anything for the next two to three years, with maybe $500 a year spent on upgrades - but not everyone needs to drop that kind of money."

All of Salvatore's advice for "saving" PC gaming - including, yes, an exhortation to knock off the piracy - can be read at GamesRadar [http://www.gamesradar.com/f/how-you-can-save-pc-gaming/a-20080827134247901029].


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[ElArabDeMagnifico]

3. Be honest?don?t contribute to the piracy problem. If you?re stealing games, then you cannot complain, ever, about the demise of PC gaming, because you are directly causing it. Besides, stealing is bad karma, and I don?t want to see you come back as a cockroach or a politician or a reality television contestant.

LOLOCAUST!

 

[Tolkienfanatic]

Or take the the approach that I did and buy a $1,500 rig that will last for three or four with little upgrades

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

1. Be a platform champion:Information is good but creating a game that needs a sturdy PC to run and then claiming the magical one eye'd/ledgged bandit created more issues than bad business practices(aiming at a niche in a niche) and a lack luster products is by far the more troubling issue.

2. Be a goodwill ambassador:"Teaching" people who do not game out of their comfort zone is tiring at best.....

3. Be honest:fck off! there's your honesty!

But really try telling the industry to wake up focus on making good products and focus on making the products work as advertised, then perhaps people will feel compelled to buy new instead of "pirate" a 5 month old 20$ discounted game....

 

[Aardvark Soup]

"As Dan Stapleton said recently, 'If PC gaming is costing you 'thousands' per year, you're doing it wrong.' Today, $700 will get you a new PC that'll handle just about anything for the next two to three years, with maybe $500 a year spent on upgrades - but not everyone needs to drop that kind of money.""

And that's supposed to be cheap? Now I remember why I stick to console games...

 

[Razzle Bathbone]

"As Dan Stapleton said recently, 'If PC gaming is costing you 'thousands' per year, you're doing it wrong.' Today, $700 will get you a new PC that'll handle just about anything for the next two to three years, with maybe $500 a year spent on upgrades - but not everyone needs to drop that kind of money.""

And that's supposed to be cheap? Now I remember why I stick to console games...

Most people need a computer anyway for day-to-day stuff. The additional expense to make that computer into a decent gaming rig is lower than the total cost of the machine.

 

[tendo82]

"Help new and casual players out when it comes to hardware questions?they can make the PC barrier to entry seem very high."

I've got news for you Salvatore, the barrier for entry seems high because it is high. Having built my first gaming PC this weekend, after being exclusively a console player, I can confirm that PC gaming is the ultimate enthusiast hobby. It took me about three months of research to figure out what the hell was going on, because the amount of available parts is almost as mind boggling as the number of opinions on which parts to use, and then a good 12 hours to build the damn thing. I'm glad I did it and it gave me a lot of satisfaction, but good god, I had to become an insider before I felt confident enough to take the plunge.

Also, is it any surprise so many PC games are pirated? It's part of mentality that comes with being a PC gamer. Not that these people are theives but more that it's about being an insider. The insider has exclusive knowledge about where to get pirated games, and how to run them, etc. Because it's not the easiest thing in the world, stealing a game, even running SNES ROMs or MAME ROMs probably poses too high a barrier for entry for most casual gamers. If PC gaming was more accessible to causual gamers, of the sort that push console game sales into the millions, there would probably be far fewer pirated games.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

And that's supposed to be cheap? Now I remember why I stick to console games...

Most people need a computer anyway for day-to-day stuff. The additional expense to make that computer into a decent gaming rig is lower than the total cost of the machine.

No. It's not. I've been running my rig for five years now, with only one upgrade (more RAM), and aside from gaming I don't need to upgrade it further. If I wanted to upgrade to the current generation, though, I'd have to buy a whole new system. Even if I didn't have to do that, according to Stapleton I'd be spending another $500 on top of that... none of the three consoles costs that much anymore. So how does this turn out to be cheaper?

People quoting "Thousands of dollars a year" are indeed wrong, but so are the people saying that the incremental cost of upgrading a home computer to a gaming rig is less than just buying a console.

-- Steve

 

[Cousin_IT]

Consoles will always be better than PCs for casual gamers imo. With a console: I pay £200-£300 (less for Wii of course) safe in the knowledge that for the next 5-10 years all the new releases will work on it & all the games I have will work for as long as the console or the disc is operational. PCs seem to go out of date as soon as theyre put together; & as the tech moves forward alot of the old games stop working with it. THere is too much customisationability & potential for things to screw up.

 

[Lt. Sera]

As far as prices go. I bought my last gaming rig 4 years ago at roughly 1500 euro's. It lasted till a few months ago, and in those 4 years I upgraded the graphics card twice, totalling at a 1700 per 4 year cost.

425 a years isn't that much, imo. Especially considering I also use the same machine for work, school, email/internet use and as a mediacenter.

The problem however is like tendo said, keeping up with the technology. A good priced and good performing PC isn't so easily built. It takes a lot of research for every upgrade/new build.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

"As Dan Stapleton said recently, 'If PC gaming is costing you 'thousands' per year, you're doing it wrong.' Today, $700 will get you a new PC that'll handle just about anything for the next two to three years, with maybe $500 a year spent on upgrades - but not everyone needs to drop that kind of money.""

And that's supposed to be cheap? Now I remember why I stick to console games...

I think you misunderstood that, mainly the last sentence. That's like, the most you can spend.

I don't even know why they said 500 a year on upgrades, that's ridiculous, I've never spent more than like, 150 a year, and that's only when the "next-gen" is starting.

 

[Jackpot]

No. If you have an indie developer they cannot develop for a console. they literally cannot.

pc gaming will change, and so will console gaming. more indie will come out, etc etc.

 

[Fraught]

I suggest those developers putting their damn dirty games on Steam. Steam games are a son'uva ************ to download or "pirate" from.

 

[Najos]

I built my PC for approximately 1200 USD about two years ago. Without any upgrades at all I expect it to live until DX10 is required. Even then I'll only have to shell out a couple hundred bucks for RAM and Vista.