EA Founder: Consoles Will Become Niche

[Joccaren]

Very short-sighted. This assumes too much.

Simply quoting the article, argue its points, but don't just say that a new console cycle will flip the tables completely again.

Do you know for a fact that the PC gaming audience doesn't wax and wane (all signs indicate that it does - it just happens to be on the upswing atm).

Do you know for a fact that it does, as all signs I see indicate it doesn't. You get a PC, if you don't like the PC you swap back to console, but otherwise you will use your PC for gaming, not needing to buy a new console except for exclusives, which you generally do at a later date when the console price drops so that you aren't paying a rediculous sum of money for a machine that you'll play 3 games on.

And yes, console sales do this as well. As we are entering the end of this console gen, the sales have diminished. Once the new consoles have been released, we will see an immediate burst in sales which will then wane. At the first price drop, sales will soar again and will remain steady until near the end of the gen where they will diminish, ushering in the next gen... cycle continues.

I agree with this. Console sales will increase when the next gen comes in. Why this would diminish PC gaming, I have no clue.

The only real difference between console and PC in that scenario is that the PC's tech is not limited to console gens. But don't for a second believe that it is not affected by it. A new generation means that many (not all) will temporarily forsake upgrading their PC to buy the new console. They will then need to justify the purchase pumping more cash into it. Near the end of the cycle, as the console looses it's shine, the PC gains popularity... it happens every gen.

Perhaps I'm putting too much faith in people not to impulse buy $600+ machines just to go with the flow. A PC will last through the next console gen if it is of decent quality, still managing to play all games released. In such a case, what purpose is there to buying a console?
Exclusives. When people only want one or two games for a system, they don't tend to impulse buy at $600 and then buy more games just so they can feel worthwhile, if previous comments I've read on these forums are true it would seem people instead prefer to wait for a price drop to buy something with exclusives that just does everything that their current hardware already does.

But yes, over a long enough period of time, PC (the machine) will remain as consoles will not. Consoles will probably have only a few gens left until they are replaced with some form of "Cloud" gaming. PCs (the machines) won't die, but PC gaming will probably find itself in the "Clouds" as well...

Umm....
Cloud gaming...
So, normal gaming, with your data stored online?
Like Steam is doing ATM?
Or are we talking gaming being streamed from outside sources, costing a fortune thanks to bandwidth requirements and their tech costs, and still having plenty of lag?
Honestly that sort of gaming to me looks more to be headed the way of simply putting the CD in and playing the game - its all but gone on the PC. Why? Because loading times are far too slow, and installing the game fixes this. Having someone stream you the game is basically just playing Diablo 3 - lag and latency issues that negatively effect your gameplay, and screw you if you lose connection. Until Internet speeds, caps and reliability picks up a lot worldwide, I don't see this becoming a hit.

 

[Boxinatorizore]

Do you go on /mu/ Grey Carter?

 

[craftomega]

A new source has found that Trip Hawkins has an IQ of 67, while he has hid this fact from the rest of the world, his doctor has come forward. His doctor stated that Trip's condition was terminal and that his own stupidity would in the end be the cause of his demise. The demise would be finical and personal. With EA's slow but sure loss on a market Trip only defence was to state that said market would become obsolete. Let him be in your prayers as if anyone needs a miracle to survive it is this man.

 

[Pebkio]

Quick! Somebody at EA base the company on this fool's idea! Go develop games for Facebook and smart phones RIGHT NOW! Stop developing for consoles as soon as possible...

...please?

 

[Micah Weil]

(carve away the fat and...)
'Cause Skyrim, Guild Wars 2, Minecraft, TERA, and Smite were all about zombies.

...really?

First off, shame on you for citing MMOs. That's a whole different kind of zombie (and the companies don't even have to program them in). Props for avoiding the blatantly obvious one, though.
Minecraft's not about zombies. It's about taking your giant virtual Lego set and...well...playing Legos. Don't forget how long it took to get an experience point system going; the zombies were not the focus.
And, in Skyrim, it's all about the dragons. The "zombies" were background.

Just because there happen to be zombies in it doesn't make it a "zombie game".

ACK! Off topic! Sorry!

 

[Callate]

The question is: Are casual titles actively pulling users away from core gaming, or are they attracting completely new players?

I think perhaps the better question is: what is so-called "casual gaming" going to look like in, say, five to ten years? Are people still going to be looking for the next "Cut The Rope" or "Angry Birds"? Or are they going to be demanding something more complex, much like the people who grew up on Combat, Pitfall, and Ultima are now playing games like Call of Duty, Uncharted, and The Witcher?

 

[UltimatheChosen]

I think that as technology advances, console development will be become somewhat pointless (and I mean designing new consoles, not designing games for consoles).

We're at the point of diminishing returns on technological advances in gaming. Graphics, memory requirements, etc, are less of a barrier than they have been in the past. Various companies have expressed their desire that this console generation will last longer than previous ones because improving the hardware doesn't really open up the design space for games that much (as compared to previous console generations which generally provided huge advances).

The main purpose of consoles is that they provide (relatively) high-end graphics and processing power for a far cheaper price than a PC with similar gaming capabilities. For instance, it's pretty damn hard to build a computer that can run Borderlands 2 efficiently for 200 bucks.

But eventually, even the cheapest computers will be able to run stuff that's "good enough", and at that point, there's a lot less incentive for companies to build and market consoles (although game controllers for PCs might become more popular if consoles start to die out). Maybe consoles would see continued life for things like VR or whatever, but that won't necessarily be mainstream or affordable.

That being said, this scenario is probably 5-10 years away at MINIMUM, and unforeseen technology advancements might crop up that would change the whole ballgame.

 

[dancinginfernal]

I feel like we're missing a more important talking point here. The console and PC experiences are beginning to converge.

No, they are not. Console-centric games are still based on the "arcade + cinematic eye-candy" paradigm, while PC games, (both traditiona hardcore and facebook casual) are based on the "tabletop game meets utility software" paradigm.

I'm not quite sure what games you've been playing, but you seem to be limiting your range a bit if that's your interpretation of what consoles have playing. A lot of the content the PC and consoles have been playing is usually shared, granted one or the other usually gets shafted by ports. More often PC games, which blows.

 

[Two-A]

(carve away the fat and...)
'Cause Skyrim, Guild Wars 2, Minecraft, TERA, and Smite were all about zombies.

...really?

First off, shame on you for citing MMOs. That's a whole different kind of zombie (and the companies don't even have to program them in). Props for avoiding the blatantly obvious one, though.
Minecraft's not about zombies. It's about taking your giant virtual Lego set and...well...playing Legos. Don't forget how long it took to get an experience point system going; the zombies were not the focus.
And, in Skyrim, it's all about the dragons. The "zombies" were background.

Just because there happen to be zombies in it doesn't make it a "zombie game".

ACK! Off topic! Sorry!

I was arguing against all modern games being about zombies though. Maybe I should've made that more clear. :/

The few popular modern games (that I can recall) that could be classified as "zombie games" are Left 4 Dead and The Walking Dead.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

"The console market is always going to be with us, because there's always going to be a hardcore segment, a segment that likes innovation,"


Lul-wut?

What innovation? The innovation of selling a shitty PC for twice it's price by calling it a 'console'?

 

[Olrod]

Isn't EA "niche" by now?

Surely there are very few people left who actually respect Electronic Arts as a viable games company?

[Captcha: flat tire] Yes, that's one way of describing them, Captcha, thank you.

 

[PZF]

Well good, maybe now that consoles are dying out, PCs wont get anymore crappy console ports.

 

[MammothBlade]

"In the old days I'd go down to the basement to play Grand Theft Auto," Hawkins continued. "But the Facebook gamer is able to play at work, at home, in a hotel on a PC. They can get access to a browser just about anywhere. People are thinking about convenience first."

Except Facebook games don't compare to dedicated titles in terms of value for money. Yes, there is a larger market for social games, but let us not forget there is a considerable portion of the gaming market - anything BUT a niche - which definitely WON'T be satisfied by the likes of farmville and angry birds.

I think this is just typical of the dismissive out of touch attitude of some gaming industry executives, ignoring dedicated gamers in favour of short-term profit from lightweights. Not to use that as an insult, it's just that, face it, people playing those sorts of games don't get as much immersion or depth from their games - yet appealing to their lowest common denominator threatens the future of what's on the market for the more discerning gamer.