Will console gaming slowly get replaced by PC gaming?

[Goldstorm]

Those are also all the games I bought last year, incidentally. Bar a few sales on Steam which I wasn't strong enough to resist this year either... Anyway, the 3DS was bought back in 2012, the Wii U in 2013. My game expenses aren't actually that grand And the Wii U is the cheapest alternative among the new consoles, so there's also that.

But yes, if your wallet is stretched thin, PC gaming is absolutely the cheapest place to go (and that's ignoring piracy), up front. However considering how quickly a low-end PC gets outdated, I'm not actually sure it's cheaper than, say, waiting one or two years to buy the latest console and buy games half a year to a year after they come out. Considering new games on PC are equally expensive, and games on consoles are usually more optimized, the "bang for buck" ratio isn't as linear as one might think.

My opinion is this. Building a fantastic custom PC costs a lot of money initially to get it up and playing all the current games today (Roughly $800-$1200 USD). On the flip side, a gaming console (including a game) costs just as much as a graphics card and some RAM ($300 - $500). In the long term, a PC will get you more bang for your buck, but the initial investment is big. However, a gaming console will last you whatever the lifespan of that console is. With buying used games, sales, the Play Station + and XBOX Live Gold Programs which give you free monthly games, the initial cheap alternative would be consoles. 

That being said, once you make that initial investment in a good gaming PC, it is much cheaper to upgrade over time than to get a new console. With steam, GOG, and Origin sales, you're PC library will grow and will most likely outnumber the console games you would buy. 

 

[Scythuz]

Whilst I'm primarily a pc gamer, I do still see the benefits in having a console.  Consoles have very specific hardware and this creates some very specific limitations which is why exclusives can be so good sometimes, limitations can really encourage creativity, just ask the Wii U.  It used to be the console everyone made fun of (including myself) but now look at it with all it's awesome exclusives that I can't get on a pc.  

In my opinion, exclusives are the thing that keep both PC and Consoles in competition with each other in a healthy way, there's no point in getting a console version of a game if the pc version is superior after all.  (This is NOT and excuse for terrible pc ports though!  That's just laziness!)

Consoles are also much easier for those with less experience with techy things to set up, a lot of us pc gamers underestimate how much we had to learn to be able to set up a pc ourselves both hardware and software wise.

So no - I don't think pc gaming will replace console gaming and I don't actually want that to happen.  I know we've had a rough time for game releases lately but switching to purely pc as a form of gaming might have some serious consequences in the long term, consequences that really, we can't even possibly be aware of at this stage.

 

[AwesomeCool]

In my opinion Consoles are slowly becoming more pc like with all the features they are adding to it.

I think the two categories will eventually merge.

Also, Scythuz is right that they both have a place of use.

 

[whitesphere]

One advantage I forgot about PCs for gaming.

Assuming you have a decent, not high end, PC desktop, already in the house, you don't need to spend Big Bucks to play reasonably current games.  In my case, I can play Skyrim with my 7 year old PC (Core 2 Duo processor, 6 GB of RAM, 512 GB HD).  The only thing I needed to upgrade was the video card, but a decent one was $100.   So if you're not computer savvy, maybe it would cost $50 extra (or whatever your local techie would charge to install your new graphics card), giving you a decent gaming experience with all the variety of PC gaming for $150.

Now, by "decent" I don't mean "You can run FULL HD 1920x1024, 120 Hz refresh, max detail!"  I mean "Decent framerate, 1280x1024, medium detail."  Which for most purposes is more than good enough to enjoy the game, and probably on a par with what consoles can do.

So, if you don't have a PC in the house (highly unlikely with this crowd for obvious reasons --- almost all of us are using RPG Maker on our own computers), then yes you can spend big money to get a gaming PC, or maybe $700 to get a decent "it'll do games OK" PC, and it is a lot more expensive than a $400 console.

But, IF you have a PC already, the only extra expense would be the pieces to upgrade your PC so it can run modern games, reasonably well.  That's assuming the PC can even be upgraded --- laptops can't have their video chips upgraded, and some desktops are not meant to be upgraded.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

Oh, another reason I find consoles more convenient sometimes. With work, I have to keep a lot of things monitored, but I don't actually have to be WORKING on them all the time. Things like Facebook, Twitter, the forums, blog comments, etc. And sometimes I just need to be around in our work chat in case someone needs to ask me a question.

When I play a game on my PC, that game takes over the thing I do all that on. Now, I can switch all that over to my tablet, but its not ideal.

When I play a game on a console, I just have my laptop sitting next to me, and I can pause if an alert goes off and reach over and check it out.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

So, if you don't have a PC in the house (highly unlikely with this crowd for obvious reasons --- almost all of us are using RPG Maker on our own computers)

I have a laptop, so...

Also, I normally play on consoles with my laptop open for some extra things, like checking news, occasional posting on social media, playing music, looking for guides etc... Doing all those + playing games on that same PC could cause slowdowns so, I prefer having a console to play on.

So no - I don't think pc gaming will replace console gaming and I don't actually want that to happen.  I know we've had a rough time for game releases lately but switching to purely pc as a form of gaming might have some serious consequences in the long term, consequences that really, we can't even possibly be aware of at this stage.

yeah, having no consoles would surely have some kind of consequences.

Consoles are also much easier for those with less experience with techy things to set up, a lot of us pc gamers underestimate how much we had to learn to be able to set up a pc ourselves both hardware and software wise.

Last time I tried modifying a PC (a long time ago), I broke a motherboard.

 

[Imploded Tomato]

I think we might even have a merge of PC and console machinery together in the future to make a flexible console giving you much more customization options while still maintaining a developer friendly environment. The "Steam Machine" might be like this when it's released but they will never be worth buying unless you can upgrade the hardware.

 

[Ed19]

Do you think newspapers will be gone? I guess not. That's the same thing.

Console gaming will always exist, but it might be for a niche market. I assume Console gaming for casuals and children, meanwhile PC gaming is for hardcore gamers.

I don't wanna upgrade my PC because I wanted to play "this" or "that". I'll buy a console instead. 

The growing trend is the abundant of mobile games right now. They are free (mostly), but with in-app purchases.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

Casual gamer sure does get thrown around a lot. Honestly, I don't think people even know what casual gamer means.

I don't think people who are playing casually go out to buy 400 dollar dedicated systems to just play games.

 

[Seacliff]

Casual gamer sure does get thrown around a lot. Honestly, I don't think people even know what casual gamer means.

I don't think people who are playing casually go out to buy 400 dollar dedicated systems to just play games.

That crossed my mind as well. A causal gamer normal plays games for the social aspect rather than being skillful at said game... which is something the PC provides better than a console if anything. But even then that's just a stereotype for causal gamers.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

True Casual gamers play games on things they already own. Their phone, their iPad, their non-gaming computer (so many facebook games).

I honestly think though, there is a big category in the center between "casual" and "hardcore" which is where most gamers actually sit.

 

[Heretic86]

What difference does it make if both Consoles and PCs can stream games?  Oh, you forgot to include the Smartphone and Tablet market...

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

I assume Console gaming for casuals and children, meanwhile PC gaming is for hardcore gamers.

I do think there are more casuals in PC gaming, given that there are more casual games in PCs than in consoles...

 

[Sailerius]

PC gaming will probably not exist as we know it in 10-15 years with the rate at which PCs are being replaced by phones and tablets. Mobile gaming will be the "new" PC gaming.

It's happening much faster than you think. Many young kids nowadays have never even seen a desktop PC because they've only interacted with phones/tablets. To them, it's like an old mainframe computer, or magnetic tapes, to us. Or VHSes. Or floppy disks.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

I honestly don't think consoles are going anywhere. What we won't see again though, is a system like the Wii. A system carried almost entirely by casual gamers. It just came along at the perfect time: Before Facebook Games exploded, before smartphones exploded, before tablets exploded. Now, casual gamers have too many options of things they already HAVE to play casual games on.

People talk about the tablet/phone game market taking a bit out of console gaming, and to be honest it does, but not proportionately across the board. Casual Gamers and non-casual gamers (I'm not going to refer to "hardcore" gamers cause that just sounds stupid) are very different demographics. Sony and Microsoft did OK with the transition this gen because they never really were trying to hit the demographic that got eaten by tablets and phones. The Wii U on the other hand, was aiming exactly at that market. And what is it doing? Kind of floundering. With the exception of a few first person titles that nostalgia has proven can sell systems to 30 year olds missing their childhood, the Wii U just hasn't done well.

Consoles are going to take a slight downturn, but not across the board. Just the consoles that target the casual audience.

 

[Sailerius]

The Xbox One and PS4 are the fastest-selling consoles of all time. The meme that consoles are dying has long been disproven.

It's the Wii U that's dying. That Miyamoto is already working on games for a new console is proof of that.

 

[Imploded Tomato]

Yeah, I never expected consoles to go away completely as there will obviously always be a market for them.. But I believe they will die in popularity after developers realize that consumers won't continue to buy half baked, low quality games or under powered consoles that don't meet the expectations of consumers. 

"Do you think newspapers will be gone? I guess not. That's the same thing.
Console gaming will always exist, but it might be for a niche market. I assume Console gaming for casuals and children, meanwhile PC gaming is for hardcore gamers."

Channel ISM, No and I'm pretty sure that was not my question.. My question was "Will console gaming slowly get replaced by PC gaming?" This question does not imply that console gaming will be completely gone, but rather that it would lose popularity... 
 

"What difference does it make if both Consoles and PCs can stream games?  Oh, you forgot to include the Smartphone and Tablet market..."

Heretic86, You can mod PC games for one thing. Oh, and you can upgrade your motherboard and save lot's of money by not getting ripped of my console makers while playing at higher resolutions and frame rates. There are a lot more differences, but it's not necessary for me to go into more details as they should be fairly obvious.

"PC gaming will probably not exist as we know it in 10-15 years" It takes a PC to design a console, and consoles are basically dumbed down PCs. Tablets and phones are just new tech developed from PCs. PCs won't be going anywhere..

"The Xbox One and PS4 are the fastest-selling consoles of all time. The meme that consoles are dying has long been disproven.

It's the Wii U that's dying. That Miyamoto is already working on games for a new console is proof of that."

Sailerius, your statement "meme that consoles are dying has long been disproven" is an opinion and has not been proven or disproven. It takes a PC to make a tablet, phone, or console so PCs won't be going anywhere either in my opinion.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their opinion!

 

[AceOfAces_Mod]

I think that the downfall of the consoles was helped due to bad adoption of PC like features. Releasing patches is really helpful (it's part of the PC maintnence anyway (look Windows Update)) but it's not an excuse for launch hiccups (I'm looking at you Ubisoft! (which I only own 2 games that I don't play. At All.)). While store is pretty neat, and post support is helpful when handled correctly, I think they go to transform them gradualy to just crappy PCs (see video to see what I mean, done by Jim Sterling). I won't be surprised to hear that Sony would announce PlayStation PC (or something like that). Yet again, it's my opinion, no big company will hear somebody like you and me (because democracy, they want a big demographic).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Z2f-kTZrrsg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I bet that Nintendo will keep doing it's own thing because that's their strong card right now. And they are theoraticly on a faster system because ther PPC based CPU was based on the RISC architecture (PowerPC based Macs anybody?) which has a more simpler instruction set. But PS4 and Xbox One's CPUs are CSIC-based (ie Intel/AMD), which makes it easier to program (especialy X1, due to the Windows NT based OS), so the WiiU needs more time in order to have good enough tools. As long as Nintendo supports the console, it will have some customers no doubt. I would be quite surprised that Valve would buy them mainly due to their series and their knowledge of consoles.

Just saying my opinion, no insult intended.

 

[Touchfuzzy]

I think that the downfall of the consoles was helped due to bad adoption of PC like features.

This assumes there has been a downfall. The PS4 is one of the fastest selling consoles ever.

There has been a downturn in the casual console market, but that is about it, everything else is still going strong.

 

[Galenmereth]

People seem to assume that consoles not selling like forecasted (ie. absolute hopeful stats based on wishful thinking), they are therefore failing. Don't buy into that: Look at real numbers. Here's how the current "generation" of consoles are doing:

• Wii U (released 2012): 7.29 million
• PS4 (released 2013): 18.5 million
• XBox One (released 2013): >5.1 million

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_million-selling_game_consoles#Home_game_consoles)

Sure, these sales pale compared to Wii (101.23 million total) and the all-time bestseller PlayStation 2 (>155 million), but these systems were exceptional. N64 achieved 32.93 million total in its lifetime; Xbox achieved 24 million. These consoles have many years left to sell hardware and software. They're far from as successful as the most successful consoles, but it's not the end of consoles at all.