Will console gaming slowly get replaced by PC gaming?

[Touchfuzzy]

Keep in mind that the PS4 has sold more in its first year than the PS2 did in its first year.

 

[Ralpf]

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.

The XBox One number is over 10M and the WiiU getting close to 9M per VGChartz. The PS4 number on that wikipedia page matches. PS4 is the fastest selling console of all time, as was already mentioned, that is far from being replaced.

Consoles will continue to be relevant as long as the respective first party developers continue quality output. In my opinion there isn't a publisher in the world that can hold a candle to the talent of Sony's and Nintendo's studios.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Keep in mind that the PS4 has sold more in its first year than the PS2 did in its first year.

Yeah, and the current gen consoles are still pretty young anyways. Also, games are still made for the 360 and PS3 even with One and PS4 already around. I guess there would be those who are still waiting for games to stop getting PS3/360 releases before they go on to the next console. 

 

[Sailerius]

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. 

Historically that has never proven to be true. Also, in what way do the new consoles not meet the expectations of consumers? Can you cite a source for that? Because sales figures say the exact opposite.

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.

Once again, sales figures say the opposite of your opinion.

 

[Imploded Tomato]

Historically that has never proven to be true. Also, in what way do the new consoles not meet the expectations of consumers? Can you cite a source for that? Because sales figures say the exact opposite.

Once again, sales figures say the opposite of your opinion.

No, I'm not talking about sales Sailerius. That information is completely obvious and is overlooking the point of this thread. I'm talking about consoles in general losing popularity over time because of alternative options in the future such game streaming services on the PC and also because of bad decisions made from made from gaming companies like Ubisoft releasing half finished products like "Assassin's Creed Unity" or 343 for releasing "The Broken Chief Collection" which doesn't work online.

As a console and PC gamer, I've already established the fact that consoles aren't going anywhere. Now, let's get back onto topic shall we?

 

[Sailerius]

But it's PCs that are going away, not consoles. The topic is predicated on an inverted perception of the technological landscape.

because of bad decisions made from made from gaming companies like Ubisoft releasing half finished products like "Assassin's Creed Unity" or 343 for releasing "The Broken Chief Collection" which doesn't work online.

Those same "bad" decisions which caused those games and consoles to sell in record-breaking volume.

Most people don't care.

 

[Imploded Tomato]

But it's PCs that are going away, not consoles. The topic is predicated on an inverted perception of the technological landscape.

Those same "bad" decisions which caused those games and consoles to sell in record-breaking volume.

Most people don't care.

"But it's PCs that are going away, not consoles. The topic is predicated on an inverted perception of the technological landscape." Ummm... What? Just like consoles, PC's aren't going anywhere...

"Those same "bad" decisions which caused those games and consoles to sell in record-breaking volume." Wait, what? Bad decisions didn't contribute to "record-breaking" console sales. People bought a Xbox One or PS4 to play games on, nothing more...

"Most people don't care" That's your opinion. I've talked with a lot of people that are becoming fed up in the gaming industry because bad development issues with games or hardware problems.

 

[Dimitris]

Both are great for different reasons. For example, if you have your friends at home it makes more sence to play 4 player coop on your console with pizzas and beers around and everyone screaming at each other and laughing, than sitting on a pc with one guy playing and 3 guys watching. Consoles and many console games are build around that, inviting your friends and having fun all in the same room. Pcs are more for internet multiplayer experiences, playing with 60 guys and girls around the world that you might never meet. The only games I have played on a pc with other people around were adventure games. 3 people trying to find solutions and such. But the beauty of adventure games lies on riddle solving and not in the actual gameplay, so you can do that. Also, i cannot imagine strategy games being played on a console with a controller.

As far as specs go, pcs will be way ahead of any console as Dreadshadow said. That does not mean that pcs will have the best games. For example I would love to play the Uncharted games on pc but I don't see that happening. In the end it is a matter of preference, i haven't met anyone that said "I am solely a pc gamer" or "console gamer". People have pc, xbox and playstation and depends on their budget and if the games they love are exclusive or not. I started with an Atari 2600, then Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, Playstation 1 and Pc. I stayed with pc because I can do so many different things (like using RPGMakerVxAce, Photoshop and compose music) that a console does not let me. And that is the only reason.

@Dreadshadow Nice video, 360 no scope? haahaha! "The Start feature on Windows 10 will change the way we view operating systems." 20/10 IGN

 

[Sailerius]

Ummm... What? Just like consoles, PC's aren't going anywhere...

Everyone in the industry is hedging their bets on PCs going the way of the floppy disk. Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia wasn't just for fun. Apple's increasing focus on mobile isn't just because they think smartphones and tablets are pretty. Google's acquisition of Motorola wasn't just because they didn't know what to do with their money.

Everyone who makes PCs, or software for PCs, or hardware for PCs, has been steadily distancing themselves from the anemic PC market. The writing has been on the wall for a long time and you can tell what direction we're going by looking at what the people who make their money on PCs are doing.

Wait, what? Bad decisions didn't contribute to "record-breaking" console sales. People bought a Xbox One or PS4 to play games on, nothing more...

I was being facetious. You said that the reason consoles are failing is because of bad business decisions with recent games, except said games sold in astronomical numbers, so, by your logic, people support, not object to, those business decisions.

That's your opinion. I've talked with a lot of people that are becoming fed up in the gaming industry because bad development issues with games or hardware problems.

Well, that's also most people's opinions, judging by the market... 

It's great that you can find a handful of people who agree with you, you can find anecdotal evidence to support any claim you want. But the hard numbers state that consumers are more happy than ever with consoles and the game industry and are becoming even happier as time progresses. You're entitled to your opinion, but you're disagreeing with reality.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Judging from reviews I see around the internet, from the situation around here in our country, I don't see people getting fed up in the gaming industry because of gaming issues or hardware problems. At least, not any more so than how fed up people are in the past. There are always people who won't like something. There are people who have been fed up with the industry ever since it started. And the industry is still here, and at least looking at the things here in my country, it's getting stronger actually. Back then on the time of the PS1 and PS2, most people here would just buy pirated games, but ever since the PS3/Xbox360 era, there are more and more people buying legal copies of games.

 

[Wavelength]

Voted "no" because I don't think the streaming of console libraries for the PC would have anything to do with console gaming's possible downfall.  Rather, I believe the greater and greater need for online functionality in order to enjoy console games, and the inability to pop a disc into a console and be playing the game within a minute and a half, are going to cause console gaming to merge with PC gaming at best, and singlehandedly cause console gaming to die out at worst, within the next three generations of consoles.

 

[hian]

Short answer - No.

Long answer, computers won't replace consoles because in the future both consoles and computers will both be replaced by smartphones/tablets (or some sort of new portable devices that resembles those devices).

The fact of the matter is that the new generation of smartphones are more powerful, and capable of a larger amount of tasks than laptops did not even a decade ago.

So, putting that in perspective, smartphones (or something similar) will just keep on getting more and more powerful and capable to the point that using computers or consoles will simply be pointless, since you could possibly do the exact same things with the handheld communication device of the time.

With the ability to use wireless controllers, and when glasses/goggles with screens (or built in projectors etc) become easier to use/carry around, there simply are no reasons what-so-ever why you'd want to limit your gaming to when you're sitting in that one space in your house where you have your computer, or your console set-up.

 

[whitesphere]

One big variable we may not be considering:  How much will this cost for the gamer?  How much discretionary income does a would-be gamer have?    I will assume that the average person in the US does not have much discretionary income for games.  So, this person probably wants to make every dollar count.

I'll completely ignore illegal downloads/etc for the purposes of this post.

What is the most cost effective way to find games to play?   It all depends on the hardware the person already has.  Most people already have a PC.  Which is why PC games are so popular --- no extra hardware purchase needed for most games.

And if someone DOES purchase a gaming console, they are NOT that likely to upgrade to the "next gen" console just for the sake of upgrading.  Let's say they see a game for the PS4 which costs $60.  Then they need to cough up an extra $300 or so for the PS4 itself.   

This is probably why the sales of next gen consoles have been slower than the manufacturers wanted --- most people who want a console HAVE one and they aren't seeing compelling enough reasons to upgrade.  What they have is "good enough" for them to play on.  And even better, the software tends to drop in price for previous generation consoles.  Or at least the next gen consoles software costs more, making the next gen purchase even more iffy if you don't have a lot of extra income.

So I think console gaming will continue to do well, even if newer consoles don't sell at the high rates the manufacturers want.  The most successful games in the future will be cross-platform ones which run well on a variety of platforms, because no one console is going to utterly dominate the console wars, like happened in the past.

If anything, I imagine PC game manufacturers might want to hedge their bets and PC gaming might eventually become "console like" with multiple Bluetooth controllers talking to a PC which sends its output via HDMI to the TV screen.  All of these technologies exist today.

I don't think game streaming is going to become The Next Big Thing, as much as game makers would love it to. The slightest hiccup on the server or Internet and the game crashes --- if by game streaming we mean "game runs on a server and streams its stuff to the client".

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Nah I don't really see mobile as the next big thing... It has perks yes, but it also has disadvantages that needs to be addressed. Personally I don't like the idea of gaming on the same hardware that I use for calling,messaging etc. Why? Well for one, games take a lot of battery power, so if I use it for gaming I get less time for calling and messaging, which are the main reasons why I have a mobile.

Also, as of now, I' actually seeing a decline in the quality of games being released for mobiles. With the market being saturated with games that rely heavily on micro transactions and require constant internet connection even if it's a single player game..

As a working person with a busy life, having games on mobile seems to be good at first. But after a few moments I realized it wasn't. For one, the battery problem poses a huge problem for a person like me who needs to be available for calls and messages 24/7. Also, if I receive a call/text during play I might not even notice it (text) or it could stop my game (in case of calls). And so on... So from experience I realized that having a dedicated time for gaming using a device dedicated for gaming would work best my interests. 

 

[Funplayer]

I guess the future is in Tesla's hands, to provide the world with free internet.  We'll see how that works out.  If that is the case, I'm certain we'll see some stabilization systems created, that support the modernization of the Tesla style free internet.  This would probably result in more video game streaming in the future, considering its actually FREE to use the internet, everyone uses the satellites, and the world is connected via the free internet.

However, the gaming console will exist in one form or another for the next hundred years.  Whether it be optimized 30 dollar gaming PCs that have quantum chips, or the existence of some sort of holographic gaming console.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Plus the more optimized an equipment is for a specific purpose, the better the general performance... Like phones before the age of smartphones are really fast on what they were meant to do which is to make calls and texts. Phone nowadays which have a multitude of tasks that it can do sometimes go slow even with the simple calling and texting...

Personally, I'm not a fan of something that can do all... I don't like to risk losing it all if I lose that single object... So if like the computer that I use for work, social networking, browsing and gaming is a single product, then if that product wears down, I can't do any of those... 

Also, in the world there are things that you just can't bring into someplace without threats or possible problems. Like in my work, I would preferably like to have a laptop for work purposes because my personal laptop has a lot of things in it, some of which are forbidden inside company premises.

PS: From my observations, at least in our country, used consoles seem to have a market, used computers on the other hand doesn't seem to have much buyers. 

 

[Heretic86]

- PCs are more akin to Content Creation

- Consoles are closer to Content Consumption

This is the key difference between PCs and Consoles.  If you use phones or tablets or (Windows 8), then you are geared toward Content Consumption.  It is pretty much the same difference as a VCR vs a Studio.  VCRs, while they are able to record stuff, are geared toward Content Consumption.  A full blown video editing bay is created with the intent of Content Creation.

Problem is that BOTH are going away, in favor of Cloud and Streaming EVERYTHING.  Soon, you'll be able to pipe your Console game through your PC to your Wi Fi to your iPhone 8 so you can take a dump and play HD Console Games.  You'll be just as able to pinch a loaf or drop the kids off at the pool while you write your business proposal.  The line between both are becoming heavily blurred due to the overlap of the intent of one device into the realm of the other.  Making such a prediction would be very similar to foretelling that the Star Trek Communicator is ever used for advancing a personal relationship with a member of the opposite sex.  Most people will be blindsided and say they never saw that coming. 

So, which category does the Star Trek Communicator fall into, Creation or Consumption?  Or Both?

 

[whitesphere]

@Heretic86

Actually, I HAVE seen an app available which does something with personal interactions. It relies on those health monitor wristbands people use as pedometers.  Many of those track your heart rate.  So the app looks at that and correlates it with the person you're texting/talking to, and then has notifications like "Mr. Smith makes you feel More Anxious/Becky makes you feel More Aroused."

The app is being highlighted as a way to avoid wasting time with toxic people and to find the best potential mate (the Most Aroused, of course).  I just shook my head when I saw that one --- if you're an adult and can't tell who's toxic in your life, or who is the best match for you, without a phone app, you need help.

 

[Heretic86]

@Heretic86

Actually, I HAVE seen an app available which does something with personal interactions. It relies on those health monitor wristbands people use as pedometers.  Many of those track your heart rate.  So the app looks at that and correlates it with the person you're texting/talking to, and then has notifications like "Mr. Smith makes you feel More Anxious/Becky makes you feel More Aroused."

The app is being highlighted as a way to avoid wasting time with toxic people and to find the best potential mate (the Most Aroused, of course).  I just shook my head when I saw that one --- if you're an adult and can't tell who's toxic in your life, or who is the best match for you, without a phone app, you need help.

You do have one point I want to address briefly although it is off topic from the thread title and that is Privacy.

Many people think "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" but really it has nothing to do with "right" and "wrong" as those are Subjective Terms, thus, "right" and "wrong" are Opinions.  Privacy is important due to those Differences of Opinions of what is "right" and "wrong" establishing a source of conflict.  I was fired one time from a job because I applied for another job.  There is nothing "illegal" about applying for a job, but my employer at that time had a difference of opinion about it.  Another good example is being Jewish.  There is nothing "illegal" about being Jewish, yet at the time, it was very relevat that is something worth "hiding".  And people make the repeated mistake of thinking "that could never happen here" or "that could never happen again".  It will.  Just pick any group of people and it could just as easily happen to them.  Perhaps one has a family that immigrated from somewhere else.  Perhaps a person has a certain type of genetic condition.  Its not like we can exactly choose our genetics or our families or where we are born or the faith / lack of faith of any of our ancestors.  All of these things are potential conflicts when that information is forcibly recorded about an individual. 

The big issue with Privacy is that when every shred of information about a person is recorded, everything becomes subject to the approval of someone else.  Someone else gets to determine "too fat" or "too much salt" in your diet.  Make no mistake when Big Insurance comes along and knows literally everything you eat, thanks to your Internet Ready Refrigerator, what you eat will be subject to the approval of someone else.  And they will jack up your insurance rates.  Now many may not have a problem with being told what to do in every aspect of their lives, and I mean literally every aspect, but what they are really doing is rationalizing the immoral behaviors of those who profit from telling you what to do.  Your employer has absolutely no Right what so ever to monitor everything you say in the privacy of your own home.  Im not talking about social media, as that is flat out saying "look at me", I mean the "sweet pillow talk" you have with your significant other, or really, anything that you discuss in Private.  Say you even mention "new job" at home, and are then fired from your current job because of it.  Or maybe you didnt mention it, but went on some job website, and lost your current job as a result.  Every action and every aspect of what makes you you becomes subject to the scrutiny of those with a difference of opinion.  Wrong religion.  Wrong sexual preference.  Wrong political affiliation.  Wrong behavior.  Wrong genetics.  Wrong herritage.  Wrong opinion.  Wrong eye color.  Everything, all subject to the approval of someone else.  Oh look at that, you have "bad genetics" we need to jack up your insurance rates.  Are you a Muslim (no offense if you are), thats Wrong and you need to be punished, which means, I take more money from you for some reason, or pay you less, show you less respect, and in the end, a small group with access to all these data points about you gain the ability to determine the course of your life and shape what you are.  You wont be what you think you should be, you will be molded according to a cookie cutter definition of what you are expected to be, which most likely is a subservient obedient flat ass broke worker.  You will not live according to your own thoughts or ideas or self determination.  You will be forced to be a Vegetarian or a Catholic or a Republican, and if you oppose their control over you, you will be dealt with.

This is mostly because you brought up the wearable devices.  You could use it for something good, but make no mistake that someone else will turn right back around and label you a pervert or even a "sex offender" should they detect that you became "aroused" at the wrong time.  Getting slapped with a "sexual deviant" will severely limit the choices that are available to you, and it will get to the point where your arousal is subject to the scrutiny of someone else.  All this information about people that is being given up and recorded, permanently and forever, will be processed by algorithms and the very course of your life will be determined by a computer.  Even if there are some benefits, the risks far outweigh the benefits.  Every excuse will be used to knock down your Credit Score, or Rate of Pay, or Compatability with a member of the opposite sex.  This information will be used to make you the penultimate consumer, flat ass broke, in debt, unhealthy, unhappy, and the exact polar opposite of the purported intetion of all this surveillance, because it is profitable.  Drive to your friends house and your car insurance rate goes up up up because your friend lives in a "high crime rate area" or "next door to a sexual deviant" or "you failed to use your blinker" or "you eat and drive".  All to be scrutinized by a series of algorithms that determine the course of your life.  And people are very willing to give this all up for the convenience of "being told what they should be".

Many people consider Privacy to be an obstacle to their happiness.  You need to give up all of your privacy in order to know what "is the best thing on TV", or even to communicate.  I have nothing against people communicating openly, but I do have a big issue with "monitored communication" when what you talk about becomes subject to a means by which to benefit from your loss and hiding behind information that is freely given up as a mere excuse to charge you more for a hamburger if you are "too fat".  The numerous potential abuses are both far reaching and devestating the individual, and far exceed any perceived gains from the ultimate total elimination of privacy.

If there are any replies to this, since this is such a massive topic, you may just want to quote this post and reply in a Split Thread as not to derail this one.

 

[Blinn]

You can't mod a console game like you can mod a PC game. That's why I voted yes, unless the console makers catch up.