CNET broke a big story today about Vista falling out of favor with software developers. The story has a disingenuous premise given that any application written for Windows XP will work with Vista thus making Vista the most widely-adopted platform, but Tom from TomsTechBlog raised an interesting point:
But it does illustrate a bigger problem which is that the Windows Desktop Application market is drying up in many ways. Lets look at the different types of Apps out there and what has happened in the last few years…
Games: There are still die hard gamers out there but for the most part the era of PC Gaming is dead. They might not be as powerful but consoles allow developers to have a set feature list to target which means console games almost always look better. Now that the major consoles support HD there’s just not much reason to stick with the PC anymore.
Is PC Gaming finished? Is everyone going to adopt console gaming as the new standard way to play games?
I don’t think so. Here’s why:
Media: Console platforms rely entirely on hard media for running games, meaning that if you want to play a game you have to have it on disk. Hacked versions of the original XBox have been modified to execute all games off of a hard drive, but other than that there are no platforms that support media-free gaming experiences.
Other than the PC, that is. Not only is it more convenient to play games on a PC due to the fact that most modern games don’t require any media in order to play, but it also gives PCs the advantage of being able to utilize superior content distribution models.
Distribution: In order to get the latest video game for a console system you have to do one of the following:
- Go out and drive down to E.B. Games, Best Buy, Walmart, or some other electronics retailer and buy the game; or
- Go onto Amazon.com, order the game, and wait 2-5 business days for the game to arrive via mail.
The PC has a third, more convenient method of distribution: on-demand gaming. The best example of this is Valve’s "Steam" Client, a social network/storefront hybrid that allows you to socialize with other gamers and purchase the latest gaming titles on-demand. All you have to do is download the client, create an account, and then use the storefront to buy registered products.
On-demand gaming clients like Steam and Blizzard Accounts deliver the following advantages to end-users:
- End-users can purchase any of their games instantly without having to wait in line or wait for shipping;
- End-users can play the game without having to keep CDs, DVDs, or cartridges lying around; and
- Best of all: if End-users have to format or replace their computers, they can re-download all of the games that they’ve already purchased at no additional cost.
Consoles simply can’t support this kind of distribution model under their current architecture – most gaming consoles simply don’t have the storage capacity to store full video games in persistent memory.
Massively Multiplayer Experiences: Massively Multiplayer games present a whole new level of gaming complexity that simply can’t carry-over to consoles. MMOs are intrinsically more complicated due to the large number of choices presented in a flexible MMO environment. The biggest thing preventing MMOs from porting over to consoles is the awkward design of the game controllers. Even if you use voice chat you still need to type most of the time (slash commands, broadcasts, keybinds, macros, etc) and typing is an activity that is simply not worth the effort on a console controller.
Basically a mouse and a keyboard are undeniable essentials for MMOs; no one with any experience in an MMO can say otherwise.
High End Experiences: The biggest argument in favor of consoles over PCs is the fact that consoles offer consistent HD-quality images at significantly lower cost than equivalent PC gaming experiences; $600 for the latest high-end console versus thousands of dollars for high-end gaming laptops and desktops.
Consoles are simply a more affordable option for people who want a good gaming experience without breaking the bank; however, computers still offer the richest, fullest gaming experiences due to the flexibility of PC organization. You can always upgrade DirectX, Windows, sound cards, video cards, RAM, and so forth for the absolute premium gaming experiences.
Consumers can’t access that kind of platform flexibility with consoles, but the many gamers are satisfied with what’s offered by consoles. However, there is a large market of wealthier, older gamers who are willing to pay the premium for the best possible gaming experience.
In addition, "$3000" is not what people pay for a high-end gaming system; that number doesn’t factor in a number of sunk costs like the basic PC hardware, the operating system, virus protection, and so forth. Those costs are expenses that a consumer would have to spend on a PC regardless of the PC’s intended use.
Everyone Needs Computers: The biggest single reason why the PC market won’t die is because every person needs to have a computer! They aren’t going away any time soon! I can’t say the same for console systems; they’re simply another entertainment device and they can be replaced by a good PC. Even the best console in the world can’t act as a substitute for a PC.
The True State of the PC Gaming Industry
I found some good data to support what I’m going to say next, but the fact is that the PC games market and the console games market are both growing, rapidly. It looks like console gaming is growing more rapidly and will eventually become a larger market than PC gaming but it will never be able to replace PC gaming for the reasons that I covered in this article.
And now for some questions; feel free to answer these in the blog comments or via Twitter:
- Are you a gamer?
- If so, do you play on a console? A PC? Both?
- What games are you currently playing?
- Age of Konan – how are those memory leaks treating you?
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.marketing-ninja.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter-big4.png){kind=icon}
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Comments 2
After thinking on it I think you’re probably right to an extent. I was probably to quick to put the last nail in PC Gaming’s coffin. I think on my part it was partly a result of moving on in life. Which is to say, PC Gaming is dwindlling, I’m getting older and gaming less which means not gaming on the PC at all, so I combined the two in my head to say that PC Gaming is disappearing completely.
All that said, I think you underestimate the Wii. Though you didn’t mention it specifically I’ve been more than a little impressed by Nintendo’s focus on the customer and on building hardward to meet the needs of the type of games that people want to play.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they captialized on a lot of the things you put in this post and eventually became a haven for different types of games.
P.S. One thing I picked out of your post though that is probably a topic for another time is the idea that “everyone needs a computer” Its a topic for another time but just for the record I know a lot of people who I work with who don’t have computers at home. They check e-mails and do their minor internet surfing at work so there’s no need for it. I was surprised by it at first but since then I’ve seen a lot of studies that say most internet traffic is during the week day so it might be mroe wide spread than any of us thinks.
Posted 18 Jun 2008 at 10:35 pm ¶Hey Tom,
I would have responded to you sooner were it not for the fact that I was migrating from DiscountASP.NET to Media Temple today. I didn’t want to have to repeat myself ;p
The Wii was the system I was thinking about most when I wrote this article – I think the Wii is the future of console gaming. It offers an experience that a computer would have a lot of trouble offering (it’s enough trouble setting up a network card, let alone motion sensors.) In addition, it makes gaming a social, in-person, experience; it’s different than XBox Live where you’re playing with other people over a network, just like how you would on a PC. Instead it’s great for when you have company over, parties, and so forth. It’s a fun, social way of gaming.
As for your point about not everyone needing a computer at home, I personally don’t know anyone who doesn’t have one. Well, except for the members of my family who are part of America’s Greatest Generation. Some of them don’t have personal computers.
Posted 19 Jun 2008 at 2:55 pm ¶Post a Comment