There is no doubt that the game business continues to grow in size and scope. There is some doubt about how Apple and Microsoft respond to this fact.
Microsoft seems to think of "games" as being Xbox games and demonstrates little interest in PC games. Which is ironic since it has the #1 platform for PC games and since it encourages development of Xbox games on PC's with technologies like SNA - which they claimed made it easy to port games between PC and Xbox. But where is Halo2 or Halo3 for the PC?
Also disappointing is Apple. Apple pretty much gave up on the game business back in the 1990's but now that Apple is moving to Intel hardware, they have (had?) and opportunity to close the game gap. And they seem to be doing nothing, which means games for Apple's will continue to be children's games and a few mediocre ports that arrive a year or two after the PC version. What a waste...
As Dell looks for growth from high-end gaming systems, I was much disappointed to see the new MacBooks use such a game-unfriendly graphics system. Email and Word run just fine on your old computer. The only reason an average consumer needs a faster computer or would want an Intel system at all is to the play games. Dont plan to play Civilization IV on your MacBook.
PC Makers Aim to Pry Players Away From Game Consoles
Luring Consumers With 'Spore'
May 9, 2006
Dell Inc., the world's largest PC maker in terms of computers sold, is showcasing its latest XPS gaming PCs in additional booths and is previewing new designs for the machines. It also is setting up for the first time a Web site dedicated to the event. Dell's newly acquired unit, specialty PC maker Alienware Corp., is displaying some 150 gaming computers at the E3 show, up 20% from last year. Meanwhile, PC maker Voodoo Computers Ltd. and 2K Games, a label of game developer Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., are hosting a multi-player videogame tournament at E3. And Falcon Northwest Computer Systems Inc. will have its new portable shoebox-sized gaming PC at the event.
The activity highlights how PC makers are making a bigger push to lure videogamers. The drive comes as the videogame industry transitions to Microsoft's new Xbox 360 and Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 videogame consoles from older consoles. It often takes time for consumers to make the shift to new machines because they typically wait for games that are created for the new systems before they'll make the switch.
That creates an opening for PC makers. Many early videogames, such as Myst, Doom and Civilization, were made to be played on computers. But consoles allow videogames to be played on TVs and thus have dwarfed PCs as the main gaming platform for consumers. Last year, revenue from PC games totaled $6.1 billion, compared with $13.4 billion in sales from console games, according to DFC Intelligence Inc., an entertainment research firm. As consumers change over to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, however, many may be willing to give PC games a second look.
For PC makers, recapturing an audience of gamers is an important avenue for growth since PCs designed for gamers tend to be more profitable high-end machines. A gaming PC from Dell can cost as high as $5,000, compared with the average PC price of $807. According to research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, sales of PCs designed specifically for gaming will rise about 45% this year to around 1.9 million units.
