is this the end of PC games?

Posted on September 23, 2006 11:18 AM about Games | |

Well, at least for me. The more I learn about the next generation of game console systems, the more I think about whether this is my last PC for gaming.

the money

During my past two PC upgrades, I have questioned the amount of money I spend on a Windows PC for the sole purpose of playing games. For the price of just the $300 video card, I could almost get an Xbox 360. For the price of my whole Athlon64 X2 water-cooled behemoth, I could get BOTH a PS3 and Xbox 360.... Not only could I get both systems, I could forget about driver updates, floppy drivers and the Windows Setup program that drives me nuts. In other words, I can spend less money and get a better user experience.

The money and the user experience get me thinking: Is it time to abandon the PC and just switch to consoles? After all, for the past two years I have done all my computer work with my Mac so the PC really is just there for entertainment.

In the past, I have avoided consoles for three reasons which relate to my preferred usage and games.

  • One, the graphics just arent anything close to PC quality graphics with an widescreen LCD monitor.
  • The games I play are online network games, either RPG or FPS, and those just arent possible without a keyboard and mouse.
  • Lastly, I dont want to play on the couch with a crappy TV; I want to play in my office.

At various times I have borrowed a PS2 and Xbox to test the waters, but the waters just didnt agree with me. 5 minutes of Halo2 with an Xbox on my old TV had me running back to the beauty and majesty of Oblivion on a high-end video card with a widescreen 1600x1050 LCD monitor. There is just no comparison of the high-end PC game platform for a console experience. Until now.

the next generation

I've been doing some research on the next generation of game consoles and I am more than a little astonished by the power of the Sony PS3. It may be premature since the system isnt available yet, but the PS3 is widely regarded as the most powerful computer ever produced for a consumer market, period! If the thing works, it's astonishing.

The Xbox360 doesnt offer as much new technology but it too overcomes many of my issues with consoles. Both systems have great graphics, can work with computer monitors, and offer networking features for online play and downloading content.

In fact, both systems really are personal computers in their own rights with wireless networking, hard drives and USB ports. The PS3 is even based on LINUX which has me thinking...

How long will it take these systems to add a mouse and keyboard and really support online games like Everquest or Battlefield2?

Given the similarity of the next-gen consoles to traditional PC's in both architecture and power as well as the superior user experience (no virus, drivers, patches, etc), I am thinking that 2 or 3 years from now all my favorite PC games will be playable in exactly the same way on an Xbox or PS3. In other words, I think we are about to experience some profound changes in the PC gaming world.

the future

Since the PS3 has a super-fast multi-core CPU with hot graphics, HD-level graphics display and it runs on Linux OS with full networking support, the next question to ask is how they are going to handle the user community.

One of the things that separates the PC from consoles is that it is totally open - any user can expand it themselves by writing (or installing) custom software. The downside of this openness is hacks, virus' and cheaters; the upside is terrific mods like Day of Defeat:Source or Counter-Strike.

I spend most of my gaming time playing Mods like DoD:S so I am most curious to see how Sony and Microsoft handle the mod-community. Microsoft is already woo-ing the mod-community with a free version of their XNA tools for PC and Xbox360 development and Sony is also making grand statements.

Development will always be done on PC's but will the end product be playable on PC and console or will they two worlds stay separated as they have up to now, with a PC server version and a console server version? Time will tell.

Many times in the past, PC games have been declared dead only to roar back with blockbusters like Everquest, the Sims and World of Warcraft. But we are entering the first time in history, when console systems will be so similar in both architecture and power to traditional Windows PC's, one really does have to question the future shape of PC gaming.

Vista promises to offer a lot of game-related features and PC hardware always moves faster than console hardware but I am more than a little hoping that I can switch to a console and be happy. I would gladly sacrifice a bit of graphics oomph for the ability to spend ALL my time gaming and NONE of my time tinkering on my machine.

So I am going to put my money where my mouth is and try an experiment. I just ordered and Xbox 360 and plan to get a PS3 as well. By the end of 2006, I should know the results.