240°

PC Exclusivity Is Dying

Many developers are abandoning developing PC exclusives. Heavy PC hitters are loosing their exclusivity and the situation is getting exacerbated by passing time, the number of multiplatform titles ported to the pc is also shrinking. What's happening to pc gaming market? The article will shed some light on the current events.

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pslegion.com
Bonsai12146691d ago

It ticks me off when people say PC gaming is dying, because its not. Sure, hardware prices are shooting up, but since when did you need the absolutely best rig to play a game? since when is 16x AA necessary? I still remember playing Myst of my iMac G3, or Magic Carpet on a P2, or Counter Strike on a P3 at 800x600. Does that deter the experience? maybe visually yes, but the gameplay is still there.

Today, it would seem that most games are coming with a PC counterpart (especially on the 360.) People say that this is because consoles are for gaming and PCs are for everything else. This cannot be further from the truth. Microsoft is pressing for WindowsLIVE integration, more and more games are coming out on the Apple platform (yes, you can laugh), and one of the most profitable genres remain almost exclusive to the PC, the MMORPG.

As long as developers make games on PC, they will sell (maybe not extremely well, but the market is large enough that they'll profit). Especially if you consider that certain genres only play well on PCs in the first place. RTS and high precision FPS.

The simple reason why PC games are showing up on consoles is that developer want more profit for their labors. and with the 360 being so much like a PC, (which is no means a bad thing,) porting is a very simple process that yields very large gains.

Charlie26886691d ago

@Bonsai1214:"Sure, hardware prices are shooting up" you mean down right? cuz the recent brutal competitivity between Intel/AMD and ATI/NVIDIA had bought some of THE best price vs performance in recent PC hardware history the 8800GT at $250 is an example of that.

btw to the poster nice job reposting a story that was getting failed but well I guess some people feel the need to get stuff approved and if necessary cheat their way pass N4G approval system...no wonder N4G is going to hell this days

Bonsai12146691d ago

well, cheaper quality parts are coming out, such as the 8800gt, but the top tier stuff which offers the best performance, like the ultra or the upcoming 9800 is still in the range of 400-600 dollars depending on what company etc.

Charlie26886691d ago

well for best performance right now you buy the 8800GTS 512 for $300-350 I don't know anyone right know that would buy an Ultra when you get the same 600-700 performance from the 8800GTS 512, same goes for processors Intel that butchered the prises of the processors for example the BEST Dual core (before extreme) is in $250 were other years it would have been in the $500 or up, AMD/ATI are coming up with criminal cheap cards and processors too

AGAIN proving the whole price vs performance being lower than ever

and with the 9800 I think as every single person knows you pay top dollar for the new released stuff specially electronic

xplosneer6691d ago

I'm betting as soon as StarCraft 2 hits(or Spore on PC), everyone will be "PC gaming is the best!".

That's why I got myself a new Dell with an Nvidia 8800GT 512, and a quad core.

Figboy6691d ago (Edited 6691d ago )

um, duh?

for the first time in gaming history, consoles are actually capable of playing PC games nearly identical to the PC version, and for a much more affordable price.

take Unreal Tournament 3 on the PS3 for example, i was looking at some screenshots people were posting on the Unreal forums; screenshots taken from their version of the game.

some of the screenshots were of maxed out settings (from a handful of users), but *MOST of the screenshots were from people who's video cards were old, and not the latest models. needless to say, the game, while still nicelooking, didn't look as amazing as the maxed out settings.

afterwards, i turned on my PS3 and popped in Unreal Tournament 3. i have a 40" 720p Samsung, and i was *AMAZED at how close the PS3 version is to the maxed out settings on the PC.

to think, that i can play a PC game, close to maxed out, at a *FRACTION of the price it usually costs to build (or buy) a "gaming" PC, on the PS3.

the 360 is the same way; most of it's games *ARE PC games, and they look as good as the PC counterpart.

with various economies in flux as much as they are, people are looking to maximize their entertainment value, but minimize their spending. as a result, huge games like Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3 on the PC don't sell as well, because few people are actually able to afford the necessary upgrades to enjoy the game "the way it was *MEANT to be enjoyed."

because of this, the PC game *DEVELOPERS realize that, in order to survive, they have to find ways to make their PC games work on consoles. fortunately, the PS3 and 360 are much more up to the task this generation than the PS2, X Box, and Gamecube were last generation.

PC gaming will never die, because of enthusiasts like my friend, who upgrades his computer practically every year so he can enjoy one or two big games (like Crysis), but the few people like my friend aren't going to be enough when game development costs are going above and beyond $10 *MILLION.

the buzzword that has been bandied about for *AGES, but hadn't quite come to fruition until recently is "convergence."

PCs and Consoles are converging.

you have the Playstation 3, which can install a PC operating system like Linux, on top of being able to browse the net (via Wi Fi or the included Ethernet cable), store content on it's hard drive, upgrade it's hard drive in case the included one is too small, supports codecs like Divx, supports mice and keyboards, headsets, and other USB periphials, play music, movies (standard definition *AND high definition), *AND plays the latest video games, with maxed out settings, for an entry level price of $399.

to get that *EXACT same functionality from a PC (this includes a high definition disc drive like Blu Ray or HD DVD), it's going to cost you quite more than $399. hell, just the *VIDEO card needed to play games like Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3 at max settings will cost you roughly $400, if not *MORE.

i like PCs, and i like PC gaming, but it's gotten too expensive for me to keep up, and my PS3 covers my high definition gaming needs, so there is no reason for me to continue to constantly upgrade my PC every few months just to play one or two games.

games like Killzone 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain, and Metal Gear Solid 4 will run *PERFECTLY fine on the PS3 i bought in February of 2007. i can't say the same thing with much certainty for whatever major PC games hit in the next few months to a year, because PCs are always changing.

my point is that *OF COURSE PC exclusivity is dying, because the developers need to do what they have to to survive, and keep making the games that the diehard PC enthusiasts enjoy.

Hippofanboy6691d ago (Edited 6691d ago )

One of the problems is that people whine about upgrading. I haven't upgraded fro 2 years, but heck i'm still playing crysis on low :D Anyway, people buy games on the console because: No installing, just pop it in and play. Intense multiplayer on xbox live (never played on it but looks chaotic) and PSN is free (internet) and I THINK consoles have better internet. And also because PC gamers are usually hacking and such on multiplayer (espeicially on Valve games... GRRRR).

Atleast we still have Crysis 2, COH series, WOW, and etc. MORE PLZ!

MK_Red6691d ago

PC gaming itself is far from dead will actually be rather rich in 2008. The dying exclusives are the problem. Of the new anticipated games of 2008, all the biggest ones are already said to come for consoles as well or are at least rumored.

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70°

Microsoft Gaming Revenue Drops 7% Year-on-Year, Content and Services Down 5%, Xbox Hardware Down 33%

Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.

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simulationdaily.com
Jin_Sakai18h ago(Edited 18h ago)

Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.

dveio12h ago

To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.

Jingsing10h ago

The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.

Tanktopmaster9211h ago

Once they re-evaluate exclusive all will be fine….

S2Killinit10h ago

Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.

Jingsing10h ago

15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.

Tanktopmaster928h ago

These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse

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50°

Report: Injustice 3 in Development at NetherRealm Studios

Thanks to the slip-up of an artist working on the title, we now have more evidence that a new Injustice game is in the works.

50°

Spiders Studio, Developers of GreedFall: The Dying World, Announce Liquidation of the Company

Spiders: "We're going to cut straight to the chase so you're not left wondering: After a long period without clear answers, we have received confirmation that Spiders is being liquidated.

What does it mean? This means the company as a whole no longer exists. We'll cease our functions immediately. The planned DLC will release via Nacon, and then-- well, that's it.

We're sorry that it's come to this and would like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the years.

If you have any questions or run into issues with your games, please contact Nacon directly as we'll no longer be able to reply."