It's over PC gaming is finished!

With graphs like this one (blamed on piracy among other things) a lot of people have been proclaiming that PC gaming’s death draws nigh. What this graph doesn’t say though, is that the numbers it gets for consoles is hardware and software sold in retail for all three consoles vs software sales of PC in retail. Thats right, not alienware PCs, not graphic cards, not gaming peripherals, not MMO subscriptions, not even digital sales.
While this graph is technically correct it gives a skewed picture of the situation to say the least.

It’s true that the last couple years have not been the best for PC gaming, partly thanks to PC getting down prioritized by several studios for their AAA titles (GTA4, Assassins Creed among others), but there are still several important niches that PC gaming fills that I don’t see any console competing for in the near future. Those niches, among others, are strategy, simulations, MMOs and e-sports. While consoles might catch up on the last two eventually I doubt they will replace PCs completely in either; the amount of people still playing Counter-Strike, Quake, Starcraft and other ten years or older tournament games combined with World of Warcraft’s complete dominance should be plenty proof of that.

Me on the right.

As for the first two I don’t see consoles ever catching up, you simply won’t find Silent Hunter, Total War, Hearts of Iron, Operation Flashpoint, Close Combat, IL-2 Sturmovik, Capitalism or any of the other countless simulators and strategy games on any console.

So PC gaming has more merits than just being able to feel smug around console plebeians (though that is certainly a bonus).

Before anyone mentions that both Operation Flashpoint 2 and Armed Assault 2 will be for console, I am aware of that but if you’ve played the original you know that will be a dumbed-down experience, for example how many buttons are there on the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers, 10-12? I used more buttons than that just to order my squad around in Operation Flashpoint 1 (by the way that game has the best squad interface/order system I’ve seen in any squad FPS), in fact I use more buttons than that for most games I play, which is another thing that separates PC gaming from console gaming. The difference between keyboard and gamepad is more than just higher accuracy in FPS games, they’re two different approaches to gaming. While gamepads are made for ease of use, a keyboard and mouse are made for precision and efficiency, and last but not least, customization. Which takes me to the my next point that PC gamers and console gamers are very different market segments. A game that sold well on console might not sell as well on PC (especially if it’s a halfhearted port six months after the console release) and vice versa of course, if ports of Hearts of Iron existed.

Graphs never lie.

Thankfully some companies have realized this: SEGA bought the Total War franchise and Creative Assembly, THQ keeps publishing Relic’s games (and bought the Home World franchise from Vivendi last year), old school developers like id, Valve and Blizzard and a lot of smaller developers and publishers like Paradox and Stardock are all still supporting PC gaming. These guys just knows which platform is superior like this highly scientific and unbiased graph clearly shows.

And I still haven’t even touched on the subject of mods or the plethora of indie games. Lets face it, the day you get something like Dwarf Fortress for Xbox is the day we get a FOSS console, Mac steals user majority from Windows, World of Warcraft loses out to Warhammer Online, and PC gaming dies.

FREEEEEEDOOOOOOOM!

Much has been made of the current health of PC gaming, with developers and fans alike voicing their opinions one way or the other. Leaving aside piracy, the casual market, and all that nonsense for a moment, I’d like to offer my reasons why I’m about ready to fly the PC gaming coop.

Being a long-time PC gamer, I am aware of the benefits of playing a game on PC over a console. Modding adds a great scope for customization and further freedom for gamers, but freedom has another meaning. Most of you reading this will no doubt spend a significant part of your day sitting at a PC for one reason or another, be it for work, college, or “recreation” (ahem). The resultant pasty complexions and hunched postures are part and parcel of the lifestyle we sadly lead. They can, however, be lessened significantly by spending time AWAY from your computer.

Why should I be forced to spend my precious free time sitting in the exact same position I do for the rest of my day? I just want to relax! When I sit down to watch a movie I do so reclining on the couch, not prone upright at my desk. Similarly, when I sit down to play a game I should be able to fully unwind. There should be at least a few hours a day where my face isn’t within touching distance of a monitor.

It’s not just a matter of comfort though. The cinematic qualities of a game like Bioshock are something to be savored. I found this hard to do so sitting at the same desk I write boring college reports at. Playing the same game in a friend’s living room, with suitable lighting and a comfortable seating arrangement completely blew me away. I was immediately convinced that this was how games were meant to be played and began to reassess my allegiance to PC gaming.

On top of this, PC gaming can be an unhealthily solitary pursuit. I may be playing alongside a whole team of living, breathing people in Team Fortress 2, but in reality it’s still just me, my computer and the voices in my headset. In my mind, the greatest multiplayer game of my childhood was Micro Machines 2, a game where you were so close to the other participants you were literally holding the same joypad. Now, I’m not saying it was the proximity that got me excited, but there’s nothing quite like being able to laugh directly in your opponent’s face after a hard-fought victory. The incessant micspam of someone I’ve never met doesn’t quite suffice.

Recently PC die hards have bemoaned the inclusion of console-style matchmaking in Valve’s latest release, Left 4 Dead. Microsoft too acknowledges how difficult it is to please PC gamers, as their Games for Windows platform floundered in its (admittedly half-hearted) attempts to introduce a similar system. This “consolization” of PC gaming is tantamount to blasphemy for PC gamers, who are used to being in total control of their online experience.

I say let PC gamers have their freedom, and I’ll take mine. Freedom to game in more comfortable environs! Freedom to play with friends without having to wear a silly headset! And freedom from my god damn desktop!