The (Surprising) Rise Of PC Gaming

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Like the end of a Doom game, it seems that hell is indeed freezing over -- PC gaming is on the rise once again. Sparked by Diablo III’s massive launch success, Forbes pointed out that PC gaming saw a 230% increase in game sales while console game sales have gone down 28% over the same period. If you’re bad at math, that translates as “PC good. Consoles bad.” Previously console-exclusive games like Dark Souls are coming to Windows thanks to increased demand and the still-booming market for PC RPGs like the Witcher 2 and Skyrim. What’s at the heart of this mouse-as-boom-stick trend? There's a few things. The obvious reason, other than PC exclusivity of games, is that the current lineup of consoles is getting old and that the PS3 and Xbox 360 just can’t deliver the true graphical craziness that you get with Crysis 2 running with DirectX 11 on Windows. The recent demos of Unreal Engine 4 had graphics junkies drooling, and people can’t wait to feed its gooey goodness into their eyes. Even though I love my PS3 and I’ve been playing Diablo III fine on my MacBook Pro, I recently built myself a gaming rig for that reason. I’ll line up for a PS4, but the art director in me wants something new and shiny right now -- and that’s where PC gaming comes in. But I think there are some other major reasons that PC gaming is making a comeback, and a big one is the lack of gimmicks. Console vendors are tripping over themselves trying to reinvent gaming or trying to out-Apple Apple by integrating your phone, tablet, Netflix, 3DTV and the icebox of your refrigerator to create the uber experience. Like that facelift scene in Brazil, it’s getting to be a bit much. I think people just want to play a good shooter or be immersed in an RPG, not make wand motions or talk into a camera to beg the troll to unlock the door. PC games may be no frills, but the console frills are becoming like superfluous fractals of sh*t you don’t need to enjoy a good story or shooter. Companies like Sony are so deeply invested in vertical business models of selling you new stuff that the gimmicks are becoming transparent and goofy. Consumers’ shelves already have enough plastic crap on them, and it’s reaching a point of saturation. The other thing I see driving this PC gaming rise is the death of group social gaming. Social gaming is being done more and more on phones or Facebook, not with Kinect Charades 2001. Admit it: Nothing could be less cool than inviting some people over for a game of Rock Band, and I’m sure the Kinect is headed for a similar uncool fate. Antisocial gaming is back. That is, until the release of Microsoft Key Party. That one’s a winner -- at least for one brief night. Continue Reading

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