Best Industry stories for 2012 - Industry talk

[Firey_Dragon]

I'll be amazed if PC gaming isn't on life support within 5-6 years. Valve will need to bring out a console or their business model will be redundant.

Tablets have exploded in growth in the last 2 years, people are now seeing it as a device that replaces a PC / Laptop. Fact of the matter is, probably around 80% of the PC market use a computer in a way that can be completely replaced by a tablet, and sales are starting to show that. People have no need to buy a PC anymore unless they have children doing schoolwork, need it for work or they are a hobbyist. The schoolwork and work problem will be removed with better peripherals in the next year or two (we're starting to see it with windows tablets, just a matter of time before android and apple become more prevalent). The only people that care about PC games, are pretty much geeks, the vast majority of people prefer consoles.

Steams glory will be short lived unless they adapt. Given how connected consoles are now and moving into the future, they will be common devices for young and old.

 

[bileduct]

FPS & MMO will keep the PC alive.

 

[Danish]

I think you're exaggerating the decline of the PC there.

Until the day that Office can be installed on an Xbox, or browsing the web on a tablet actually becomes an enjoyable experience, there will always be a place for the PC.

Let's also remember that the current price for an Xbox 360 or a PS3 is based on the fact that the platforms are 6/7 years old. You can buy PCs from the same hardware era from refurbishers for less than $100. When the next iteration of the Xbox and Playstation comes out they'll be back up around the $600-800 mark depending on the configuration.

Considering that over 20% of all web browsing is already done on mobile devices and tablets, I don't think its taking it too far to say that within a couple years it mobiles and tablets will take over PCs for web browsing. Once that happens, PCs will literally only be used for media storage. Give it another few years when the NBN is rolled out in most capital cities (making cloud computing and media streaming services like netflix a realistic option) and most households will not see much use for a home PC. Id consider myself quite a tech geek but even I am finding it hard to justify building myself a new home PC (current one is getting on in years). the amount of times I sit down at my PC at home these days is pretty much never, save for when I want to edit some photos.

Of course the corporate world will keep the PC alive and well for a decade or more after that, but personal computers are going to be relinquished to niche status very soon IMO.

I compare it to the death of the home phone line. Of my mates and family only about 20% actually have a phone line these days, and thats only to run an ADSL service. The rest just get by with a mobile phone

 

[Parra Pride]

Until you scratch it.

I'm not careless with my discs though.

And I'm about 99% sure you can play a game off your HDD if the disc is scratched so long as the disc is Atleast in the disc tray and you should get no problems with it.

 

[bileduct]

Regarding web browsing on tablets, I purchased an iPad specifically for this purpose but I have become increasingly frustrated by it's limitations. I use it when I am mobile or when I am laying in bed watch TV or something, but more often than not I am having to go to my PC when I want to reliably use a website. Whatever browser I use on the iPad I have to deal with appearing and disappearing content, web browser crashes, no Flash support. Using Facebook in a web browser on iPad is just a bullshit experience, and the App for it is an even bigger load of shit.

Coming back to games, though, I think most people that are using solely their phone or tablet for web browsing and other functions weren't gamers to begin with.

 

[bileduct]

I'm not careless with my discs though.

Not always avoidable, though. The Xbox 360 was eating discs for a while there. I lost a copy of Halo 2 that way, but I never really got into the game that much so I didn't care.

 

[Parra Pride]

Not always avoidable, though. The Xbox 360 was eating discs for a while there. I lost a copy of Halo 2 that way, but I never really got into the game that much so I didn't care.

I honestly have never had that issue.