PC Gaming Alive and Dominant 245
An anonymous reader writes "Ars reports on a panel at PAX East which delved into the strength of the PC as a platform for games, and what its future looks like. The outlook is positive: 'Even as major computer OEMs produce numbers showing falling sales, the PC as a platform (and especially a gaming platform) actually shows strong aggregate growth.' The panelists said that while consoles get a lot of the headlines, the PC platform remains the only and/or best option for a lot of developers and gamers. They briefly addressed piracy, as well: 'Piracy, [Matt Higby] said, is an availability and distribution problem. The more games are crowdfunded and digitally delivered and the less a "store" figures into buying games, the less of a problem piracy becomes. [Chris Roberts] was quick to agree, and he noted that the shift to digital distribution also helps the developers make more money — they ostensibly don't have everyone along the way from retailers to publishers to distributors taking their cut from the sale.'"
There is no time for gaming (Score:2, Funny)
We need to be preparing the grounds for the world proletarian revolution, or capitalism in its death agony will drag us all into the grave with it.
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I play lots of Call of Duty, so I think I'm pretty well prepared.
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Dear Anon, by your logic, since I play RTSs and TBSs, will you be a grunt in my army?
No? Oh sh*t. I knew I should have trained a little diplomacy playing some Neverwinter Nights 2.
Re:There is no time for gaming (Score:5, Funny)
I play lots of Call of Duty, so I think I'm pretty well prepared.
I'll see your Call of Duty and raise you a Farmville.
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I can actually preserve food by canning, smoking, pickling and curing as well as hunt. I also have mason jars stockpiled.
So I'll raise the farming by one and have the shotgun ready for defense against soldier boy.
P.S. Be sure you want to be tough and steal, cause if there's a jar or two not prepped well, you'll just die from botulism when you run across it. It's called "insurance". :)
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Well, not really. Insurance should reduce your risk or shift it on someone else. All you have here is simply MAD. And that's only a deterrent (like every supposed deterrent) if the attacker knows of it.
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If it kills the attacker without a word, then it works too. :D
If it doesn't kill, he'll know too
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The problem remains that I'm still dead. I'd only care about him dying if he KNOWS that he would be dying if he killed me and hence he refrains from doing so. Else, what's my gain? That I posthumously kill him? Gee, great, that's really gonna make my day when I'm fucking DEAD.
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Considering the political makeup of this country, you'd be better off playing Day-Z or Rust, and prepare to be naked and facing the barrel of a gun.
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I see why you're posting as an anonymous coward.
Don't want to tarnish your reputation by announcing you play a mediocre mainstream game?
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I'll get right on that.. After all, stalin was just trying to help the working class!
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our future begins with tomorrow!
According to signs on the wall at several bars I've been to, there will also be free beer.
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Capitalisms is dying because during a labor surplus it becomes inefficient and cannot compete with systems that are efficient under such circumstances, such as, for example, fascism and tyranny.
One thing a proletariat revolt does is give us a pretext to shoot the proles until none remain alive, thus solving things.
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You were doing well until you mentioned tyranny. Things went downhill from there. Tyranny isn't an economical system. You can have tyranny under capitalism or any other economical system. In fact, there are loads of poor, capitalist, countries ruled by tyrants.
Fascism is more efficient, labor surplus or not. There is not a single country that didn't do well under it. The same cannot be said of capitalism, even though people like to pretend otherwise.
And before you start, Fascism does not implies putting people in camps.
The post embodies a quite common mistake. There are plenty of ways to make an economy more efficient today, but only technological growth matters in the long run. Exponential growth always wins in the end.
And before you start, "technology" is the ability to produce more goods and services from the same resources (that shiny iThingy is enabled by technology, but isn't technology itself) , so yes that growth is sustainable.
You'd think /.ers at least would grok "always climb the tech tree" as the winning st
It's not surprising (Score:5, Interesting)
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Moving along 4 dimensions with smooth analog controls is nicer than 2, and using something other than a mouse.
Might be true if that was how it worked. Even with keyboard control, you get three dimensional movement and a mouse gives analogue. What is this 4th dimension you can control, time? Not in a multi-player game unless you're talking about clipping, which isn't really control so much as an approved cheat on output timing.
I only use the keyboard for macro level actions like popping an inventory or map. Otherwise I use a customizable controller and customizable, multi-button mouse in tandem and I wil
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I did say that you can use gamepads on PC.
But there aren't many, if any, high visibility PC games that go out of their way to be hostile to KB/M. In fact, if you are, that's generally seen as a Bad Thing by PC gamers. That's the limitation. Further more, there's no unified controller to design against.
Valve's controller looked interesting, but I don't know if it'll register "Slightly up and to the left on one pad, and all the way down and to the right on the other pad"
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One KBM per machine, and Internet lag (Score:2)
Why would games even need to be KB+M - hostile?
Because of the practical limit of one keyboard and one mouse per PC. I've read reports that few PC gamers have multiple gamepads connected to a single PC, but even fewer have multiple keyboards and multiple mice on a PC (other than the case of a laptop with a USB mouse that the user is using instead of the built-in trackpad). This means multiplayer games using keyboard and mouse are overwhelmingly played over the Internet. But there are several video game genres that don't work well over the Internet. I tri
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Because the type of interaction you have with a joypad is different than a keyboard/mouse. More games should try different input types.
For instance, Katamari Damacy doesn't work on a mouse, period. I mean you could try, but I don't imagine it ending well.
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It actually works better than on controller when done properly due to pixel perfect control scheme. It's similar to one used in flight sims - you make an elliptic control field around the ball and guidance is done through both distance and direction from centre point of the field with orientation arrows going from the centre to provide feedback.
When you do this scheme right, and then put people with KB/M against people with a controller, people with controller stand no chance. Controller simply stumbles on
SOULLESS MINIONS OF ORTHODOXY. (Score:3)
Flight sims? better with a keyboard and mouse instead of a HOTAS? You're bugnut fucking crazy. You also just dismiss Super Mario out of hand as a worthwhile game experience so, I don't know what to make of that. I can't sleep, so here goes a screed.
The overall point you're missing is that not all games are designed to be played with a pointing device. Music games SUCK on a keyboard. Fighting Games suck on a keyboard. Mech and Flight/Space sims suck on keyboard. Puzzle games can make wonderful use of a joypa
Practical problems with gamepads on PC (Score:2)
You can plug PS3, PS4 and wired 360 controllers without any hardware adaptors and most modern games work just fine with them.
Gamepads on PC have at least four problems I can think of:
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I didn't say it was a great gaming device, just that it was aimed at gaming. I think Nintendo undershot the ROI curve on the investment in hardware. I don't think the tablet/gamepad combo was a terrible idea, I think they just executed poorly on it with regard to size and battery life. The fact that it has a sub 1 frame latency shows they care, but they have their priorities mixed up.
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Did it finally get to a playable quality level?
Re:It's not surprising (Score:4, Interesting)
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Sure, Linux is great ... as long as CLI is all you want, but you don't really want to dig too deeply into GUI or even 3D graphics development in Linux unless you know what you're doing.
And we all know how graphics and GUIs are so absolutely unimportant to games.
Does this mean it's really dead? (Score:5, Funny)
...Maybe not.
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Exactly, that was just the console makers trying to kill it. They failed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Consoles are the dominant force in the industry for EA like games, aka big budgeted graphical powerhouses with very limited gameplays.
But those are slowly going the way of the caddilacs because they're getting too expensive to make and are not exactly something you can describe as good games.
So yes, in an EA point of view, infact PC is dying as it is stopping to buy EA games.
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The best graphics are generally on PC games that were originally developed for consoles. Computer-only releases are generally MMORPGs or indie games, which tend to have worse graphics.
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Those games you cited are developed with the gameplay in mind first and graphics/storytelling later.
Your typical "AAA console game" sacrifices everything for more visual fidelity and storytelling, even if its a pointless exercise due the lack of power of the consoles as was pointed out.
"It will be the prettier game of the console X/Y" so they say, but to reach that, a lot of noninteractive cutscenes, invisible walls to streamline the level and focus the assets on the memory in a small confined corridor and
QuickTime events (Score:3)
To not mention the endless QTEs that are meant to pretend the player is playing the game
I've always wondered why these "press X to not die" scenes [tvtropes.org] continue to be named after QuickTime [wikipedia.org] even on non-Apple platforms.
Consoles get the spotlight due to... (Score:3)
big, coordinated marketing efforts. PC has no such coordination. Steam could try to do that, and I think that will still be the biggest contribution of the Steam Machines. Quite ironic if you think, as I do, that the Steam Machine effort seems quite uncoordinated nowadays.
Anyone else notice (Score:2)
I have to admit, I like the convenience of Steam. With my Gog copy of Shadow Warrior I've got to patch it up every time I install. My Steam games auto patch themselves.
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It is a platform by itself, sure. There are games only available on Steam. But there is no marketing effort there. I cannot say for ads on the Internet overall because I use AdBlock, but I don't see Steam trying to grab attention of gaming media. I don't live in the US but I'm could guess that Steam does not use TV ads just as MS and Sony does. Their public is on another place already. Sure they get a lot of attention on the Internet because they matter a LOT, but nowadays they don't need to try to get atte
Simple math (Score:5, Interesting)
That all said, they are not building these systems to play tetris. They are going to get the latest and greatest games as fast as they come out. Then if the game is good they are going to play the crap out of that game.
What probably distinguishes this market from the console market is that gamers typically are chosey about their games. They aren't getting these games as gifts. They are looking at the reviews and the opinions of their friends. Thus the crappy games that typically are pumped out to exploit the fans of various blockbusters (which are 90%+ crap) just won't get much traction in this market. Thus a bomb is probably a total bomb in the PC world whereas there are going to be grandparents, fanbois, and parents who get suckered into buying the latest Harry Potter movie for their little Harry Potter fans.
This would apply all the way down to the bargain bin. Steam has a bit of a bargain bin but I suspect that a Playstation bargain bin at Walmart will do far better than the same bargain bin for PC games.
Quite simply to have a halfway decent gaming rig you are plunking down a minimum of $1200 with many doing a multiple of that. Thus these are people who are proven willing buyers.
And then there is Goat Simulator....
Re:Simple math (Score:5, Interesting)
Quite simply to have a halfway decent gaming rig you are plunking down a minimum of $1200
Hairyfeet would dispute that figure. He claims to have put together a competent gaming PC for under $500, not including a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
On the other hand, there are a few genres that get released on consoles far more often than on PC, even when they aren't exclusive to one console. Fighting games are one of them; the PC version of Mortal Kombat 2011, for instance, was two years late. Party games, designed for two to four players holding controllers, are another genre where PCs get the shaft. True, those require bigger monitors than a single-player or online game, but that doesn't explain why established video game publishers seem to ignore the growing home theater PC market.
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Then why don't you just hook the computer up to a TV?
Because apparently not enough people know it's possible. And if the comments listed here [slashdot.org] are to be believed, most of those who do know about using a TV as a PC monitor aren't willing to rearrange the house (e.g. HDMI through a hole in the wall, keyboard and mouse on TV tray) to make it happen.
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Hell, most of my PC gamer friends all have their PC hooked up to a monitor and have a cable run to their TV in their bedroom. As for the last point, hopefully it won't be that much of an issue anymore
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But seeing that a console uses the home TV then the cost of monitor and whatnot must be included.
You can use the monitor, keyboard, and mouse from your previous desktop PC. If there is no previous desktop PC, a starter wired keyboard and mouse might set you back about $30 total. Add an Xbox 360 controller and monitor from a pawn shop and you're set.
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and probably a new power supply...most $150 cards will require one...most basic desktops won't have a power supply with the additional PCI-E power connector.
But most people aren't comfortable doing that. They don't open their machine's case.
Graphics card in a laptop (Score:2)
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Build list from /r/PCMasterRace. Two that come in under $600 that can best next gen consoles.
Where do I go to get a list with nVidia graphics cards? Because ATI drivers fail. I'm completely fucking done with ATI graphics. I've said it before, but now I mean it.
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I thought you ran Linux and thusly ran nVidia?
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You'd think they'd have another bundle that included that DVD-RW, HDD, and Win 7 for 299.
I'm not a PC gamer, bout the only things I do on a PC that needs a video card are Second Life and STO, but I have a similar box purchased back in 2010 (dual-core).
So anybody that says gaming can only be done on some $1200 monster is frankly full of bull.
While I agree, some PC enthusiasts and some of the PC gamer oriented media tend to think that $1200 is a baseline rig and to be a "real" PC gamer you should spend more.
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My perspective is all a bit warped as I do OpenCL programming and have two bonkers video cards in my machine; plus I don't have any games on it.
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Mine cost me about 700 euro, and it still runs almost everything on very high detail three years after the purchase.
Re:Simple math (Score:5, Insightful)
>Steam has a bit of a bargain bin but I suspect that a Playstation bargain bin at Walmart will do far better than the same bargain bin for PC games.
The Steam quarterly sales are huge, also the weekly Humble Bundle. I'm over 100 titles now, simply because a very large number of them cost me almost nothing. Also you can play games on decent settings for around $600 and have a computer you can do other things with too. $1200 is a damn fast computer.
Re:Simple math (Score:4, Interesting)
The 90s called, they want their arguments back.
Today, the PC market isn't really about pushing hardware. Remember Crysis? It sold nothing, because very few people believed they even had the rig to play it. Nobody releases for really high end hardware anymore: What you get with expensive hardware is insane resolutions. Who are the big players in PC games? The people making MOBAs, MMOs, and indies. Some rely on constant updates, which do not fare well in the console world: Valve tried to keep selling TF2 on the 360, but there was no way in hell they'd be allowed to update the game for free monthly, if not weekly. There's plenty of articles about it, look it up.
So what the PC market gives is both enhanced capabilities for constant engagement, and being able to sell your game for pennies. You'd be mad to target something like Paper's Please as a console-only game. League of Legends or Dota on consoles? yeah right. And none of those games need anything that even resembles a $1500 machine to run.
If we have to compare PC gaming to something, it's mobile games, but with far better control options, and less fear of install sizes.
Re:Simple math (Score:5, Informative)
Today, the PC market isn't really about pushing hardware. Remember Crysis? It sold nothing,
In the first couple weeks, Crysis sold ~90,000 copies. The developers were vocally disappointed by this, and immediately blamed the large amount of piracy of the game for poor sales, Crysis then went on and sold ~1 million copies in the following two months, and is presently sitting somewhere around 3 million copies sold.
Which means Crysis is now #33 in the list of "best selling PC games of all time".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
That is not "selling nothing".
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I'd question the need to spend $1200 to have a decent PC for gaming. I do most of mine on an Phenom II 4-core with 8GB DDR3-1600, and a card that cost me somewhere around $150 (basically last year's decent card). I also save by replacing components when they need it (MB+CPU+RAM every other year or so). My previous video card konked out after a number of years, and while the new one is a clear step-up, I could still run most games with fairly decent settings with the old one (which was probably the better
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Router? Are you telling me that you include the cost of a router in the purchase cost of a console?
Why not include the cost of the house I use it in as well? It isn't like I would be playing games out in the rain!
The cost is certainly higher if you include all the peripherals, but my keyboard and monitor are about 15 years old, my mouse costs all of $20, headphones were $20 though I've since upgraded to something fairly high-end (which work just as well with a console, so that's a wash), and I replace thi
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Cost of a PC monitor = the cost of a TV to use with a console. Do you count the cost of the £500 TV in your lounge when you count the cost of your PS4? In my case, I've had the same two monitors (dual screen) hooked up to my PC for around than 10 years now- and one of them was free second hand in the first place. My lounge TV, on the other hand, I chose specifically and spent good money on not so long ago.
Cost of a router applies equally to both console and PC. Both of them need to connect to the inte
Nintendo pushed me onto Wi-Fi (Score:2)
Cost of a router applies equally to both console and PC.
Not necessarily. I upgraded from wired to Wi-Fi in early 2006 specifically to play Mario Kart DS and Tetris DS because unlike my PCs, a handheld system can't use wired Ethernet. Last time I checked, PCs still came with Ethernet jacks, unless you consider a tablet a PC.
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Consistency. If console gamers get to write off most of the cost of doing business "because they already have a TV", then PC gamers get to do the same thing. Reused case, monitor, keyboard, mouse, power supply, motherboard, hard drive....
Always-on DRM (Score:2)
Also, not every game is played over a network.
Major publishers have started to change this, requiring network connections even for single-player, primarily to deter use of unauthorized copies. See: Assassin's Creed 2, Diablo 3, SimCity 2013.
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about 700 bucks .... only game it doesnt run at maxed out settings (instead its 1 notch below maxed out) is crysis 3 all in true 1920x1080 resolution, using a 189$ video card from 2010
so its not that big of a cost difference, it performs leaps and bounds better than either next gen console, and I can be running a game, 3d cad, electronic design software or even just word or a web browser on it so its functionality severely outweighs anything the toys offer
I know there is a place and market for consoles, the
Monitors for players 2, 3, and 4 (Score:2)
I have to wonder though, do you include the cost of the television when you consider the cost of a console?
Only if the console doesn't support an existing television. My cousin asked for an HDTV specifically for use with an OUYA console, which lacks any sort of analog video output. Nor do I include the cost of the first PC's monitor. But because so few PC games support use of multiple gamepads, I have to include the cost of the monitor for the second, third, and fourth PC in a household.
You're not gonna get a better Tetris (Score:2)
This is why I stopped being a PC gamer in the late '90s. All I wanted was a better Tetris. What I got was a better bouncing ball demo.
You're not gonna get a better Tetris. The Tetris Company has made infinite spin [ytmnd.com] the law for over a decade now [harddrop.com], and providers of alternatives will be prosecuted [slashdot.org].
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No more than you have to have thousands invested in a 73" TV and 9.1 surround sound to play consoles. Stupid tautology is stupid.
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You need $2,000+ just to have a decent computer to work with.
The fact it runs games is just a bonus.
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Goat simulator is a great product at a reasonable price.
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$1200, maybe... if you include the screen and things like the keyboard / mouse.
But you can build a very decent gaming rig for about $900 or so.
- $80 motherboard (not bottom of the barrel, not top of the line), a budget gaming rig only needs to support a single video card
- $60 for the PSU, should be 80+ silver/gold at around
Good news! (Score:4, Interesting)
I'll make sure to let the 7,518,856 other people I play Dota 2 with every month know (that number from just loading the game and looking at the unique monthly players figure).
That is, if I can get their attention while they're all trying to be the next team to win $1m in cash.
(Related aside: check out Valve's Free to Play [steampowered.com] documentary; it's a great watch for some insight into the lives of professional gamers.)
Not True (Score:5, Interesting)
This story is BS. "Crowdfunding", early access and F2P are killing gaming. Developers have learned that they no longer have to complete a game. "Game development" is no longer something you do in order to make a game, it's something you do in order to make your next game, which is also never completed. Why would you ever actually deliver a complete game experience when you can charge $20 and up for a practically empty game engine and a slick trailer?
And don't get me started on F2P games. They're creepy, sad and even the best of them leave you empty. The only grand vision is, "Get a bunch of people playing and hope there are enough 14 year-olds with the password to their parents PayPal account to make it pay. Enjoy the kickstarter money and move on to the next project.
The last 2 years have been the worst for PC gaming since I started playing games on my Commodore 64. I can count the number of actual AAA titles in the past 2 years worthy of the name on one hand.
And console players shouldn't get smug. You're in the same boat. You want to pay $60 for six hours of gameplay? How many hours did you pour into the games of the past? Corporate gaming has figured out that like cereal, you can make a bunch of money charging the same price for a shrinking product. It's why consoles are being sold more for their "entertainment center" features (really a "consumption center") than for the possibility of playing a continual stream of first-rate games for them.
The platforms are fine. It's the gaming industry that is moribund, getting fat and lazy on an increasingly locked-in income stream that has nothing to do with good games.
Re:Not True (Score:5, Insightful)
IMO, we've never had more choices or viable platforms as gamers - my first console was an Odyssey 2, and my first computer gaming was on an Apple II+, so I've been doing this a while now. Anyone who is longing for days long gone really needs to take off the rose-coloured glasses. Most of those older games were, if you look at it objectively, pretty trite and repetitive by today's standards. They were amazing to us largely because of their novelty, and we've elevated them on the pedestal of nostalgia.
Nothing against the classics - they were amazing for their day, but I do think a bit of perspective is in order. When I was a kid, I would have killed for an amazing RPG like Skyrim, or an MMO like Guild Wars 2, or for the sheer creativity to be found in Minecraft. I picked up Limbo the other day, and have been immensely enjoying myself - it's an incredibly clever and atmospheric platformer/puzzler. I'm still playing Puzzle Quest too, a relatively low-budget but fun puzzle-RPG hybrid. More recently, I've been going through my "bought a while ago but haven't played" list like Halo 4 and Uncharted 3, and on the PC side recently picked up The Witcher 1 & 2 in a Steam deal. I've enjoyed all these games immensely so far.
Granted, there's a lot of crap out there too. Freemium games? Yeah, I stay the hell away from those too. But I don't see how crowdfunding can be blamed when it's simply opened up the market to more niche games. Sure, some of those bets won't pay off, but welcome to venture capitalism. I'm not sure how that should be a surprise to anyone. 80% of everything is crap, anyhow. It holds true now, and it was true in the past as well. You just need to look for the products that rise to the surface... you know, read reviews, judge based on developer history.
Some old icons in the industry are now past their prime. Blizzard, Bioware, and id, longstanding favorites of mine, have all sold out. I'll no longer expect anything great from them, although I'm always willing to be surprised. Instead, younger and hungrier development shops will take their place... maybe ArenaNet and Bungie. And garage development is no longer relegated to the past either thanks to crowdfunding and improvement in tools, technology, and especially distribution platforms.
Personally, I think it's a pretty exciting time for the gaming industry, and I'm happy I'm in the middle of it.
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Some old icons in the industry are now past their prime. Blizzard, Bioware, and id, longstanding favorites of mine, have all sold out. I'll no longer expect anything great from them, although I'm always willing to be surprised. Instead, younger and hungrier development shops will take their place... maybe ArenaNet and Bungie.
Uhh... Bungie [wikipedia.org] is only 3 months younger than Blizzard [wikipedia.org]. If you want to be pedantic, though, Blizzard Entertainment proper is actually the younger studio.
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Some old icons in the industry are now past their prime. Blizzard, Bioware, and id, longstanding favorites of mine, have all sold out. I'll no longer expect anything great from them, although I'm always willing to be surprised. Instead, younger and hungrier development shops will take their place... maybe ArenaNet and Bungie.
Uhh... Bungie [wikipedia.org] is only 3 months younger than Blizzard [wikipedia.org]. If you want to be pedantic, though, Blizzard Entertainment proper is actually the younger studio.
Yeah, you're right. After I posted that, I realized that "younger" wasn't really the proper term for describing Bungie, as they've been around for quite a while now too. Maybe it's just because it feels to me like Blizzard has lost it's vitality since getting swallowed up by Activision, while I don't necessarily get that feeling from Bungie.
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Absolutely not. If you believe that your kickstarter donation is anything like "venture capitalism" you need to hit up Wikipedia for some definitions.
When you invest venture capital, you are getting a piece of the "venture". Your return on investment is directly tied to the success of the venture. The more success, often, the more return.
In crowdfunding, you are basically giving someone on the money based on a promise that gosh, t
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I view kickstarter more as the patron system of artistic sponsorship from the middle ages. A wealth patron commissions a piece of art because they believe in the artists's artistic vision and want to see that vision brought to fruition. So they back the artist with their money.
Sometimes the patron's eye is good, and you get good art. Most of the time, not so much.
So I think the venture capitalism model, to your point isn't the correct one, and certainly isn't what I'm thinking when I donate on kickstarte
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Yeah, you're correct that "venture capitalism" is a bad analogy. It is true that you're betting your own capital, but your only potential return is a good game, and maybe some extra freebies. Minupla below gives a much better analogy as "patronage", as there's often a desire to see a specific vision come to fruition. It's not a perfect analogy, but probably a bit better than mine. Of course, any comparison or analogy is going to be flawed in some way, because crowd-funding is a rather unique mechanism f
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As for the AAA bullshit - if you think that the only reason to game is AAA titles, then you are everything that is wrong with gaming. I've spent countless hours trying to get better scores on Hotline: Miami and get different endings on Papers, Please.
Art style for a small team (Score:2)
I understand Hotline: Miami was a critical success, because lo-res, 2D games equal coolness with indie developers
Other than emulating 240p pixel art styles typical of third- and fourth-generation console platforms (C64, CV/MSX, SMS, NES, TG16, Genesis, Super NES), what other graphical style is practical for a small team seeking to build a portfolio?
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Most artists don't expect anyone to actually pay money for their portfolio.
I am well-acquainted with possibilities for artists. The notion that step #1 is, "asking people to pay, no strings attached for what you haven't made" when you haven't made anything yet is relatively recent.
If you want money to build something, then the people who invest should be in for a cut of the profits.
Money to make the first thing (Score:2)
Most artists don't expect anyone to actually pay money for their portfolio.
I was under the impression that established video game studios would consider a portfolio "better" if it contains contributions to a finished commercial game. This shows HR that a candidate not only can produce but has produced well enough to sell something. As Jon Evans of TechCrunch put in "Why The New Guy Can’t Code" [techcrunch.com]: "So what should a real interview consist of? Let me offer a humble proposal: don’t interview anyone who hasn’t accomplished anything. Ever." If anything, I guess a credit
I could not agree more, there are som real issue w (Score:2)
I started playing APB back when it was first release by RTW and was a 50$ boxed game with a monthly subscription (or something like that), I have always loved the concept of APB and the way you could customize your characters was really done great. The beginning bones of this game was done very well, to me, the original team behind APB seemed to really have their shit together, the game had some bugs, but it was very new, and I always felt like the possibilities were endless if they same team had been given
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What bothers me most are endless DLCs required to get the "full experience". I can understand the difference between a "basic version" and a "deluxe" at +10$. But the fragmentation occuring with N DLCs and "season passes" is frustrating to say the least. I just want a clear pricing structure and a complete game.
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I understand, but I also believe that a game that is really engaging and top-level in terms of production values can be worth more than the $50 price tag. I don't mind dropping a few dollars here and there for a game that I've been playing >100 hours, because I'm getting value (as long as the DLC is more than just a fancy hat or a new skin for my shotgun).
I just want some developers to go back to the model where a good game had a good price and it was a good experience all around. Instead of this under
More people play on PCs than Consoles (Score:3)
Free to play games are where the big money is now. League of Legends made $624 million in revenue in 2013. They even gave out $14.3 Million in tournament prize money.
Crossfire (a counter-strike clone popular outside the USA) had the most revenue and made almost a billion dollars in revenue last year.
Brawl for an hour (Score:2)
There are some good info graphics on actual data here. PC has 51% of the playtime marketshare and consoles only have 30%.
The infographic you linked doesn't state whether two people on one console count as double the playtime. It appears that a lot more console games than PC games support multiple controllers. When four people play Super Smash Bros. Brawl for an hour on a single Wii console, is that one hour of playtime or four?
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Agreed. Consoles are something parents buy for their kids and teenagers who don't have full computer permission.
That may be the case outside of the Anglophone countries and Japan...but in the Anglophone countries and Japan consoles are for EVERYONE.
My little rant about PC gaming (Score:2)
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That sounds like copyright, period.