Massively Multiplayer Online Games
A few years ago, a ton of virtual ink was spilled by various pundits and game reviewers about how the future of PC gaming was massively multiplayer online games. While MMOs have dedicated fan bases, most are dwarfed by the World of Warcraft juggernaut. Even if you discount the impact of WoW, MMOs haven’t become the end all and be all of PC gaming.
There are likely a variety of reasons for this. The monthly subscription fee, the time commitment involved and the complexity of many of these games may all be factors preventing large scale growth. Another issue is the development effort. Building an MMO that’s attractive and playable turns out to be no easy task.
The problems of user subscriptions and, to some extent, complexity, are being addressed by a large array of free-to-play MMOs. Most of these are browser based, but a few use the boxed retail model for initial distribution (Guild Wars comes to mind.) Most, like Sony Online Entertainment’s Free Realms make money through micro-transactions. Others are looking to an ad-based model. These free-to-play games vary widely in quality, but the best of them are actually pretty good.
The vast majority of these games are role-playing titles, but other genres are starting to emerge. A number multiplayer strategy games are coming online, including titles like the turn-based space strategy game Ferion , the Civilization-like Ikarium, and the still-in-development shooter Huxley.
Whatever the outcome of these efforts, it’s clear that while MMOs have a place, and can generate large revenues, they’re not the sole future of PC games.
Social Network Gaming
The current state of games on social network sites like Facebook are in a huge state of flux. Most Facebook games are pretty simple in execution, appealing to gamers who want a short, ten minute fix, before moving on to something else.
As some of these games become hugely successful, though, they’re starting to attract the attention of mainstream game developers. Brian Reynolds, of Civilization II and Rise of Nations fame recently made a move to Zynga, and it will be interesting to see what comes out of that. It’s unclear whether a game designed around the constraints of social media can hold the attention of hard core gamers. This area of development has huge potentials and pitfalls, so watching the evolution of social network gaming will be interesting.
What are You Waiting For?
If you’re a PC gamer, there’s actually more games available than you can possibly play, from the casual to the deep, from the lightweight to the addictive. What is clear is that the PC gaming model is no longer monolithic, so if you want to find just the right title that floats your boat, you’ll need to fire up your web browser and do your searching there, rather than take a trip to the local gaming or electronics store.
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Jim says:
August 12, 2009 at 5:43 pm (UTC -7 )
But Loyd…what about Mac gaming?
Loyd Case says:
August 12, 2009 at 5:53 pm (UTC -7 )
Jim, the Mac is a PC. Really. I’m using “PC” generically. The article is not “the future of Windows gaming”, although that’s certainly the bulk of the PC gaming market.
Derek Rost says:
August 13, 2009 at 5:54 am (UTC -7 )
PCs have definitely lost a lot of market to the the consoles – once the consoles caught up in the screen resolution and achieved the processing power to manage a decent AI. But I think there will always be games that will require the keyboard as an input device. Also, sitting 2 feet from the monitor is a different gaming experience than sitting 10 feet from the TV.
Lastly, I think PCs will continue to lead consoles in pure power, allowing better AI, frame rates and screen resolutions. This is tempered by PCs being a generic device that performs a lot of functions compared to a console that does only one or two (gaming and media player).
Cliff Forster says:
August 13, 2009 at 7:25 am (UTC -7 )
Excellent article. I think one of the challenges for the PC to be re invigorated as a gaming platform is the consumers perception of price.
Consoles have become the preferred gaming platform, not because they offer a better experience, but because there is an old market perception that getting a gaming ready PC costs an arm and a leg. A few years ago this was true. The market has changed, the paradigm has shifted, and now owning a quality gaming PC costs no more than any console when you look at the total cost of ownership over a couple of years.
I hope you don’t mind me linking a piece that I did comparing the 360 to the PC in terms of value. I honestly think once consumers are better educated about how little it takes to get into a decent gaming rig, more people will flock to the hobby, and ultimately return the PC to its rightful place as the worlds preferred gaming platform.
http://gaming.icrontic.com/articles/forget-the-console-and-build-a-gaming-pc-a-value-comparison
Loyd Case says:
August 13, 2009 at 9:25 am (UTC -7 )
I think you hit on a point many people overlook — the differences in experience when sitting close to a display versus the 10 foot experience. Both can be excellent experiences, but very different.
Loyd Case says:
August 13, 2009 at 9:29 am (UTC -7 )
Cliff, that’s a very interesting analysis. When I was at ET, we’d regularly build gaming PCs for under $800, so we knew hardware prices were coming down to a point where the hardware wasn’t much more than a PS3. But your pricing over time + functionality takes that a step further. Nicely done.
It will be interesting to see if Activision-Blizzard’s attempt to price the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 takes hold. If so, that will make PC gaming a little tougher sell. PC games have classically also cost less than console games.
trip1ex says:
August 13, 2009 at 12:16 pm (UTC -7 )
The hassle of pcgaming is as big a roadblock as perceptions about price.
And even when you know what you’re doing in terms of drivers and fixing problems it is still time consuming.
My ultimate gaming platform would be the Mac. Too bad no one makes games for it.
Matt Jancaitis says:
August 13, 2009 at 1:16 pm (UTC -7 )
With due respect to Cliff above, and with the same hope that you don’t mind us linking back to another site, we did a counterpoint to show some inaccuracies and fallacies in the “PC as a better value” argument here:
http://gaming.icrontic.com/articles/sorry-pcs-consoles-are-the-better-deal/
Yes, PCs are great gaming experiences, and yes, they’re cheaper and certainly more varied lately, but consoles aren’t exactly leaving the MMO, digital download, or social gaming aspects behind, either. Several MMOs are being planned on consoles – The Agency, All Points Bulletin, CrimeCraft, Marvel Universe Online, etc. Only time will tell if they’ll be successful there and tear people away from their PCs as well. Both the PS3 and 360 are active proponents of the digital download system as well, with XBLA and PSN titles spanning from low-budget indie games made by folks with XNA to Warhawk on the PS3. Microsoft has recently said they’ll be enabling entire-game downloads from the network. As far as social gaming goes, Microsoft already has a well-acclaimed social game in operation (though it may still be invite-only beta) – 1 vs 100. Things are moving there, whether it’s for good or bad – it’s just inexorable.
As long as consoles continue to move up in power, catching up to PCs, the line gets thinner, and more people want to sit on their couch than want to sit in front of their desks, I’d wager. It may not be how you or I or Cliff wants to see it happen – I love PC gaming, fear not – but the console is a powerful force, and the market is receptive to shifting to accommodate it.
Loyd Case says:
August 13, 2009 at 2:06 pm (UTC -7 )
Yeah, but given RRODs, game crashes, patches and updates to existing games, ease of use and stability for consoles has taken a big step backwards. Still not as much a pain as a PC can be, but no longer a matter of just sticking a disk in and playing, either.
Matt Jancaitis says:
August 13, 2009 at 11:31 pm (UTC -7 )
The updates and patches might be annoying, but you never have to worry about whether your PC has the horsepower required to play the game. If you buy a console game, it’s guaranteed to run on that console. That’s about as easy, stable, and consistent as you can get. Crashes on a console are a fractional portion of crashes on a PC.
I miss the days when publishers would put out a completed game that was as bug-free as they could make it rather than putting out something good enough because they knew they could patch it later… but at least they do fix things.
And RRoDs were fixed (permanently) at least a year ago. Still everybody’s favorite talking point, though.
Raspop says:
August 14, 2009 at 2:43 am (UTC -7 )
Defense Grid has eaten far too may hours of my life – anxiously awaiting a sequel.
Good article and ET hasn’t been the same without you, Mr Case.
Thanks for keep on keeping on, or is that keeping on keeping onning?
Either way, keep it up.
3d training says:
August 14, 2009 at 4:49 am (UTC -7 )
Your article is very nice to read. I love to play PC games Generally. I think we can get a nice game quality and features in PC games.
Chris says:
August 14, 2009 at 2:45 pm (UTC -7 )
Lloyd, I would first like to state I was very bummed when they canceled your podcast.
First if anyone from the gaming industry is reading this. STOP MAKING THE SPECS EXCEED my PC’s in less then a year.
I know you have done $800.00 gaming rigs Lloyd. However were able to play the latest FPS on it a year later. I bet not. It’s a simple fact of economics. I can’t afford to shell $800.00 every year, that’s why I own consoles too. You get a longer gaming life out of consoles. And we are old men in a kids world here. And Game companies do not see us as their demographic. And parents will go for a console that gives them 5 to 6 years of gaming life over two maybe three. So any game companies reading this, keep the games interesting and you do not need to use the latest physics engine that runs on only top end hardware.
Kev says:
August 16, 2009 at 8:44 am (UTC -7 )
Well my major concern why the store of PC games are reducing due because a lot of games are downloadable. Steam, NCSoft launcher and etc.
Also there are tons of game pirating so it is unstoppable. Mouse and Cat.
dreamhunk says:
August 27, 2009 at 8:49 pm (UTC -7 )
I found a funny video on youtube about pc gaming dying lol, I find it funny pc gaming is 60 billion dallor Industry and every chances console gamers get they keep saying it’s dying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsTwgUo9Blw&feature=related
when pc gaming clearly has the must games made for every year.
http://kotaku.com/5037023/more-developers-working-on-pc-xbox-360-titles
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10291692-1.html
http://adrianwerner.wordpress.com/games-of-2009/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7960498.stm
http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/why-the-future-looks-bright-for-pc-gaming-589422
YS says:
August 29, 2009 at 11:18 am (UTC -7 )
Maybe the US$800 system will not be able to play a new game at maximum graphics a year or two later, but nowadays game graphics are good enough such that it’s ok to lower the detail a bit, and still get a lot of satisfaction and fun from the game.
What I’m not liking about some console games in-general is this feeling of “restrictiveness”. Two of the recent games that slightly disappointed me were Prototype and HAWX. Prototype had some areas with cheap-looking graphics that brought down the overall look and feel, along with simple mini-games that don’t quite fulfill the “sandbox” experience. HAWX was really overly-simplified, and was put together with very little dramatic tension, if you ask me. Yet both were well-reviewed in their respective console versions.
Now I’m not saying all console games suck, or simplified games are bad. I played GTA3 a long time ago, and had plenty of fun with it, despite not completing the game (I was exhausted by the time I got to the second island). The Call of Duty series is a simplified, almost “on-rails” FPS, but I still love them, because of the gameplay and the writing. And despite Knights of the Old Republic being another example of the “smallness” feeling a console port brings, it still was plenty enjoyable, if rather short.
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