Making a case for the PC

The top names in computer game design tell us why we shouldn't bet against the PC platform

Rocky Mountain News

Published February 16, 2006 at midnight

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Question: What's in store for the future of PC Gaming? What will prevent the PC gaming industry from dying away or consolidating with the console market?

Ken Levine, president and creative director,Irrational Games:

Right now, the limits of shelf space are killing PC gaming. Online

distribution is the knight in shining armor here. My hope for PC gaming is

that online distribution allows for smaller, more niche-y games to become

successful.

Tim Willits, lead designer and co-owner, id Software:

"PC gaming isn't going to die in the future regardless of what some people have said. The PC machine is still the fastest evolving technology platform available. The consoles can't keep up with the technology. But, one thing that you will see changing in the PC market is how games are purchased and played. PC distributors need to evolve their distribution and copy protection schemes. The biggest problem with the PC market is that it is too easy to steal games and a lot of people are doing it. Games like World of Warcraft are proof that PC games are successful as long as the people who are playing them are paying for them. The downloading of games is definitively hurting the PC industry and until we can create a system that helps protect us from that you will see suffering PC sales. Look to innovative developers and publishers for the coming re-success of the PC market."

Richard "Lord British" Garriott, executive producer, NCsoft:

Since the earliest days of personal computers, and about every 5 years or so, people start talking about the death of the PC platform for gaming. As for me, I do not feel this will happen any time soon, if ever. The PC and consoles are both great gaming platforms with very different things that they do best. A console is great for gaming as it is a single purpose machine tuned well for that purpose. You turn it on, it reliably boots from scratch into the one game you have placed in its drive. As it has no install, and only one simple controller, its usability is very easy. As it usually plays through someone's entertainment system it usually has great sound and a large screen, somewhere in the living room. But being in the living room, played from a couch, is a situation best suited to very light games, played for very short sessions, and if socializing with friends, it works best for a group playing together in the same room. While Internet connectivity is now available to consoles, I believe that fundamentally console online games will be tailored to FPS style games where your only "social" interaction with those on the other side of the screen is to shoot them.

PCs offer different advantages. First, as they are a general purpose machine, they usually have even better hardware and more diverse hardware available. And they can continually be kept cutting edge with swappable parts. This blessing comes with a curse, which is that "plug and play" has here to fore been something of a pipe dream. But the likes of Dell, Microsoft, Intel, AMD, NVIDIA and ATI are all well aware of this and are now addressing it. More importantly, as PCs are usually on a table with a chair, and they have high bandwidth peripherals, like the keyboard I am using now, the depth of the experience I can create is much deeper than for a console. Plus sitting near the screen I am better immersed through it to the people and world beyond the limits of that screen. So for immersive multiplayer environments at the truly cutting edge of gaming... PC's will remain the platform of choice for many.

Some day this could change, but I see no hardware currently in development that will change it.

Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development, Firaxis Games:

Every time a new console generation starts, it’s inevitable that we hear people questioning whether PC gaming is dying. I don’t see that happening for several reasons:

A primary reason is that certain games just work better on the PC. For instance, real-time strategy games and first-person shooters simply feel better with a mouse and keyboard while the same games are often problematic at best with a controller. Of course, there are notable exceptions like Halo or Pikmin but they are far from the norm.

In another area, the closed nature of consoles is desirable on a certain level. For one thing, it allows developers to take full advantage of a system without having to consider the least common denominator. On the other hand, it’s also great to be able to freely upgrade your computer without having to wait for the next console cycle. That allows PC power users to remain on the cutting edge of technology. This is obviously unimportant when the new console cycle begins, but it becomes very important within 6 months of a new cycle.

In addition, while the costs involved with making next-generation games for next-generation consoles and PCs continues to rise, it is still possible for smaller PC developers to make money. There are numerous ways for smaller developers to distribute for the PC, bypassing many of the pitfalls of console development such as procuring development kits or passing rigorous technical requirements checklists. Companies that make and distribute casual games such as: Pop Cap, Wild Tangent, Big Fish, and Real Arcade, have flourished over the last couple years. It seems that all three console makers will be embracing a similar casual games/online distribution concept, but it is already well established on the PC.

Finally, all of these factors combine to make PC development a hotbed of innovation. As the price of making next-gen games continues to rise, we will probably see far fewer games that take chances but the PC will always be available for people to promote new ideas. A game like Darwinia would be a tough sell on a next-gen console, but factors in the PC world make it possible for people to enjoy something truly unique. Long live the PC!

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