Question for the future of PC gaming?

General Discussion
21

Future of pc gaming will change but more akin to fragmentation.

There are cloud enthusiasts, who would want to either stream from their own pc or from cloud services towards a tv or specific devices, like tablet or Phone.

There are mobile gaming, that would be the ones on handhelds, which would fit sw2, steam deck, ayaneo, legion go, msi claw, asus ally and so on. But those will be a bit “blurry” due steam OS provides better interface for portables, while windows devices are pretty bad.

Home entertainment, like living room. Also, linux/unix are better suited for it. Which is why sw2, steamdeck were more suited for it.

Consoles dominate the living room, due lack of options on pc. But at same time, those devices have specific purpose.

Less folks are going towards actual desktops or laptops. Unless they use it also for work, some avoid gaming on it entirely due avoid mixing work and gaming.

So, is plausible that consoles and gaming will shift towards entertainment hubs. Which is why most consoles are pc these days but the UI/UX of microsoft(pc) for it is nightmarish. Steam solution is way better on this regard.

I see a shift towards dedicated home systems as leaning towards linux, but distros properly optimized and structured for it. I mean, ps uses unix, switch uses linux, android uses linux, xbox uses windows. If ms decide to not keep doing xboxes could be a good thing to consider linux-based device with gamepass/xbox cloud features.

So, I see more desktop users being the ones who also work with it. Living rooms with consoles or deck-like devices, which also can be used on the go, depending on the need of the user, that or having a ecosystem compatible between devices.

I wouldn’t consider steam as the way, but their OS is one of the most promissing ones out there.

2 Likes
22

I am never going to play on PC. I will just quit gaming if they force me to play that trash.

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23

We already have several, really. EA Play, Ubisoft Plus and Gamepass, for instance. However, they can’t really force you onto those systems, since, well, a PC gives you a ton of freedom about how and where you’re acquiring your games and what systems you are running on it.

By the way, this freedom alone allows for the PC gaming experience to be the better cost alternative. If a paltform tries and charges a subscription for basic access, it will likely not have much engagemente, since we can have free options.

24

Cost is not the only factor that drives a person to a console. I prefer to just be able to flick a switch and have my games run; with a PC, there’s always some driver that’s not behaving or some other obscure technical issue preventing me from playing.

Plus, cheating is more difficult on a console.

The only time I regret not having a PC is when 4x or tactical games are released only on PC. Other than that, I haven’t had a PC for well over a decade, and have no regrets.

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25

Aaar Matey!

Me thinks many players will wait for a Steam sale, where high prices walk the plank.

Or perhaps they can sail the high seas and find other solutions?

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26

To me, the Battlepass is the subscription, its just optional. I think because there is so much PC game competition, a monthly online subscription for a game seems pretty unlikely.

27

What’s wrong with the name??

I know it’s not exciting, but it’s not like adding a 2 makes it bad lol

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28

Theres irony in that name :wink:

29

I’m not really seeing it

30

This is what I think when I look at previews of Metroid 4. It’s like “oh cool, same mechanics from Metroid Prime that came out all those years ago”.

31

Some people pay the equivalent of US $140 per annum for the likes of Humble Choice on their PCs, it’s already here.

No, I don’t think your concerns will be a new problem and I don’t think there is going to be an explosion of PC gaming with new people flocking in. There may be a new segment in a hybrid sphere if the rumours about the next generation Xbox are to be believed which is basically a mix of console/PC which could be very interesting. Time will tell there.

32

Xbox already does for it’s PC audience

33

Switch 2 as in Switch To Nintendo. :congratulations:

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34

Well the day that happens, is the day I switch to indie games. And Indie games have proven time and time again they are so much better than the garbage AAA games from trash publishers like Ubisoft and EA.

It’s also why I’ve 180’d my decision on the Switch 2 which I wanted initially until I saw the hidden costs. $80/$90 for games AND an online fee and being charged $10 for a user guide? Yeah no thanks lol.

35

Yeah the pdemic blew the gaming industry up actually. All the big game dev corps hired a tonne of new employees from that momentary boom and that’s why there were mass layoffs industry wide as the lockdowns stopped and people went back to work.

36

Thats a good point about the “cheapest hobby”! It definitely is quite cheap (excluding hardware upgrades and such).

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37

We already pay for internet. And some games like wow have subscription fees.

But as a whole, you have such a wide market of options on pc that alienating customers with extra sibscription fees to use your game launcher won’t be worth it.
People will find ways to work around those, or completely move to another provider.

38

Might be crazy here wouldn’t be surprised if Xbox eventually disappears and Microsoft just focus on PC more. Rebrand everything because Xbox value overall is long gone?

39

I’ve found the Xbox series X to be very disappointing, along with the PS5. I’ve got them both and they’re either just gathering dust right now or being used as very expensive paper weights. The most underwhelming purchases I ever made in all honesty, and I’ve had both PS4 and the PS2, and the OG Xbox and the 360 and they were brilliant, had so much fun on them.

40

Good thing i’ve never cared much for gta games XD.