of course it's not dead you idiots
Without fail, the question "Is PC gaming dead?" is dredged up by self-proclaimed video game industry pundits every fucking year without fail. This time it's Daniel Morris, the former Editor-in-Chief of PC Gamer. And I'm tired.
I'm tired of reading the articles that ramble on about the successful sales of certain titles for whatever platform, while paying little attention to what's really happening in the industry. At least Morris rightly points out that both Valve and Electronic Arts are pushing their download service. With XBox Live and the XBox 360 moving towards more downloadable content and online play, and more multiports of traditionally PC-only titles, we are beginning to see the convergence of platforms. I have stressed this point before. PC gaming will never disappear because console gaming is destined to become PC gaming.
Of course industry mainstays like Nintendo will continue to advance the concepts of gaming, as September's announcement about the Revolution's controller sparked the most passionate debate about the future of gaming I have ever witnessed. They also unexpectedly made their mark with the Nintendo DS, convincing everyone - even pessimists like myself - that they can still innovate while providing accessible entertainment.
The Playstation 2 failed to provide an equivalent to XBox Live over its lifespan, and there is little promise being shown for the Playstation 3. Even Nintendo plans on offering a download service that would give gamers access to their classic titles of yesteryear. The thrust of this argument is that the console manufacturers are thinking about games online, because they all know that's what the market wants. Nintendo launched their WiFi service for the DS this year, and this is likely how they will provide online functionality with the Revolution. Aside from securing big-name publishers, what is Sony's plan for the Playstation 3? I am convinced that the average gamer is going to wake up any second and realize what is happening. Fancy new graphics can only carry a game so far. After playing Dawn of Sorrow I was enraged to the point of blindness that a third dimension had ever been invented.
Be reminded of the 3D engine wars from the late 90s. It's 2005 and Unreal is all but declared the winner. Then what? Does that mean we will begin to see an increase in creativity or a sudden interest in PC games? It does not. It means that PC gaming will continue to do what it has been doing forever, and that is releasing a variety of genre titles of varying quality. Just like every other platform.
Update: It appears the editing gremlins at Next Gen changed the title from "PC Gaming 2005: Not dead yet" to "PC Gaming: 2005" since the time I was first linked to the article and started writing this. Why, I wonder? Perhaps it was the "yet" that rankled a few PC gamers, or maybe the fact that there was no basis in the entire article for a solid argument against this point. A list of successful releases is not a defense!