Or are they?
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/10/c ... ion-prize/
There is definitely a move away from traditional computing and gaming going on. Windows 8 is trying to bridge the gap in some respects. However, when (or if) the next gen game consoles emerge, will they bring people back to the sofa?

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10 PRINT "Bad Monkey ";
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Well, from what i can see is that the next generation of consoles will give a short burst of innovation, both in graphic fidelity and maybe even game concept and design wise, but after a short while it will all be back to cod 7 and fifa 2015. The PC platform grows just too fast to be outperformed for a long duration.

Now you could argue that the current gen consoles have good enough horsepower to sport games, but when i look at current games (last couple years even) theres hardly any development at all.
People invent new tech or see it now feasable on current pc hardware, and it wont be used in games because the current console gen is so horribly outdated and pc standalones are not very famous currently.

The smartest thing imo is to get back to use the pc as the no1 gaming platform.

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Long pork is people!

wzl's burrow

The WiiU is certainly bringing some new ideas to the table, but I can't help thinking it's a bit of a gimmick. The WiiMote did OK, but I'm not sure they can get away with it again. There are rumours of a Kinect 2, but that's just the next stage in an existing product.

Maybe PC touchscreen will gain some momentum with Win8, but I don't know how this could help PC gaming. Most die-hard PC gamers regard such things as 'for kids' or the dreaded 'casual' gamers.

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10 PRINT "Bad Monkey ";
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Yeah i'm always looking forward to new peripheral devices. Unfortunately most of the developers are not gutsy enough, or try to bandwagon too much without coming up with their own devices. The wiimote enabled some awesome applications like these (http://johnnylee.net/) and there's obviously a lot of interesting kinect hacks and fun ways to exploit it like using it to create a 3d pointcloud from its data to simulate AR and other things. (*cough* occulus rift *cough*)
But all those things will mostly remain toy's to developers and not evolve too much for now i dont think.

Touchscreen is probably the worst thing that could happen to gaming. It plays perfectly into the current dumbing down of games, because it restricts input so much, you just cant make complex games with it. Its clunky, inaccurate, you obfuscate your own vision. It's just nothing a gamer would really want.
Since it works 'fine' (well enough maybe) as input device for a mobile phone there's not much incentive to develop it further or *gasp* add buttons to the phone.

As far as input goes for accuracy and speed there is currently no equivalent to the mouse and keyboard setup, so i dont see gamers letting it go; but gamepads do have their place for certain genres, aswell as joysticks. There are even some games that work decent with touch screens, like a tower defense would, or slow paced/turn based rts maybe.

A game can only be as complex (i.e. good) as its means of control.

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Long pork is people!

wzl's burrow

When modern concepts die, vacuums are created, that invariably become filled with nostalgia and revivalism.

The flip-flop between classic and romantic design has been a part of human history for eons.

If you think that the emergence of this "new" technology, regarding mobile apps I assume(?), will effectively replace consoles, I think you are horribly mistaken...The fact that all this innovation is going into the gaming industry in general is a good sign...now whether or not they are funneling (funds) into apps or console is a different story, but who needs all those funds in the beginning to make a great game that will revive the console to its former glory? I love comparing Angry Birds (mobile app game) with Halo (X-box original game) because they both became HUGE hits in both money and popularity aspects...so the answer to your post is that Games Consoles Are Dead = False.

Every time I see a "consoles are dead" or "PCs are dead" I want to slap the crap out of the person that wrote it.

Neither are going anywhere. Deal with it and get over it.

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Microsoft XNA MVP

I agree, I don't believe that consoles/PCs are dead either, I just find it interesting to consider what the future might hold. The mobile gaming eco-system changes rapidly and has proved to be profitable (for some) even with lower game prices. Given the current climate and some of the recent 'odd' decisions from big companies, I wonder if they have the appetite to put up the money for the long development cycle of a product that may take so long to arrive that its market is no longer profitable.

I love my 360, but it doesn't get anywhere as much use today as it did two years ago. This is partly due to a change of lifestyle, but mainly due 'Day 1 DLC' and similar profiteering schemes putting me off buying new titles.

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10 PRINT "Bad Monkey ";
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But in the long term, they're both dead.

It's just a question of which one will go first

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Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve

Technology evolves, but it evolves gradually, such that we tend not to see much change from one year to the next. It's only when we compare technologies from 25 years apart, that we realize we are looking at completely different things, and it's like comparing apples with oranges.

So while the future will probably still have PCs and Consoles in one form or another, they may have only a superficial resemblance with those of the present day. We still have fruits, but they may be completely different fruits.

You may find that the future devices are a million miles from what you love. You may not like how technology evolves. The future things may not be things you want. I like oranges, I don't like apples.

Neither are dead yet. I have alot of problems with the article as it seems to imply that consoles have always been superior, which is nothing short of hilarious. Regardless, i dont think either are going anywhere any time soon.. the PC has the power the hardcore gamers like, and the consoles have the simplicity that couch gamers like.

To suggest that mobile devices will replace desktop PCs doesnt make sense to me because desktops will always be more powerfull simply because they're BIGGER. Miniturization is great but it will never keep up to the latest greatest full sized hardware.

case and point: lets play Battlefield 3. I guess il just grab my android phone and.. oh wait, cant run battlefield on a phone. Maybe in 3 years or so. But by then, there will be battlefield 5 which will be 10x more hardware intensive and will once again require the latest full-sized desktop hardware to run.

PC gaming isnt going anywhere.

I'm an hardcore gamer, But that does not mean I limit myself to PC... I just happen to prefer playing on console. It has nothing to do with whether one is more "hardcore" than the other or not... Really i have no reason to play console over pc, I just do it because i feel like it. You people who say "PC is better than console", or "PC is for more HARDCORE gamers" or vice-versa, Seem to believe that one of those things NEEDS to be true in order to just play what you want.... Even if you're the most hardcore gamer in the world, Does that mean you are forced to only play on PC? And that if you don't then you're just bad? I think not. Plus, You can plug a mouse and keyboard right into your console and get the same effect as playing on PC, Or on the other hand you can plug in a gamepad to your PC and get the same effect as a console.... It's not about one being better than the other, Or one being directed at a different kind of player, or a more "HARDCORE" player... It's really all dependent on what YOU want to DO. In the end the only difference is that a PC that can handle all games will cost alot more than a console that can handle those exact same games. And really any "hardcore" gamer would just buy the PC and Console version of the game, and just play both.

I think PC gives you a better experience hands down in every category. Even cost since I have bought most of my games on steam for around $5-$10. It is just a little bit painful upfront.

The only thing consoles have going for them is party games. (like Castle Crashers, Mario Kart or Smash Brothers) You could even do that with a PC and USB controllers but is quite a hassle.

4 controllers and a console is way cheaper and easier than setting up a 4 person LAN. You would think more console games would take advantage of this. They seem determined to play to their weaknesses. (First person shooters, online multiplayer, highly immersive games, etc.)

I played a game (Shadowrun) on my PC this week. It's the first time I've installed a game since I got my XBox 5 years ago.
I had to use a wired XBox controller as I simply couldn't play it with KB and mouse. I think I've burned my bridges as far as PC gaming goes.

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10 PRINT "Bad Monkey ";
20 GOTO 10

You prefer a gamepad over a mouse + keyboard in a first person shooter? I am guessing the PC version was a total afterthought.

Forgot to reply to this.

I tried playing the game with mouse and keyboard, but just couldn't get on with it. I was constantly running into walls/corners and couldn't map the buttons for Magic/Tech in a satisfactory way.

Whether this is down to the game or my PC hardware not being up to scratch I'm not sure.

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10 PRINT "Bad Monkey ";
20 GOTO 10