Posted on 03/21/2012 11:06:49 AM PDT by Swordmaker
While Apple has a well-earned reputation as the inventor of new markets, it's also something of a serial killer.
The company's advances in digital music players made the Walkman an afterthought. The introduction of iTunes sounded a virtual death knell for many record retailers. The iPad cut the legs out from under the once fast-growing netbook PC market. And the iPhone has put Motorola in a fight for its life.
Now, the company looks to be focusing on the video game industry -- and plenty of people are rightfully scared.
The sheer numbers are overwhelming. In 2011 alone, the company says it sold 172 million "post PC" devices, an Apple term encompassing the iPhone, iPad and iPod. To put that into context, that's nearly 30 million more than the lifetime sales of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita added together.
(Excerpt) Read more at games.yahoo.com ...
Thanks to StayatHomeMother for the heads up!
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As an avid PC gamer I can say that I think there is reason to be concerned. Having just recently purchased my 1st iPhone I can see even myself making this transition away from the PC. Moreover, I do not like console gaming, but I have enjoyed playing games, such as “Modern War” on my iPhone. If Apple ever adds something other than virtual screen controls thing will change over even faster.
The iPad is going to destroy Nintendo’s and Sony’s handheld market, there’s no way around it.
Nintendo will never be able to come up with a device with the performance of the iPad and have their fans/marketplace accept it.
The console though is safe until iOS devices become commonplace in the living room. There’s just no way you can replicate the Xbox Live experience and room full of testosterone that Madden/NHL/NBA games produce on a post-PC device. Some games are just not well suited to be played on an iPad or portable device.
For a certain segment, like me, PC gaming will never die and consoles are vastly inferior. Why?
- I can’t download mods for my RPG game (Skyrim) on a console.
- PC tech advances much faster than consoles and I can upgrade my PC. I can’t upgrade a console, an iPhone or iWhatever.
It’s a reasonable fear until you really think about it. For the vast majority, sure. For us serious hardcore gamers there is absolutely no replacement for a PC.
I agree completely. Have you seen the ads for the new Neo-Geo? They are asking $699 for that handheld game.
Totally unrelated, but my iMac died recently — the logic board went “poof” — and the cost to repair it is high enough that I just want to replace it. Any idea when the new iMac is coming out? I know the Ivy Bridge chips are due out on April 8, but there’s both rumors of delays and rumors that Apple will start using them before the general public...
If the aforementioned $340 can get you on the internet, why pay over $1500 for a decent gaming rig that will be obselete in 4-5 years?
Consoles now have graphics approaching PC games (F1 2011). All they really need to do is cater a bit more to those who think racing with a gamepad is like trying to drive a real car with one: stupid. FPS's, though, are already better on console than PC. Using a handheld gamepad is much easier and better than the old mouse and KB.
For me it's cost and upgrade. My old, venerable PC plays Test Drive Unlimited 1 with all the bells and whistles at max. Sadly, it cannot run TDU2 with a decent framerate, although the XBOX 360 someone bout in 2006 runs both TDU1 and TDU2 fine with no upgrades needed.
Handheld games are not for me, nor any serious gamer, and there are a LOT of us. Apple will not even come close to replacing serious gamin unless they follow the federal government rulebook and brainwash all the kids in school to follow their mantra.
I just priced a 8 CPU PC with 8Bg of RAM with a Radeon 550 card for less than $1k.
Sure PC is expensive but not as much as in the past.
I guess I’m just an old fart. LOL
This is something I have to question. Your points on mods and controllers are spot on. But, here's where I believe the error in your reasoning lies. Today, there are gazillions of gamers, college students as well as regular folk who are buying PC's. We are entering the post-PC era. You currently have the benefits of mass-production in your corner.
People are stopping their consumption of new desktop PC's. The Desktop PC from 5 years ago is more than adequate for the 'average' user - this wasn't true that long ago. Hardware has far out-paced software - except for a 1% of the market (Gamers).
With most people going with smaller laptops and external or online storage - you, the 1% are going to find the cost of your PC go through the roof. This will likely cost the 1% to have a substancial number of defectors, who are simply unwilling to pay the price to keep up. Thus, an upward spiral of more expensive video/mobo/processors from fewer and fewer suppliers.
Yes, I totally get that. You certainly have a point, but the question is where is critical mass? At what point is it no longer profitable to produce (or port) games to the PC?
I hate console gaming, but fewer and fewer good games are designed and built for the PC. Mostly, they are console games ported to the PC. I fear the days of real PC games such as Crysis, Fallout 3, etc., may be short lived.
I’ve raised kids through this transition.
Anyone of them will play games on the phone if they are bored but the younger ones are really drawn to the Nintendo games and the older ones use the X Box game controller like a professional musician.
Nintendo may sell fewer units to adults but who wants to turn their grade schooler loose with a $600 phone and a data plan when you can drop $170 on a 3DS and don’t have to worry about them surfing porn sites.
Touch-screen devices are not gaming devices. As technology increases, what is available in smaller form factors (like smartphones) will always lag behind what is available in larger form factors (like game consoles and PCs). Thus the portable game experience will always lag behind. The top tier is always going to be PCs and consoles. The middle tier is currently handheld gaming devices. It *is* somewhat possible that these devices will be displaced by phones, though I don’t think it will be because of the quality of the games available. Rather, they will accept the substantially reduced quality of touch-screen games because the devices can also serve simultaneously as phones, low-grade computers, and internet appliances.
Nobody who actually plays games would take an article like this seriously. Things like Angry Birds are extremely successful, but they are nothing more than time-wasters. Nobody who wants to play a game will choose Angry Birds over a PS3 unless they were never the target audience of the PS3 anyway.
I doubt you're the target audience. I think folks who play Wii, and to a slightly lesser extent, XBox and Playstation, are the real target here. (Plus all of the handheld systems.) The iDevice can not only play the game, but with AirPlay mirroring can be the controller (and console) for playing games on the big screen TV.
Plus, unlike consoles, it's easy to get updates for iOS apps, taking away one of the main negatives of console gaming. Couple that with the fact that App Store games are much, much cheaper (though often "lighter" versions) than full console games, and I can easily see the iDevices taking over casual gaming.
Not a chance. Even the most advanced handheld device (presumably a tablet) would be light years behind a dedicated gaming console. That is not (and never was) the market for handheld games. If you have access to a television, then you likely have access to an actual gaming machine and not a poor substitute.
Console games have had patch ability for at least four years. I downloaded about two patches a week for my games on PS3, and it’s done automatically. In fact, I would say that my PS3 games are updated only slightly less often than my Android games.
You get what you pay for. When I buy a game for $2.99 like Symphony of Eternity, I get what I pay for either in terms of content or quality. That game would’ve been appropriate on the PSX (that is to say it’s about 15 years old). The games available for $9.99 on PSN or XBLA are substantially better.
Have you seen some of the racing games for the ipad? pretty impressive stuff.
But that is beside the point plenty of hardcore gamers don’t limit themselves. I game on PC, mac, console, Ipad... all of the above.
Ever few years I build a new gaming rig. Shopping smart I never spend more than 6-700. with smart reused I can put together something right now that would play the latest games at just shy of their maxed settings for a few hundred bucks. Ram is super cheap, hard drives are reusable, mid range video cards rock, and games don’t need a high end CPU (the video card does the hard work).
Not a clue... except that they are due for a refresh... and April-May is generally when that occurs.
That is very true.
And someone was right on when they said I wasn’t the core audience however when I CAN play the Elder Scrolls on a pad, WOW. I am SO there.
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