[Inspiration]

Gabe Newell recently stated that he feels the biggest threat to the console market (and PC gaming market) is Apple. He believes that they have such a strong foot hold in the home that if they decided to allow iOS games to played in full on your HD TV with a controller.. they could very quickly do damage to the console industry.

Heres one of my many articles on this:

http://techland.time.com/2013/01/31/...onsole-gaming/

The argument is that the home gaming industry has changed, perhaps while Sony & Microsoft have been too busy milking their cash cows. The audience is a lot more spread now and isn't just teenagers in their bedrooms. Also the requirement for huge amounts of polygons isn't what it used to be either. People just want to have fun and perhaps share in this fun with other family members. It's a battle for the living room as Gabe put it. Gaming is no longer the exclusive domain of teenagers in their bedrooms.

So have Sony and Microsoft left it too late? I think they have. I think these new consoles are years too late. I'm sure people will buy the new consoles but I doubt they will have as good a life as the 360 or PS3 have. A lot rests on Apple of course and other companies such as Valve. The console market is there for the taking and I think Microsoft and Sony have been caught sleeping.

It's perhaps too early to say the console market is about to die but I think their honeymoon period ended some time ago and the next few years are going to be quite interesting.

[Flawed-Tactics]

Asking that is like asking is gaming heading to its demise, the answer is most definitely, no.

Apple? iOS games present no interest to me whatsoever.

[thomas2400]

long term even if apple launched a success console and iOS became good enough to fully play console quality games, then maybe they could compete but the fact is Xbox would still have Halo and PS3 would still have uncharted etc

People would still buy there preferred console for the exclusives, so in my opinion no the console market is not heading towards its demise

[hsellors]

Originally Posted by Flawed-Tactics

Asking that is like asking is gaming heading to its demise, the answer is most definitely, no.

Apple? iOS games present no interest to me whatsoever.

They are releasing the GTA games etc and I think they show the capabilties of what can be played on an ipad.

I don't think they mean the high powered games that only a console would manage. More that because tech market is spreading to younger children, parents, older generations and owners of ipads the casual gamers will begin outweighing console gamers.

My 4 year old nieces now play games and I know a lot of people in their 60s who have ipads and play games. These are generally low powered simple games but they are affordable. If it's down to money then smaller ios games may only be a fraction of a console games price but there will be more people buying them.

I don't think consoles will die, nothing will compare to the thrill of technological advances and astonishing graphics. But there will be more choices out there which might dilute the market.

I love my ipad and I love my PS3 equally because they both have different uses and I don't see ios games getting in the way of buying a ps3 games. However in the time between buying ps3 games I probably will have spent the same amount in the ios store!

[SJ_Mental]

If apple became the main console or game company I for one wouldn't bother any more.

[whoever,hey]

Mobile phone gaming is only ever casual atm!

[DSWNSM]

Originally Posted by whoever,hey

Mobile phone gaming is only ever casual atm!

And it will always stay that way.

Hardcore gamers will always choose a console, and there will always be enough hardcore gamers in the world.

[Sick Bullet]

Originally Posted by DSWNSM

And it will always stay that way.

Hardcore gamers will always choose a console, and there will always be enough hardcore gamers in the world.

I choose PC so that's not correct.

[ags_rule]

Not a chance of this happening.

Mobile gaming is called so for a reason - it's popcorn gaming for quick goes when you're bored and have little else to do.

The PC market, despite the almost pornographic obsession of its supporters with frame-rates and GFX, is still too expensive and with a lack of AAA exclusive titles to make it a preferable alternative for most console gamers. Obviously it will continue to dominate the RTS market and MMORPG market, but that remains only a small section of the gaming community.

[thomas2400]

Originally Posted by DSWNSM

And it will always stay that way.

Hardcore gamers will always choose a console, and there will always be enough hardcore gamers in the world.

Originally Posted by Sick Bullet

I choose PC so that's not correct.

What is a hardcore gamer? i've been playing games since the megadrive/commodore 64 days when i was a kid and i've played on most console and played most big games since then, i game for a least a few hours a day and i wouldn't call myself a hardcore gamer

[frightlever]

Originally Posted by thomas2400

What is a hardcore gamer? i've been playing games since the megadrive/commodore 64 days when i was a kid and i've played on most console and played most big games since then, i game for a least a few hours a day and i wouldn't call myself a hardcore gamer

I've gamed since the Binatone pong days and still game a lot but I consider myself a casual gamer. It isn't important to me and I don't validate myself by gaming, I unwind from work by gaming.

You want to see hardcore gamers then look at the boardgame scene on iOS. Those guys are crazy nerd savants.

I never really thought of console gamers as being hardcore. PC gamers with the multi-thousand dollar water-cooled and customized rigs are hardcore. Console gamers just have a mass-produced children's gadget in their front room.

[2Dshmuplover]

No, nothing like. Apple don't have a foothold in shit all.

[thomas2400]

Originally Posted by frightlever

I've gamed since the Binatone pong days and still game a lot but I consider myself a casual gamer. It isn't important to me and I don't validate myself by gaming, I unwind from work by gaming.

You want to see hardcore gamers then look at the boardgame scene on iOS. Those guys are crazy nerd savants.

I never really thought of console gamers as being hardcore. PC gamers with the multi-thousand dollar water-cooled and customized rigs are hardcore. Console gamers just have a mass-produced children's gadget in their front room.

Did you just call my 3D bluray player that plays games a childs toy? really?

Also what does the amount of money you spent on something really have to do with anything?

[Jen-B]

I would agree. I remember reading an article on Kotaku about it. It talked about the fact that consoles had opened up gaming to the masses, how they attracted the casual gamers who wanted to game in their living room, whilst the PC market tended to cater to the hardcore. The only problem is the mobile/tablet market is growing very rapidly, and with it mobile/tablet gaming. The mobile/tablet gaming market is growing exponentially, and there is a big possibility that gaming studios after the casual market will move over.

Consoles end up in the middle. PC market is still for the 'hardcore' - a market that is still present, and growing - and mobiles/tablets for the casual gamer, consoles in the middle.

Also, consoles are sold at a loss, so you need huge sales to make up for this. Take out the casual gamer and the business model collapses, leaving manufacturers at a loss, out of pocket and eyeing the new casual market.

I can certainly see where he's coming from.

And here's the Kotaku article I was talking about (and it explains it all very well, certainly recommended reading).

[thomas2400]

Originally Posted by Jen-B

PC market is still for the 'hardcore' - a market that is still present

But what is a hardcore gamer? i have FM2012 on my PC that makes me a PC gamer, am i also a 'hardcore' gamer because of that one game?

[Steve35]

Originally Posted by Flawed-Tactics

Asking that is like asking is gaming heading to its demise, the answer is most definitely, no.

Apple? iOS games present no interest to me whatsoever.

Same here, playing games on a tiny screen? No Thanks!

[whoever,hey]

Originally Posted by Jen-B

I would agree. I remember reading an article on Kotaku about it. It talked about the fact that consoles had opened up gaming to the masses, how they attracted the casual gamers who wanted to game in their living room, whilst the PC market tended to cater to the hardcore. The only problem is the mobile/tablet market is growing very rapidly, and with it mobile/tablet gaming. The mobile/tablet gaming market is growing exponentially, and there is a big possibility that gaming studios after the casual market will move over.

Consoles end up in the middle. PC market is still for the 'hardcore' - a market that is still present, and growing - and mobiles/tablets for the casual gamer, consoles in the middle.

Also, consoles are sold at a loss, so you need huge sales to make up for this. Take out the casual gamer and the business model collapses, leaving manufacturers at a loss, out of pocket and eyeing the new casual market.

I can certainly see where he's coming from.

And here's the Kotaku article I was talking about (and it explains it all very well, certainly recommended reading).

Sorry but that is the biggest load of tosh i have ever read. Consoles are not for only the casual market. Are you even aware of the Megadrive and NES consoles or even Atari? They were not only for casual gamers.

That article you posted was written by a mobile dev, what else is he going to say? Here is his website.
http://www.bencousins.com/

[Jen-B]

Originally Posted by thomas2400

But what is a hardcore gamer? i have FM2012 on my PC that makes me a PC gamer, am i also a 'hardcore' gamer because of that one game?

The PC gaming market tends to cater the hardcore. Why are they seen as 'hardcore' - well, they upgrade their hardware, or want the ability to upgrade their hardware, are willing to put up with a 'niche' games market, more hassle to install games etc.

Consoles are geared towards the casual market: consoles are pretty much plug-and-play in your living room. PCs are the opposite of that, hence the hardcore. In fact, as quoted in the Kotaku article: approximately 40% of Xboxes sold were sold after the 2009 price drop, showing that a rather large proportion of people buying were most likely not interested in the latest hardware and/or graphics (as a PC gamer might, for example). Therefore quite likely to be casual gamers.

ETA:

Originally Posted by whoever,hey

Sorry but that is the biggest load of tosh i have ever read. Consoles are not for only the casual market. Are you even aware of the Megadrive and NES consoles or even Atari? They were not only for casual gamers.

That article you posted was written by a mobile dev, what else is he going to say? Here is his website.
http://www.bencousins.com/

True, and you would be correct if he was only one saying it. He's not. By a long shot.

Yes, I am aware of the Megadrive, the NES etc and all the others if we're willing to get pedantic. This is not what people are talking about when they talk about the 'console market' though. This is talking about the current industry, not the old consoles that don't have multi-million pound industries surrounding them anymore.

[Jimmy_McNulty]

Originally Posted by DSWNSM

And it will always stay that way.

Hardcore gamers will always choose a console, and there will always be enough hardcore gamers in the world.

lolololhahahalolololtrolololololol

[whoever,hey]

Originally Posted by Jen-B

Yes, I am aware of the Megadrive, the NES etc and all the others if we're willing to get pedantic. This is not the console market though. This is talking about the current industry, not the old consoles that don't have multi-million pound industries surrounding them anymore.

It is the Wii that introduce casual gamers to consoles, not the 360 or PS3.

Also since when did casual gamers turn in to diehard fanboys? Thats an oxymoron.

[Jen-B]

Originally Posted by whoever,hey

It is the Wii that introduce casual gamers to consoles, not the 360 or PS3.

Also since when did casual gamers turn in to diehard fanboys? Thats an oxymoron.

I'd personally disagree. Consoles in general introduced a hell of a lot of casual gamers to consoles. You only have to look at the success of Guitar Hero, Just Dance etc., to realise that. And that's because, in general, consoles are aimed at the casual market. That isn't to be confused with "all console gamers are casual gamers" and "hardcore gamers don't use consoles", but consoles, and quite a big selection of games available exclusively on consoles, are generally aimed at the casual market.

[thomas2400]

Originally Posted by Jen-B

The PC gaming market tends to cater the hardcore. Why are they seen as 'hardcore' - well, they upgrade their hardware, or want the ability to upgrade their hardware, are willing to put up with a 'niche' games market, more hassle to install games etc.

So what you are saying is there is no such thing as a 'hardcore' gamer and it just people who spend money on PC gaming and hardware trying to give themselves a title for absolutely no reason

Pathetic just pathetic

[Jen-B]

Originally Posted by thomas2400

So what you are saying is there is no such thing as a 'hardcore' gamer and it just people who spend money on PC gaming and hardware trying to give themselves a title for absolutely no reason

Pathetic just pathetic

No, I'm not saying that at all.

Go and read my post again.

[thomas2400]

Originally Posted by Jen-B

No, I'm not saying that at all.

Go and read my post again.

Why are they seen as 'hardcore' - well, they upgrade their hardware, or want the ability to upgrade their hardware, are willing to put up with a 'niche' games market, more hassle to install games etc.

i think i read it right they are seen as hardcore because they spend more money?

[Jen-B]

Originally Posted by thomas2400

Why are they seen as 'hardcore' - well, they upgrade their hardware, or want the ability to upgrade their hardware, are willing to put up with a 'niche' games market, more hassle to install games etc.

i think i read it right they are seen as hardcore because they spend more money?

No, they just want the choice of upgrading. Upgrade right and you don't have to spend gazillions of money anyway. Particularly as PC games are, in general, cheaper than console games.