PC execs: PC gaming too specialised

November 19th, 2007, 20:00 Posted By: Shrygue

via Computer and Video Games


Leading PC executives have attempted to allay fears that consoles are threatening PC gaming, although some acknowledged that PC gaming has perhaps become too specialized and needs to appeal to a broader audience.

Representatives from nVidia, Intel, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Crytek used nVidia's GeForce LAN 4 event in Alameda, Calif. to ensure consumers that the state of PC gaming is healthy, although there were signs that the proliferation of home consoles which cater to both serious and casual gamers appear to have put the PC gaming industry on the defensive, reports News.com.

NPD statistics show that sales of PC gaming software totalled $970 million in 2006, a dramatic fall from $1.5 billion in 2001. It is believed that the relatively expensive price of PC hardware required to play games, in comparison to that of consoles like Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3 or Nintendo's Wii, is largely to blame.

The PC gaming industry has combated the increased capabilities of next-gen consoles to cater to casual audiences by playing on its unrivalled capacity to deliver increasingly hi-tech titles such as flagship PC game Crysis, said Roy Taylor, nVidia's vice president of content relations.

He then acknowledged that the first-person shooter can't be played at its maximum settings even on many of today's top of the range PCs, forcing consumers to upgrade their systems simply to play the game in all its glory.

"Something needs to be done so a person buying a PC at Wal-Mart could be a PC gamer too," noted Randy Stude, director of Intel's gaming platform office.

He suggested that Intel's integrated graphics chipset, which delivers basic graphics performance for cheaper PCs, could be one solution for getting casual gamers interested in the PC as a gaming platform again.

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