State of the PC

It seems like everyone is going cross-platform these days. Development tools are gearing in that direction, and the assets that games use in consoles and on the PC are so similar that cross-platform has become easier than ever. For years now, the push for console cross-platform titles and the declining status of the PC as a gaming platform, it has oft been said that PC gaming is dying. I beg to differ, and instead offer this: PC Gaming is simply going back to its roots.

Kotaku's Brian Crecente recently wrote on the throes of PC Gaming. He makes some very valid points and left me wondering whether there is much future in PC gaming. What really hit home were Michael Morhaime's comments, that basically all PC Gaming has left are World of Warcraft and Facebook games.

Now, Morhaime's comments might not have been meant to be so... dismal, but let's face it. Blizzard is moving away from the PC after being dedicated to it since the mid 90's. Diablo III is likely going to suffer a bit of a delay because it is going to be ported to consoles (which is why I'm betting it doesn't come out in 2011). But that's just a sign of everything coming around full-circle. So many people forget that Blizzard had some of its earliest success with titles like Blackthorn, The Lost Vikings, and Rock N' Roll Racing, which were all console titles. But what does that mean?

When Blizzard moved to the PC platform, the PC had really blossomed as a platform that had spawned hugely successful game studios, largely due to how open Windows was for developers to make their software. It was a time of Indie startups, long before the term had ever been applied to the world of gaming, at least widely. Lucas Arts was creating original IPs, id Software had turned several developers into virtual rock stars, game modding was slowly starting to gain momentum (yay for custom levels!), and anyone with a good idea and the right skills could make a game, more or less causing shareware to become the distribution platform of choice (imagine if shareware were still popular?!).

The amazing part of PC gaming in the early nineties is how much it really pushed gaming and changed it for the best. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was at the top of the gaming world, and its success seemed to almost squelch true innovation in its games. Don't get me wrong, some of my favorite games of all time are for the SNES, but they largely fell into the archetypes that had been defined in the days of the NES, with most of them being direct sequels that simply improved upon the game mechanics and went beyond the limitations of the 8-bit era. PC games, on the other hand, were pushing for better graphics, new challenges, and were really seeking out new ways tell the stories of virtual existence.

When it comes to the whole PC vs Consoles debate, you'll be pretty hard pressed to argue that consoles provide environments as rich for innovation as the PC does. And that's basically what PC gaming has been all along. An arena for change, for pushing the envelope, and for creation. Sometimes PC gaming is seen as a great platform for the consumer, but only the hardcore gamers will keep updating their systems to keep up with the pace. Companies who want longevity will always go to the consoles (and likely services like OnLive) because of how much easier it is for most families to justify the cost.

PC Gaming is not dying, it is just returning to where it once was. Innovation will always find its home on the PC, and the next wave of blossoming companies, big players, and huge ideas are already present on the PC platform, ready to prove yet again the PC gaming will never truly die.