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Why are you a PC gamer? Why did you choose to support a less convenient, less unified machine even in the face of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo's pickup-and-play offerings? Do you like the customizability the PC affords? The constantly evolving technology -- to gaze down from a heap of cast-aside PC parts and proclaim the superiority of your uber-machine? Or is the community? Do you relish being a member of a tightly-knit underdog pack, a group that's not afraid to bellow "We'll prove you wrong" to the gaming community at large?
How would you react if everyone suddenly acknowledged PC gaming's strength? If people turned around and realized that PC gaming isn't dying, would you still be so gung-ho about it?
Well, today, we have -- among other things -- one more outlet prostrating itself before the PC. How long before the unwashed masses follow suit?
Additionally, we have a treat for Trekkies, EA's Riccitiello admitting to another one of his company's screw-ups, and the longest hypothetical game title evar. Please insert disc titled "Read more" to continue.
Er, ignore the date. The article isn't a spring chicken, per se, but neither is it a musty old Internet-relic. Regardless, it takes a nice, 360 degree view of the PC's current position as a gaming platform, noting that PC gaming is -- more so than consoles -- taking off in emerging markets.
However, the article brings up another interesting point. "What we are seeing is a demographic shift in the industry whereby the PC is no longer viewed as an advanced piece of consumer electronics relegated to only the upper class," it reads.
This leads me to wonder: for PC gaming to reach its peak, will it be forced to forsake its most ardent supporters? If PC gaming's high-end developers (id, Epic, Gearbox, etc.) left the platform for greener, more money-tinged pastures, would you still rally around it? Or would we see another Nintendo, with core fans slowly abandoning that which they once held most dear?
Well, this is certainly good news. Frankly, the license couldn't have ended up in better hands (I'm just happy it didn't end up with SOE) and Trek fans can now set their phasers to "cautious optimism."
Since BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMO is slowly shuffling in the general direction of the finish line, I imagine Star Wars and Star Trek will meet head-to-head. But this time, instead of a couple of nerds colliding with a sickening thud, it'll actually be a conflict worth watching.
Riccitiello, always the atypical exec, admits that EA shouldn't have turned a blind eye towards Nintendo's white wonder. However, he that doesn't make his company's decision altogether regrettable.
“[What’s] unusual in this cycle is there's a second and third place that is meaningful, against which we can build a profitable business," he said. "That's a good and positive thing.”
He concluded by saying that EA will start sipping Big Gulps of Nintendo's Kool-Aid this year. Will EA be the first third-party developer to really succeed on the Wii? Time will tell.
No, EA haters -- the industry giant is still Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum-ing just fine. The loss is a result of a bad habit that I believe no longer has a place in the industry: "back-loading" games for the holiday season. After all, if games like MGS4 are any indication, big-name titles can and will sell gangbusters regardless of season. Plus, I'm fairly sure we're all sick of missing great titles while buried under the holiday game flood.
Titles that feature cross-platform play between Xbox and PC users are now free for both sides of the fence. A sign of things to come? Probably not, but I can dream, can't I?
Great fighting game; better kart racing mini-game.
Comments are closed on this article
Techrocket9
July 28, 2008 at 6:08pm
quote:" Additionally, we have a treat for Trekkies, EA's Riccitiello admitting to another one of his company's screw-ups, and the longest hypothetical game title evar. Please insert disc titled 'Read more' to continue."
What? What does that mean? It doesn't make sense.
Queenof1
July 28, 2008 at 6:52pm
1. treat for Trekkies
2. Riccitiello admitting company screwup
3. long hypothetical game title
Hopes this clears it up.
nduanetesh
July 28, 2008 at 10:21pm
So...we went from readers who don't understand sarcasm to readers who don't understand commas?
Things are just getting worse. And I'll admit I'm a little afraid.
Vahn16
July 29, 2008 at 12:53am
But see, they say gaming is a waste of time. Well, in an incredibly circuitous manner, we're teaching people how to read. Cool, right?
If it helps, I'll do an asterisk about Hooked on Phonics tomorrow.
