Graphics Market Struggles with Worst Year Ever
Posted 07/17/09 at 01:15:23 PM by Paul Lilly
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As the economy struggles to regain its footing, so too does the PC industry. The latest casualty to the bottom line hits the graphics market, which recorded anemic sales of graphics chips in 2009, the worst year ever, according to Jon Peddie Research.
Even scarier, Peddie says that graphics chip shipments are a leading market indicator since a big portion of chip sales goes to original design manufacturers (ODMs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
But it's not all gloom and doom. Peddie also said the worst is probably over, noting signs of a recovery in the third quarter are likely to appear. Moreover, Q3 will mark the beginning of major architectural changes and products from Intel, Nvidia, and AMD/ATI as each one continues to develop GPGPU products.
Image Credit: xtreview.com
Overload
Submitted by jeremy39 on Sat, 07/18/2009 - 2:01am
Its more like information overload. Every day or week there is a new card released. The newest, hottest card has barely made the market before the next big thing is released. There is such a thing as growing too fast.
Submitted by tehR0XX0Rz on Sat, 07/18/2009 - 5:56am
But it's not even real growth!!! All we ever see are slight, incremental changes in performance!!! This is why Crysis still runs like crap a year after release! The push to keep something "new" in the market has completely trumped the idea of having something "better" in the market.
Marketing has latched onto the idea that people will pay a premium just for a 2-5% increase in performance.
Submitted by MeTo on Sun, 07/19/2009 - 6:37am
"Crysis still runs like crap a year after release" Unless you have two top of the line cards or a x2 single card. But then some games won't play crosfire/SLI so you have to turn one off. Too much hassle for me.
Submitted by tehR0XX0Rz on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 5:16pm
I blame the design changes at www.maximumpc.com for all of this and more.
Rampant piracy. Future-proofing. $600 video cards (maybe not now, but they were there not long ago). Microsoft creating a new platform to compete with the Playstation, not thinking that they were also competing with the PC.
The tech has been improving only incrementally. It needs to take a giant step forward to put the consoles back in its shadow.
Submitted by Blade66 on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 3:57pm
I guess my opinion would be it's much easier for developers to make games for consoles because all the hardware's the same. They know it's going to work from one system to the next. When you develop for the pc everyone has a different config to their system. A budget pc can't play a game or look as pretty as a gaming monster does. A lot of people are left feeling cheated because they pay the same $50 but can't enjoy all the extras someone with a maxed out pc can. Everyone in the console world spends roughly the same amount of money for the same system and gets to play the games the same. It's a level playing field.
This is very true.
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 4:16pm
This is very true.
I did my part. -Jox
Submitted by Jox on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 2:49pm
-Jox
Submitted by MeTo on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 2:02pm
Looks like the days of having to have a MAXIMUM PC are over.With all these ports from a console that don't need as much horsepower,DRM which require internet conection,internet streaming of games (that work with low end cards even onboard chipsets). The game publishers are swinging an axe at nVidia and ATI. Must be geting even for all those patches they had to put out because of the bad video drivers.
Will someone please mail me
Submitted by Denis63 on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 1:40pm
Will someone please mail me that pile of videocards? i bet with those badboys ill be in the top 100 in no time at all.
-Denis
Submitted by unitymind on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 1:34pm
Man, my Atari 2600 is still running Adventure at blazing frame rates. Why would I need an upgrade?
Unitymind
Submitted by SEALBoy on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 1:24pm
It's true that PC gaming technology has been a bit stagnant for a couple years. The 8800GTX, released way back at the end of 2006 can play almost any game out there. There are a few exceptions, like Crysis, but unless the game is a bad console port (*cough* GTA4 *cough*), it's perfectly playable.
A 4850/4870 will run any game at max detail for the VAST majority of people out there. Unless you have a 30" monitor and want to play everything with 8xAA, you don't need anything more.
Who's to blame? Well... I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I blame consoles. Developers know that they can't just make money off PC's anymore, so they make their games for consoles too. Guess which card really put PC's over the consoles in terms of graphical capability? That's right... the 8800GTX. But since all the games are still made within console technical limits, only a horrifically bad port (*cough* f*ckin GTA4 *cough*) can test PC's.
Submitted by EpicEyes on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 11:20am
I don't know about everyone else but times is hard around here. I'd love to build a new rig with the latest and greatest in GPU technology next to a nice i7 cpu but there's just no way I'm paying $400 for a gfx card when I can play the same games on my 360. I can see paying $400 for a CPU... but for a GPU... i just can't justify it. Not in my current financial state anyway.
...
Submitted by Ravenhurst on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 10:48am
If you have nothing better to do with those vid cards I'll take one off your hands. ;) I'm sure they're all better than my 6800.
Submitted by Joe The Plummer on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 10:48am
Let's face it. PC gaming has sucked this past 12 months. The PC used to be a revolutionary gaming platform. Responsibe for the creation of several great gaming genres. But what now? Most games the PC sees were developed primarily for a console and either ported over as an afterthought or even crippled as a release (Ghostbusters anyone?)
What PC exclusives are out there that demand the latest in grahpics acceleration technology?
Crysis is about the only game that comes to mind in the last couple of years. Anything else?
While late 2007 saw COD4 and Bioshock, 2008 saw COD:WaW which really was just COD4 in a different time and setting. But both those games were released on all platforms. I miss the days wherer the PC was the platform, all to its own. Games like Unreal, Mechwarrior, Homeworld, Wing Commander, X-Wing and Tie Fighter, Jedi Knight, Quake, they all pushed the bounderies of the technology and were only available on the PC because only the PC could make them happen.
All I'm saying is if there are no games available to push the boundaries, then why buy the hardware
Good List
Submitted by vulchan on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 1:32pm
That brought a tear to my eye when you listed all those awesome games. I just wish that we got an exclusive new Jedi Knight title for the PC; hell, who am I kidding? That's never going to happen :(
Submitted by DOOMHAMMA on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 11:42am
You have an excellent taste in games :)
As for graphics cards, I am waiting for the DX11 cards to come out, until then, I will just sit out the current cards with my ATI 4850.
DX11 Doomhamma?
Submitted by .ZEFFEN. on Sat, 07/18/2009 - 12:24am
Why wait? What promises or demonstrations have we seen that would make anyone wait? You only live once; why wait to do it? If anything, wait for better prices.
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