I was reading over on Rory’s BLOG on how he read on George’s BLOG that the X-Box 360 will spell the end for PC manufacturers. Like Rory, I would like to respectfully disagree with George.
I jumped into the console market several years ago after I bought one too many games that wouldn’t work on my PC. To top it off, you can’t take the damn things back if they don’t work. Did I get rid of my PC? (pause for bellowing "NO" from the peanut gallery)
As the consoles become more and more advanced, they (the people that make the things) are allowing them (the consoles) do more and more. However, the key component to consoles is price. In order to keep them cheap, consoles inherently can’t do too much and anything extra they do is usually more icing and less cake.
Think of the top 3 things people do on a PC (according to a poll I took in my own mind right this instant): games, browsing the net, and email. Having a console that can do those 3 things well may inspire people to spend $300 rather than $1000-3000 on a decent computer that can handle the gaming aspect.
The key factor is that nasty little word “well”. It seems anytime a device tries to incorporate multiple functions, one or more of the functions typically are far inferior to what another device can do. Look at virtually any combo device on the market. If they were worth a damn, wouldn’t you see more of them rather than less?
Let’s not forget to look at the target market. Parents won’t want to share the console with the kids in order to surf the net or check mail. Gaming nerds, like me, won’t settle for a single device. One might think that the only companies that may suffer are the ones that build the über gaming machines. I disagree, since they do not cater to console gamers. They cater to power hungry gamers with loads of expendable cash.
So though a mega, super-special, gaming system may come along, I doubt the PC industry will even bother to swat at the gnat. The only way the PC market will take a hit is if game manufacturers stop making PC games. Since it all boils down to the almighty dollar, I’m going to go wait to get hit by lightning rather than hold my breath over that one.