Report predicts that 20 million gamers will leave the PC for consoles, cloud services

[midian182]

Forward-looking: With the next generation of consoles on the horizon and cloud-based game streaming looking promising, will PC gamers be tempted to move onto something else? Yes, according to Jon Peddie Research (JPR). The market research firm believes 20 million people will leave the PC in favor of TV and cloud gaming platforms.

In a recent report, JPR forecasts that most of those who abandon PC gaming between now and 2022 will be owners of low-end computers, which it classes as under $1000 for a full build. It adds that improvements in TV displays and console semiconductors, along with more console-exclusive titles, will see a number of mid-range and high-end PC gamers also defect.

We know the PlayStation 5 isn’t arriving for another 12 months, but some of the console’s specs have been confirmed, including 8K and ray tracing support, an SSD, and the use of AMD’s 7nm third-generation Ryzen CPU (Zen 2) along with a custom Radeon Navi graphics GPU. Microsoft’s Xbox One successor, meanwhile, is rumored to be even more powerful.

The report notes how devices such as Nvidia’s Shield and Apple TV could draw away PC gamers. There are also cloud-based streaming services such as Google’s Stadia, which only requires a Chrome browser and an internet connection to enable 4K HDR streaming at 60 frames per second.

The PC market has been declining in recent years, and JPR says this is “loosely correlated” with gamers moving on. “The PC market continues to decline because the innovation that took place in the past providing speed ups and clever new things has all but stopped, plus the product introduction times are stretching out to four years,” said JPR president, Jon Peddie.

It’s noted that the failure of Moore’s Law isn’t helping the situation. Processors aren’t improving at the same rate they did in the past, extending product cycles to four years.

Those of certain age will know that people have been predicting the death of the PC as a gaming platform since the 1990s, so this isn’t anything new. While next-gen consoles and services might draw away some PC gamers, the platform will always boast advantages over its competitors, from the joy of building your own rig, to extensive mod support, to the wealth of hardware accessories it offers. And even if 20 million people do leave, it won’t make much of a dent to the approximate 1.3 billion PC gamers in the world.

To read more about the future of the desktop PC, check out our feature.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/79869-report-predicts-20-million-people-leave-pc-consoles.html

 

[Uncle Al]

No logical reason to leave a PC for a console ..... just spending more money for the same thing except the console is far more limited ......

 

[stewi0001]

Honestly, I have been too busy adulting to even have time to play video games. Maybe when my kids get old enough to start gaming, I might pick it up again. Who knows what will be out and trending by then.

 

[Fearghast]

My reason not to change my habits is really simple - alternatives to PC are not good enough.
Anyone can throw 4K@60, 8K and other PR talks around but if you understand terms like latency, compression, the precision, you know streaming is the future, but we are living now ... and streaming right now sucks, it sucks hard.

 

[Vladd67]

Honestly, I have been too busy adulting to even have time to play video games. Maybe when my kids get old enough to start gaming, I might pick it up again. Who knows what will be out and trending by then.

Watch a little less tv and who knows what you can find time to do.

 

[psycros]

"While next-gen consoles and services might draw away some PC gamers, the platform will always boast advantages over its competitors, from the joy of building your own rig, to extensive mod support, to the wealth of hardware accessories it offers."

Also, mouse and keyboard support for everything;
Choice of gaming services (Steam, GoG, etc);
Much better sales;
Far greater selection including thousands of games that simply can't be played on consoles;
Almost any game can be obtained for free if you don't care about online play or security risks;
Emulators make a lot of console games available anyway.

 

[kira setsu]

Judge me all you want when I say this, but I'll never leave pc gaming because of trainers.

as much as I work sometimes I just wanna put in an old game I love and just enjoy it, maybe I wanna feel all powerful in final fantasy or be invincible in wolfenstein or not deal with grinding lvls again on some odd rpg and pc sits alone on that throne.

once consoles gave up their cheat devices for useless trophies and gamerscores I bounced. no reason to cry about tough games(souls devs) when you can break it open on pc.

 

[Sergey Novikov]

Stupid analysts.

It will never happen.

 

[LogiGaming]

"While next-gen consoles and services might draw away some PC gamers, the platform will always boast advantages over its competitors, from the joy of building your own rig, to extensive mod support, to the wealth of hardware accessories it offers."

Also, mouse and keyboard support for everything;
Choice of gaming services (Steam, GoG, etc);
Much better sales;
Far greater selection including thousands of games that simply can't be played on consoles;
Almost any game can be obtained for free if you don't care about online play or security risks;
Emulators make a lot of console games available anyway.

Choice of stores is an advantage? I thought having everything in one platform only would be advantageous...

Also much better sales? You need to check PSN weekly sales bud, you will be surprised, and no, is not only 3 years old AAA titles, they have sales on every game, from old to new ones.

Won´t even comment the "almost every game can be obtained for free". IF everyone thinks like you we won´t have PC releases in the future. Thankfully not everyone likes to ruin the industry like you. Quoting that as a PC advantage is ironic.

 

[EEatGDL]

I will buy a PS5 for sure, but to abandon PC gaming and the catalogue I've amassed through decades... that's not going to happen. I keep going back to Windows 9x era games from time to time.

 

[TomSEA]

Just the usual annual report from "experts" telling us the PC is dead.

You know, just like they did about 5 years ago when they predicted everyone would be on tablets and PC's would be collecting dust.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

Probably not, and I doubt it will take off honestly. Our internet just isn't fast enough...

It might be an acceptable solution for mobile devices, but compared to dedicated hardware streaming just isn't going to cut it for any serious form of gaming.

 

[mctommy]

Never in a million years. Well I won't survive that long so, never in my lifetime.

 

[ShagnWagn]

Ah, the very tired old rhetoric "pc gaming is dead". LOL... What can we do to shut these people up permanently? Easy - quit publicizing their crap, instead of publishing articles about it. We already know they are ID10T's.

No, I do not feel like playing with my hands chained together (controller) for every game. I prefer the much more comfortable keyboard/mouse.
No, I will not be bound to play a game how they feel I should. If I want to tweak a game or add mods, a PC is the only way to go.
No, I will not pay the ridiculous prices they want for games on consoles, and not ripped off on "certified" controllers.
No, I will not buy a device where they can take a game away that I purchased from me at any time. This is theft.
No, I will not get a console where they tell me what I can and can't plug into it.

Need I continue?

 

[j05hh]

For myself it comes down to keyboard and mouse support. oh and this.. http://stores.horiusa.com/tactical-assault-commander-pro-tac-pro/

I personally haven't used it.

 

[grimrank]

Really 8k console can't even do full 4k. People need to understand a console is low in PC.

 

[m4a4]

Who did they actually survey? People with PC's that might play games (not actual gamers)?

I supplement my PC gaming with console. But would stick to PC if I had to choose.

 

[stewi0001]

Watch a little less tv and who knows what you can find time to do.

I rarely watch TV. XD

 

[OutlawCecil]

Haha I agree with everyone else. This is a dumb prediction.

 

[Scshadow]

No logical reason to leave a PC for a console ..... just spending more money for the same thing except the console is far more limited ......

No real logical reason to spend 1000+ on a PC when you can get a console with all the graphics processing needed. Gaming today is bottlenecked by lack of inspiration. We don't need more graphics fidelity, we need more storytelling fidelity. Meanwhile everytime and I do mean every time I try to play a game on PC, something always goes wrong. My controller isn't supported, the game doesn't boot, the on-screen button prompts aren't right, bluetooth doesn't work. I spend an hour trying to get it working if I get it working at all. PC gaming has been pure crap for me. Give me a console that works the first time, everytime. And if they have NVME storage and the console is super speedy, I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Pedritux]

Nonsense. I've been reading this since the first PS and Xbox 20yrs ago and it did not happen.
Why?
A console cannot replace a gaming PC, as it is not a PC. You can live without a console, not without a PC at home.
Piracy on consoles...meeeh. Yes, it is a thing, you know? Don't act like a virgin...millions of gamers won't pay 60-80 Eur for a single game.
Consoles require a TV, more space, more money.
HW upgrades? Meeeh... gotta buy a new console.

In 10 years, PC gaming will be here.

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

Heard this several times over the past few decades. Still here and kickin' folks. Try typing your diatribe on your console.

 

[sasat]

Completely false prediction, sorry Mike

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

No real logical reason to spend 1000+ on a PC when you can get a console with all the graphics processing needed. Gaming today is bottlenecked by lack of inspiration. We don't need more graphics fidelity, we need more storytelling fidelity. Meanwhile everytime and I do mean every time I try to play a game on PC, something always goes wrong. My controller isn't supported, the game doesn't boot, the on-screen button prompts aren't right, bluetooth doesn't work. I spend an hour trying to get it working if I get it working at all. PC gaming has been pure crap for me. Give me a console that works the first time, everytime. And if they have NVME storage and the console is super speedy, I'm looking forward to it.

You typed this on a console, no doubt.

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

No real logical reason to spend 1000+ on a PC when you can get a console with all the graphics processing needed. Gaming today is bottlenecked by lack of inspiration. We don't need more graphics fidelity, we need more storytelling fidelity. Meanwhile everytime and I do mean every time I try to play a game on PC, something always goes wrong. My controller isn't supported, the game doesn't boot, the on-screen button prompts aren't right, bluetooth doesn't work. I spend an hour trying to get it working if I get it working at all. PC gaming has been pure crap for me. Give me a console that works the first time, everytime. And if they have NVME storage and the console is super speedy, I'm looking forward to it.

1) I don't spend 1000+. I upgrade once every 3-5 years and spend about $300.
2) I don't have to have it connected to a TV (added cost)
3) I don't have to pay for some "Gold membership" subscription to use it as I like to
4) I don't spend nearly as much to control it, nor am I limited to gamepads, whereas I can choose to use that if I wanted to
5) I can do WAY more with a PC than I ever could with a console
6) Games are way cheaper on a PC, look WAY better, and run more smoothly on my machine than any of the 3 consoles I ended up buying over the years

PCs aren't without problems, but if you don't know what you're doing with them, then, yes, you're likely to have issues. It's more likely that you'll end up having to deal with a virus, or some other software issue, than you would on a console, don't get me wrong...but consoles aren't without their own issues. Plus, PC's allow you to tailor make your experience, whether it's streaming, producing, productivity, gaming, etc. You're not stuck in someone else's idea of what you need for the next 3-5 years in the hopes that you're not feeling locked down to it.