Back in May, I posted on the death of PC gaming. And because I'm one to beat a pinata horse until I am showered with delicious candy... In an interview last week, Id co-founder John Carmack said that his company was going to be headed in a more console centric direction, moving away from a PC first mindset.
I... er.... yea thats the best graphic I've ever made =)
While Carmack was careful not to suggest that Id was actually turning its back on PC gaming completely, the point is clear. This news was particularly eyebrow raising, not because it supports my previous prediction, bu because of the history of this particular company. For those don't know, Id essentially defined PC gaming with their 1993 smash hit Doom, and have been a mainstay of PC game design ever since. Now they are backing away from the platform that they helped to define so many moons ago.
There are two big questions in my mind right now.
1) Does anyone (in a business sense) really care all that much if PC gaming dies? Clearly Dell has a stake in the PC gaming market. But with Microsoft and Sony (two big players in computer market) spearheading consoles of their own, hardware producers getting involved in the living room market, and game designers simply migrating their focus, does anyone really care if PC gaming fails?
2) How significant are Apple's iPhone aspirations in the gaming sphere?
EDIT:
After doing a little digging, apparently the aforementioned John Carmack stated that he feels as though the iPhone is a more powerful gaming platform than the Nintendo DS and PSP combined - nearing the power of the Playstation 2. I'm Amish so I don't have an iPhone, and far be it from me to question Carmack the Wise but but that seems a midge overstated. If its not... well then... that changes everything.
More to come on this I'm sure.
Original images from wikipedia.com, blogs.pcworld.com, and jesusheartsmusic.com - combined with the abundance of free time that I apparently have on my hands.
I... er.... yea thats the best graphic I've ever made =)
While Carmack was careful not to suggest that Id was actually turning its back on PC gaming completely, the point is clear. This news was particularly eyebrow raising, not because it supports my previous prediction, bu because of the history of this particular company. For those don't know, Id essentially defined PC gaming with their 1993 smash hit Doom, and have been a mainstay of PC game design ever since. Now they are backing away from the platform that they helped to define so many moons ago.
There are two big questions in my mind right now.
1) Does anyone (in a business sense) really care all that much if PC gaming dies? Clearly Dell has a stake in the PC gaming market. But with Microsoft and Sony (two big players in computer market) spearheading consoles of their own, hardware producers getting involved in the living room market, and game designers simply migrating their focus, does anyone really care if PC gaming fails?
2) How significant are Apple's iPhone aspirations in the gaming sphere?
EDIT:
After doing a little digging, apparently the aforementioned John Carmack stated that he feels as though the iPhone is a more powerful gaming platform than the Nintendo DS and PSP combined - nearing the power of the Playstation 2. I'm Amish so I don't have an iPhone, and far be it from me to question Carmack the Wise but but that seems a midge overstated. If its not... well then... that changes everything.
More to come on this I'm sure.
Original images from wikipedia.com, blogs.pcworld.com, and jesusheartsmusic.com - combined with the abundance of free time that I apparently have on my hands.
I have no idea if this is part of Id's thinking, but...
With Carmack, they were always the company that pushed the envelop in the graphics department. Doom 3 seemed to be the last time I remember Id coming out with a graphic showcase game (and i didn't like it much).
Now we have a new champion right? Crytek.
http://www.crytek.com/
Far Cry, Crysis, and the upcoming Far Cry 2 ALL seem to be graphical showcase games (and o btw...they are actually good GAMES too).
Maybe id recognizes someone can do what they did for years, but better.