PC Gaming...rules once more?

[Madmick]

Recently, Valve, owners of Steam, the largest single videogame marketplace in the world, hosted a more candid event than usual with the press at the Casual Connect gamer conference in Seattle:
Valve reveals Steam’s monthly active user count and game sales by region

The world’s most powerful PC game distribution platform continues to expand its reach and grow its user base.

Video-game giant Valve showed new stats about the growth of Steam at the Casual Connect gaming conference in Seattle on Wednesday.

Steam, the preeminent “app store” for PC games, now counts 67m monthly active players. That’s more than the 53 million monthly active users Microsoft reported for Xbox Live last quarter. Steam also has 33 million daily active players. (Apart from monthly active users, Steam’s total user base is much larger: Valve reported 125 million total active lifetime users last year.)

Another sign of growth: Steam is averaging 14 million concurrent users per day at peak — that’s up from 8.4 million in 2015, according to the presentation this week.

Tom Giardino, who works in business development at Valve, speaks at Casual Connect on Wednesday in Seattle.
New gamers are flocking to Steam as well. There have been 27 million first-time purchasers — those who created a Steam account and bought a game, or downloaded a free game and made a transaction for the first time — since January 2016. That’s nearly 1.5 million users per month.

“There are lots of users coming into Steam every day,” said Tom Giardino, who works in business development and marketing at Valve.

Bellevue, Wash.-based Valve, which takes a 30 percent cut of each sale on Steam and has a substantial influence on the overall PC gaming market — some say too much — is also seeing rapid growth from users in Asia. A few years ago, Asia only represented a few percentage points of Steam’s worldwide sales. Now that’s up to 17 percent, largely driven by users in Korea, China, and Japan.

Giardino said part of the international growth is due to Valve’s efforts to localize stores and accept more payment methods. But it’s also due to the diversity of content available on Steam. He said the variety of games — whether it be a traditional first-person shooter or a point-and-click adventure — that can be successful on Steam is “kind of astounding.” The selection helps draw in new customers, which then incentivizes game developers for that particular region or genre.

“We see it as one of the platform’s biggest assets,” Giardino said of Steam’s robust library.

Steam, available on PC, Mac, or Linux, is designed to ensure that “great games find their audience dynamically and automatically,” Giardino noted. The recommendation engine shows users games tailored to their preferences — the language they speak, the type of games they’ve been playing, what games their friends play, etc. — rather than which developer spent the most on marketing, for example.

Part of Valve’s pitch to developers is the influence Steam provides, and the creative flexibility the platform offers.

“When you launch a game on Steam, you are less focused on figuring out the right metric to trick players into coming back for a second go, and more focused on delighting them and making sure they have a great time playing your game,” Giardino said.

Matching Steam users with the right content is something Valve CEO Gabe Newell noted during a Reddit AMA in January. “I’m thinking about how machine learning applies to connecting users and content (and users in optimal ways),” he wrote. “Support has been a big focus for the last while.”

Newell also noted that Valve, which uses Steam to help promote its own games like Dota and Counter Strike, is investing more heavily in its support infrastructure.

Giardino touted the variety of business models for games on Steam, noting that “there are a ton of ways games are monetized on PC.” He also talked about Steam’s “massive” social network.

Part of Giardino’s session touched on how Valve is trying to make it easier for developers to get their games on Steam. That includes a new service called Steam Direct that debuted in June.

Steam’s growth is noteworthy given declining PC sales in the consumer market, as many gamers shift toward mobile. However, the market for high-end PC gaming hardware grew faster than expected last year. Companies like Nvidia are also coming out with cloud-based services that turn ordinary PCs into high-powered machines.

Valve, which is hosting its annual massive Dota 2 tournament in Seattle next week, got into the hardware business with its Steam Machines, but didn’t see high demand. Valve also developed its own controllers and has partnered with HTC on virtual reality development.

It's easy to see why the North American market has dominated influence in the industry, but Asia is clearly on the rise, and unlike every other market, where Mobile is cannibalizing everything, the top trend in that region is the rise of MMO PC play in cafes with rented internet usage.

By comparison:

1. PSN reaches 70 million monthly active users, PS Plus subs over 26 million (May 2017)
2. Xbox Live monthly active users reach record 55M, up 15% from last year (January 2017)

Keep in mind that Steam is just a marketplace like the above two, and that many of the most popular PC games in the world aren't on Steam. For example, the most popular videogame in the world:
League of Legends now boasts over 100 million monthly active players worldwide (September, 2016)
After League, Blizzard is the single largest presence in PC gaming outside of Steam although their games extend to other platforms. Every one of the six games in their current library is among the 20 most successful PC games in the world: World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch. In fact, a slip of the tongue appears to confirm that WoW once again boasts over 10m active $16/mo subscribers following the release of the Legion expansion in what is easily the most successful paid subscription base for a lone game in history. WoW is only available on Windows and macOS PCs.

Following Blizzard in heft outside the Steam leviathan is EA's Origin service, and the highlights from its service are The Sims 4, the FIFA series, Mass Effect 3, Crysis 3, Titanfall, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Battlefield 3 & 4, the Dragon Age series, the Command and Conquer series, and Plants & Zombies: Garden Warfare.

Other great games by various companies off Steam include Minecraft, World of Tanks, ROBLOX, Guild Wars 2, Warface, MechWarrior Online, Star Citizen, Runescape, and SWAT 4. Minecraft is listed by Wikipedia as the bestselling PC video game of all time, and World of Tanks has arguably a larger player base than any other game in the world-- including even League of Legends:
With 140 million players fueling World of Tanks, where does it trundle next? (Mar-2016)

In total, of Newzoo's Top 20 Most Played Core PC Games (US & Europe) for July 2017, the #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, #8, #12, #19, and #20 games are not available on Steam's 67-million user populated service. That's a top-heavy half of the games, practically speaking, and it's those games in the Top 10 that tend not to budge. In addition to the most played list above, which includes League of Legends, The World of Tanks and Overwatch, games as profitable as Crossfire, Fantasy Westward Journey Online II, and ROBLOX from Superdata's list of most lucrative titles below also aren't on Steam (so 6 out of these 10 PC titles aren't on Steam):

That should give you an idea of how big PC gaming is right now. With business this good it isn't surprising to see Blizzard's embattled marquee franchise return to form:
Hardware: PC gaming hardware market breaches $30 billion for the first time
Software (Digital): PC gaming generated $35.8 billion of revenue in 2016
Software (Physical): PC gaming probably generated ~$6.8bn of revenue in 2016 (16% of total)

While gaming is bigger than ever across the industry, with more consumers mobilized thanks to the penetration of electronic devices and microprocessors globally, I strongly doubt that console gaming could produce any statistic as ebullient in their market from 2015 to 2017 as a 67% increase from 8.4m to 14m average daily concurrent users. Steam is adding users at a rate of 1.5m a month since January 2016.

Mobile finally eclipsed PC in terms of digital revenue just last year:

A key to keep in mind while reading reports like the Superdata report above is that they only track digital downloads. As Ars Technica observed following the previous year's report:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016...the-pc-is-the-worlds-biggest-gaming-platform/

If anything, SuperData's measurement undersells PC gaming's revenue-generating potential since it doesn't take retail sales into account (while retail sales are a small part of the PC gaming market these days, they're practically nonexistent in the mobile space). For some additional context, the worldwide market for console game software (which is still largely dependent on retail disc sales) was estimated at $25.1 billion, according to a NewZoo report. Even combining three major hardware platforms, console software still can't match the revenue-generating potential of PC games.

VGChartz is also a wonderful resource to round out a well-balanced perspective of the gaming industry as a whole since it focuses exclusively on retail sales, not digital downloads. Sony is currently dominating that world. You can't see PC figures, but the "Tie Ratio" measuring the total games sold per platform unit sold is my favorite overall reference chart:
http://www.vgchartz.com/platforms/

Yet Newzoo reported in 2016 that digital sales now account for 84% of overall revenue. Extrapolating from this we know that the PC market should be about $42.6bn overall, and the console market should be about $31.7bn overall. Thus, the PC game software market was nearly 35% bigger in terms of revenue in 2016.

A major driver behind the decline of retail sales is probably the maturation of broadband cable connections in the largest markets meaning that gamers are increasingly likely to order their product of choice without ever leaving the house. Imagine a heroin addict who can order more heroin using his syringe:
https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/21/...evenues-in-2016-with-mobile-the-clear-leader/

Consumers increasingly download games directly to their consoles, spending $6.6 billion on digital downloads in 2016. The move improves margins across the board, and allows publishers to generate revenue through the sales of add-on content, expansion packs, and micro-transactions.

Gabe Newell foresaw the rise of digital downloads. It was a cornerstone of Steam's early strategy and sales pitch.

Another driving force in the industry despite its small size is the eSports core which is dominated by the PC landscape. All of the top eSport titles, particularly the "Big 3" which comprise about ~70% of overall viewership, are PC titles: League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Ironically, other platforms realize their greatest presence here through multiplatform Blizzard games like Hearthstone and Overwatch.
https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/21/...evenues-in-2016-with-mobile-the-clear-leader/

The esports market generated $892 million (up 19 percent) in revenue. And while small, it has become the focal point for publishers, TV executives, and advertisers. A string of investments in pursuit of connecting to a new generation of media consumers has built the segment’s momentum, as major publishers like Activision, Riot Games, and Electronic Arts are exploring new revenue streams like selling media rights in 2017, SuperData said.

Finally, the latest hot topic in gaming is obviously VR, and while the Mobile platform is catering to VR porn consumers with releases like the GearVR and Daydream even the best phones are still too pitiful in the processing department to handle any sort of genuine VR gaming experience. Almost all the nominees at the DICE this year in the VR categories were PC titles, for example:
https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/21/...evenues-in-2016-with-mobile-the-clear-leader/

...the first year for virtual reality was sobering, especially for manufacturers of dedicated hardware. A high price point, the absence of a strong content line-up, and difficulties with properly delivering through retail cooled consumers’ expectations of the Oculus Rift. SuperData expects firms with more experience in hardware manufacturing like Sony and HTC to take the lead in 2017. Still, VR grew to $2.7 billion in 2016. Gaming video reached $4.4 billion, up 34 percent.

Nevertheless, Superdata predicts this market will be over $20bn by 2020. With the summer sale of $399 followed by a price drop to $499 the Oculus Rift is aggressively corralling to win control of this market early. PC gamers stand to benefit from this market push more than almost all other consumers for the simple reason that they tend to be among the only consumers with the processing power to power the headsets; PS4 Pro and Xbox One X users join them.

2017 Video Game Trends and Statistics

Overview: Who is Playing?
The average age of gamers: 35
The average age of game purchasers: 38
Households that own a device used for playing video games: 65%
Households that own a device exclusively for playing video games: 48%
The average number of years gamers have been playing: 13

What are people playing?
Gamers who play social games: 48%
Devices the most frequent gamers are playing on:

1. PC: 56%
2. Dedicated game console: 53%
3. Smartphone: 36%
4. Wireless device: 31%
5. Dedicated handheld system: 17%

Gaming PC sales grew up to 30 percent in 2016

High-end gaming PCs account for 35 percent of sales

The broader market for gaming PCs in North America increased 25 to 30 percent on year in 2016, according to the vice president of US-based retail giant Micro Center.

In 2017, sales are expected to continue climbing as expensive top-tier gaming PCs help jumpstart the market’s average selling prices (ASPs).

$30 billion mark arrives ahead of schedule

Back in November 2008, following the launch of Intel’s X58 platform, a report from Jon Peddie Research indicated the total hardware market value for gaming PCs was just over $20 billion. At the end of 2016, the group’s latest numbers reported a market value of just over $30 billion – which includes $10.6 billion from high-end PCs. The original projection was that the PC gaming market wouldn’t reach $30 billion until 2018, indicating the industry has accelerated a bit quicker than some previous estimates from two years ago.

High-end gaming PCs account for 35% of market (via Jon Peddie Research)

According to Kevin Jones, Vice President of Micro Center, the year 2016 was no exception for the company’s own sales growth as its retail stores saw a 200 to 300 percent increase from a year ago. Micro Center currently operates 25 stores in 16 states across the US as well as an online store with local pickup.

North America’s retail PC stores face threat of consolidations

Jones said that North America’s retail channel has entered a “reshuffling phase” with many small PC business closing down due to increased competition. The larger private companies, including Newegg, Micro Center and Fry’s Electronics, have been able to maintain positive sales outlooks thanks to tight partnerships with brand vendors. Micro Center, for instance, has maintained a partnership with Intel that allows it to sell newer retail processors for a significant in-store discount versus other competitors.

Gaming PCs will reach 13 percent of consumer PC shipments in 2020

Last year, Intel estimated that gamers refresh their PCs roughly every two years, and suggested that enthusiast gaming PC shipments are growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26 percent. Gartner also predicted that gaming PC sales will rise from six million units in 2015 to 8.7 million units by 2020.

On a regional basis, JPR says the market for “high-end” PC gaming hardware is still largest in Europe and North America, but the Asia Pacific region continues to be the biggest and fastest-growing market for gaming PCs overall.

In a September report, Garner outlined four strategic alternatives for PC vendors to stay competitive in a plateauing PC market by 2020. “The traditional way of gaining shipment market share by competing on price to stimulate demand simply won't work for the PC market over the next five years,” said Tracy Tsai, research vice president at Gartner. The group’s report says that with current market conditions, consolidation of vendors is going to be inevitable and this will come at the expense of much needed venue. One of the suggestions given to channel partners like Newegg, Micro Center and Fry’s is to shift their focus away from PC shipment volumes and to focus more on profitability.

“Some vendors may need a whole new business and product strategy to turn their situation around. PC vendors need to identify their core competencies, evaluate their internal resources, and adopt one or more alternative business and product innovation models to stay in or leave the PC business.”

One thing that long attracted console gamers were services and sales, but between Steam and it's barnburner Summer & Winter sales, the GoG Galaxy, the Humble Bundle, Green Man Gaming, Bundle Stars, Gamersgate, EA Origin, and a slew of others including the world's largest retailers (like Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy) with an internet blogosphere tidily collecting and curating them all into an easily digestible webpage of clickable sales links each week the consoles can simply no longer compete. There's just too many hungry mouths at the PC developer table throwing down promotional deals at any given moment. This market has always been more competitive:

Spoiler: PC vs. other platforms in Metacritic Roundups

TOTALS

• 190 = PC
  
• 29 = Playstation 4
• 29 = Wii U
  
• 19 = Xbox One
• 10 = Playstation 3
  
• 3 = Xbox 360

The PC has more than double the titles of every other platform combined.

It doesn't help that Microsoft is dissolving the wall around their garden, now porting all first party exclusives to PC, and that Sony offers services like PS Now which let you play PS4 and PS3 games on your PC via cloud streaming.

Similarly, technical undertakings which used to be byzantine, like pairing and mapping a dual analog controller to a PC running a game you want to play, are now little more than an automated plug-and-play experience, and besides, how-to guides on YouTube or elsewhere on the internet now exist. You can arm yourself with these if you wish to borrow the SteamOS for free from Valve supposing you're too cheap to buy Windows altogether (SteamOS includes a hidden Desktop mode) and wish to brave the world of Linux gaming & WINE.

Truly, if it weren't for the goddamn cryptocurrency craze, there would be no better time to get into PC gaming. Let's hope those hardware prices come down. I would wholeheartedly recommend the PC these days to casual gamers or otherwise.

Check out more up-to-date data from Superdata here:
https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/market-brief-year-in-review/

 

[KaNesDeath]

Wouldnt say its ruling the market over consoles or even mobile. State of Pc gaming is in a healthier state though from a user to game developer situation.

Problems with console/mobile are UI driven, hardware limitations with lack of upgrading abilities and low amount of exclusive game titles to drive their markets. Didnt help that XBox and Playstation released their newer consoles a year before the new Nvidia GPU build. Making both their one year old released consoles obsolete in the hardware department.

Reception of Microsoft and Sony next generation consoles will be telling of their future market share in relation to Pc gaming. Nintendo is trying to merge console an mobile with their hardware. While Microsoft/Sony are only performing additional functions a standard TV or cable box comes with today.

Microsoft can put Playstation out of business in one move. Expand their console to allow Steam and Steam game installation on their console in a dual boot slimmed down Windows 10 OS option.


Average age of a Steam user is quite shocking!

 

[GhostZ06]

Wouldnt say its ruling the market over consoles or even mobile. State of Pc gaming is in a healthier state though from a user to game developer situation.

Problems with console/mobile are UI driven, hardware limitations with lack of upgrading abilities and low amount of exclusive game titles to drive their markets. Didnt help that XBox and Playstation released their newer consoles a year before the new Nvidia GPU build. Making both their one year old released consoles obsolete in the hardware department.

Reception of Microsoft and Sony next generation consoles will be telling of their future market share in relation to Pc gaming. Nintendo is trying to merge console an mobile with their hardware. While Microsoft/Sony are only performing additional functions a standard TV or cable box comes with today.

Microsoft can put Playstation out of business in one move. Expand their console to allow Steam and Steam game installation on their console in a dual boot slimmed down Windows 10 OS option.


Average age of a Steam user is quite shocking!

thought caught my eye.

 

[method115]

Microsoft can put Playstation out of business in one move. Expand their console to allow Steam and Steam game installation on their console in a dual boot slimmed down Windows 10 OS option.


Average age of a Steam user is quite shocking!

It would just be a PC at that point. If this is all it would take to make Xbox dominate Sony then why isn't Steam dominating over both consoles and putting them out of business? Why didn't Steambox sky rocket into stardom? It's just not that simple really.

 

[D3THRONED]

I have both, but tbh once consoles hit 60fps across the board PC wont be king much longer. Especially Microsoft going cross plateform with xb and pc. Sony will be the one getting fucked in the end.

 

[method115]

I have both, but tbh once consoles hit 60fps across the board PC wont be king much longer. Especially Microsoft going cross plateform with xb and pc. Sony will be the one getting fucked in the end.

Not sure how you came to the conclusion Sony will be fucked. Sony and Nintendo are doing really well and it's MS who is struggling right now. Sony and Nintendo will be able to stay alive simply with their exclusives and high quality games.

I also don't ever see Consoles hitting 60 FPS. If they have power to hit 60 FPS devs will just push the system more graphically and bring it down to 30 FPS.

 

[D3THRONED]

Not sure how you came to the conclusion Sony will be fucked. Sony and Nintendo are doing really well and it's MS who is struggling right now. Sony and Nintendo will be able to stay alive simply with their exclusives and high quality games.

I also don't ever see Consoles hitting 60 FPS. If they have power to hit 60 FPS devs will just push the system more graphically and bring it down to 30 FPS.

Consoles are already hitting 60 fps with a bunch of games, so next gen its happening. Destiny 2 just couldnt because its a massive game and too much loot etc. Eh I havent been hyped for anything sony in a long time. People quickly forget how mediocre sony was last gen. The xbox 1 reveal was so bad and sony came prepared, this is why sony is doing so well currently (along with exclusives even though this is fading as well)

 

[fdswer]

Consoles are already hitting 60 fps with a bunch of games, so next gen its happening. Destiny 2 just couldnt because its a massive game and too much loot etc. Eh I havent been hyped for anything sony in a long time. People quickly forget how mediocre sony was last gen. The xbox 1 reveal was so bad and sony came prepared, this is why sony is doing so well currently (along with exclusives even though this is fading as well)

120hz master race

 

[D3THRONED]

120hz master race

Not disagreeing, I have a $2400 rig as well. Just saying in the future whenever 60 fps will be the norm for consoles, a 500$ console ( cheap pc ) will be attractive to a big portion of the market including myself. MnK gets boring.

 

[fdswer]

Not disagreeing, I have a $2400 rig as well. Just saying in the future whenever 60 fps will be the norm for consoles, a 500$ console ( cheap pc ) will be attractive to a big portion of the market including myself. MnK gets boring.

PC will always be the high end with more and cheaper games. Cheap consoles can only do so much.

 

[Madmick]

It would just be a PC at that point. If this is all it would take to make Xbox dominate Sony then why isn't Steam dominating over both consoles and putting them out of business? Why didn't Steambox sky rocket into stardom? It's just not that simple really.

You're right. This is true.

There is a third option, I think, where Microsoft opens up their Xbox to allow for Steam (and KB+M) to be installed, so long as they get a split of Valve's revenue for every sale made from an Xbox console, and also if Microsoft made it clear that the Xbox was not specifically supported for these titles the same way that games carrying the Xbox banner are supported and optimized. In the Xbox One interface, for example, "Steam" could be its own app, and you launch your games from within it; furthermore, in the "Games + Apps" section, where they separate "Apps" from "Games", they could add a third filter for "Steam" which includes only your Steam games.

Naturally, the Steam app on the Xbox would be a modified, restricted version of their app.

I don't see what they have to gain by sacrificing this additional revenue because if you wanted to make a game restrictive to the Xbox as a piece of hardware you can still do it-- still have to do it-- by paying the developer not to spend the incredibly lucrative time to easily port it to the other console and PC. It's 2017, and all variations of the PS4 and Xbox One consoles operate on AMD Jaguar x86 CPUs (w/8 total cores) and GDDR5 GPUs. The Xbox One OS includes Windows 10 (& DX12) at its core; the PS4 is slightly more exotic in that it runs on a proprietary fork of a FreeBSD platform (& DX11) for its OS, but this amounts to little practical difference versus Linux in adapting games, as both belong to the "UNIX-type" family of operating systems, and of course Steam, in addition to running on all versions of Windows including Windows 10, where it is most popular, has its own homegrown operating system for the Steam consoles called SteamOS; a fork OS that Valve built on the community-backed Debian base of Linux. Virtually all games in existence run on DX11 or OpenGL with only the latest and greatest taking advantage of the most advanced DX12 or Vulkan APIs. There are few hiccups that either platform's "custom" architecture and operating systems offer.

That might all sound confusing, but it boils down to this:

• PCs ---> x86 architecture; Windows 7/8/10, Linux (ex. SteamOS) which is a UNIX-type OS
  
• Xbox --> x86 architecture; Xbox One OS, glorified gaming GUI "fork" with core of Windows 10
  
• PS4 ---> x86 architecture; Playstation OS, FreeBSD-based OS which is a UNIX branch like Linux, and can run Linux binaries

You can see how developers are all coding for highly similar platforms. You can also see that any games developed for the PS4 should be effortlessly ported to Linux, so only the incentive to depress PC options via payouts would drive developer desire not to take advantage in offering this. Hell, even the same Freesync monitors & TVs that attract AMD owners in the PC world are attractive to these console owners. Nintendo is a different beast, and that's why it has the most unique library among all consoles.

They're already paying developers besides themselves to restrict their games to the Xbox. So my best guess for why they haven't done this is that Microsoft already achieved the sale of their "box", and the whole purpose of this is to control the revenue streams attached to it. Basically we're demanding they upend the very foundation of their business strategy. It's the only threat that can't be solved:

• Steam sells identical games also available on Xbox platform where Microsoft makes a more favorable revenue split on sales
  • Solution: block any game Xbox sells on its own system from the Xbox Steam app
• Xbox Live service subscriptions dwindle; free online PC games would threaten this
  • Solution: disallow external servers and block all games with free online play from Xbox Steam app
• Opportunity cost: money spent on Steam is consumer time exhausted, a finite resource, and it's money NOT spent on Microsoft's Xbox store
  • Solution: don't put an Xbox Steam app on your console

Still, it's becoming more and more intriguing as it appears that the PC master race and the dirty console peasants may be forced into the unthinkable condition of banding together in order to ward off the mobile barbarian hordes. After all, YouTube competes for time, but if Microsoft didn't include it, then it would be one thing their competitors had that they didn't. Better to have something, and better still to have something your competitors don't.

 

[My Spot]

I have both, but tbh once consoles hit 60fps across the board PC wont be king much longer. Especially Microsoft going cross plateform with xb and pc. Sony will be the one getting fucked in the end.

"Once consoles hit 60fps across the board..."

 

[NRG]

The last PC I had used a 6600GT or 7600GT, or FX5800, I don't remember lol. What I remember is that I never had the patience to use it after sitting behind a desk the whole day (in a PC), and that's why I have a console.

What I am amazed is with the revenue from the mobile market. It's insane.

 

[Fury]

Not disagreeing, I have a $2400 rig as well. Just saying in the future whenever 60 fps will be the norm for consoles, a 500$ console ( cheap pc ) will be attractive to a big portion of the market including myself. MnK gets boring.

I don't think 60 fps will be the norm for consoles anytime soon. I don't think 95% of the console market cares. This is why you see games like destiny 2 go for prettiest visuals at 30fps and not for 60 fps on consoles.

People who care about 60 fps and above generally have a pc they game on.

 

[KidBaize]

I don't think 60 fps will be the norm for consoles anytime soon. I don't think 95% of the console market cares. This is why you see games like destiny 2 go for prettiest visuals at 30fps and not for 60 fps on consoles.

People who care about 60 fps and above generally have a pc they game on.

That definitely used to be true but as more console games become available at 60fps, expectations will change. At least I hope so. The improvements to gameplay are more noticeable with a higher framerate than resolution.

 

[FutureSergant]

Well it never stopped being awesome

 

[method115]

You're right. This is true.

There is a third option, I think, where Microsoft opens up their Xbox to allow for Steam (and KB+M) to be installed, so long as they get a split of Valve's revenue for every sale made from an Xbox console, and also if Microsoft made it clear that the Xbox was not specifically supported for these titles the same way that games carrying the Xbox banner are supported and optimized. In the Xbox One interface, for example, "Steam" could be its own app, and you launch your games from within it; furthermore, in the "Games + Apps" section, where they separate "Apps" from "Games", they could add a third filter for "Steam" which includes only your Steam games.

Naturally, the Steam app on the Xbox would be a modified, restricted version of their app.

I don't see what they have to gain by sacrificing this additional revenue because if you wanted to make a game restrictive to the Xbox as a piece of hardware you can still do it-- still have to do it-- by paying the developer not to spend the incredibly lucrative time to easily port it to the other console and PC. It's 2017, and all variations of the PS4 and Xbox One consoles operate on AMD Jaguar x86 CPUs (w/8 total cores) and GDDR5 GPUs. The Xbox One OS includes Windows 10 (& DX12) at its core; the PS4 is slightly more exotic in that it runs on a proprietary fork of a FreeBSD platform (& DX11) for its OS, but this amounts to little practical difference versus Linux in adapting games, as both belong to the "UNIX-type" family of operating systems, and of course Steam, in addition to running on all versions of Windows including Windows 10, where it is most popular, has its own homegrown operating system for the Steam consoles called SteamOS; a fork OS that Valve built on the Debian base of Linux. Virtually all games in existence run on DX11 or OpenGL with only the latest and greatest taking advantage of the most advanced DX12 or Vulkan APIs. There are few hiccups that either platform's "custom" architecture and operating systems offer.

Hell, even the same Freesync monitors & TVs that attract AMD owners in the PC world are attractive to these console owners.

So they're already paying developers besides themselves to restrict their games to the Xbox. My best guess is that Microsoft already achieved the sale of their "box", and the whole purpose of this is to control the revenue streams attached to it. Basically we're demanding they upend the very foundation of their business strategy. It's the only threat that can't be solved:

• Steam sells identical games also available on Xbox platform where Microsoft makes a more favorable revenue split on sales
  • Solution: block any game Xbox sells on its own system from the Xbox Steam app
• Xbox Live service subscriptions dwindle; free online PC games would threaten this
  • Solution: disallow external servers and block all games with free online play from Xbox Steam app
• Opportunity cost: money spent on Steam is consumer time exhausted, a finite resource, and it's money NOT spent on Microsoft's Xbox store
  • Solution: don't put an Xbox Steam app on your console

Still, it's becoming more and more intriguing as it appears that the PC master race and the dirty console peasants may be forced into the unthinkable condition of banding together in order to ward off the mobile barbarian hordes. After all, YouTube competes for time, but if Microsoft didn't include it, then it would be one thing their competitors had that they didn't. Better to have something, and better still to have something your competitors don't.

This is actually an amazing idea. I would still prefer they block M+KB for Xbox titles but other than that it sounds great and seems to benefit everyone involved. Even I would have to consider switching back to Xbox if they did this. The only thing holding me back at that point would be Sonys exclusives but if they could also get the psnow app (doubtful) that would be insane.

 

[KaNesDeath]

It would just be a PC at that point. If this is all it would take to make Xbox dominate Sony then why isn't Steam dominating over both consoles and putting them out of business? Why didn't Steambox sky rocket into stardom? It's just not that simple really.

Steam Machines didnt take off for the vast majority already had a Pc and the OS used on them isnt good. Steam Link on the other hand is quite popular.

Sony and Microsoft have painted themselves into a corner. For they are portrayed as hardware producers when only OS developers.

Thread here talking about XBox One developers pushing it as a multimedia device i agreed with. Functionality of them being able to bridge out towards other entertainment services was needed.

Of course for them to do this is highly complex. Since their revenue structure is based around having their OS's being a paid gateway.

 

[Lovestorm]

 

[Cygnus A]

The bottom line is consoles these days are under-powered PCs. They are inferior in every way at this point other than the marketing behind them and the "ease of use". And this only applies to people who have zero experience with PC gaming.