Game Blog

I was perusing the blogosphere the other day and came across a blog from EA’s Peter Moore. In the blog, Moore confirms reports that EA will not be shipping Madden 2009 for the PC platform. Faster than a Fatal1ty mouse click, some news outlets operating with a generate-traffic-with-hyperventilating-headlines format instantly glommed onto this comment in Peter’s blog. Reports direly announced that “PC Gaming is DEAD!”

Oh, please. Somebody call the “reality police”; and arrest these guys for felony hyperbole.

For the record, I’ve enjoyed/wasted many hours/days satisfying a Madden addiction over the years – on a console, that is. Madden was conceived and created as console-based title, enjoyed best – and mostly consumed by – players with consoles. My reaction to the earth-shaking revelation that EA will not be shipping Madden 2009 for the PC platform? I could not care less.

I realize hardcore PC users may flame me for not supporting “our cause.” But let’s get real here. Madden is a game meant to be played in your living room on a 50″ HDTV – not on your PC-based WoW or EQ2 cockpit. And let’s get more real. Does EA not shipping Madden 2009 for the PC platform somehow signal the coming demise of the PC as a gaming platform? Is PC gaming DEAD?

Let’s hose-off that claim, drag it inside, and let the cat sniff it.

In my first blog, I asked if WoW is far bigger than we all realize. In my opinion, the general public does not truly appreciate the worldwide popularity, market influence, and industry clout of this game. I’ve read estimates that claim WoW currently has more than 10 million users, and is still growing. That’s a massive proportion of all MMO gamers today. And it’s only played on PCs – not consoles.

You could point to the growth of consoles, and particularly the explosive popularity of the Wii from Nintendo. Both the Wii and the XBOX 360 include ATI Radeon™ graphics, making both platforms very dependent on PC gaming-derived technologies. Since PC gaming is the goose that lays the technology golden eggs that consoles utterly depend on, the rise of console gaming is in my opinion, ultimately a tremendous windfall for the PC platform. It doesn’t take long for console gamers to realize that PC is the next step in their quest for gaming nirvana, and that only the PC platform can deliver a truly superior visual experience.

Okay, so EA will not be shipping Madden 2009 for the PC platform. Anybody notice that one of 2008′s biggest games – EA’s Spore – was released for the PC? WoW continues to beguile 10 million gamers worldwide. Most console gamers are also PC gamers.

Is PC gaming “dead”? NO! PC gaming is alive – and thriving.

Cheers!

Ian “Cabrtosr” McNaughton

Ian McNaughton is senior manager of product and platform marketing EMEA at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.