Are PCs dying?

[jsimenhoff]

Every analyst and industry think piece always says the same thing: PCs are dying! As an avid PC gamer and computer hardware enthusiast I would like to think otherwise. Laptop Magazine's Avram Piltch seems to think otherwise, and after reading his article I would tend to agree. What do you think? Are PCs really going the way of the dodo?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

My personal opinion is that the tablet/phone fad is dying down. I feel like the mobile market was sort of at a peak from 2010-2013 and ever since, just from what I'm seeing, more people are actually getting into PCs, at least a lot of people I know locally. 4 years ago, I feel like more people were glued to their phones than they are in the present day of 2016. I don't have statistics, but I do analyze things that go on around me locally.

With VR out, I'm seeing more PC stuff than ever in Best Buy.

 

[Rogue Leader]

My personal opinion is that the tablet/phone fad is dying down. I feel like the mobile market was sort of at a peak from 2010-2013 and ever since, just from what I'm seeing, more people are actually getting into PCs, at least a lot of people I know locally. 4 years ago, I feel like more people were glued to their phones than they are in the present day of 2016. I don't have statistics, but I do analyze things that go on around me locally.

With VR out, I'm seeing more PC stuff than ever in Best Buy.

I agree regarding tablets. People loved them, and they can be great, except then people wanted the tablets to do more and more, and its just not totally practical/not powerful enough/not comfortable (ie typing), which has now brought people back into the Laptop/desktop. I think gaming as well people get into it because of the tablet, but then yearn a more AAA vs a F2P experience.

 

[BadActor]

I just don't see the market dying as many have predicted for the last several years. Although sales and shipments have declined due to the increased demand for portables, I see this turning around as VR and AR mature. Certainly, the major players are still investing heavily in R&D.

 

[Eximo]

PC gaming won't go away overnight. These are the systems that game developers are using after all.

On top of that, your average APU/CPU graphics is good enough for light gaming, and the level of that 'light gaming' has been rising very rapidly, faster then the high end graphics for sure. People still get PCs for doing non-gaming tasks in the form of laptops, with that access comes the potential to game. Indy PC gaming with the Steam community and others is having an impact. Look at Minecraft as a prime example of a simple gaming concept taken to extremes. This gets people started on PC gaming. With the realization that you don't have to pay $60-70 a title to stay entertained, more people are turning to PC for cheap entertainment.

I agree on the mobile saturation, people now consider it a staple thing to have and are now just replacing existing devices. Mobile gaming was even popular on the early cell phones with tiny LCDs, so really it has just attracted that same crowd. Nintendo more or less has the mobile game console market tied up, but they will need to consider creating a software app in the near future to keep their niche. I can't imagine walking around with a phone and nintendo in my pockets, though I am sure that is trend amongst younger gamers.

The consoles took a big chunk out of the PC gaming world when the Xbox and PS2 were dominant. I can remember a good two year lull when nothing promising was really released. There was a smaller blip this time because the Xbone and PS4 are basically PCs.

VR is going to be a change, but in these early versions I don't see a lot of adoption due to the expense. Really need about $1500 just to get started. It should be very interesting in gen 3 or so when it becomes quite affordable. (And another generation of consoles is out)

 

[Geekwad]

The vast majority of the population are very low-demand users. Web surfing, simplistic games, video watching with only the most basic editing needs means they don't need the power traditional PC's offer.

VR may very well change that.....or it might not. VR headsets for mobiles may satiate the mass's desires there for some time to come too, only time will tell.

 

[CelicaGT]

Analysts have been saying this for 20 odd years, yet from many accounts PC gaming is growing.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yes, PC has been dying since 2005 or before...

That is why there are no games worth playing anymore and PCs are simply now gloried calculators.

 

[ffg7]

the pc is not dying as it is at the saturation point just like cell phones & pc is more upgradeable even the laptop compared to cell phones & tablets.