Last month I wrote about an article about the potential advance, or rather the lack of next-generation leaps in MMO gaming. After recently having the opportunity to sink some serious time into the Wii U I got to thinking. Why hasn’t the PC taken any serious leaps outside of typical hardware? Sure we’re used to seeing new processors and graphics cards released on a regular basis, each with more digits in the name than the last, and storage has become so cheap that everyone’s boasting about the size of their package.
The console generations have taken massive leaps in recent years. The Wii introduced motion control into the average household and Microsoft and Sony followed up with Kinect and Move respectively. This generation we’ve seen Nintendo introduce a whole new depth of play with the Wii U controller and rumors regarding next-generation Kinect and Move also boast some rather impressive potential. Microsoft’s Illumiroom could also help to reinvent the way we enjoy computer games, but this is still very much nothing more than a rumor for this generation.
But what about PC gamers? Sure we’ve got access to control pads and joysticks with more buttons than the cockpit of an F-15 Fighter Jet but when was the last time we got a real evolution in add-ons and peripherals? I’m not talking about glasses aimed at reducing eye fatigue and improving reaction speeds, but something truly next-generation.
I’m merely a writer so I wouldn’t attempt to conjure ideas on exactly what they could do with the PC but I do find myself curious as to why they haven’t done anything. Maybe it’s because PC’s have such a variety of hardware and software configurations, or maybe it’s because they still see a PC as a tool over that of a gaming machine.
One things for sure, PC’s are just as capable as consoles and they’re popular in their own right. We’ve got a small ray of hope with touch-screens and whatnot but they haven’t really been introduced into mainstream gaming. What kind of device or technology would you like to see enhance the next-generation of PC gaming?