» Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:05 pm
They don't mention it in the article, that I could see, but another reason is the aging of the current gen consoles. We've passed the 5 year mark for the 360 and are approaching it with PS3 and Wii, and still none of them even have shown any indication that a successor is in the works. I actually seem to remember early on hearing that MS and Sony were planning on these consoles lasting for 10 years... well, if they can keep up the sales for 4 more years more power to them, but I think a lot of people are starting to realize there is already a HUGE distance between the consoles and what is possible with current PC tech - and it's only going to get bigger. It's ironic that Crysis 2 is the exception, given that the original was probably the first sign of the current situation.
Even before the most recent big multiplatform releases, though, I was getting the sense that gaming was migrating towards the PC and iOS/Android platforms, and leaving the consoles behind. To be honest, I think if I were going to name one company that was most responsible for revitalizing the PC as a platform, I'd without a doubt single out Valve. They're incredibly masterful at selling games, especially with the frequent 75% markdowns that are so irresistible that people (or me, anyway) end up buying tons of games they probably otherwise wouldn't have. I think they've begun to convince the big publishers that doing things that are good for the customer can be even more profitable.