The PC Gaming Alliance – Announced
The PC Gaming Alliance has been officially announced at this years GDC and they seem to have some noble intentions.
PC Gaming Alliance will be the Authoritative Voice of PC Gaming World Wide. We will make data that highlights and promotes the PC platform to analysts, press and the public.
We will promote the PC Gaming Industry and the PC as a gaming platform, provide web and event based forums to discuss, debate and influence all aspects of PC development for gaming for all regions of the world, and guidance to help resolve industry-wide challenges such as: Piracy, Cheating, Security, Consumer experience.
PC Gaming Alliance will also provide guidelines to simplify hardware specifications and speed the introduction of new technologies, as well as improve Consumer PC Gaming Experience by working with developers and publishers and PCGA members to maximize the PC gaming experience in all ways possible.
Before I give my thoughts, I highly recommend this article by Jim over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. He provides some good analysis and a brief rundown on what happened at the official announcement of the PCGA.
The presentation ended with a mixed feeling of anticipation and validation. PC gaming is huge, and growing, and the big boys know that they have to get a handle on it, and that they can’t leave it up to the single-entity consoles to lead the charge into the future of gaming. I really hope the PCGA can settle some problems and do some things to change the landscape of gaming in a positive way. I really hoped it doesn’t just fizzle out and quietly disappear. While I’d argue that it’s people like Valve and the Runescape boys that are really doing the most for the PC, it’d be good to know that the commercial magnates are actually paying enough attention to realise they have to work together. That alone, I suspect, could be enough to make PC gaming a far stronger, safer place for development.
I am somewhat sceptical I must say, especially following the recent announcement about a new 8-core motherboard from Intel (more info) which seems to just hurt the goals of the PCGA to help improve and further the PC as a leading games platform. I really can’t see how adding more random crap to mix of PC hardware is going to help anyone.
However if their intentions are true and they do aim to, and will continue to, improve the PC as a gaming platform by making things much better and easier for gamers to understand then all well and good. However I just fear that with so many big companies involved and the apparent nature at times of them that they will just try to make a quick buck out of this movement. For me, it is Valve and more specifically Steam that are the future and the way forward for the PC.
If the PCGA really wants to help push the PC forward and make it a more accessible, profitable, innovative platform then they need to focus on the indie games, distribution methods like Steam and by streamlining, now confusing the hardware picture.
Interesting times ahead.
March 13th, 2008 at 10:20 am
[...] these days that Epic don’t know where their minds are at. First off they are members of the PC Gaming Alliance which is a nice enough thing for them do seeing as they have been PC aficionados for so many years. [...]