Valve Predicts Comeback for PC Gaming in 2016
By Sarah Fields 26 December 2015
Valve representative Chet Faliszek believes that high-end PC gaming may soon receive a boost, due to the coming wave of virtual reality devices and games.
Chet Faliszek, head writer at Valve, posted on his Twitter account today regarding what he believes will be the coming boom of high-end PC gaming. Though the number of PCs and high-end PCs have dwindled over the years, Chet’s tweet points out that the demand for VR may bring the powerful devices back into popularity:
Thanks to VR, in this coming year we will see a resurgence of high-end PCs in the home. What's the side-effect? What are the opportunities?— Chet Faliszek (@chetfaliszek) December 30, 2015
Faliszek seems to be quite confident about the impact of VR devices on the PC gaming community, and he’s previously spoken openly about his opinions on VR devices. While prior versions of virtual reality devices commonly made their wearers suffer from motion sickness, Faliszek has stated that if gamers experience motion sickness these days, it’s the fault of the game developer, not the hardware itself.
Many gamers who want to experience virtual reality may not decide to go the PC route, however. While Valve’s partner project with HTC to create the HTC Vive virtual reality headset is primarily intended to work with high-end PCs to deliver a fully immersive experience, not all VR devices will require a PC at all. The PlayStation VR, previously referred to as the PlayStation Morpheus, will be usable with PlayStation 4 consoles, which may be a more affordable option for gamers who aren’t interested in paying hundreds to thousands of dollars to buy a new PC or upgrade their old one.
In addition, while some gamers will undoubtedly do whatever it takes to play virtual reality games on their PCs, prior Valve information has shown otherwise. A poll run by Valve indicated that very few gamers were interested in upgrading their systems to play VR games. Of course, since many gamers have yet to experience virtual reality for themselves, this could partially explain why gamers have previously attested to not being interested in upgrading their systems.
It remains to be seen if virtual reality peripherals are as popular as their manufacturers and developers believe that they will be. While gamers who have had the opportunity to try them out generally report enjoying the experience, the high price of virtual reality devices, when coupled with the necessity for computer upgrades, may be too steep a price of admission for many gamers. In addition, it may be many years before developers fully harness the capabilities of the devices.
Do you think that the upcoming wave of virtual reality peripherals will have an impact on high-end gaming? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Twitter
