You are kidding. U in USB stands for universal... its used everywhere in the galaxy. If that aint proof enough, even after mankind got nearly wiped out, the motorcycles in Terminator 4 still got USB Ports.and whats happens many years into the future when we no longer use usb
With good reason - USB usurped them. Serial, parallel, keyboard, mouse, etc. could all be consolidated into a single port, making everything easier. USB has now been extended into a power bus, with AC plug/power adaptors offering USB ports to recharge USB devices. USB has found its way into CE devices.
What will replace USB going forwards, and why? We don't have a reason for a replacement now as we had when USB was introduced. The current future of connectivity is wireless USB, which serves the same purpose with a USB dongle.
And even then it's still not-uncommon to find Serial and Parallel ports on PC. Same goes for PS/2 ports for keyboard and mouse. Heck there's still enough uses for Serial ports that Serial -> USB converter's aren't all that uncommon.
I'd almost say we're in more danger of Firewire disappearing completely than Serial ports.
Regards,
SB
What is really interesting is that despite this you have the usual console fan stereotypes spamming FUD left and right that you need to uppgrade every 3 months and "a decent gaming rig will run you $500 alone for the GPU". Then you also have the ones saying "bu bu bu.. X game runs worse than on the 360 and my PC cost me 800$ and I am only trying to run it at 2560x1600 with 16xAA and super ultra settings, better to get the 360 version"!
Aye, it's not surprise that the best selling PC game will also be the one that is impossible to pirate.
I also like how he points out Sins of a Solar Empire. Good game yes. Hugely pirated yes. Almost Zero value without multiplayer. Multiplayer requires purchase.
It's no wonder that UBI Soft is going to one up everyone and be the first AAA publisher that is going to require online validation of their game everytime you want to play whether it be single player or multiplayer. And I fully expect other pubs to follow suit if it is successful in alleviating the problem of piracy.
I'm hoping they are successful even though I don't particularly want to validate everytime I play. However, if it curbs piracy and encourages devs to come back to PC, I'm all for it.
Regards,
SB
The problem with PC gaming is that you, as a developer, is dealing with:
1. A decimal order of magnitude performance difference between the lowest and the highest performing CPU.
2. Two decimal orders of difference of magnitude for GPU performance between three year old IGPs and state of the art GPUs.
3. A decimal order of magnitude difference in RAM
4. Various operating systems (XP/Vista/Win 7) and graphics APIs (dx 8/9/10/11).
Cheers
Btw, who supports DX8 nowadays?
Btw, who supports DX8 nowadays? DX9 is where its at and has been for a long long time.
GSC Game World (Stalker guys) due to Russian/Eastern European markets, where Stalker games were sold most at IIRC, and people there don't exactly have high standards of living and consumer spending, and are living in poor conditions generally unfortunately.
You'd be surprised, there's still quite a few DX8 systems out there.
Eve Online still had active DX8 render paths up until last year. Removing it was a controversial move among their userbase, but by then enough were on DX9+ that they decided alienating the remaining DX8 users was worth the reduced developement costs of not having to support DX8.
Regards,
SB
Its currently 7% of the total userbase on Steam. Is that significant enough?
A single disc of Starcraft would spawn I think eight LAN copies. What a foolish move! Whoever made that game probably went bankrupt shortly after release.
Maybe developers should try making games that actually run on the machines people have. Remember in the olden days, when a game would have a software renderer, but also had OpenGL/DX/Glide for people with fancy graphics cards? They should go back to that idea, except the basic game would run on a typical integrated video chip, with extra fancy junk if you've got a $300 video card.
If you can release a product that those 7% might be inclined to buy, that can be significant. It doesn't require much in the way of graphics for a pop-cap style game for example.
And if you aren't simultaneously trying to grab the high end market, you can keep developement costs near rock bottom, so wouldn't even need much sales to post a small profit.
Regards,
SB
That's a poorly thought through implementation. Upon losing a connection, they could at least save your current position. After all, prior to losing your connection you were connected, so all play to that point was legitimate. Sadly this is another draconian implementation that turns people towards ripped games that avoid the DRM.
What, Starcraft was successful!?!?! But...how??!! It didn't have the latest 3D graphics or piracy protection! And it encouraged you to share the game with your friends! Next you're going to tell me that Diablo was so successful that they're still selling it at Wal-Mart, which we all know couldn't possibly be true!Are you joking? The company to make Starcraft has the most successful MMORPG under their belt bringing in a constant stream of revenue. Not to mention high selling games like Warcraft 2 and 3, and the Diablo series. I think Blizzard is doing just fine.
What, Starcraft was successful!?!?! But...how??!! It didn't have the latest 3D graphics or piracy protection! And it encouraged you to share the game with your friends! Next you're going to tell me that Diablo was so successful that they're still selling it at Wal-Mart, which we all know couldn't possibly be true!
My mind is blown.