Home Gaming Hardware makers bet big on gaming – but are they going about it wrong?

Hardware makers bet big on gaming – but are they going about it wrong?

2 min read
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PCgaming

The PC industry is shrinking. That’s a sentence based on very selective assimilation, to be fair. While the prebuilt PC market is indeed on the decline, everything else surrounding PC and PC gaming are exploding.

We told you recently that nearly 60 million copies of games were sold on Steam in August alone; which is a nearly unfathomable number of games. People are playing more games than ever, and they’re doing so, overwhelmingly it seems, on PC. It would make sense then, that those invested in the PC hardware market set their beady eyes on PC gamers, who’ve often demonstrated limitless supplies of cash to fund their upgrades.

And that’s exactly what many of them seem to be doing. Companies like Acer, Asus, Lenovo and MSI are targeting core gamers more than ever, hoping that the PC industry can be given a shot in the arm thanks to the sort of person who’ll happily spend the down payment on a car to upgrade a PC.

To that end, they’re all releasing these great big ostentatious, garish machines that they think gamers would love – but I think they’re taking a few steps in the wrong direction. For one, while they’re making Desktop PCs and Laptops that are the gaming equivalent of mid-life crisis sports cars, they’re forgetting that the people they’re aiming their products at are the sort of people who prefer to build their machines themselves.

Lenovo’s got its Erazer X series, Acer has its Predator stuff, and Asus has its Republic of Gamers branded hardware – all of which use the most ridiculous hyperbole in their sales pitches.

This is Acer’s “Unstoppable War Machine”

Still, it makes sense to target gamers, right? According to John Peddie Research, the PC gaming market generated double the console, with $21.5 billion in hardware sales last year – but it’s worth noting that the figure includes peripherals as well. While they’re a great target market, I’m not sure prebuilt machines are the way to go about it – but then again, I’m still confounded by the existence of Steam Machines.

I’m the sort of gamer who likes to build his own PC, and have been doing so for years, so maybe I’m just old and set in my ways. What do you think? Are you likely to spend big on a gaudy and garish pre-made system?

Last Updated: September 9, 2015

26 Comments

  1. Francois Knoetze

    September 9, 2015 at 11:52

    Looks at big TV. Looks at consoles and games library. Picks up headset. Plonks down on couch. “Smiles” yeah I am good on the console side of the gaming fence.

    But glad the pc gaming industry is booming. It’s positive news for all gamers.

    Reply

  2. Greylingad[CNFRMD]

    September 9, 2015 at 12:00

    Every single PC that I’ve owned, I built myself… It’s fun to assemble the PC by yourself, it gives it character, the endless amounts of cuts you pick up as you squeeze your cabling past the side of the case, that daunting click for the CPUs’ heatsink bracket…All of these are things I enjoy doing… But with a prebuilt case you have a lifecycle warranty, usually carry in, so I can see how they want to do this, but how many people are going to overclock and void that warranty? I’m with you Geoff, old and set in my ways…

    Reply

  3. DragonSpirit009

    September 9, 2015 at 12:05

    I wouldn’t mind getting a machine good enough to play PC games… The only problem is the battle between me and my mother for the PC. I should just get her own laptop so she can do her craft stuff but that is still a bit of money on its own to save! Not to mention teaching her how to use the new Windows

    Reply

  4. Kromas untamed

    September 9, 2015 at 12:09

    ” are the sort of people who prefer to build their machines themselves.”

    And those who don’t have dedicated gamer IT friends who do it for them. There is no such thing as an out of the box gaming machine …. okay maybe consoles. 😛

    Reply

  5. carol argo

    September 9, 2015 at 12:10

    One thing is sure,if hardware pc maker target gamer?loose backward compatibility.i want msior msix to work with everything I hook up.so if you know a port isn’t gona play with msi or msix dont include that port. In my view view nothing that dont do msi msix should be on a gamer pc .make a poll and you ll be astonished to find out most don’t have msi or barely and yet those system are considered gaming pc.

    Reply

  6. Alien Emperor Trevor

    September 9, 2015 at 12:15

    I think these things are silly, ugly, overpriced & invariably have some shitty components in them. I prefer to build my own PC. It’s exciting & a nice sense of accomplishment to build my own every few years. This is my PC. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

    Also think they’re focusing on the wrong market segment, high-end stuff isn’t fueling growth, it’s because low-end machines can perform competently because many of the biggest games on PC aren’t particularly demanding resource-wise – which leads to more people buying games. It’s not rocket science to realise you sell more games when more people can play the games.

    If you look at Steam hardware survey results, the most common CPU is a dual core (49%), 1GB VRAM (33%) & the top two resolutions are 1920×1080 (34%) & 1366×768 (27%) – those are laptops.

    These ridiculous prebuilt things seem more like a misguided attempt to compete with consoles in the AAA space. They’re different platforms with different markets.

    Reply

    • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

      September 9, 2015 at 12:51

      That’s exactly it! When you build a PC, you will most probably do some budget shopping for it too, price vs. performance and that yada yada, but when you sit with the final result and you’re happy with it, it’s simply astounding… You don’t consider getting a new PC by means of a government tender contract….

      Reply

  7. Ottokie "Yahtzee"

    September 9, 2015 at 12:16

    Nothing beats building your own PC, the feeling when you click the power button for the first time, installing Windows onto that fresh new SSD, putting on the finishing touches. It makes me feel all giddy inside just thinking about it xD

    (F5 for my latest baby) 😛

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      September 9, 2015 at 12:17

      the feeling when you click the power button for the first time and it works* Fixed!

      Reply

      • Ottokie "Yahtzee"

        September 9, 2015 at 12:17

        ^this times infinity!

        Reply

    • Geoffrey Tim

      September 9, 2015 at 12:38

      Never been much of a fan of GALAX cards; but that looks sweet.

      Reply

      • Ottokie "Yahtzee"

        September 9, 2015 at 12:40

        Thanks, it’s my first time actually trying out the Galax cards. Was also skeptical about it because I’m usually an MSI fanboy, but after making it jump through some hoops it really is a strong solid card.

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          September 9, 2015 at 12:58

          Have you taken your PC to the doctor? It appears to have gangrene. *run*

          Reply

          • Ottokie "Yahtzee"

            September 9, 2015 at 13:10

            I would be more worried if it had gangred 😛

            *Thanks for making me have to google that disease… o.O

  8. Steffmeister

    September 9, 2015 at 12:32

    I dont like building my own, but this looks way over the top anyway.

    Reply

  9. Ghost In The Rift

    September 9, 2015 at 13:28

    Yean i build my own PC’s to but on a tight budget since we got stomachs that needs to be filled with stuff other than 2 minute noodles.

    Reply

  10. HvR

    September 9, 2015 at 14:13

    Just saw the latest pricelists…. deciding if I’m more attached to my left or my right kidney.

    Reply

  11. Hargrim

    September 9, 2015 at 14:14

    Prebuilt gaming machines live in the same territory as Mac machines, you can buy one of them, or build one yourself with the exact same specs and get a car with the change

    Reply

    • z1n

      September 9, 2015 at 16:21

      Except the mac is shiny. Like a shiny pokemon. So it’s special.
      These are just plastic. Can’t shine plastic!

      Reply

      • Fleetwood

        September 9, 2015 at 19:04

        The pricing of a “pre-built” gaming PC is in the similar market as a MAC;
        But the Performance of the MAC is shiny and severely under-powered for the price.

        Reply

  12. Magius

    September 9, 2015 at 16:26

    I have built every PC i have owned and it is fun to tinker and get things setup just right, but for my next one, I am probably going to go with an Evetech system and yes I know they are overpriced. I just don’t have the time anymore to spend building a system.

    Reply

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