Power Up: PC gaming may be down, but it's definitely not out

While gaming consoles such as the Wii and Xbox 360 are enjoying an unprecedented wave of acceptance in the modern living room, that old gaming warhorse, the personal computer, increasingly seems like an endangered species.

The NPD Group, which tracks such things, reports that PC gaming sales were down 14 percent from 2007 to 2008. In addition, PC gamers are finding that computer versions of some major titles - such as Madden Football - are no longer published.

In another recent example, Electronic Arts released World War II shooter Battlefield 1943 as a downloadable game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. While there's talk of a PC release, the game's launch as a console exclusive is nothing less than a slap in the face of the PC game crowd, which made the original Battlefield 1942 into a monster hit that spawned multiple add-ons and sequels. So much for loyalty to one's customers.

There are a number of reasons why this is happening, but today's PC hardware is a major consideration.

For one thing, consumers are increasingly turning to notebook computers. While portables may be great for productivity and Web surfing, most aren't built with enough horsepower to run cutting-edge 3-D games. That leads to frustration for notebook owners as well as tech-support calls that game companies can't really resolve.

In a related issue, the wide variation in possible PC configurations creates additional headaches for game programmers. Randy Stude, who heads the PC Gaming Alliance, a trade group dedicated to preserving computer gaming, told me that there might be as many as a trillion possible PC configurations. That could make for a mighty long support call as the tech on the other end of the phone line tries to sort out why a particular game won't run on your system. Consoles, on the other hand, have a single hardware setup. Your PlayStation 3 is just like mine, and a game that runs on one will run on all of them.

Still, the PC offers gamers experiences that the consoles just can't. Strategy titles are a good example. I'm especially high on the recently released build-and-trade game Dawn of Discovery. And while there are flight games on consoles, they are generally quite arcade-like; you'd be hard-pressed to call them simulations. Not so on the PC, where recently I've been enjoying Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War. I can't imagine this gorgeously modeled World War I dogfight game on a console. It's one of those niche products that devotees love, but that won't ring the cash registers enough to justify console licensing fees. Without the open architecture of the PC, a game like this just doesn't get made.

On the other hand, PC games can still draw the big bucks, as proven by this summer's very successful release of The Sims 3. For an especially clever use of the customization options built into the latest edition of The Sims series, check out the Alice and Kev blog (http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/), which chronicles the activities of a homeless family created using the artificial intelligence and powerful character-creation tools built into the game. And World of Warcraft, the popular online role-playing game, continues to break sales records even as it approaches the five-year anniversary of its November 2004 launch.

So, while PC gaming is down, it's certainly not out. If you're looking for some computer-game fun this summer, check out the titles I mentioned today.

Ubisoft. $49.99

Rating: T (age 13 and older)

On the Web: www.dawnofdiscoverygame.com

(versions available for Wii and DS as well)

777 Studios. $39.99

Rating: E-10+ (age 10 and older)

On the Web: www.riseofflight.com

Electronic Arts. $49.99

Rating: T (age 13 and older)

On the Web: www.thesims3.com

(Mac version available as well)