Shock horror the PC market place has continued its decline as the Tablet has taken centerfield. Whilst this is not a surprise to many if not all within the industry are we placing all of the blame unfairly on the tablet marketplace?
Most desktops that this author knows about in his social circle belong to two key demographics. The office PC which we still know all too well and those owned by serious gamers. Playing MMORPG’s simulation games such as Flight Simulator and Rise of Flight etc total emersion in game play is possible. There was a time where you had the choice of only a couple of different games consoles you could buy – now we find a vast array of systems on offer and with the introduction of the new Xbox One & PlayStation 4 even more gaming and entertainment focused the desktop PC finds itself even more at a disadvantage. With consoles offering even entertainment then just games with the ability to stream movies, TV programs, sports and music something we had to previously rely on our trusty old PC or laptop to assist us with.
It was the not too distant past that you could enter a PC World and see row upon row of desktop PC’s on display and racks upon racks of PC games. Having visited a PC World only a few weeks ago the number of desktops on display and shrunk to minuscule numbers with other technology such as tablets, digital cameras and all manner of laptops having taken pride of place at the front of the store.
During my visit to the store – with the purpose of buying a desktop PC solely for gaming, anything else in now under the purview of the iPad, laptop and smartphone, the support from the sales team was almost none existent. In years gone by you would be able to visit a store and ask for technical advice on which computer to buy and without having to read up the sales team could assist you. Now with the dominance of other products knowledge on desktop PC’s has dropped dramatically – at least in the store in question. If the sales team don’t know about their products – probably because no one is asking they will never be able to sell them. Having felt like I was forcing them to take my money and having to use my smartphone during my visit to answer my own technical questions I think I have brought my last ever desktop pc – gaming or otherwise.
If you rewind the clock ten years and remake those age old visits to the shopping centre you could buy PC games and other software in any number of shops including places such as HMV, WHSmith’s and Electronics Boutique, now with the slow death of another high-street stalwart in HMV buying options have sunk to an all-time low.
PC manufactures will be, and have been, turning to other avenues to make their desktop PC’s attractive to consumers. Placing emphasis on other entertainment avenues – the ability to watch blue-ray DVD’s, watch live television and stream movies – is now the lifeline for the desktop PC but this has been eroded even more by the next generation of gaming console – however they have yet to prove their worth so to keep its place in the average home the PC is going to have to take things to the next level. Unfortunately with the steady increase of these exact same functions in other pieces of technology this is a tactic this person cannot see continuing to succeed in the long run.
