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will pc gaming die or become a hobby for rich people only because of ai demand or bubble?

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will pc gaming die or become a hobby for rich people only because of ai demand or bubble?
Dec 8, 12:32 PM
#1
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
ram, hdd, ssd, gpu and even cpu are reported to get exponential price increase due to ai hardware demand so thoughts? heck even laptops and prebuilts can get expensive too but not sure about smartphones and tablets but they use ram and ssd too anyway so they might be affected too sooner or later, i guess same with consoles they might become more expensive in the future too

should the government intervene and force this pc hardware manufacturers to start making more factories to increase supply and lessen the prices that way?
degDec 8, 12:48 PM
Dec 8, 12:36 PM
#2

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Sep 2016
23595
No, if anything then only high-end gaming.
*kappa*
Dec 8, 12:44 PM
#3

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Jul 2013
12930
Playing pc games and using Windows is the biggest failure. You simply don't play pc games nor use Windows. Console games are better than pc games. Use Linux instead of Windows.
Dec 8, 1:44 PM
#4

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Feb 2017
387
from what i know mobile getting cheaper instead. if i bought new phone with same price from 4 years ago, i will get a lot better specs with same price now. but in pc case, it's not work like that. i think cheaper phone now even can play or emulate ps4 games.
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Dec 8, 2:00 PM
#5

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Feb 2010
13494
Reply to DesuMaiden
Playing pc games and using Windows is the biggest failure. You simply don't play pc games nor use Windows. Console games are better than pc games. Use Linux instead of Windows.
@DesuMaiden

Not as big a failure as this obvious ragebait! smh Dx

With so many repeated failures, perhaps this isn't the game for you???



Mod Edit: Removed baiting.
KOTFTWDec 10, 9:35 AM
Dec 8, 2:06 PM
#6

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Feb 2010
13494
Looked at general prices of some stuff you'd use recently, and they don't seem to be higher atm, and AI has been out for a while. Not saying it can't happen but if it hasn't yet when will it?

PC gaming has a lot of options for different income levels and the top end always paid insane prices while mid to lower end setups FEAST on scraps. The used gaming PC you build will generally run the same games better than a new PS5 for less overall. So unless the used stuff somehow becomes too scarce and goes up in price, which I don't see happening, I'm doubtful PC gaming would become this rich only thing.
Dec 8, 2:22 PM
#7
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
Reply to Shishio-kun
Looked at general prices of some stuff you'd use recently, and they don't seem to be higher atm, and AI has been out for a while. Not saying it can't happen but if it hasn't yet when will it?

PC gaming has a lot of options for different income levels and the top end always paid insane prices while mid to lower end setups FEAST on scraps. The used gaming PC you build will generally run the same games better than a new PS5 for less overall. So unless the used stuff somehow becomes too scarce and goes up in price, which I don't see happening, I'm doubtful PC gaming would become this rich only thing.
@Shishio-kun have you seen ddr5 32gb ram prices at the moment? very expensive compared to few months ago and they say its only the start
Dec 8, 2:29 PM
#8
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
also crucial stop making ram and ssd for pc gamers if you heard the news and they have 30% market of pc ram and ssd
Dec 8, 5:21 PM
#9

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Feb 2010
13494
Reply to deg
@Shishio-kun have you seen ddr5 32gb ram prices at the moment? very expensive compared to few months ago and they say its only the start
@deg

Rut roh. You're right. Deg was right again. That stuff has indeed gone up in price dramatically. It's even more expensive used today than it was new. This is kind of scary ^_^'

It seems that at this rate, high tier gamers may have to scale back on their future PC builds if they can't afford it. tbh, a lot of gamers spent way more than necessary anyways!

I know a ton of PC gamers who also have a newer console too, myself included. With higher prices, maybe we would end up having a choice between the gaming PC you want NOW vs having the gaming PC + console. They will pick the PC every time, as it is so superior when it comes to gaming it's not even close.

So with that I don't see this ending PC gaming, reducing it to a rich hobby, but this will definitely cause delays and degraded quality for many PC gamers with it jacking up prices.

Might grab a new SSD too just for backup to avoid buying it later lol.
Shishio-kunDec 8, 5:51 PM
Dec 8, 5:24 PM
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
Reply to Shishio-kun
@deg

Rut roh. You're right. Deg was right again. That stuff has indeed gone up in price dramatically. It's even more expensive used today than it was new. This is kind of scary ^_^'

It seems that at this rate, high tier gamers may have to scale back on their future PC builds if they can't afford it. tbh, a lot of gamers spent way more than necessary anyways!

I know a ton of PC gamers who also have a newer console too, myself included. With higher prices, maybe we would end up having a choice between the gaming PC you want NOW vs having the gaming PC + console. They will pick the PC every time, as it is so superior when it comes to gaming it's not even close.

So with that I don't see this ending PC gaming, reducing it to a rich hobby, but this will definitely cause delays and degraded quality for many PC gamers with it jacking up prices.

Might grab a new SSD too just for backup to avoid buying it later lol.
@Shishio-kun yep ssd prices will cost more in the future too

and speaking of consoles im almost sure they will increase prices of it too or they will reduce the size of ssd and ram of them
Dec 8, 5:47 PM

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Feb 2010
13494
Reply to deg
@Shishio-kun yep ssd prices will cost more in the future too

and speaking of consoles im almost sure they will increase prices of it too or they will reduce the size of ssd and ram of them
@deg Well let me restate one thing I said - not "pretty much all PC gamers" - as there are still many other alternatives for RAM that don't seem affected by the pricing and can do PC gaming fine, just not higher end of course. A decent chunk tho.

However when ppl dont want to buy the expensive stuff and get the next tier it can indeed affect the prices of lower tier goods. So everyone might be impacted at least a little.

Hopefully we won't see some type of shortage though? Now that would be devastating! I've always wondered if a war would lead to something like that.
Shishio-kunDec 8, 5:50 PM
Dec 8, 5:54 PM

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Apr 2019
1211
Would take atleast 2 to 3 years for prices to stabilize.

Most major manufacturers actually cut production few years ago because of falling prices due to oversupply.

They'll probably triple or quadruple their output now to make profit from demands, but then would be oversupplied again. (When Supply outputs more than the demands)

AI is also rapidly evolving so they'll create something faster than NVME and DDR5 RAM in the years to come (which normal people won't use anyway) this will stabilize the prices of SSD's and RAM in the following years.
Dec 8, 6:05 PM

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Feb 2010
13494
Reply to -Shinzo
Would take atleast 2 to 3 years for prices to stabilize.

Most major manufacturers actually cut production few years ago because of falling prices due to oversupply.

They'll probably triple or quadruple their output now to make profit from demands, but then would be oversupplied again. (When Supply outputs more than the demands)

AI is also rapidly evolving so they'll create something faster than NVME and DDR5 RAM in the years to come (which normal people won't use anyway) this will stabilize the prices of SSD's and RAM in the following years.

-Shinzo said:
they'll create something faster than NVME and DDR5 RAM in the years to come (which normal people won't use anyway)


So you're saying we'll have a chance to overpay for really really REALLY fast SSDs for World of Warcraft Classic? Cool! This is what it's all about!
Dec 8, 7:03 PM
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
Reply to Shishio-kun
@deg Well let me restate one thing I said - not "pretty much all PC gamers" - as there are still many other alternatives for RAM that don't seem affected by the pricing and can do PC gaming fine, just not higher end of course. A decent chunk tho.

However when ppl dont want to buy the expensive stuff and get the next tier it can indeed affect the prices of lower tier goods. So everyone might be impacted at least a little.

Hopefully we won't see some type of shortage though? Now that would be devastating! I've always wondered if a war would lead to something like that.
@Shishio-kun ye but as for shortage we are already in a shortage due to pc hardware manufacturers prioritizing ai hardware than consumer pc hardware plus recent news says crucial stops doing pc hardware so that is 30% of the ram and ssd market gone
Dec 8, 8:35 PM

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Feb 2010
13494
Reply to deg
@Shishio-kun ye but as for shortage we are already in a shortage due to pc hardware manufacturers prioritizing ai hardware than consumer pc hardware plus recent news says crucial stops doing pc hardware so that is 30% of the ram and ssd market gone
@deg That's not good, but I think the one Crucial SSD I had failed FAST and I never bought them again haha. It was probably a 1 in a million type failure but still.

Scanning the SSD prices on Amazon, they do seem to be the same as always. Some good stuff up a bit some cheap stuff down a bit. So I don't think we're seeing any impact.. yet!
Dec 8, 8:40 PM

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Sep 2018
14710
Console gaming is more expensive now than ever, but people will game regardless. Gaming is too core to peoples' lives to be stopped so easily though I expect a big turn to piracy. I got my steamdeck for $315 so I am safe. Most games do not have high requirements so a top dollar pc is not needed.
Dec 8, 11:49 PM
Nostalgia Rules!

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Jun 2008
15808
I highly doubt it'll die, in fact I think it'll be the polar opposite. PCs might be the only gaming platforms in town aside from mobile one day. Let's see what happens. O.O
Dec 9, 12:23 AM

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Jan 2020
987
As long as the developers follow similar optimization guidelines when they develop for consoles, I think, PC versions should still be playable even on low-end equipment if you tweak the settings.
Dec 9, 1:59 AM

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Dec 2018
124
Use streaming services like GeForce Now, or Xbox Cloud Gaming, if you find building a PC too expensive. These services are quite reliable these days. I mean, if you don't want to play competitive games.
Dec 9, 3:13 AM

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Oct 2013
10323
High-end PC gaming will be affected the most. Same with people who work professionally, i.e. on graphic editing stuff, and need to have top-tier hardware for it. But at the same time, if they could afford a very good PC that's out of reach for many people's wallets, then many of them should figure out how to get through the rise in prices. "High-end gamers" of the modern era may perhaps learn that one less frame per second in the newest AAA title doesn't make their rig a useless piece of junk, lol.

Non-high-end gamers or people who don't need to have an insanely good PC to work on it will be affected, sure. But I don't expect a terrible rise in prices for older PC parts that'd be vastly unusual or anything.

First GPU, now RAM, SSD... well, current trends affect the market. Several years ago there was the crypto mining bubble, which affected GPU prices. Now it seems that after AI joined the party (lol), other peripherals are gonna be affected as well. Nothing new.
Dec 9, 4:19 AM

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Nov 2010
1983
deg said:
will pc gaming die or become a hobby for rich people only because of ai demand or bubble?
...
should the government intervene and force this pc hardware manufacturers to start making more factories to increase supply and lessen the prices that way?
  • If demand is high, supply increases naturally.
  • Game software and hardware will become more polished because of AI. What I expect most is improvement of the behavior of NPCs. (AI soldiers in FPSs, AI players in sports games, etc. though I don't play sports games.)
  • One of other options is "low spec terminal (PC) + low latency connection + remote AI operation". By this, no expensive local device is required.
    latency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlkMU-mpdgM&t=354s

Dec 9, 5:58 AM
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
kuroneko99 said:
One of other options is "low spec terminal (PC) + low latency connection + remote AI operation". By this, no expensive local device is required.


you mean cloud gaming? ye that is an alternative
Dec 9, 6:33 AM

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Jun 2016
13949
If PC hardware becomes expensive then consoles will follow (consoles also need RAM and processors and they get them from the same manufacturers) even though console manufacture can absorve some of the cost due to the commissions they get from games.
It's better to say that gaming in general will become expensive. It will get better though. That AI thing is so expensive I don't see it lasting that long without the industry collapsing.
MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST
Dec 9, 7:54 AM
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
Reply to Citrone39
Use streaming services like GeForce Now, or Xbox Cloud Gaming, if you find building a PC too expensive. These services are quite reliable these days. I mean, if you don't want to play competitive games.
@Citrone39 yep true cloud gaming hopefully becomes better and cheaper
Dec 9, 9:17 AM

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Apr 2013
8036
You don't need a top of the line PC to play like 98% of the PC games released each year anyway, so no. Some of the best games released in 2025, like Silksong,; Hades 2, dispatch, blue prince, etc, are playable on very small configs, and most of the games that require very good computer to be played with max settings can still look pretty good at way more accessible settings levels.
Dec 9, 12:16 PM

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Feb 2010
13494
@deg While I agree with the majority of responses, there are couple things I don't think ppl are considering

1) more companies bowing out, as you've mentioned, could create an unforeseen problem with shortage

2) what if there's an explosion in localized ghetto AI that actually turns a profit off of the upper mid to mid range RAM? For example, for offices to stay competitive, they require stronger specs to run the AI on the local machines. This isn't an impossibility given Windows 11 has some AI features (although in a way it has for a while). Or what if local machines can turn a profit off mid tier RAM with AI somehow? Much like when graphics cards were bought up en masse to generate bitcoin. My friend and I considered buying up a ton and running them in some office but then the price of Bitcoin dropped lol and it was no longer profitable to invest in such an operation with a bunch of used cards. Anyhow, such a situation with RAM would devastate a much larger portion of PC gamers than the DDR5 fiasco is currently.

JUST SAIYAN

Dec 9, 12:20 PM
lagom
Online
Jan 2009
108334
Reply to Shishio-kun
@deg While I agree with the majority of responses, there are couple things I don't think ppl are considering

1) more companies bowing out, as you've mentioned, could create an unforeseen problem with shortage

2) what if there's an explosion in localized ghetto AI that actually turns a profit off of the upper mid to mid range RAM? For example, for offices to stay competitive, they require stronger specs to run the AI on the local machines. This isn't an impossibility given Windows 11 has some AI features (although in a way it has for a while). Or what if local machines can turn a profit off mid tier RAM with AI somehow? Much like when graphics cards were bought up en masse to generate bitcoin. My friend and I considered buying up a ton and running them in some office but then the price of Bitcoin dropped lol and it was no longer profitable to invest in such an operation with a bunch of used cards. Anyhow, such a situation with RAM would devastate a much larger portion of PC gamers than the DDR5 fiasco is currently.

JUST SAIYAN

@Shishio-kun number 2 is a big possibility considering deepseek ai open models can run on mid range pc already i heard but for now free open source ai models are not as advance as google or openai or other big companies but its getting there slowly but surely

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