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Microsoft: “There’s Been a Real Renaissance in PC Gaming”

Microsoft’s relationship with the PC gaming community has been turbulent due to their focus on consoles and the horrendous Games For Windows Live DRM. Over the years, the company made numerous promises to take the PC platform seriously but none of these came to fruition until lately. Also, one could argue that Microsoft allowed PC gaming to slowly demise and it was Valve who played a huge part in making the platform so successful. Of course, Valve is hardly perfect and has flaws, but you have to acknowledge their role. Thankfully, Microsoft has woken up to the incredible rise of PC gaming and decided to launch exclusives on Xbox and Windows 10 systems. This makes sense because consumers who enjoy the Xbox One are unlikely to spend significantly more money on a gaming PC. In a recent interview with the Guardian, Microsoft’s Senior Director of Product Management & Planning Albert Penello acknowledged how well the PC platform is doing and said:

“In the last five years, there’s been a real renaissance in PC gaming, and that’s happening with Nvidia and AMD investing in really high-end performance – to the point where PCs have eclipsed consoles much more significantly than ever before. In fact consoles used to lead PCs and it would take a while for them to catch up.”

It’s interesting to hear a senior Microsoft representative discuss the benefits of PC gaming and this isn’t an attitude which would have existed a few years go. To be fair, it’s hard to argue with since the consoles have adapted as a reaction to PCs, and this is the reason why hardware lifespans are shorter. You only need to a take a look at the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio to see that the is a greater demand consoles sporting different specifications. Despite my own scepticism, I have to applaud Microsoft for finally releasing games like Forza Horizon 3 on PC.