Gaming hardware needs to grow up @ PCGamer
I'm not going to say that this is a proper response to the current state of PC hardware but, this is a proper response, at least to a certain degree.
Much like the author of this piece at PCGamer, I have been around PC hardware for a long time. I remember when desktop cases were "the thing" and how most people wanted more drives because more drives meant more storage options. (oh and by "more drives" I mean external drives, like floppy drives)
The author tells it straight though, the PC market is on a decline and companies are scrambling to find ways to make their products sell. Often that means adding gold or, as we have seen this season, adding RGB lights just to appease the one region of the world still buying PC hardware.
Don't get me started with RGB lighting. It's everywhere I look and it seems like we're on a path to no return. Speakers are lit, keyboards are lit, motherboards are lit, RAM is lit, headsets are lit—everything is lit. One day I'm going to have a damn seizure. Heck, even "gaming" chairs are starting to feature RGB lighting.
Admittedly there are folks who light up their rigs tastefully, and they do look great. But when did insane designs and RGB equate to gaming? Are manufacturers telling us that in order to perform well in a game we have to have RGB lighting and that whatever products we buy have to have fins and jagged edges? Why can't a gaming product be simple, effective, and perform well? Does the computer case I use need to have flaps, fins and bulges to convey that the size of my "e-peen" is substantial? Does RGB lighting deliver a higher chance of a stable overclock? Give me a break.
The author brings up a good point though. We don't need all of this BUT, we need something, a spark to bring the PC back from the dead.
A Reason
We as hardware enthusiasts need to spread the word that having a custom PC is cool again. I will be the first to admit that I think the current direction is counterproductive but will say the Asian marketing engine is fierce. I mean, if a single region can sway 90% of the hardware makers to do "something" and do that something "together” that is telling me two things. First that there is hope for the future of the enthusiast PC, and Second that most everyone has run out of ideas and need people help define the future.
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