Industry Insider - February 2008

Human Factors – The Reason Why the Game PC is Here to Stay
by Eric Marlow

I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve had the opportunity to view technology from a variety of perspectives. Over my 25-ish-year career, I’ve done the Fortune 500 IT Strategy side, as a CIO, and now the nits and grits of game development. I’ve observed an excess of trends and prognostications. Amazingly, there are a number of things that have remained quite consistent about the personal computer and its place in the work and home.

• Human factors are something that obviously hasn't changed much over time, though it amazes me how little people pay heed to them in the design of their products. The fact remains that no matter where you are, your body has to interface with your chosen device. Where PCs are concerned, this usually means keyboards and mice. For consoles it’s a control pad. Mobile phones it’s the phone alpha-numeric keypad. Certain devices are obviously more appropriate for their environment than others.
• Some of the most popular genres of games rely on the flexibility of a keyboard or the precision of a mouse. Although attempts have been made to the contrary, First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategies, and Massively Multiplayer Online games are best served by the keyboard/mouse combination. Sports and Adventure games are great when using a console’s pad, and of course you CAN play Halo with the pad as well. The point is why downgrade the experience with something that is sub-optimal?
• Some may say that the console is converging with the PC; that the console will become the home entertainment hub where one can play DVDs, surf the ‘net, check email, and of course play games. Again, human factors come into play. While it’s quite comfortable to sit back on your family room couch with a console’s control pad, it’s much more difficult to use a keyboard and mouse without a hard flat surface to rest them on. Because popular games rely on these types of controllers and it’s uncomfortable to surf or do work for long hours on anything other than a desk, it will be tough to fully accept a home entertainment hub or game console as the only in-home computing device.
• The distance between the couch and the monitor (TV) is often times too far to engage in detailed reading of text presented via email or word processing documents. Eyestrain and the resulting back strain from poor couch-potato posture will keep these work sessions short. Large HTDVs do make it easier, but not everyone can afford these.
• Finite budgets being what they are, the home consumer, particularly in developing countries, will have a difficult time justifying purchase of home console AND a PC. The total cost of ownership for a console is just too high. Families when forced to choose will select a device that is more flexible in its ability to perform multiple tasks. That’s the PC.
• Attempts have been made to “improve” the human-to-computer interface. Voice recognition, virtual reality, motion-tracking and control – these controllers do work, but not only do they present a new set of problems, they for now are expensive and out of reach for most consumers.
• There are a number of reasons that do not have to do with human factors as to why the game PC isn’t going anywhere: the upgradable nature of the PC, Microsoft’s unwillingness to supplant the PC, game developers make their games on the PC anyway, and the fact that there are just so many more PCs in the world than game consoles.
  
  For the foreseeable future, the PC is here to stay.