Free-to-play and the browser-based revolution

One of my favorite topics is how new technology is changing the gaming landscape. I’ve already talked a bit about how the current generation of consoles has given birth to the idea of adding functionality to a gaming platform in an effective way. Today, I want to touch on how the internet is changing the way we distribute games.
For the longest time, PC gaming was the top dog, elite market in our industry. Machines like the commodore 64 were way more powerful and functional than gaming consoles, along with being easier to develop and distribute games for. Soon after the inception of the graphics card, gamers were given the ability to upgrade and optimize their machines to ensure that they got the best results when playing games. PCs had the best looking games, the best first person shooters, the best casual games, internet play, you name it. And building the fastest, most up-to-date computers became a hobby for the hardcore PC gamers. And then something happened. PC gaming began to slow down. Golden Eye and then Halo showed people that first person shooters, long a staple of PC gamers, could be done well on a console. The playstation brought gaming to the mainstream arena in a way no gaming platform (other than the PC) ever had. The Dreamcast showed the world that a console game could go online and look just as pretty as a PC game. These were all just tiny cracks and are not by themselves responsible for the losses in the PC market, but statistically the PC market as we knew it is in a down-swing. The call to upgrade and spend tons of money on a gaming computer seems to have died down a bit. Fewer games requiring the highest-level specs are being released every year, and the sales statistics for these games are dropping (based on NPD numbers, which doesn’t count digital downloads. But based on developer support, this assertion can be assumed). The highest-selling games coming out support lower-end PCs (spore, the sims 3, team fortress).
But the PC market is not dying, as some claim, but changing. With high-speed internet spreading throughout our society, it is becoming much easier for a game to be sent through the browser. Sites like instant action and battlefield heroes, which support ad-based gaming, are providing high-quality yet simple games that do all the processing through your browser. This opens up the games to any internet-ready computer, regardless of specs (unless your computer is made of vacuum tubes or accepts punch-cards). Free-to-play online games like “Kart Rider” and “Maple Story” are blowing up world-wide. Internet access is spreading and becoming faster all over America, and every year the potential of these browser-based games increases.
The casual gaming market is constantly being tapped in new ways, and free-to-play and browser-based (most fit both categories) are leading the way on the PC front. Companies like Pop Cap and sites like Instant Action are providing quality experiences that both casual and hard-core gamers can enjoy on any PC, regardless of specs. Big name companies are coming in like EA and Id, and cloud-computing through services like OnLive promises to revolutionize what we can do on a lower-spec computer. PC gaming is not dead, it’s changing, and I’m very excited to see where it goes.