In the 80s, there were two parallel markets in terms of computing: on the one hand, that of PCs that populated offices and administrations around the world, and on the other, that of microcomputers, which disappeared and was aimed at the consumer. domestic market. The latter disappeared from the map as soon as the technology of the former became cheaper and allowed them to be pushed into oblivion with their higher features and performance. The reality is that one of the two markets became extinct not because they had better products, but because they operated with such fair margins that they could not carry out a frontal war of attrition.
What has happened to cheap computing?
Since then, the reaction of all manufacturers of hardware components when the lean times have come has been to raise prices to accumulate capital and be able to survive in the long term, which has caused that in an era where having a computer is essential for many jobs and leisure elements we find that have become more inaccessible than ever. The proof of it? We only have to take two reference lists: on the one hand, the most played games on Steam, and on the other hand, the most viewed on Twitch.
Its particularity? They need a very poor hardware, since most do not choose other titles because they are worse, but for a reason that is the elephant in the room. Hardware has become so expensive that most people can’t afford a PC with decent performance for gaming.
Moreover, if we have mentioned 8 and 16-bit microcomputers before, it is because their success was due to games. They were mainly a system to play and video games are the greatest ambassador of computing in history. What’s more, the PC was not considered viable in homes until the right components for games arrived. The boring office worker hardly needs performance and it is the PC gaming market that drives the purchase of high-end components.
Not everything is high end
Sales and marketing departments are usually very clear about the type of user to whom they are going to sell their products, what their needs are, and their budget. However, for some time now it is sometimes difficult to understand the audience to which some of the latest releases are directed. It is this upward flight that is causing a reduction in the generalized consumption of people.
It is said a lot that Moore’s Law is dead, and yet it refers to the complexity in number of transistors and this precept is still maintained. However, the fact that each new node or manufacturing technology is more and more expensive has made the cost per mm2 it has increased, so considering a fixed size for a chip generation after generation, it is more and more expensive. This previously did not occur and therefore did not result in a problem.
However, if we talk about high ranges and we take performance as a starting point to mark the purchase value of the product, then we can justify that extra price within a scale. The problem comes when said perception of value is not generalized and consequently it is not objective, but rather subjective. That is, the new high-performance chips can justify the increase in price, but they cannot do so in much lower ranges.
In search of a consumer that does not exist
If the cost of designing and launching new components is driving up prices, what ends up happening is that you end up condemning the bulk of the population to not only lower-performing systems, but also depriving them of something they already had before. . Let’s not forget that we are in times of stagflation, where wages remain fixed, but the price of things rises.
Although a professional sees a computer as a means of production and, therefore, as a work tool from which he will obtain an economic return, many users have a computer at home for leisure and if they end up finding other alternatives to buying a PC for their daily chores will go for it. Especially if we talk about video game consoles.
It cannot be that the price of a graphics card is at prices close to four figures and it seems normal to us, mainly due to the fact that they are targeting a user who does not exist or does not represent the average user. Simply, ordinary people are not going to jump through the hoop, mostly due to lack of economic capacity.
So what is the solution?
The problem of overpricing in the world of computing is not something easy to solve, but it requires manufacturers to sit down to launch a new computer format, which can run games and is accessible to the vast majority of the public… something that at the same time At the same time, it is profitable for the companies and it is useful for the developers to build a competent software and game package without problems.
Since video game consoles are based on the PC with its reduced costs, a good way to consider a cheaper computer that everyone has access to as a standard is to take these devices as the basis to create a new concept of home computer. Although elements such as expandability would be lost and would not have high performance in terms of graphicsthe objective would be none other than to have a computer for less than €1000, including the screenwhich was also all-terrain as far as applications are concerned, that is, including games.
Many will think that such a proposal would end up blowing up the PC component market. The reality is that a good part of those who play on the computer will do so for years with the same system that they have bought for years. The enthusiast market looking for the latest processor or graphics card would not be affected by this, it would simply be a way to keep many users from abandoning the platform.
