"It’s not just game-connected sales that will make the Battlefield 3 launch a truly important event, it's that desktop PCs have been growing less important for so long now that component manufacturers are desperately looking for profitable reasons to continue producing enthusiast hardware products. In my best Field of Dreams voice: "Make it hardware dependent, and they will buy".
Which brings us to a growing trend present in today's computer software: increased hardware dependence. Without drifting into an entirely different topic, I'll relegate this portion of my op-ed to quickly point out that software has steadily grown dependent on more memory and storage space, as well as more powerful central and graphics processors. In our own tests with the Battlefield 3 Beta, we noted how BF3 (in public beta form) consumed nearly 2GB of system memory while demanding up to 50% usage across all eight processor cores... Even despite using the most powerful video card currently available. This same trend has been seen elsewhere across the spectrum: from the latest Microsoft Windows Operating System to the everyday applications we install atop the O/S. Regardless of its classification as a video game, which tends to promote GPU dependence more than anything else, BF3 is software that places demand on every hardware component inside the computer case.
Ultimately, this means that performance-oriented computer hardware will once again be in demand, and those hardcore gamers wanting to experience Battlefield 3 with highest-quality video settings will be required to upgrade system components. It also means that desktop computer hardware, suffering diminished sales in the age of highly-capable mobile phone and game consoles, will stay relevant for just a while longer. The video card has always been the driving force in graphics quality performance, and now the CPU and RAM have become equally important at delivering the top-end experience. True performance enthusiasts refuse to wait, which also means that now SSDs could be the storage drive of choice to help speed-up game and map loading. Of course, you can't have the fastest video card, processor, and system memory, without also having the latest motherboard platform. It all comes together, and means big potential sales for the hardware industry."
Olin Coles - BenchmarkReviews
Take a few moments to read through Olin's commentary on how the New Beef has meant the rebirth of the gaming PC, a monster many have neglected whilst they've played console titles over the last couple of years.
Are you getting involved in the massive spike in PC gaming hardware sales at present? Gamers seek memory upgrades, SSDs, sound cards, cases, gaming keyboards & gaming mice, etc - RIGHT NOW, so start talking BF3 today - it'll be worth it!
