????微軟（Microsoft）和索尼（Sony）在6月初的電子娛樂(lè)展（Electronic Entertainment Expo）上詳盡介紹他們的電子游戲機(jī)的同時(shí)，PC機(jī)游戲也開(kāi)始顯露出復(fù)蘇的跡象。盡管主流電腦市場(chǎng)正在垂死掙扎，但硬核PC游戲看起來(lái)卻活得很好。

????遙想當(dāng)年，PC機(jī)曾是這個(gè)展會(huì)的絕對(duì)主角，近年來(lái)卻逐漸讓位給了游戲主機(jī)。不過(guò)，隨著這一代主機(jī)年歲漸長(zhǎng)，PC游戲又看到了復(fù)蘇的希望。盡管如此，PC機(jī)并未成為今年大展的中心，這一點(diǎn)也是意料之中的事。微軟和索尼不僅在規(guī)模可觀的游戲市場(chǎng)上爭(zhēng)搶蛋糕，同時(shí)還在為占領(lǐng)玩家的客廳展開(kāi)一場(chǎng)大戰(zhàn)。

????與此同時(shí)，在內(nèi)容流中樞的角色上逐漸失寵的PC機(jī)仍然是可靠的游戲平臺(tái)。此外，電子游戲機(jī)在價(jià)格上非常穩(wěn)定——索尼的PS4到今年秋天售價(jià)仍為399美元，微軟的Xbox One價(jià)格則是499美元——而PC機(jī)價(jià)格卻一跌再跌。由于即將上市的游戲主機(jī)在技術(shù)上與PC機(jī)相似，傳統(tǒng)電腦今后可能會(huì)更具價(jià)值。電子游戲機(jī)行業(yè)顧問(wèn)，鮑德溫咨詢公司（Baldwin Consulting）的馬克?鮑德溫說(shuō)：“20多年來(lái)，一直有人問(wèn)我PC游戲會(huì)不會(huì)走向消亡，但它們現(xiàn)在仍然存在著。所以，我看不到任何消亡的跡象。PC機(jī)仍然擁有巨大的用戶基礎(chǔ)，也仍然是探索性產(chǎn)品低價(jià)進(jìn)入市場(chǎng)的堅(jiān)實(shí)平臺(tái)。”

????今年的E3大展表明，各種類型的游戲仍然有很大市場(chǎng)空間。世嘉（Sega）曾經(jīng)專營(yíng)游戲主機(jī)硬件，如今卻是跨平臺(tái)的游戲發(fā)行商。它展示了即將發(fā)布的《羅馬2：全面戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)》（Total War: Rome II）。這是一款僅能在PC機(jī)上運(yùn)行的游戲，玩家將扮演即將演變?yōu)榈蹏?guó)的羅馬共和國(guó)后期的一名將軍。如果玩家行動(dòng)無(wú)誤，甚至可以完全避免凱撒大帝被刺殺的事件。

????世嘉還奉上了以二戰(zhàn)為背景的《英雄連2》（Company of Heroes II），將這個(gè)策略游戲帶上了俄國(guó)戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)前線。此外，盡管曾是PC機(jī)統(tǒng)治領(lǐng)域的射擊游戲和競(jìng)速游戲如今走向了跨平臺(tái)化，策略游戲很大程度上仍然是PC獨(dú)有。恩德勒集團(tuán)（Enderle Group）的首席分析師羅布?恩德勒說(shuō)：“對(duì)于許多類型的游戲而言，PC機(jī)表現(xiàn)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)優(yōu)于游戲主機(jī)。它失去活力的原因在于，沒(méi)有人真正把它作為一個(gè)平臺(tái)來(lái)推銷它的優(yōu)勢(shì)所在。非常遺憾，從許多方面看，考慮到升級(jí)性和指令輸入的廣度，PC機(jī)對(duì)許多類游戲而言都是更好的平臺(tái)。它們只是沒(méi)有得到足夠多的營(yíng)銷推廣。”

????動(dòng)作射擊類游戲大行其道，而微軟和索尼也希望借助這個(gè)類型的獨(dú)家游戲推廣自己的游戲系統(tǒng)。但這類游戲的重磅作品，比如美國(guó)藝電公司（Electronic Arts）的《戰(zhàn)地風(fēng)云》（ Battlefield）系列和美國(guó)動(dòng)視公司（Activision）的《使命召喚》（Call of Duty）系列，在電子游戲機(jī)和PC機(jī)上同樣可用。獨(dú)立電視游戲分析師比利?皮德根說(shuō)：“PC機(jī)并沒(méi)有切斷與市場(chǎng)的聯(lián)系。即便游戲在電子游戲機(jī)上得到了發(fā)展，PC機(jī)仍是大型射擊游戲授予運(yùn)營(yíng)權(quán)的重要陣地。”

????PC也從一些小型游戲開(kāi)發(fā)商那里得到了獨(dú)家運(yùn)營(yíng)權(quán)。今年秋天，波西米亞互動(dòng)公司（Bohemia Interactive）將發(fā)布《武裝突襲3》（Arma III），這是這家公司開(kāi)放世界式軍事策略射擊游戲的最新力作。這家捷克開(kāi)發(fā)商并不是唯一一家堅(jiān)持PC游戲的廠商。皮德根說(shuō)：“東歐的游戲開(kāi)發(fā)商仍然以PC平臺(tái)為依靠。在一些特定的市場(chǎng)，如拉美和亞洲大部分地區(qū)，因?yàn)閾?dān)心將游戲移植到游戲機(jī)的成本過(guò)高，PC游戲即將占據(jù)統(tǒng)治地位。在這些地區(qū)，游戲機(jī)可能難以深入發(fā)展，而PC仍是主要平臺(tái)。”

????While Microsoft and Sony elaborated on their new video game consoles earlier this month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo there was another system that showed signs of renewed life: the PC. Despite the moribund market for mainstream computers, hardcore PC gaming seems to be alive and well.

????In past years the PC had been a dominant part of the show, but in recent years it has taken a backseat to consoles. While PC gaming saw a resurgence as the current generation of consoles grew long in the tooth, it was no surprise that the PC wasn't on center stage this year. Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony (SNE) are competing not only for the sizable game market, but also for prime position in the war for the living room.

????Meanwhile the PC, with its diminishing role as a streaming hub for content, still remains very much a credible game machine. Moreover, while the video game consoles have remained somewhat steady in prices -- Sony's PlayStation 4 will cost $399 when it arrives this fall, while Microsoft's Xbox One will cost $499 -- PCs continue to fall in price. Because the upcoming consoles are technically similar to PCs, it could be that traditional computers offer more value going forward. "I have been asked about the demise of PC games for over 20 years, yet they are still there. So no, I see no demise," says video game industry consultant Mark Baldwin of Baldwin Consulting. "The PC is still has a massive user base, and it is still a solid platform to allow cheap entry for exploratory products."

????This year's E3 proved that there is still very much of a market for some genres. Sega, a company that was once in the hardware console business and now is a cross-platform game publisher, demonstrated its upcoming Total War: Rome II, a PC-only offering that puts players in the role of a general during the era of the late Roman Republic as it transforms it into an empire. If players make the right moves they can even avoid the whole Julius Caesar assassination thing.

????In addition Sega offered up the World War II-themed Company of Heroes II, which is taking the series' tactical gameplay to the Russian Front. Moreover, while shooters and racing games -- once almost solely the domain of the PC -- have gone cross-platform, the strategy genre remains very much a PC exclusive. "For certain kinds of games the PC is far superior to a console but languishes because no one really markets its advantages as a platform," says Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group. "It seems a shame because in many ways PCs are a better, in terms of upgradability and range of input, platform for many types of games. These just don't get the marketing needed to make their case."

????Even in the popular action shooter category, where Microsoft and Sony are looking for exclusive titles to help launch their systems, the biggest titles -- such as Electronic Arts' (EA) Battlefield series and Activision's (ATVI) Call of Duty -- are on PC as well as the consoles. "The PC isn't cut out of this market at all," says independent video game analyst Billy Pidgeon. "The PC remains important for these big shooter franchises even as the games grow on the consoles."

????The PC is also getting its own share of exclusives from some smaller developers, and this fall Bohemia Interactive will introduce Arma III, the latest title in its open world tactical military shooter. The Czech-based developer is not alone in sticking with the PC. "In Eastern Europe the game developers continue to lean on the PC," Pidgeon says. "In certain markets such as Latin America and much of Asia, the PC is going to dominate because of worries of costs of bringing a game to consoles. These are areas where the consoles aren't likely to penetrate and the PC will remain the dominant platform."