Epic Games VP: PC Has Shot By Consoles

While PC gaming has its share of doomsayers, Epic Games vice president Mark Rein isn't one of them. He believes the PC is "always the most important leading edge platform."

"We're at the stage in the life of the consoles where the PC has shot by [consoles] in terms of capabilities," Rein told Eurogamer. "Don’t forget every game that’s ultimately built is built on a PC. PCs are always going to be the tools through which all games get made."

"With the PC you can simulate the future – you can put enough hardware in a PC to show you what a future console will look like.”

Rein's not the only video game exec bagging on consoles. Earlier this week, id Software's John Carmack stated that mobile devices would be more powerful than current consoles in two years.

Rein might agree with Carmack's optimism. Though he's talking up the PC in this interview, his company's latest success was in the mobile sphere. Infinity Blade, an action RPG powered by Unreal Engine, was released for iOS in December. It sold over a quarter million copies in its first four days on the App Store and garnered rave reviews. As of July 7th, the game has earned $11 million in sales.

Microsoft and Sony have both stated that they're not releasing a new console anytime soon. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are at the middle of their lifespans, they say. The companies have chosen instead to add motion control peripherals and digital content to their machines in order to extend their lifespans. While this might be a smart strategy within the console gaming market, you have to wonder whether this approach will cause them to lose ground to PC and mobile gaming. Hardware in those spheres seems to be simply evolving quicker.