PCG Article Discussion for March 2026

[Zed Clampet]

The 'sub-$500 entry-level PC segment will disappear by 2028' predicts top analyst firm

Well, that's cheery.

www.pcgamer.com

I find it hard to believe that the 2026 decline will only be 10.4 percent.

 

[Zed Clampet]

The term 'Microslop' has overrun the Microsoft Copilot Discord server, and attempts to moderate it have gone badly

Microsloppy.

www.pcgamer.com

I think there is a widespread mental health problem that causes you to do things like joining Discord servers for things you don't like.

This Linux tool was the last thing I needed to wave goodbye to Windows

Not to brag but my range is high AND dynamic.

www.pcgamer.com

Getting HDR to work in Linux helps the writer to avoid Microslop altogether.

 

[Pifanjr]

The term 'Microslop' has overrun the Microsoft Copilot Discord server, and attempts to moderate it have gone badly

Microsloppy.

www.pcgamer.com

I think there is a widespread mental health problem that causes you to do things like joining Discord servers for things you don't like.

I don't understand the point of joining any big, active Discord server as it'll just be a whole bunch of people screaming into the void, let alone a Discord server for something I don't even like. But it seems there is a significant amount of people that just really like hating on things

 

[neogunhero]

RedOctane's 'next evolution in rhythm gaming' sure looks a lot like 2007's Rock Band

Stage Tour is expected to be out late in 2026.

www.pcgamer.com

I like the idea of bringing rhytm games back to the mainstream, but I don't see it being as big as Rock Band or Guitar Hero were back in the day. Clone Hero exists and people who are still fans of these kinds of games are already all over that game. It's free, works with almost endless amounts of different devices including MIDI controllers and electric drums, the music can be obtained for free, it just seems superior across the board.

Stage Tour will need to sell the game and hardware bundles for cheap. You can buy a guitar controller on Amazon between $80-$150, quality scales with price it seems, and get Clone Hero for free. Stage Tour will need to be around the same price or cheaper to appeal to more people.

 

[neogunhero]

MacBook Neo is surprisingly affordable at only $599—but I still wouldn't game on it

I don't think you're ready for the takedown.

www.pcgamer.com

Hey, they made a laptop named after me!

This is a very intriguing laptop. It's almost exactly identical to my iPhone 16 Pro in terms of specs, specifically with the A18 Pro chip and 8GB RAM. I suppose that is the whole point, not using the newest tech to deliver something affordable and usable. The price is very appealing, but as the article points out, there are other options for about the same price that give more performance. For very lightweight users, people who want something just a tad more powerful than a Chromebook and don't mind MacOS, this looks to be a good option.

Of course this is the PCGamer forums, so I'm wondering how gaming performance will be on this thing. My phone can play games very well, but obviously mobile games are focused on the devices they'll be played on. The A18 Pro chip is by all means a mobile phone chip, now slapped into the body of a laptop and running MacOS, I wonder how that will work with traditional PC games. Will devs have to update games to work on a mobile chip, or will it just be translated like many games played on a Mac? I wonder if a dev made a game that's available on Steam and iPhone if it will be easy to port it to Macs. Interesting!

My wife may want one as she's been looking for laptops for a while now. As long as it can play Minecraft an Stardew Valley, she'll be happy. I know the color schemes and overall look is way more appealing than any of the laptops I suggested to her, namely the HP Victus and Acer Nitro.

 

[Zed Clampet]

After 6 hours, Crimson Desert is one of the most overwhelming, chaotic, madcap videogames I've ever played—and I'm hungry for more

Pearl Abyss is engaging in a biblical act of design hubris, and it's somehow working out.

www.pcgamer.com

Sounds like this might live up to expectations.

Of course this is the PCGamer forums, so I'm wondering how gaming performance will be on this thing. My phone can play games very well, but obviously mobile games are focused on the devices they'll be played on.

There are much better gaming ARM options coming to Windows laptops in the next few months. I thought I posted an article on this, but I don't see it now. These will use Windows for ARM and should play anything that doesn't require anti-cheat. They are trying to get to the point soon where anti-cheat will work.

Supposedly these will run from $599 to $1000

 

[neogunhero]

After 6 hours, Crimson Desert is one of the most overwhelming, chaotic, madcap videogames I've ever played—and I'm hungry for more

Pearl Abyss is engaging in a biblical act of design hubris, and it's somehow working out.

www.pcgamer.com

Sounds like this might live up to expectations.



There are much better gaming ARM options coming to Windows laptops in the next few months. I thought I posted an article on this, but I don't see it now. These will use Windows for ARM and should play anything that doesn't require anti-cheat. They are trying to get to the point soon where anti-cheat will work.

Supposedly these will run from $599 to $1000

My main hope is that companies start to understand the sub-$1000 PC and laptop market is not one to ignore due to rising costs. Of course this is easier for Apple to pull off as they make a lot of their own hardware, I would assume that means they have stronger control over their production and costs. Other OEM companies rely on multiple different companies creating the hardware. Costs are rising, but people still want to buy cheap. That tradeoff is that the MacBook Neo is quite literally a phone in a laptop chassis, not many other companies can pull that off. Unless they're using the latest Snapdragon chips. That's a testament to how far mobile phone chips have gone in recent years, they're good enough to be laptops now.

ARM is very exciting and I hope that it keeps the momentum up. I don't know a whole lot about it, but it seems it could make hardware a bit cheaper as it's more efficient than x86.

 

[Colif]

'In a lot of ways, we created the modern video game industry' says Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

'Without our contribution of all the algorithms that goes into all of the game engines, you wouldn't be able to enjoy the type of video games you enjoy today'

www.pcgamer.com

No, I am sure I played video games long before I ever bought my 1st Nvidia GPU.
Can someone please deflate his ego?

 

[Zed Clampet]

My main hope is that companies start to understand the sub-$1000 PC and laptop market is not one to ignore due to rising costs. Of course this is easier for Apple to pull off as they make a lot of their own hardware, I would assume that means they have stronger control over their production and costs. Other OEM companies rely on multiple different companies creating the hardware. Costs are rising, but people still want to buy cheap. That tradeoff is that the MacBook Neo is quite literally a phone in a laptop chassis, not many other companies can pull that off. Unless they're using the latest Snapdragon chips. That's a testament to how far mobile phone chips have gone in recent years, they're good enough to be laptops now.

ARM is very exciting and I hope that it keeps the momentum up. I don't know a whole lot about it, but it seems it could make hardware a bit cheaper as it's more efficient than x86.

The new chips in the article I can't find are much more powerful than the Apple mobile chips. These new ones, by Nvidia and Qualcomm are actually faster than desktop CPUs and are roughly equivalent to an RTX 4050 in graphics processing, all in one. Better yet, is you should be able to play most Steam games on it because it runs a special version of Windows that Microsoft created to emulate x86. With the apple chip, you will mostly have to, I assume, download from the iTunes app because there's almost nothing on Steam that will run on it. As I said, the laptops with these new chips are expected to be under $1000

 

[Zed Clampet]

'We see everything—from living rooms to naked bodies': A report claims that Meta smart glasses footage is reviewed by human workers in Kenya

The privacy concerns are, well, obvious.

www.pcgamer.com

"No reasonable consumer would understand 'designed for privacy, controlled by you' and similar promises like 'built for your privacy' to mean that deeply personal footage from inside their homes would be viewed and catalogued by human workers overseas.

I promise to never be surprised by anything a company does ever again.

 

[Zed Clampet]

'We see everything—from living rooms to naked bodies': A report claims that Meta smart glasses footage is reviewed by human workers in Kenya

The privacy concerns are, well, obvious.

www.pcgamer.com

I promise to never be surprised by anything a company does ever again.

This goes beyond a class action lawsuit, IMO. The people you film did not sign any agreement with Meta. And people don't know it's happening. If you are wearing them and walk into the bathroom while your wife is getting dressed or while giving your 2-year-old a bath, the footage gets transmitted over seas where people watch and caption the footage for Meta's terrible, lagging behind AI.

What should actually happen is that everyone responsible for this should be arrested.

 

[Zloth]

No, I am sure I played video games long before I ever bought my 1st Nvidia GPU.
Can someone please deflate his ego?

He's got a point, as long as modern means after Y2K or so. Nvidia has been the leader in getting new features out into the world. I've seen multiple devs mention that Nvidia helped them get through rough graphical issues, too. Any history covering how gaming developed over the years would mention them a lot.