Analyst: PC gaming now brings in more money than console gaming globally
77 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Anyone who has been playing games on the PC for a while has likely gotten used to regular, overblown pronouncements that computer gaming is on the verge of dying in the face of cheaper, easier-to-use console competition. Gamers weary of rebuffing those charges should take heart from recent statements from DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole that PC gaming is far from dying—and it's actually outperforming the console sector overall these days.
In statements reported by UK tech site PCR, Cole said that PC games were bringing in more revenue than console games on a global basis, though he added that the recent launch of new game consoles could change things in the near future. "Among core gamers there is a heavy overlap with most console gamers also playing on a PC," Cole said. "The big difference is that consoles are now the luxury item and PCs are the necessity. Just a few years ago the reverse was true. This means PCs have the broader audience."
The growth in PC spending is being driven heavily by the explosive growth in MOBAs like League of Legends and Dota 2, Cole said. That certainly gels with what we found in our recent Steam Gauge analysis, which shows Dota 2 dominating in a number of gameplay statistics.
Outside of that, the PC market is supported by "a nice mix of MMO, strategy, and first-person shooter" games, Cole said. The PC gaming market is also dominated by older titles; Cole said there wasn't a single title released in 2013 that made the top 20 list of most played games for that year, though 2014 releases like DayZ, Rust, and Hearthstone have managed to crack the popularity lists. PC gaming revenue growth has been especially strong in Europe and among free-to-play titles, Cole said.
Back in 2011, DFC predicted that PC gaming revenues would surpass consoles sometime this year, and in January the group estimated that the PC gaming sector would bring in $25 billion worldwide this year. Those with a few thousand dollars to spare on market research can purchase DFC's full market forecast for much more detailed information.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/04/analyst-pc-gaming-now-brings-in-more-money-than-console-gaming/[/url]
[url]http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/pc-games-have-surpassed-console-games-globally/033849[/url]
[url]http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2014/04/28/as-global-pc-game-revenue-surpasses-consoles-how-long-should-console-makers-keep-fighting/[/url]
[url]http://hexus.net/gaming/news/industry/69141-global-pc-games-market-revenue-overtakes-consoles/[/url]
I learned my lesson from the last generation of 3 dead 360's to just invest in a PC. Unless you want GTAV...
[QUOTE=outlawpickle;44671626]I learned my lesson from the last generation of 3 dead 360's to just invest in a PC. Unless you want GTAV...[/QUOTE]
I hope rockstar improves GTA V on pc in every way possible so this wait is all worth it.
PC's are just better. Hardware, games prices, community.
[sp]Guess what were growing ever larger and always welcoming. Join us won't you.[/sp]
I have to wonder how much of it came down to DayZ, considering that was one of the first of the big relatively recent trends that had its immediate appeal to everyone.
I've never played it personally due to lack of interest but I have a number of friends who clung to their consoles and mocked PC Gaming only to suddenly out of the blue start buy high end rigs after playing DayZ, which served as a gateway to other PC games.
I only have an Xbox 360 to play Rock Band.
The only reason I see to own a console would be for some very great exclusives. Pretty much when friends come over we just play on my pc connected to the tv with a few controllers set up as well, works just like any console.
[QUOTE=outlawpickle;44671626]I learned my lesson from the last generation of 3 dead 360's to just invest in a PC. Unless you want GTAV...[/QUOTE]
Sleeping Dogs is better.
[QUOTE=theLazyLion;44671880]The only reason I see to own a console would be for some very great exclusives. Pretty much when friends come over we just play on my pc connected to the tv with a few controllers set up as well, works just like any console.[/QUOTE]
The new consoles practically ARE PCs. There is no reason for console exclusives anymore except Sony and Microsoft being greedy and holding games hostage to force people to buy consoles. Consoles that are designed to constantly push people to spend more money through Microsoft and Sony. Ugh.
But guys, PC gaming was dying, don't you all remember? We have only Razer to thank for this. Thanks based razer.
master race
So we have LoL and Dota 2 to thank for saving PC gaming.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;44671903][B]The new consoles practically ARE PCs[/B]. There is no reason for console exclusives anymore except Sony and Microsoft being greedy and holding games hostage to force people to buy consoles. Consoles that are designed to constantly push people to spend more money through Microsoft and Sony. Ugh.[/QUOTE]
no
[QUOTE=SexualShark;44671932]no[/QUOTE]
yes, the hardware for this current gen is off the shelf mid to high end PC parts thrown in a fancy case with a stripped down OS and some neat peripherals
[QUOTE=Sableye;44671975]yes, the hardware for this current gen is off the shelf mid to high end PC parts thrown in a fancy case with a stripped down OS and some neat peripherals[/QUOTE]
Mid-high 3-5 years ago, maybe.
thanks, razer
A lot of it has to do with f2p expanding into China and other Asian markets, The total gamer population of China exceeds that of the total United States population. And they can still play MOBA's on their crappy XP machines
[QUOTE=Sableye;44671975]yes, the hardware for this current gen is off the shelf mid to high end PC parts thrown in a fancy case with a stripped down OS and some neat peripherals[/QUOTE]
Mid to high end pc parts relative to the world of business machines like pre-built dells or hps, maybe.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bgMBImQ.jpg[/IMG]
I think we can all enjoy some Zero Punctuation satire :v:
It's quite interesting to see how the dynamic changes. I think the boost of independent games has really made a huge impact on people's interest in the development process and getting involved in pre-releases of new games.
The only reason I can really think for to buy a console is if you don't want to think about upgrading. Even then you could simply not upgrade for a while because even if you don't have a computer for gaming, and not using an integrated card you probably can still play games because they are made to run on a variety of setups.
My machine was mid-low end before I was forced to remove my Geforce 9600GT but I could still play newer games, still getting more FPS than consoles most of the time.
[QUOTE=outlawpickle;44671626]I learned my lesson from the last generation of 3 dead 360's to just invest in a PC. Unless you want GTAV...[/QUOTE]
I'd rather just have both systems in the same room
Hopefully devs will realize this and stop making console exclusives
[QUOTE=J!NX;44672766]I'd rather just have both systems in the same room[/QUOTE]
I always find my self owning both systems. Consoles for exclusives and playing with my friends that don't pc game and a PC for single player games and multiplayer in general.
[QUOTE=kiloy;44672974]Hopefully devs will realize this and stop making console exclusives[/QUOTE]
They'll always exist, because without them consoles have no reason to sell.
MS or Sony or whatever other console company will always be willing to pay devs to make games specifically for their system.
[url=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1389486]Bungie: We're not bringing Destiny to the PC because it'd be too hard.[/url]
PC gamers: Do you hate money?
One of the main things I could see with consoles is more developers make their games split screen, however since last gen, that split screen gaming isn't in as many games as it usually is.
Meanwhile Valve's trying (though barely succeeding) to push the split screen experience.
I've always been a console gamer until about 3 years ago I finally got a PC that was capable of playing games and since then my PS3 and Xbox have slowly been seeing less and less use. Now instead of buying a next gen console I'm planning on upgrading my PC because there's way more games I can only get on PC that interest me than console exclusives that interest me.
[QUOTE=Sableye;44671975]yes, the hardware for this current gen is off the shelf mid to high end PC parts thrown in a fancy case with a stripped down OS and some neat peripherals[/QUOTE]
The CPUs are basically laptop CPUs with twice the cores because they have more room to play with heat, since the console is stationary.
The GPUs are slow as shit, but the unified memory architecture helps with that.
The problem with that architecture though is that the Xbox is using DDR3 for both system and graphics memory, which is low-latency but the bandwidth is pathetic, which is bad for graphics usage.
PS4 uses GDDR5 for both, which is great for the graphics, but if there's a cache-miss on the CPU and it has to fetch data from GDDR, it murders performance because of how high-latency GDDR5 is.
The black-box "memory engines" in the Xbox help out a bit with the situation, but it's still a fight to get shit working.
Meanwhile people just build 600-700$ rigs that end up being cheaper in the long run after a year.
[QUOTE=Furioso;44673309][url=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1389486]Bungie: We're not bringing Destiny to the PC because it'd be too hard.[/url]
PC gamers: Do you hate money?[/QUOTE]I swear to god someone better educate Destiny about US federal law. Specifically the "destruction of currency" part.
I have almost 200 games on my steam account but I must say I really do not enjoy playing games on the PC as much as consoles. I built my PC as a work computer primarily but it does pretty great on games, but for me I just don't really desire to play games on my PC (despite not having a gaming PC for 2 years). Something about it just doesn't get me in the mood or excited about games.
I'd personally much rather play a game on a console. Something about the experience is just better for me. I can't PC game like I used to.
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