PC gaming revenue to surpass consoles by 2014

[Erik_Twice]

I wonder how they calculted revenue when Steam doesn't publish or tell anyone about it.

Without citations there's not much to say, to be frank.

[Original_Name]

I'm actually totally fine with this, if this data is to be believed. Console gaming has become almost completely unnecessary since the first-parties offer more restrictions than benefits for game developers. I used to doubt that PC gaming would ever overtake console gaming again because of the potential difficulties of upgrading and uneven performance amongst the gamers, but now that cloud gaming has arrived, I don't see that being a problem anymore. I hate that Microsoft would ultimately be making dough off of it considering I'm personally of the opinion that gaming-related dollars are the last thing that company deserves, but hopefully much more of the money would be going to the developers, and the conduits that receive the most money from the cloud service would be smaller companies like OnLive, Gaikai, and Playcast. Then again, we may see the same sort of Sony/Microsoft mentalities begin to apply to separate cloud-gaming services once the industry picks up, so who could say?

[isiolia]

Also i hate that PC games have no collector's value or resale value almost, like if you buy a PS3/360 game you can always resell it or trade it in, but with PC you buy it, open it, your stuck with it.

There are plenty of older PC games that have inflated (or at least maintained) resale value. Go price the System Shock games, for example.

Not typical of PC games that came out in the last 5 years or so. DRM has been hurting the used PC game market, something which hasn't been a problem with consoles.

I wouldn't exactly pin things on DRM. There are some very annoying attempts at DRM methods, sure, but there are also plenty of games that use similar systems as games 20 years ago did, or none at all.

What I'd point to instead would be direct download sales, as while they do tend to be connected with DRM (outside of GoG, etc), there's no real way to transfer licenses. Even if you did have a game with no real DRM, it could just be copied.

I think it's kind of mixed at the moment. There's a window for collectors with, well, Collector's Editions and the like. Bioshock got backlash for the 5-activations DRM and all...a used, complete CE sells for well above original retail.

For those just wanting to play the game, direct downloads mean there's a copy for everyone, and often for very little money.

Thing is, the console market already has elements of that - plenty of PSN or XBLA titles that can't be sold used either, and rereleases of rare(r) games from the past on them too.

[J T]

Consoles have just become shitty PCs:
http://www.gamefront.com/consoles-have- ... shtty-pcs/

[MrPopo]

Fun article, and the comments are hilarious. Here's one I liked in particular:

PC games suffer from a serious competition problem. They can’t pull off “fair” competition, no matter how hard they might try. When the hardware is locked in with consoles, everyone gets the same experience. Competition comes down to skill.

Online PC games are plagued with cheats, hacks, and superior hardware, leading to gamers with weaker systems being crushed by those who can afford the latest and greatest.

I play my single-player only games on the PC when available, the modding community makes it worth it. RTS? PC only. My online shooters? I play those on the console all day. I’ll sacrifice graphics for fair competition.

Cheats and hacks? I'm fairly certain those also exist on the consoles. Sure, they get banned by Sony/MS, but a good PC server bans cheaters too, and quickly. In all the time I've played CS and TF2 on my regular servers I've never run into an issue with people cheating. And he grossly exaggerates the difference in hardware specs. Sure, if you and the other guy run the exact same graphical settings but you run at 20 FPS and he runs at 120 FPS you'll be at a disadvantage. That's why you turn dowm the innumerable options that you don't notice in a heated deathmatch and get your FPS back up to spec.

[ZeroAX]

PC games suffer from a serious competition problem. They can’t pull off “fair” competition, no matter how hard they might try. When the hardware is locked in with consoles, everyone gets the same experience. Competition comes down to skill.

Online PC games are plagued with cheats, hacks, and superior hardware, leading to gamers with weaker systems being crushed by those who can afford the latest and greatest.

I play my single-player only games on the PC when available, the modding community makes it worth it. RTS? PC only. My online shooters? I play those on the console all day. I’ll sacrifice graphics for fair competition.

So basically they don't know how a PC game even works?



How come they don't mention difference in internet connections fucking up "fair competition".

[Korpi]

A lot of good indie games are for PC, easy to advertise them through Youtube and social media and no complications with publishing. Not many would probably know about Minecraft if it wasn't for Youtube. I was playing it in alpha before there was much discussion going about it at all, just few people commenting on its crappy graphics but when videos appeared on Youtube, sales went crazy.

MMORPG's have never really broken the barrier of going to consoles, PSO and FFXI are probably only ones, and in FFXI's case I think almost all of current players use PC. Social media games are also strengthening PC gaming. Then there's the few genres, that don't just work with a pad, or you want to modify them to your liking.

My problem, like already stated is that the console are now so PC-like. Console is defined by it's ease of use and focused design (gaming). Now consoles have lost their main strength and are decreased to 'crippled version of PC' status. PC games are cheap, hardware can be upgraded, but don't need to be upgraded nearly as often as before. I feel like console manufacturers should try to simplify consoles and sell them for cheaper, that's only way they co-exist with PC's in the long run. Cloud gaming is one answer. In future console could mean, that you just don't have hardware at home.

Saying that PC games have no value after buying them doesn't really matter that much anymore, whole industry is trying to fight second-hand sales (and piracy) and not much can be done about that.

[isiolia]

MMORPG's have never really broken the barrier of going to consoles, PSO and FFXI are probably only ones, and in FFXI's case I think almost all of current players use PC.

Everquest Online Adventures for PS2, and more recently DC Universe Online are some others. It is a genre that's largely unavailable on consoles though.

SE recently had a poll asking which platform people play FFXI on (you'd think they'd be able to tell that), but I don't think the results have been shared as of yet. The typical logic presented tends to be that the Japanese market plays more on PS2, but I guess that'll be confirmed/denied when that survey data comes out.

[J T]

Gamestop has a different opinion:

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/game ... -gamestop/

[MrPopo]

Gamestop has a different opinion:

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/game ... -gamestop/

I am SHOCKED that Gamestop would feel that way.