Is PC gaming dying?

Discussion in 'Gamers Hangout' started by Cockles, May 28, 2008.

  1. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    It's meant in a light hearted way mate.
     
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  2. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Yeah, I often have people telling me that my posts are bollocks in a light-hearted way.
     
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  3. Cockles

    Cockles Megabyte Poster

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    BM, at no point did I say you HAVE to see a TV advert for PC gaming sales to be strong. I never said that at all. Right, lets be honest here. Not everyone is intelligent. Not everyone knows about PC gaming. Most people want to do things the easiest and cheapest way possible, and they want it now. Do you at least agree with that? A lot of people are influenced by advertising, hence why it is one of the world's biggest industries, with TV advertising probably being the most powerful medium. Someone switches on the TV, and they see an advert for a stonking looking game, lets say Gears Of War, which was advertised for the XBox 360. On the strength of that, they go out and buy a 360 if they haven't already got one, and that's their platform for the next few years. Nothing else gets a look in, unless they have a lot of disposible income, which not a lot of people actually have. Lets take GTA IV, I think that's been advertised mainly for the PS3, but with other ports. On the strength of that advert, do you think someone is going to say 'well, it comes out on the PC in 8 months time, I think I'll wait that long and spend £800 on a PC rather than £300 on a PS3'. No, they probably won't.
     
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  4. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    What if I said that for every 30,000 boxes of cereal are sold, one PC game is sold. Does that mean the cereal market is having an affect on PC gaming? Or that the cereal market is dominating PC gaming? No! They're two... different... markets.

    Yes, more console games are sold than PC games. But no, PC gaming isn't dying... PC gaming revenue is INCREASING!

    Want numbers? Here you go: link

    One BILLION... just in PC gaming subscriptions. Dude... PC gaming is growing. :)
     
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  5. greenbrucelee
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    Thats a good idea :) I hate programming with a passion but I can write a good story. I always wanted to improve the hitman series with a killer story line mmmmmmmmm if only 8)
     
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  6. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    But you connected the two... that because you haven't seen a TV advert, you worry that PC gaming is dying. The two aren't related. Advertising is strong on the medium that PC gamers tend to use.

    Has nothing to do with whether PC gaming is dying. That has to do with whether console gaming is increasingly popular and profitable. The only indicator you can go by to determine whether PC gaming is dying is whether PC gaming is more profitable. If it is, it will survive. If it is not, it will die.

    1) If they're like just about every family in a developed country, they're going to spend £800 on a PC (or multiple PCs) anyway. Not saying they won't buy a PS3 as well; they likely will.
    2) Again, this is irrelevant to the argument as to whether PC gaming is dying.
     
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  7. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    Just on the advert bit, most games these days are multiformat so the adverts show one version but at the end you see all the platforms the game is released on (all be it half a second or so)
     
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  8. ThomasMc

    ThomasMc Gigabyte Poster

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    I don't think its dying just yet but there is a good case to say that its heading in that direction (Ducks'n'hides), sales can be a little misleading due to subscription based services, but the pirates seem to be doing most of the damage

    p.s it would be nice if some of the comments could be backed up with a source i.e sales falling/increasing
     
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  9. Cockles

    Cockles Megabyte Poster

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    BM, I really can't fathom what you are getting at.

    Right, you deconstructed my last post, and I can't make sense of it at all.

    My first point. Yes, I connected the two, a safe assumption to make is that if something is not advertised or marketed, it may not sell. I don't give a toss that Sims 2 sold trillions of copies without adverts as - with everything in life - there are exceptions. I'm fairly sure most men wouldn;' want to go and see the Sex And The City movie but I[ve no doubt there are some that will.

    My second and third point, you say has nothing to do with PC gaming, how do you work that out? If more people are buying a particular game on a platform that isn't PC, logic dictates that over time, PC games will have less sales, less sales will mean less developer interest, less interest means they will thin out. If console gameing is more popular and more poriftable, then it logically stands that a game released on a console will outsell a game released on the PC. If a developer is aware of this trend, less will go into PC games, they become less desireable, gaming shifts.

    I'm talking about the market now, not people who have been gaming since the Amiga days, not people getting nostalgic, not people like you who are involved in IT, I'm talking about the gaming industry now, and whether you like it or not it is geared more towards the console owner, so people who - for example - are just discovering gaming are going to head in that direction, aren't they.
     
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  10. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    How are subscription-based services NOT considered PC gaming sales? :blink

    I provided a link, above... all you need to do is click on it.
     
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  11. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    How can you say they are two different markets and that it doesn't matter if the sell a lot more console versions of a game than a PC version. I'm sorry but that is a very strange thing to say. It's like saying comedies are a different industry to horror films. They are part of the same industry just different types of films. I would probably say the PC games market is held up with games like the Sims and World of Warcraft. I think if you stripped them away it would be a different story. You also ask 100 people to name there top 3 games platform and I would say the vast majority wouldn't have PC's as there number 1 or even in their top 3. Also the average kid wants to switch on a console and insert a disc and play. They don't want the hassle of installing the game and patching it (yes I know console games are patched now but it's automatic).

    I do agree that if the games market isn't going to disapear then it needs a platform like Steam or come under a banner like the Microsoft's Game for Windows but I personally can see that every generation of console will do more that a traditional PC did and further turn people to consoles.
     
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  12. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    That just means that 15 million people installed Steam doesn't mean they bought anything.
     
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  13. ThomasMc

    ThomasMc Gigabyte Poster

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    chill big fella you got the wrong end of the stick PC GAME SALES can be MISLEADING due to subscription based services i.e most dont take them into account hence why i said back your increase/decrease up so we can make sure everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and i agree they should count just like

    1 x Warhawk Download from PSN
    +
    1x Warhawk BD
    =
    2 Game sales for PS3

    but only on new subscriptions
     
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  14. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Then you're not reading my posts. PC games ***are*** advertised and marketed... just not on TV. They're advertised on the PC. You were concerned that because PC games aren't advertised on TV that PC gaming will die. I state that it doesn't matter whether they're advertised on TV or not, because they're advertised using media that PC gamers use. What's hard to understand about that?

    Sorry if you can't understand my "deconstruction" of your posts... I'm simply addressing your points. Perhaps you'd rather me leave your post in a kluge and I just ramble directionlessly at the end of your quote?

    Your points were about how console gaming is thriving. I don't disagree. My point was that one has nothing to do with the other because the markets are different. Both are rising; neither seems to be taking away from the other in any noticeable fashion.

    Just because developer chooses to create games for consoles doesn't mean they can't *also* create games for PC. And that's exactly what many are doing. Those who create good ports will succeed; those who don't create good ports will fail, or will stop porting to PC. But that's a positive thing for PC gaming... less crappy ports to PC. All that's left are the GOOD PC games, which people will continue to buy.

    As am I... I'm looking at that little dollar figure called Yearly Revenue. I'm not talking about me vs. you vs. Joe down the street... I'm talking about the one thing that companies care about: revenue, profit, sales... money.

    It doesn't matter to me whether the "gaming industry" is geared towards the console owner. That's not the question in this thread. The question was whether PC gaming is dying. Revenue figures refute that... "whether you like it or not."
     
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  15. BosonMichael
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    People who watch children's movies don't typically watch adult movies. One doesn't influence the other much. :D

    Misdirection. Has nothing to do with whether PC gaming is dying.

    Misdirection. Has nothing to do with whether PC gaming is dying.

    But... consoles don't do more than a traditional PC does. And... there ARE platforms like Steam and Games for Windows. What's your point, exactly? :blink
     
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  16. BosonMichael
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    Click the link. The one billion in sales is from subscription services. The $910-ish million is from boxed PC sales. Add them together, and you get two billion, which eclipses the 2004 mark of, I believe, $1.1 or $1.2 billion. Yes, boxed PC game sales are down (by about $200 million), but downloadable sales and subscription services are way, way, WAY up... and that's as much PC gaming as boxed sales.
     
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  17. ThomasMc

    ThomasMc Gigabyte Poster

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    my comments aren't really aimed at you BM but thats for backing yours up :D
     
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  18. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    Kids films and adult films (not porn) are still part of the same industry or do film companies only make one or the other? It still goes towards the cash registers mate. I also said that it needs a platform like Steam (I know it's already in place, you haven't read what I said properly mate).

    I also don't see why your saying misdirection as my points were very valid. Anyways I have said all I have to on the subject so we will have to agree to disagree.
     
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  19. Phoenix
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    I think the point was
    if sales of kids films are up
    does that mean that sales of horror films are down?
    or of action films?

    or could it be people are just buying more films in total?

    the games industry as a whole is growing
    the console market is growing
    but so is the PC market
    why are people treating them as mutually exclusive?
     
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  20. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Your points are valid as to why console gaming is thriving. Your points are not valid as to why you mistakenly believe that PC gaming is dying. The data shows that PC gaming is more profitable than ever, so it doesn't matter whether you or anyone agrees with me or not. :)
     
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