PC game sales only 14 % of industry in 2007

by Justin McElroy { Jan 28th 2008 at 4:00PM }

Yet another gloomy sign for PC gaming enthusiasts: Shacknews recently reported that of the whopping $18.85 billion the video game industry made in North America last year, only $910.7 million (or around 14%) was derived from PC games. When you compare the 267.8 million games sold in total in 2007 to the portion that were on PC (36.4 million) the numbers dip a bit closer to 13%.

Though the news doesn't look great, it's worth noting that this evidence isn't exactly conclusive, as the NPD doesn't track digital sales, a portion of the market that's rapidly increasing on PCs. So dry those tears, pumpkin, that big black box under your desk could be more of a chrysalis than coffin.

Tags: pc-games

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

jsn @ Jan 28th 2008 4:06PM

is this any different than it ever has been? I can't imagine pc sales have ever been more than 20% of the game industry as a whole.

LaughingTarget @ Jan 28th 2008 4:55PM

The history of the world didn't start with PlayStation ya know.

NoHitHair @ Jan 28th 2008 4:58PM

"The history of the world didn't start with PlayStation ya know."

Were that on a bumper sticker, t-shirt and mousepad, I would create a non-profit fund to buy as many as possible to send them out to all the "gamers" that exist today.

Thank you so much for saying that.

C4PTAIN AWE5OME @ Jan 28th 2008 5:01PM

The Game PC makers have always priced themselves out of reach of the mainstream market.

(Squints eyes, looks at PS3, shakes head)

Mike @ Jan 28th 2008 5:29PM

I wonder what percentage of PC games are acquired via torrent downloads.

NoTomorrow @ Jan 28th 2008 4:07PM

What's a PC?

I have never heard of this console.

Snipermonky @ Jan 28th 2008 4:48PM

I dont blame you after all theres the Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation Line, Nintendo; Wii, DS. Need I go on? PC gaming is still strong, just very stiff competition.

DangerMouse @ Jan 28th 2008 4:11PM

One advantage is that there aren't any licensing fees. So if popular console games get ported to the PC later on, it's an easy way to get some cash flow going. But sole PC game companies should start re-routing there games to the consoles, like most of the big ones are doing anyway.

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Jan 28th 2008 4:12PM

If I had a pc that could run the games I want to play then I would be all over them. That price tag for a good rig really hurts the industry.

jynxycat @ Jan 28th 2008 4:19PM

Assuming that the "rig" only plays games, then that's true.

But, hold on to your hats, PCs can do other things as well!

g.Park @ Jan 28th 2008 4:37PM

@jynxycat: "PCs can do other things as well!"

Apparently "other things" are just about all they're being used for these days.

Grimble Crumble @ Jan 28th 2008 5:03PM

My PC cost less than an 80 gig PS3. It may not run all games on high graphics at 1440x900, but I get the benefit of better controls, free, good online play, $50 games and mods. I can hook it up to my TV, although playing is fairly awkward (table with my monitor faces TV, it works, not as well as couch and controller). Now, I do not have a high end PC (although I really only need a better video card), but spending $1000 on a PC will still cost less in the long run then a console (Wii excluded). Uninformed consumers FTL.

Grimble Crumble @ Jan 28th 2008 5:09PM

Old post of mine. I would have only posted if I remembered.
"Well lets put things in perspective. Gamer A buys an Xbox 360 for $350 dollars, assuming we are using today's prices. Over four years, he buys 20 games at $60 each, $1550 (total). Add in four years of Live, and that brings it to $1750 (I don't care if you can get them for cheaper, if you assume that PC's need to be upgraded yearly, I assume Gamer A is is uneducated consumer).

Now, Gamer B, who believes it is time to upgrade his computer, decides to take the ~$400 he would spend on a new computer and build a gaming rig. He buys one of these shiny new 8800 GTS for $350, a Q6600 for $275, gets a decent motherboard for $130 and gets 2 gigs of ram for $40. He buys a harddrive for $70, a DVD drive for $30, and a case for $30. This brings him to $925, and if he was unfortunate enough to buy everything at different websites, about $40 for shipping. $965, $565 more than he would have normally spent. Add in a monitor for $200. Now then, if he buys 20 games, it would cost him $1000. Total, he would spend $2165, but has $400 that would have went to a computer if he bought a game console instead. So, he really only spent $1765, $15 dollars more than Gamer A. Not too bad considering he gets mods, and can use a mouse and keyboard (not factored into price because he probably had them, but if not, another $100). Now if Gamers A and B bought more games, Gamer B would end up paying less."

So at 20 games they are close to even in price, but I seriously doubt I could buy 20 PC games in five years, as replay value is so high.

LaughingTarget @ Jan 28th 2008 5:35PM

You can factor in the fact that resale PC games on EBay drop rapidly in price so you can get that $50 game in a month for $20 whereas the console version is sitting around $45.

Buying a PC for the expressed purpose of gaming isn't terribly bright, but you do have to get a new PC every 5 years anyway, so why not put something together that puts every console on the market at the time to shame for the same price?

NoHitHair @ Jan 28th 2008 5:57PM

Interesting.

Newegg.com:
CPU - AMD Dual-core, 2.1GHz 65W ($59.99)
Motherboard - ASUS, 8GB DDR2 1066, 2600MHz ($99.99)
Hard Drive - 500GB Seagate, 32MB Cache ($119.99)
Power Supply - 600W, Cooler Master ($34.99)
Case - Cooler Master ($34.99)
RAM - Patriot gaming, 2GB ($26.99)

Grand total: $376.94. 500 gigs of space and it will do other things than just gaming. If you're interested in extremely high-end gaming:

Video Card - eVGA 512MB 256-bit ($239.99)

Or if you just want games to run but don't require them to blow your mind:

Video Card - eVGA 256MB 128-bit ($37.99)

Grand Total (with insane video card): $616.93
Grand Total (with normal video card): $414.93

I'm confused. How is this so much more expensive than when the PS3 debuted at $599.99? And if I'm not mistaken, that machine only provided 80 gigs, not to mention a fraction of the library PC gaming provides.

In fact, let's go with current price schemes for the PS3. Assuming one went with the cheapest one, the 40GB for $399.99, for only about $20 more you're paying for something that not only plays games but allows dynamic entertainment centers that can perform far more applications than the PS3 can.

The worst part about this belief that PCs are so overpriced is that the prices I quoted above are the high-end. Ongoing sales and deals, if one pays attention, can reduce the prices even further. For example, I recently built a friend a comparable machine for about $365 that can run even Crysis (though admittedly not on high settings).

I think people need to rethink this "PC is expensive" argument - it's complete garbage.

schatten529 @ Jan 28th 2008 6:11PM

And if Gamer B is unscrupulous and acquires games via torrents; they will spend even less, albeit miss out on online play.

It's all about what games you want to play and when you want to play them in the case of porting games to a PC (or Mac). My opinion is that FPS games are far superior with a keyboard and mouse, yet I opted to get COD4 for the 360 because my rig will only run COD4 with low quality (that's a "me" problem).

If all 360 games (well, all 360 games I want to play) came out for the PC, then I wouldn't have purchased a 360 in the first place. M$ (or Sony) won't allow this on a broad scale because they wouldn't be making money on their systems if people could just play them on their PC right away.

Exclusive games drive sales.

opnickc @ Jan 28th 2008 6:38PM

To everyone arguing price (for PC gaming):

It's not about price. Well it is, but only sort of. Here's what's up;

Consumer A doesn't know anything about computer internals, has never heard of newegg, and buys his/her computers pre-built.

Problem 1: Companies like dell classify computers as things like "Basic Productivity", "Home Entertainment", and "Gaming". Consumer A may assume to play games well he needs to buy the "Gaming" system, which starts at $2,000.

Problem 2: Consumer A likely doesn't know what specs will be good enough to play PC games. Which means if he's smart enough to know he doesn't need to buy the expensive "Gaming" rig, he may end up with a computer not powerful enough. Sure, the CPU, RAM, and everything else but the video card might be fine, but he might not know that. His games will run slow, and he'll assume he needed that uber expensive system to play them well.

Problem 3: Let's say our consumer is a bit more savvy than average. He avoids buying the super-expensive pre-built, knows he needs to upgrade the video card, and is even brave enough to do it. Unfortunately, he doesn't head to newegg.com and get a good midrange card for $125, or a higher end one for $250. Instead, he goes to best buy and sees a fairly crappy card for $120, a midrange one for $250, and a high end one for $500. He's now looking to spend as much as a new console on top of his computer purchase to make it play games.

Basically, PC gaming isn't any more expensive than console gaming, IF AND ONLY IF the gamer in question is highly knowledgeable about computer hardware. The unknowledgeable can still game on the PC, but they'll have to pay a much higher price.

LaughingTarget @ Jan 28th 2008 6:59PM

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

Incredible Crysis ready PC that will spank the shit out of a PS3 - $570. Someone else built it for you to boot.

Evan @ Jan 28th 2008 7:50PM

PCs are cheaper now than they were when PC gaming was at it's peak! PCs used to cost $2000~$3000, which would be equivalent to nearly $5000 today. But that didn't stop people from playing Monkey Island, Civilization, or Doom II!

Esupio @ Jan 28th 2008 4:14PM

And how many percent did Wii play account for?

JAmerican @ Jan 28th 2008 4:16PM

Its a simple answer to why this is. Its because M$ is pushing the Xbox 360 way more than the PC. They would prefer you to go out and buy a 360 and be locked in than to use your computer. They cannot shut out the PC market so they will continue to support it but not as much as 360.

How do I know this? Easy...

1) Achievements have slowly been showing up on the PC front. (Only a few M$ games have achievements on PC while all 360 games have achievements.) All Games4Win games should have achievements.

2) PC games are much easier to pirate than console games. (This is pretty obvious).

3) Console is more locked down meaning any hacks will result in console or LIVE ban.

FidliousWong @ Jan 28th 2008 5:02PM

As an occasional PC gamer, I think I could take this one...

A) Man, FUCK ACHIEVEMENTS! There, I said it. If they were fun and original like Insomniac's when they made the first Ratchet & Clank, I'd be all about them. But so many of them are lame, I have zero desire to even pursue them.

B) You know what's amazing to me? Asia was hardcore the most pirated region in the world. Still is, in fact. This was the region people said PC gaming could NEVER turn a profit. And guess what? PC gaming is very strong in Asia due to ideas like Microtransactions and such. I find it completely ridiculous that the heavily controversial Battlefield Heroes has people complaining about a supposedly losing business model that's effectively saved the PC gaming marketplace in Japan.

C) Consoles still have the problems of glitching. Besides, most hardcore PC gamers ban hackers from their servers.

Hugenot @ Jan 28th 2008 6:58PM

MS should definitely be concerned about maintaining PC gaming, because if PC gaming dies, there will be absolutely nothing keeping most people from becoming Mac users instead.

Microswirl @ Jan 28th 2008 11:08PM

"if PC gaming dies, there will be absolutely nothing keeping most people from becoming Mac users instead."

I think you mean most GAMERS, not most people. Macs are more expensive and have a lot less software support.

Nigeria @ Jan 28th 2008 4:16PM

PC gaming is "Still Alive".

Right now - like twenty minutes ago - I was playing Sim City 4 again.

Brought it for £2. The best £2 I ever spent.

Actually, PC gaming is probably dead.

The graphics elitists have mostly migrated to the PS3. I have no evidence to support that last statement.

Jerk Face @ Jan 28th 2008 4:23PM

Your posts are usually ridiculous, often irrelevant, and always incredibly funny. Keep up the good work!

Co @ Jan 28th 2008 4:30PM

Yea that was pretty funny. Your avatar goes well with your posts too lol

Ubercharged @ Jan 28th 2008 6:09PM

PC gaming is not dead, this entire post is rediculous. Only 14%? thats pretty good considering its PC vs every other console out there which would be 360 ps3 wii ps2 DS and PSP. If you take all that into account the sales arent bad. Also people dont give digital downloads enough credit, I buy anything i can on steam as opposed to retail because its so much easier. Learn to think before you type.

Geist @ Jan 29th 2008 2:12AM

Ubercharged brings up a really good point. We're talking about one platform out of seven, and it's holding its own.

In fact, a calculator tells me that 100/7 is just about 14. So...yeah.

Nigeria @ Jan 29th 2008 6:29AM

Ok.

Considering how many PCs are in the world compared to consoles, 14% of games sales doesn't look too good.

And the article is awfully vague about the games purchased. There is no top 50 or 100 so I will have to talk on faith. The top ten is dominated by the Sims, its offspring, and Warcraft. Big selection. But more importantly, does the NPD group track those £0.50 bargain bin games like Sudoku Mania and the like? If so, judging by my time working in a video games store, games like that would make up the majority of PCs 14%.

Jerkface - I like your pictures. You change often. They add variety. Variety is good.

Jeff @ Jan 28th 2008 4:16PM

"it's worth noting that this evidence isn't exactly conclusive, as the NPD doesn't track digital sales"

Well, fucking duh. I wouldn't say a majority, but I would say a lot of PC gamers buy things digitally. Particularly steam games-- the Orange Box has sold quite well on PC.

Even with that, its a sad figure overall. But the death of PC gaming has been being prophesized forever-- and everyone's been completely wrong each time.

Right now, the biggest problem is piracy. PC games need to come with aggression copy protection and need to actively attack torrents that can be easily found by anyone on google. At the same time, they need to make sure this protection doesn't interfere with legitimate customers-- in fact, a goal should be to make life easier for customers. Something like Steam is ideal.

Jeff @ Jan 28th 2008 4:19PM

The cost argument is BS, namely because a computer is something that people will have anyway. This has been argued ad nauseum, but go out and buy a $600 computer from Best Buy-- you know, for logging onto joystiq and stuff-- pop in a $250 videocard... and you're set for PC gaming. You can now run Crysis on very high, or just about any other game in existence at true 1080p at 60 FPS.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Jan 28th 2008 5:14PM

No sir. I disagree with your MORE DRM mantra.

It was the DRM that drove me to the 360. The fact that you can't :CAN'T: sell used PC games because of the DRM, or take them over to a friends for a play because of DRM, is what is killing the PC game market. That, and the stiff system reqs for most games these days. Sure, cost may not be the issue, but confusion is. The day you can buy a PC game, take it home, and it just works is the day PC gaming starts making a come-back. Until then, PC games will continue to become marginalized.

Joseph @ Jan 28th 2008 5:20PM

If you think that a 600 dollar eMachines computer with an 8800 GT in it can run Crysis on very high, you might want to actually know something about PC gaming before opening your mouth.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Jan 28th 2008 5:27PM

Forgot the crux of my argument:

And even now, with DRMed software up the wazoo, you can STILL get it on torrents, no problem.

No. DRM punishes only the law abiding consumer. Pirates will continue to ignore DRM, and get their software "for free" for the forseeable future.

AirIntake @ Jan 28th 2008 6:27PM

A $600 machine at Best Buy will get you:
Athlon 3800+ 2GHz
2 GB Ram
250 GB Hard Drive
DVD-DL Burner
Memory card reader etc etc etc
With an 8800GT, it might not be able to run Crysis at 'very high', but it should bloody well be able to run it at 'still-pretty-fricken-high' settings and 720p equivalent resolution.

And if it can't, then that is exactly why PC gaming is dying.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jan 28th 2008 4:17PM

good, i shall await crysis and far cry 2 on my 360 or ps3

Deckard @ Jan 28th 2008 4:18PM

I've been an avid PC gamer for years. About a year ago, I switched over to buying almost all my games over Steam (or some other digital download service)exclusively. This has been the growing trend all across the PC gamer landscape, so it's not surprising to me that PC games aren't flying off shelves at Best Buy. I bet that percentage would be at least 25% if factoring in digital distribution.

wootman @ Jan 28th 2008 4:18PM

bah, we shall never die.
we have been dieing in a year for 20 years.
i have bought all my pc games for the past couple years on steam, and that 14% is out of all 3 consoles, the last gen consoles, mobile devices, flash games, pop cap games, e gambleing, arcades, etc.

wootman @ Jan 28th 2008 5:16PM

damn you joystiq and your double posts!

wootman @ Jan 28th 2008 4:18PM

deaftly @ Jan 28th 2008 4:21PM

no.

Cyro @ Jan 28th 2008 6:33PM

PWNED!

PC Gaming will never die, but in a few years PC gaming is going to be insignificant. It just keeps on shrinking. The only ones that keep crying that PC gaming is the best are to types of people. The Rich Snobs that can upgrade every 2 months and the other type that love PC gaming because they never actually buy a freaking game. All downloaded from torrent sites.
Of course they dont want it to die, they get free games!

wootman @ Jan 28th 2008 7:57PM

modchips for consoles.
-_-
upgrades for a console are as neccasary as they are for a pc, i have had this computer for a couple years now and it plays TF2 and many other games on max (which the xbox does not, which i still love) we also have dedicated servers, mouse + keyboard setup, fully downloadible real games (steam marketplace) and the biggest advantage of all, MODS.
anyone can make a game on the PC, such as dystopia, fistful of frags, synergy, and many others.

wootman @ Jan 28th 2008 7:58PM

NoHitHair @ Jan 28th 2008 4:20PM

Times are changing. No one wants concepts as ridiculous as "thinking" and "strategy" when they're playing a game - games are to zone out on not for firing neurons in your brain. That's what school tries to do and that's bad enough.

Puzzle adventures like Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle or Full Throttle? 4X games like Civilization, Master of Orion or Heroes of Might & Magic? Boring. I hate things non-linear - I love when mediocre and cliche' stories drag me through pictures.

In fact, I really hate this whole "picking up a controller" thing and since developers are spending a huge majority of their budget on graphics development, I'm hopeful that one day I'll simply sit through a slideshow and won't have to play anything at all.

Jerk Face @ Jan 28th 2008 4:25PM

I see what you did there!

Shockgamer @ Jan 29th 2008 6:27AM

Bitter tears. So sweet.

Leobebes @ Jan 28th 2008 4:22PM

Oh boy this has been bookmarked. I promise to use this when PC flamers drop by in a thread and throw their weight around when they claim "I play a pc hardy har har, xbox exclusives are coming onto PC anyways", or "it looks better on my pc".

Asses...

jynxycat @ Jan 28th 2008 4:33PM

The games can look better on PC. Being ported or not;

Resolution,
Anti-Aliasing,
Antiscopic Filtering,
Texture Settings,
Draw Distance,

Are all up to the user, opposed to being locked in by the devs.

Very few games up until now on 360 even use Anti-aliasing, despite the designers claim that the embedded 10mb of eDRAM would provide "free" 4x AA in games. Ya right.

Granted those effects require the hardware on PC, but even on 360 games that look like complete dookie, they still don't have AA or AF going on.

-shrug-

PC Gaming isn't going anywhere, it's been "dying" for decades now.