Analyst: PC Has Surpassed Console in Terms of Revenue

[Steven Bogos]

Analyst: PC Has Surpassed Console in Terms of Revenue

"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."

Despite dying every couple of years [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/2911-PC-Gaming-Is-Dead-Long-Live-PC-Gaming], PC gaming is still holding strong, providing offerings that are simply impossible for consoles to replicate. Industry analyst DFC Intelligence owner David Cole says that the PC's foothold in the industry is even bigger than that, claiming that revenues for PC games have surpassed that of all the consoles combined. He says the main reason for this is that most console owners also game on PC, but the reverse is not often as true.

"Among core gamers there is a heavy overlap with most console gamers also playing on a PC," Cole told PCR [http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/pc-games-have-surpassed-console-games-globally/033849], adding "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 news comes after DFC published its latest quarterly paid-for report [http://www.dfcint.com/wp/] on PC gaming revenues and usage. As for what games are making all that money, well, it should be pretty obvious to most PC gamers. "The MOBA games League of Legends and Dota 2 dominate everything else by an order of magnitude in terms of more usage than other products," said Cole. "In the first part of 2014 we saw some signs that may change with the introduction of new titles and some increased play of games outside the MOBA category."

"We can say that our top 20 list for 2013 had no titles released that year and in Q1 2014 we saw three new titles crack the list: DayZ, Rust and Hearthstone."

Cole said that Europe, with its love of free-to-play games, has been a big driver of PC trends, and that the next-gen console's PC-like architecture means that an increasing amount of triple-A titles from the US will be available on both PC and console.

The findings make sense to me, as most console gamers that I know also own a PC to partake in its many exclusives, particularly League of Legends and Blizzard titles.

Source: PCR Online [http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/pc-games-have-surpassed-console-games-globally/033849]

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[grigjd3]

PC gaming has become relatively easy lately and more and more affordable whereas the consoles are doing everything they can to make life hard on people. The hardware investment for PC gaming is a little higher, though the difference has shrunk considerably. However, the price people pay for PC games is often a third of what they pay for console games. The result is that three-hundred dollars spent on PC games in a year is equivalent to nine hundred dollars spent on console games in a year. That more than makes up for the investment in the hardware and after three years, spending the extra to get an updated PC still is a much better investment. Further, PC gaming has become far more stable and easy with plenty of services that allow me to browse games at my leisure and then make a pick and install without any further effort. On top of all that, PC systems have a much bigger library available to them than any single console platform. Backwards compatibility for gaming consoles has died whereas services like gog mean people can play games from the last twenty five years. So in the end, the PC is at least as easy to use, more affordable and often better quality than consoles. The market is speaking.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I would offer an analogy to the whole PC/console war...

PCs are Timelords and Consoles are Daleks. Everytime the Daleks come out with a newer, stronger model, the Timelords regenerate in to something newer, better and stronger.

 

[Raziel]

Which specific report is this referencing? That link only takes me to their how page, not a report. How did they collect the sales data for all games? Most every time I hear about sales figures they don't include digital.

I'm also curious how they break down pc use vs console use and revenue. Like a lot of gamers I have a pc and consoles both. And although I have used my pc for gaming. Its by far the smallest use I put it too. I put a min of 10 times more time and money into console games.

What portion of players own gaming rigs? If you don't own a pc made for gaming, is it really the platform you use the most? And how do the games break down revenue and player wise? I know free to play has a huge audience but how many of them actually pay at all, let alone the amount they would put in to a regular game purchase.

 

[marurder]

When EVER has a console been a (gaming) necessity!?

 

[Zipa]

When EVER has a console been a (gaming) necessity!?

Well there was a period there before Valve came out with Steam when PC was getting ignored the hell out of in favour of console gaming and was really on the ropes for awhile.

 

[Tiamat666]

So, hopefully this means that console gamers will get shitty PC ports now.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Well I'll simply take their word for it but all of my "gamer" friends play exclusively on console and none of them even own a PC. I'm the only PC gamer in the group.

I also wonder if they take Facebook "games" into account?

 

[Vicarious Reality]

What kind of person does not own even the simplest computer?
Consoles are like chinese knockoffs, sure they might work and be fun but it is still a knockoff

 

[JET1971]

When EVER has a console been a (gaming) necessity!?

Well there was a period there before Valve came out with Steam when PC was getting ignored the hell out of in favour of console gaming and was really on the ropes for awhile.

No it wasn't, the games were still being made and sold and there were still just as many players. The issue was advertising for the consoles and the console games was being heavily pushed. Not just the advertising from the publishers but from game reviewers.

Other thoughts not related to the quote and not directed at the quoted person:
As for Moviebob's poor prediction that proved he doesn't know what he is talking about as far as games goes it was just one of many comments about gaming in general where he proves his lack of knowledge. I don't even watch his movie stuff because I do not agree with the vast majority of what he says and often wonder if he really knows anything about movies except to say they suck every chance he can because he knows there wont be fans calling him out.

PC gaming is rather steady and not prone to great ups and downs in market like console gaming. There's no big lows and no big ups. The lows are when the consoles have plenty of titles and are getting new releases and the highes are at the end of one generation and the beginning of the next. This happens every single time new consoles are released. the ups and downs are the console gamers themselves migrating back and forth between the 2 platforms with PC only statistics or not buying new console games for comparison statistics. The core gamers who play on a PC exclusively are not a sine wave statistic. Then tie in the actual number of releases for consoles during these transition periods it gives a solid illusion of increases or decreases in market share when comparing to consoles. If it is just PC gaming then it is a more steady constant increase in the number of players and titles with dips based on the economy and the season it is.

Right now PC gaming market is up compared to console simply because we are in a transition period between 2 console generation and it will probably peak in 2015 when the majority of old consoles are phased out, this years titles are available while waiting for the 2015 Christmas titles to be released. The same thing happened with PS1, PS2, and PS3 generations were released. After Christmas 2015 it will be consoles time to start taking back the market to peak in 2017 Christmas.

If one wants to argue about PC gaming being in decline from when Moviebob made that ludicrous video one has only to look at what was going on with PC sales the forecasts were being made off of. During that time tablets were all the rage and smartphones were flying off the shelves as the next greatest thing since sliced bread PC manufacturesr were actively hurting the desktop PC market by not making as many models as previously and were making far more notebooks and netbooks. They saw sales decline for desktops because people were buying the new toys and PC's last longer than they in the 90's and early 2000's. People did not need to buy a new PC because the software required it like what was in the past and they were interested in getting the new gadgets. So the manufacturers began phasing PC's out because they wrongly thought the market was dying and started pushing portable devices. But that's all changed now because people still need and want a desktop PC and are now buying from local shops that custom build to order or they buy the parts themselves and put one together themselves. This is evident in the sales of aftermarket PC parts having a huge increase over the past 5 years while sales of prebuilt from major manufacturers has declined because the manufacturers are letting those sales slip right past them by still pushing portable.

And yes they are pushing portable, go to any major store that sells prebuilt computers and you will see far more laptops and if you tell the clerk you are looking for a computer you can play games on they will almost always point you at a laptop that costs more than the desktops and runs games worse than last gen consoles. This is simply because they want you to use a portable device so they can sell you another in 6 months or a year because the one they are selling you now has a high risk of getting broken and not covered by a warranty and cannot be upgraded easily or sometimes not at all. This is simple marketing, they want you to buy the device that has the shortest lifetime and that is not the desktop PC.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

It sure doesn't help the consoles when each new generation bridges the gap between the two camps. While modern PCs have become more user friendly, easier to plug into a basic TV and controller and gone way down in price, consoles are losing their benefits. They now need updates almost as often as PCs, are losing many exclusives, and have to download patches, maps packs, etc just like PC games. Besides the Wii U, they're also x86-64 just like PCs(including Macs). So there's little incentive for someone with a capable computer to waste money on a new console(read: $500 PC with proprietary OS and a few exclusive games).

Also as the average gamer's age went up so did their knowledge and disposable income. Now he or she can customise their video game experience with mouse and keyboard, flight stick, joypad, controller or combination and mods on a PC. And it's easier to replace parts when they're aren't proprietary hard to find little SOBs. I've had to research and hunt down the correct blu-ray drive for my busted PS3. If my video card, HDD, or a fan went out on my PC, I know what to get and have many options to upgrade.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

theres no console race, only PC master race!


nah just kidding, this was actually predicted a few years back by some analysts. besides digital distribution, the indie revolution and F2P games, id say the flexibility of PC gave it an edge over consoles, consoles are and have always been "1 size fits all" affairs, but wih PC, you can have the best graphics if you want, you can have moderate graphics, you can have a shitty PC in which you only play classic and 2D games, you can play with mouse and keyboard, you an play with controllers, you can play at your desk, you can play on your living room, you can play games released now, you can play old games, you can have games with DRM, you can have games without DRM, you can even mod games, its all up to you



anyways now that the truthly superior race has finally earned its rightful place as the leading platform for gaming, time to come up with a... final solution to the... console problem



that was a another joke, just in case

So, hopefully this means that console gamers will get shitty PC ports now.

wasnt dark souls II one?

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

Which specific report is this referencing? That link only takes me to their how page, not a report. How did they collect the sales data for all games? Most every time I hear about sales figures they don't include digital.

I'm also curious how they break down pc use vs console use and revenue. Like a lot of gamers I have a pc and consoles both. And although I have used my pc for gaming. Its by far the smallest use I put it too. I put a min of 10 times more time and money into console games.

What portion of players own gaming rigs? If you don't own a pc made for gaming, is it really the platform you use the most? And how do the games break down revenue and player wise? I know free to play has a huge audience but how many of them actually pay at all, let alone the amount they would put in to a regular game purchase.

i made a thread about the average money spent by players in some of the most popular F2P games

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.846989-Study-rounds-up-top-ten-of-average-revenue-per-user-in-F2P-games-WoT-first-LoL-last?

now i have no idea how may untold millions play LoL, but multiply that number by 1.32 and you can get an idea of how much money Riot has made, just last year

 

[Cybylt]

So, hopefully this means that console gamers will get shitty PC ports now.

wasnt dark souls II one?

Sort of? Textures are noticeably cleaner on PC, better cloth physics and some lighting too. But some won't forgive it for not letting them change controller bindings or that a third person action game (from a japanese company at that) is still more developed with a controller in mind than a keyboard and mouse. Keyboard binds are customizable though.

Others are just mad that it doesn't have the dynamic lighting of their alpha build that totally broke the game whenever they tried to implement it into the full game. Even then, the visual end result is almost identically replicated if you turn down gamma and turn up contrast.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Gee, and PCs are the ones where they all say digital piracy is running rampant and costing sales while consoles are very difficult to pirate and will often wreck the console if one tries, and yet PCs are STILL making more money than consoles are.

Maybe, just maybe this indicates that those people that are blaming piracy for everything wrong with the video game industry and using it to justify their blatantly exploitative and useless business practices are talking out of their rear ends, just a slight possibility.

 

[balladbird]

Congratulations to the PC crowd. I'm sure some of the more childish of their group will become annoying with their "Master race" chest thumping when they hear the news, but anything that translates to more gamers enjoying the experience the better.

That said, I hope the industry doesn't take this to mean that MOBAs and MMORPGs should be the next first-person shooter. I am and will always be a single player gamer. Online multiplayer breeds griefing and elitism and I have no desire to be exposed to it. If this ushers in an age when the vast majority of gaming is online-multiplayer centric, it may well mark the end of my decades as a gamer.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

Gee, and PCs are the ones where they all say digital piracy is running rampant and costing sales while consoles are very difficult to pirate and will often wreck the console if one tries, and yet PCs are STILL making more money than consoles are.

Maybe, just maybe this indicates that those people that are blaming piracy for everything wrong with the video game industry and using it to justify their blatantly exploitative and useless business practices are talking out of their rear ends, just a slight possibility.

publsihers will always find the most idiotic excuses for their failings "its piracy's fault", "its the used games market's fault", "this is a transition period towards new consoles", etc


only rarely they rightfully put the blame on the man in the mirror, like square enix recently did, now lets see if they actualy fucking learn

Congratulations to the PC crowd. I'm sure some of the more childish of their group will become annoying with their "Master race" chest thumping when they hear the news, but anything that translates to more gamers enjoying the experience the better.

That said, I hope the industry doesn't take this to mean that MOBAs and MMORPGs should be the next first-person shooter. I am and will always be a single player gamer. Online multiplayer breeds griefing and elitism and I have no desire to be exposed to it. If this ushers in an age when the vast majority of gaming is online-multiplayer centric, it may well mark the end of my decades as a gamer.

dont be ridiculous, we still get tons of single player games, or atleast games hwere single player is an option

 

[RealRT]

*looks at his Steam library of 228 games and countless disks around the desk*
*looks back at the PS3 with 5 games on disks and seven digital*

Why am I not surprised?

 

[Ratty]

As we approach a practical plateau for graphics (for development budget reasons if nothing else) and consoles become more and more PC-like this shouldn't surprise anyone. Before this console generation is over more powerful PCs will be ubiquitous, and PC ports are set to be more straightforward than ever. The only reason to buy an interior proprietary PC is exclusives.