PC Gaming Market Will Hit $25 Billion In 2014, Research Firm Predicts

[Andy Chalk]

PC Gaming Market Will Hit $25 Billion In 2014, Research Firm Predicts

DFC Intelligence predicts the global PC gaming market will break $25 billion this year, but while MOBAs continue to surge, MMOs are on the decline.

It's been awhile since I've been able to make a "PC gaming is dead" crack, which is good because it means that the idea, pretty silly to begin with, has finally passed from the collective consciousness. Still, it's good to hear once in awhile that PC gaming isn't just alive, it's actually doing rather well for itself, so this news out of research firm DFC Intelligence is both happy and welcome.

The firm told GamesIndustry International that it has revised its internal forecast for the global PC gaming market in 2014 from $22 billion to $25 billion, noting that "core gamers seem to be willing to spend more money than ever." Analyst Jeremy Miller said the company expected the lack of major new releases to have a negative impact, but "the top titles of 2012 continued to do well in 2013 and new titles like Battlefield 4 and Total War: Rome II had solid performances."

The top PC game in 2013 was League of Legends while Dota 2 led the year in terms of growth, reflecting the continuing popularity of the MOBA genre. MMOs, on the other hand, are down, and were actually surpassed in value by the FPS market. Furthermore, while the free-to-play model remains lucrative, the traditional "upfront payments" model is also doing very well, which DFC said may spur the growth of a "hybrid business model working where you can call it F2P but still charge upfront."

DFC also stated that the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 could actually have a positive impact on the PC market as well, because of an increased number of "crossover" releases of games like Grand Theft Auto V, Titanfall and The Elder Scrolls Online.

"I think the biggest item of note is the synergy now between console and PC," analyst David Cole said. "We actually think the launch of the new console systems will help lift the PC game business because there is large overlap between console and PC gamers and it becomes another platform for developers."

Source: GamesIndustry International [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-01-28-pc-gaming-market-to-exceed-USD25-billion-this-year-dfc]


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[Fappy]

Unless they are in for some serious changes I expect to see MOBAs drop off fast in the coming years. I think we're getting close to the peak of its popularity. Eventually everyone will have tried it and forgotten about it, just like with MMO's.

 

[Fulbert]

while the free-to-play model remains lucrative, the traditional "upfront payments" model is also doing very well, which DFC said may spur the growth of a "hybrid business model working where you can call it F2P but still charge upfront."

What a brave new world we're rushing into!

 

[Fat Hippo]

while the free-to-play model remains lucrative, the traditional "upfront payments" model is also doing very well, which DFC said may spur the growth of a "hybrid business model working where you can call it F2P but still charge upfront."

What a brave new world we're rushing into!

I know. It's like someone was spying on an EA board meeting.

 

[MCerberus]

while the free-to-play model remains lucrative, the traditional "upfront payments" model is also doing very well, which DFC said may spur the growth of a "hybrid business model working where you can call it F2P but still charge upfront."

What a brave new world we're rushing into!

I know. It's like someone was spying on an EA board meeting.

Or more things in the Guild Wars financial model.

 

[Atmos Duality]

"I think the biggest item of note is the synergy now between console and PC...We actually think the launch of the new console systems will help lift the PC game business because there is large overlap between console and PC gamers and it becomes another platform for developers."

Translation: "Hey PC gamers! Get ready for another generation of shit UI and gameplay tuned specifically for gamepads!
Don't like it? Eat shit and cry more. We don't care!"
(yes, I know PCs can use gamepads, but it's not exactly fair to assume everyone on PC does or even wants to. Nevermind that half the games that I do want a gamepad for require me to get a fucking 360 controller or use a remapping program. Since I don't want to spend another 50 bucks when I have a perfectly serviceable logitech, it's kind of a pet peeve.)

Though personal snark aside, as a general market statement, I do agree with Mr. Cole here.

 

[RandV80]

while the free-to-play model remains lucrative, the traditional "upfront payments" model is also doing very well, which DFC said may spur the growth of a "hybrid business model working where you can call it F2P but still charge upfront."

What a brave new world we're rushing into!

I know. It's like someone was spying on an EA board meeting.

I don't know if it's quite what they were thinking but I'd actually like to see something like this. Where you buy a game, get a standard 30-100 hour single player experience where you go from level 1-##. The single player game would then finish with some sort of 'Cataclysm' or 'Realm Reborn' where the entire world gets reworked and you're thrown into an MMO (F2P or subscription) and it's all 'end game' content.

Because it seems to me like the MMO format makes any attempt to make a structured storyline shit (it's all in the delivery), and the majority of MMO's only seem to play for the end game content.

 

[aaronexus]

I don't know if it's quite what they were thinking but I'd actually like to see something like this. Where you buy a game, get a standard 30-100 hour single player experience where you go from level 1-##. The single player game would then finish with some sort of 'Cataclysm' or 'Realm Reborn' where the entire world gets reworked and you're thrown into an MMO (F2P or subscription) and it's all 'end game' content.

Because it seems to me like the MMO format makes any attempt to make a structured storyline shit (it's all in the delivery), and the majority of MMO's only seem to play for the end game content.

You basically just described CIG's plan for Star Citizen, only you can skip the SP if you want, and they plan to continually create and release campaigns alongside the persistent universe (that you can run on private servers if you want! Squee!). It's not an RPG per say, but there should be massive amounts of tweaking allowed on your many ships. Given their current plans to make everything obtainable through gameplay and give players a strict, monthly cash-to-credits limit, I'm actually concerned(TM) that they're being a little too liberal. I'm not sure if this sort of business model will catch on to any significant degree, though.

 

[Jumwa]

Or more things in the Guild Wars financial model.

Yes, except they never called what they do F2P. They weren't that scummy about it.

The GW model is a pretty great one though, I approve of it. Upfront price, no sub, but lots of nice vanity stuff to buy and use while supporting the development.

 

[Crimsonmonkeywar]

"I think the biggest item of note is the synergy now between console and PC...We actually think the launch of the new console systems will help lift the PC game business because there is large overlap between console and PC gamers and it becomes another platform for developers."

Translation: "Hey PC gamers! Get ready for another generation of shit UI and gameplay tuned specifically for gamepads!
Don't like it? Eat shit and cry more. We don't care!"
(yes, I know PCs can use gamepads, but it's not exactly fair to assume everyone on PC does or even wants to. Nevermind that half the games that I do want a gamepad for require me to get a fucking 360 controller or use a remapping program. Since I don't want to spend another 50 bucks when I have a perfectly serviceable logitech, it's kind of a pet peeve.)

Though personal snark aside, as a general market statement, I do agree with Mr. Cole here.

i know what you mean there. im still pissed with the half assed job with did with skyrim. even with UI mods its still easy to screw up selecting conversation options, etc with a mouse

I actually don't mind, after playing Psychonauts, Rouge Warrior, DMC3, Prince of Persia, etc with various gamepads and M&KB combos over the years. I'm really happy about the recent standardizations, and seeing as I mostly play on Steams BPM the UI isnt an issue, but I understand the frustration. I guess I've never been a true "PC gamer" because I've always hated siting at a desk with a M&KB.....always.

 

[suitepee7]

DFC also stated that the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 could actually have a positive impact on the PC market as well, because of an increased number of "crossover" releases of games like Grand Theft Auto V, Titanfall and The Elder Scrolls Online.

i was unaware that GTA:V had made its way over to PC... surprised nobody else picked up on this really

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

"I think the biggest item of note is the synergy now between console and PC...We actually think the launch of the new console systems will help lift the PC game business because there is large overlap between console and PC gamers and it becomes another platform for developers."

Translation: "Hey PC gamers! Get ready for another generation of shit UI and gameplay tuned specifically for gamepads!
Don't like it? Eat shit and cry more. We don't care!"

Quoted for truth. While I have no choice but to accept that the overwhelming majority of games coming out on PC are console ports, it's so frustrating when the devs can't be bothered to port them properly.

Annoying console mechanics like QTEs might suit gamepads, but are simply awful on a mouse/keyboard. Having to use cursor keys to navigate menus, title screens (I mean seriously, WTF are they even for on a console, let alone a PC?), stupid checkpoints/autosaves when I'm quite capable of making my own (and players of KotOR and Jade Empire were on consoles many years ago, an ability console players seem to have lost) and the worst of all, is the awful, awful, hateful, criminal FoV we're left with, often with no way to change it.

I actually uninstalled Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood without ever having played it since I couldn't change the FoV from the pathetic value that it was (< 60 IIRC). Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry 3 and Borderlands 2 have an in-game option to change it, which is the proper way to do it. If the devs are too lazy to do that, at least make it possible in the config files somewhere.

Anyway, on another note, I wonder how much of that Microsoft will see. Very little I expect, beyond the need for Windows.

 

[Strazdas]

"I think the biggest item of note is the synergy now between console and PC...We actually think the launch of the new console systems will help lift the PC game business because there is large overlap between console and PC gamers and it becomes another platform for developers."

Translation: "Hey PC gamers! Get ready for another generation of shit UI and gameplay tuned specifically for gamepads!
Don't like it? Eat shit and cry more. We don't care!"
(yes, I know PCs can use gamepads, but it's not exactly fair to assume everyone on PC does or even wants to. Nevermind that half the games that I do want a gamepad for require me to get a fucking 360 controller or use a remapping program. Since I don't want to spend another 50 bucks when I have a perfectly serviceable logitech, it's kind of a pet peeve.)

Though personal snark aside, as a general market statement, I do agree with Mr. Cole here.

yeah, consoles doign well only mean bad news for PC gamers, as we will get more shitty ports and games tailored to controllers. If your game cant work with keyboard and mouse then dont release it on PC till it does.

i was unaware that GTA:V had made its way over to PC... surprised nobody else picked up on this really

Apparently its listed on Amazon [http%3A%2F%2Fwww.escapistmagazine.com%2Fnews%2Fview%2F131571-Escapist-News-Now-GTA-5-PC-Listed-on-Amazon]. There are also numerous leaks of game code that clearly refers to PC mode and even PC port bugs. It is very likely it will make its way.

I actually uninstalled Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood without ever having played it since I couldn't change the FoV from the pathetic value that it was (< 60 IIRC). Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry 3 and Borderlands 2 have an in-game option to change it, which is the proper way to do it. If the devs are too lazy to do that, at least make it possible in the config files somewhere.

yeah i dont play games with 60 degree FOV either. thought some ports are so badly made that they cant even do that. BF4 broke apart when a modder changed its FOV to 90, because apparently game engine was tied to low FOV. the porting is THAT BAD apparently.

 

[Church185]

BF4 broke apart when a modder changed its FOV to 90, because apparently game engine was tied to low FOV. the porting is THAT BAD apparently.

Umm, BF4 has a FOV slider [http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviewimages/msi-aio-pc/bf4-settings.jpg] and can easily do 90 (even back in beta). I'm not sure why it would take a "modder" to set it that way and what kind of terrible hardware they were running the game on to make it "break apart".

 

[Strazdas]

BF4 broke apart when a modder changed its FOV to 90, because apparently game engine was tied to low FOV. the porting is THAT BAD apparently.

Umm, BF4 has a FOV slider [http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviewimages/msi-aio-pc/bf4-settings.jpg] and can easily do 90 (even back in beta). I'm not sure why it would take a "modder" to set it that way and what kind of terrible hardware they were running the game on to make it "break apart".

whoops. looks like i mixed it up with COD: Ghosts, that had FOV problem and Activision actually ordered a cease and dessits to the FOV unlocker modder [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129846-Call-of-Duty-Ghosts-FOV-Tool-Goes-To-100]
supposedly unlocking the FPS also made game engine do very strnage things but i cant find the link right now.

 

[Cynical Panda]

Sweet Baby Jesus in a Tumble Dryer I hope this doesn't mean more half-assed Free2Play titles.

On another note, this will be good for the platform if it increases the amount of ports we get from older console releases (not really too worried about new. We usually get new unless it has to do with some console exclusive). Really enjoyed the PC release of Jet Set Radio.