The PC Gaming Hardware Market Did More than $30 Billion in Sales in 2016

[ffronw]

The PC Gaming Hardware Market Did More than $30 Billion in Sales in 2016

The rumors of the death of PC gaming are ALWAYS greatly exaggerated.

It seems like someone is always proclaiming the death of PC gaming, be it a developer, a pundit, or just your friend who loves his Xbox. Whatever reasons they may cite, all of those people are wrong. PC gaming not only isn't dead, but it's experiencing a boom, as the 2016 numbers released by Jon Peddie Research [https://www.jonpeddie.com/press-releases/details/pc-gaming-hardware-market-minting-billions] show.

According to the JPR report, the "global PC Gaming Hardware market," which consists of "pre and DIY built gaming computers, upgrades, and accessories such as input devices and audio/communication systems," exceeded $30 billion in 2016, breaking that threshold for the first time ever. What was more interesting than the numbers was how the sales broke down, as you can see in this graph:

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As you can see roughly $6.6 billion went to entry-level gaming PCs, $10.6 billion to mid-range PCs, and $13 billion to high-end PCs. That means that full 43 percent of the PC hard ware sales in the world are going to what this study calls "High-End" systems. Unsurprisingly, the article states that "The western appetite for PC gaming systems costing thousands of dollars is strong."

"Global consumers continue to embrace the PC platform for video games due to multiple factors. The desktop ergonomic is popular because the display distance offers increased detail when using HD and UHD monitors. Additionally there is superior control with mouse and keyboard control interfaces. This has been validated with eSports overwhelmingly being played on PCs. Additionally, product designers have given PC gamers thousands of options for complete customization from a functionally and aesthetic perspective," said Ted Pollak, Senior Game Industry Analyst for JPR.

This news won't be a surprise to anyone who follows the PC gaming market, but it's worth keeping in mind that despite what some might think, there's a lot of money to be made in the world of PC gaming.

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[Sonder Saunters]

I remember back about a decade ago when I first started following gaming news regularly: "PC gaming is dying" was the narrative that everybody had accepted, and a lot of business practices suggested as such. Always online DRM was beginning to rear its ugly head, there were issues with new games getting late and lack-luster ports if they even got ports at all, and the barrier to entry seemed to be too complicated and expensive. But the hardcore hobby has not only stuck around, but seems to be going through a strong revival period. In the words of that modern troubadour LL Cool J, "Don't call it a comeback / I've been here for years."

 

[hentropy]

I remember back about a decade ago when I first started following gaming news regularly: "PC gaming is dying"

Oh don't worry, I'm sure the Switch, VR, and attempts at 4k console gaming will be its final death knell, putting us PC gamers out of our misery forever!

But to be fair, ten years ago was a bit of a dark age, with many titles not coming to PC, and the ones that did had the most invasive and shitty DRM you can think of. The industry was convinced that literally every PC gamer was a pirate. It wasn't dying of natural causes, they were trying to frustrate people out of that market and into a closed one. That was, until they started seeing how much money Steam was making.

The numbers are fairly impressive, but considering how many people probably did big upgrades with the new Nvidia cards in mind, it's not that surprising.

 

[Bedinsis]

That's a graph that I think it's possible to draw the wrong conclusions from.

Given that the biggest slice of the pie chart is the high-end piece one could feasible draw the conclusion that people are buying high-end PCs to a larger extent then mid-range or entry level. However, the chart shows how much money is spent on the various machines. And high-end PCs are obviously more expensive then mid-range or entry level computers, so the distribution of the consumer base is probably even less concentrated on the high-end.

As you can see roughly $6.6 billion went to entry-level gaming PCs, $10.6 billion to mid-range PCs, and $13 million to high-end PCs.

Surely you meant 13 billion?

 

[hentropy]

That's a graph that I think it's possible to draw the wrong conclusions from.

Given that the biggest slice of the pie chart is the high-end piece one could feasible draw the conclusion that people are buying high-end PCs to a larger extent then mid-range or entry level. However, the chart shows how much money is spent on the various machines. And high-end PCs are obviously more expensive then mid-range or entry level computers, so the distribution of the consumer base is probably even less concentrated on the high-end.

Well the point of the graph isn't to try and show how many people are buying what (that would be much more difficult to figure out), but rather how much money is in the industry. It would only be misleading if you tried to use the graph to claim that more people actually buy high-end components than the others. The high-end stuff should be the biggest slice in terms of money.

 

[ffronw]

Surely you meant 13 billion?

Surely I did.

 

[Remus]

With new tech that is priced less than half the price of the old tech, it's no surprise that people are building new PCs built around the latest chipsets. I built mine 2 years ago with what was top end for the time so I'm not ready to swap out yet but it's nice to know that when I do, it will be considerably cheaper.

 

[MercurySteam]

Surprised to see high-end almost 3 billion in front of mid-range. Guess people are being less tight arses or perhaps its just people going straight for enthusiast hardware and ignoring mid range. Either way its nice to see the industry doing so well.

 

[gorfias]

So this includes upgrades? I did not buy a new computer in 2016 but did buy a $240 RX 480, 12 Gig of DDR3 and headset (last one's broke). Contrast that to new console hardware: a $50 headset for the PS4. Also got a $50 VR head set to go with Samsung phone. So PC won in my household by a lot.

 

[MonsterCrit]

That's a graph that I think it's possible to draw the wrong conclusions from.

Given that the biggest slice of the pie chart is the high-end piece one could feasible draw the conclusion that people are buying high-end PCs to a larger extent then mid-range or entry level. However, the chart shows how much money is spent on the various machines. And high-end PCs are obviously more expensive then mid-range or entry level computers, so the distribution of the consumer base is probably even less concentrated on the high-end.

As you can see roughly $6.6 billion went to entry-level gaming PCs, $10.6 billion to mid-range PCs, and $13 million to high-end PCs.

Surely you meant 13 billion?

Bingo. WHat you have at the highend spectrum. Is people spending ludcrous amounts on anything with the word gaming in the name.

Keyboards will run you $20 tops. Gaming keyboards can run over $100
Same thing for everything else.

YOU hasve a relatively small number of people. Dumping high v\olumes of cash at the high end market. Midrange and entry level are likely thge levels with the most individuals. MNid range peop;le are those that simply wait for the high end stuff to drop in price.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

It would've been higher if nVidia would have released the 1080ti. I need it in my life.

The "death of PC gaming" is a bit of a misnomer. It isn't dead quite clearly, but what is dead is PC game development. Games now are designed for consoles and the "standard" joypad and ported to PC. While we do still have indie games and the rare strategy/RTS/4x offering that simply won't work on console, the days of cutting edge games like Crysis and complex RPGs like Dragon Age: Origins are gone. The gamers who enjoyed those are replaced by the "CoD crowd" who play the homogenised, "mass-market appeal" games we get across platforms now.

 

[LTD]

"It isn't dead quite clearly, but what is dead is PC game development. Games now are designed for consoles and the "standard" joypad and ported to PC."

Only if you're looking at AAA-budget titles. There are tons of modern PC-only games out there, but they're smaller and more focused experiences. Developers can't afford to put AAA money towards a game and not aim at the largest possible audience - which means both consoles and PCs.