PC Most Lucrative Platform in 2008

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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PC Most Lucrative Platform in 2008



In 2008, PC gaming generated a combined $11 billion in revenues worldwide - making it the most lucrative gaming platform - according to a report commissioned by the PC Gaming Alliance [http://www.pcgamingalliance.org/].

The report (you can download the full .pdf here [http://www.pcgamingalliance.org/imwp/download.asp?ContentID=15559]) puts the total global revenue at $10.7 billion, and claims that the PC is the "single leading platform for games" even in Europe and North America - where it accounted for a combined $6 billion over the course of 2008.

Some might use this as an excuse to jump on the platform and point to this report as proof that piracy does not harm PC gaming, but let's take a closer look. The big winners were, of course, the MMOs - there were several Asian MMOs that "are generating more than $100 million" every year. In the West, the MMO genre was boosted by two high-profile launches, Funcom's Age of Conan and Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, both of which sold close to one million copies at launch ... though success may have been short-lived, particularly with the troubled Conan.

Then, of course, there is the behemoth from Irvine, California: World of Warcraft single-handedly accounted for over $1 billion in revenue in 2008, buoyed by the launch of its second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Lich King became the fastest-selling PC title in history, eclipsing the record set in 2007 by its predecessor, The Burning Crusade.

Many companies are turning to MMOs because they are difficult - if not outright impossible - to pirate. If one can launch a successful MMO, piracy becomes significantly less impactful on one's revenues. Of course, the MMO genre has its own problems, such as costly development and increased competition.

Another big winner was digital distribution, with services like Valve's Steam helping establish a world of PC gaming almost entirely decoupled from brick-and-mortar game stores. Beyond digital distribution and subscription MMOs, the report found that smaller free-to-play games that relied on DLC and microtransactions to turn a profit were fairly successful over the past year.

Of course, let's not forget that this is simply revenue, not net profit. The PC might have been the most lucrative platform for gaming in 2008, but it might not have been the most profitable.

(Via Edge [http://www.edge-online.com/news/102/pc-remains-most-lucrative-platform])

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Mstrswrd

Always playing Touhou. Always.
Mar 2, 2008
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oliveira8 said:
PC gaming is dead uh?
I knew someone was going to say that. When people say PC gaming, they mean, at least to me, games that are more meant for PC's. RTS', FPS', etc. While it is included, reverse ports from console to PC (Assassin's Creed, for example), don't really count, kind of how ports of PC RTS' to consoles never really count.

On the other hand, that is still a fuck-ton of money it made.
 

oliveira8

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Feb 2, 2009
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Mstrswrd said:
oliveira8 said:
PC gaming is dead uh?
I knew someone was going to say that. When people say PC gaming, they mean, at least to me, games that are more meant for PC's. RTS', FPS', etc. While it is included, reverse ports from console to PC (Assassin's Creed, for example), don't really count, kind of how ports of PC RTS' to consoles never really count.

On the other hand, that is still a fuck-ton of money it made.
I say PC gaming as in PC gaming is obsolete. Today this news of the PC being the most lucrative platform of 2008 and Steam having more than 20 million accounts, proves that the PC is still a strong gaming platform.
 

johnman

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Lol and ive just been on a thread where it said PC gaming is dead. I would be interested to know how much of that money in total came from MMO's and casual games though.
 

roekenny

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Jun 17, 2008
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PC games are certainly not dead (dumbed down yes) but not dead and far more profitable I assume as well. As aside from the piracy front (what rampant on all platforms so don't count) PC games don't have to pay the fees for the developer kits, marginal cut from console developers, get more of the profit on DLC's as can use their own servers so cut fees their, distribution costs as now cheaper to use steam and what not as well as having a long shelf life since are backward compatible with itself (still the original doom.)

That and they can boost revene by advertising (when last time got a game not sponsored by nivida)so quite safe to say is a profitable compared to consoles if don't screw you users over that is with either shoddy goods or restrictive measures.
 

level250geek

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Jan 8, 2009
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As somebody who just spent about $1500-2000 on a gaming PC*, this is very good news.

*Not sure of exact amount because I bought it part-by-part and will be building it when the video card arrives.
 

dochmbi

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Sep 15, 2008
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I'm pretty sure I spend more money on gaming than the average person even though I hardly ever buy games. I just like to buy a new high-end PC every 4 years for about 1200? and a video card upgrade in-between. 1200+250/4 = 362? a year. Hardware manufacturers are getting the money that would otherwise go to game publishers.
 

KDR_11k

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Feb 10, 2009
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Stop whining about piracy. It doesn't matter how many people pirate, it only matters how many buy. Piracy is a fool's excuse for why his product isn't selling but other products DO sell and they have to fight with piracy all the same.
 

TheBluesader

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Mar 9, 2008
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Yahtzee was right. Housewives really love their Peggle.

The first post says $1 billion was just from Warcraft. My guess is another half-billion is just from the Total War series.
 

Aardvark

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Sep 9, 2008
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Why do you need the validation? If you're willing to spend $2500 on a PC, that should be all the validation you need. Screw what internet nerds say, bask in the radiation of your overpowered monstrosity!
 

SenseOfTumour

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Jul 11, 2008
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So the most easily pirated platform also has the most sales.

I wish I had more to add.

Oh I'll add that I play WOW and have about 25 games on Steam too, recently having bought Slamit Pinball for £2, yes two pounds. I'm also safe in the knowledge that I can delete it and reinstall it 43 times in a row without having to contact Valve.

I'm disappointed but never surprised in the hate for MMO players, and the hate between formats, whether it be PC/console or 360/PS3, we're still a minority and looked down upon by the rest of the world, we could at least unite!
 

runedeadthA

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Feb 18, 2009
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johnman said:
Lol and ive just been on a thread where it said PC gaming is dead. I would be interested to know how much of that money in total came from MMO's and casual games though.
Quite a bit, MMO's and casual games are where the moneys at, because they run on lower end computers and are thus more bought. Of Course, I also wonder how much of Console gaming is taken up by Casual games and MMO's
 

Tech Team FTW!

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Apr 1, 2009
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http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.73071

As I said in that thread: I no longer care what nonsense Peter Molyneux spews.

On a related topic: This does not surprise me considerring the price of pcs.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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Shadow Law said:
Jeez, well with a set up like that no f-ing duh PC gaming will live on.
Heheh, I was thinking that - probably 10 WoW subscriptions in that picture alone.
 

PhoenixFlame

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Dec 6, 2007
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As someone with their pulse on the WAR community, while there has been an alarming drop-off in subscriptions (mostly due to the mistake of releasing prior to Wrath of the Lich King), that it's doing decently well. We won't know til the quarterly report, but the introduction of new classes, content, and a good round of bug fixing all point to a slow uptick in subscriptions. Of course, WAR has the benefit of EA's deep pockets (and considering the last financial report, EA probably won't pull an Earth and Beyond on WAR) and a better rapport with their community than Funcom. We'll see.

As far as the main news topic goes, MMOs carrying PC gaming is not surprising. Most MMOs require a keyboard and mouse to play, something not traditionally included or associated with a console. And even though outlets like XBox Live have made inroads into the online gaming market share that PC gaming has typically enjoyed, PC online play is very much still alive. Based on Steam activity and the amount of gaming still being done there alone, I don't think PC Gaming is going anywhere.

It's funny that Blizzard is mentioned, because the king of addictive, everyman games will probably ensure PC gaming isn't going anywhere on its own - and I'm not even talking about WoW. Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 should buy the PC gaming market a few more years at the least - and that's not even counting what other things could be conceived.