PC games to outsell console software in 2014
But not if Sony, MS, Nintendo have any say in the matter...
Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia claims that, come 2014, more money will be spent on PC games than on games for consoles.
The assertion was made during a conference call with analysts yesterday, Techgage reports. Nvidia quoted data from market watcher DFC Intelligence.
Source: Nvidia
But the figures - which only cover the US market - don't show PC gaming knocking console gaming for six. And the numbers don't just take in traditional titles but also incorporate subscriptions to games such as World of Warcraft and "free-to-play" models that charge for upgrades and add-ons.
More to the point, we wonder if the data takes into the account the appearance of next-gen Xboxes and PlayStations, widely expected in the 2013-4 timeframe.
Source: Nvidia
Interestingly, even by 2015, packaged software will continue to sell, DFC reckons, despite being dwarfed by download sales.
With game developers forced into creating titles for the lowest common platform, followed by a PC port at a later date, many PC gamers are left with a shortage of titles that really utilise their high-spec machines. As we enter the sixth year without a console upgrade, the gap between the capabilities of PCs and consoles is growing. Nvidia reckons PC graphics cards now deliver 8-9 times the performance of an Xbox 360.
Source: Nvidia
Some dev teams are on the ball, though. This year we've seen a fair amount of titles appear geared toward the PC owner. DOTA 2, Diablo III and Star Wars: The Old Republic are all set for PC exclusivity, while others such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Battlefield 3 and Skyrim are graphically superior on a PC. ®
COMMENTS
Simple math
A user can mod their PC for less than the cost of a console, and it will perform far better than a console. That mod will also improve other useful PC functions like editing video, ripping CDs, 3d modeling, and other content creation tasks.
it's a cycle...
Again with this....
When will people workout that PC gaming has a cycle due to console releases. When new consoles are launched the PC starts getting obituaries written about it. Then as the consoles of that generation start too get long in the tooth there is more interest in PC gaming again, until the next gen console launches and the cycle starts over again.
Been PC gaming since 89 and I have watched this cycle happen 3 or 4 times now. The only difference this time, is that the cycle has been a lot longer, as this gen of console has been with us for a long time.
Also that due to the success of this console generation in getting more people into gaming and generating record sales figures the the lack of interest in PC gaming has sunk lower than usual. This has meant that the PC has not been able to show off the advantages it does have as a platform over console gaming, due to lack of developer interest and the glut of DX 9 ports. All people have had with the PC is the negatives of the platform vs console gaming.
Hopefully if the sale figures released are true, the upswing in interest in PC gaming (again that happens with every cycle), is starting again and devs will take notice and start making some killer games for the PC. Which will only make it even more attractive. Again.
The only unknown is how big an effect the tablet and smartphone platforms will have. Also I am not quite sure about the beating consoles part. That would be new for any cycle. The PC has been on a par with other platforms, I am not sure about when it has beat consoles in the past.
Hopefully devs will get it through their heads this time around, that this is a cycle and when new consoles come out won't abandon the platform completely again....
"you spent £2K on a machine,"
You spent 2k on a machine and it could not play games well. I that is more a comment on your buying skills rather than the platform itself.
"then you shove in the disc, wait an age for it to install, then update drivers, then download a mahoosive set of patches to update the game before it finally comes on"
Yeah, becuase you never have to install a game on a hard drive or download patches (and sometimes large ones) for console games....
"But I stand by my point that graphics do not a great game make."
Agreed. Thought I already conceded that point in my last comment. Just becuase it's Nvidia who are pushing this idea does not mean the processing advantage is graphical only. It is just Nvidia have more of an interest in gaming on the PC than say Intel, else they would be putting out similar stats.
"So, it seems fairly obvious that the point I'd make would be that you can buy a whole console for the price of a decent graphics card. Not such a dumb comment in context."
You can buy several family cars for the price of one Ferrari......
@ph0b0s
I'm sure I don't need to point out that the root of this discussion comes from a graphics card manufacturer and the crux of the article (towards the end, at least) was a comparison of how much more powerful Nvidia's cards are compared to the capabilities of PS3 and Xbox360. So, it seems fairly obvious that the point I'd make would be that you can buy a whole console for the price of a decent graphics card. Not such a dumb comment in context.
WRT to my supposition that the only advantage PCs have is graphics; no idea where you got that from. I certainly didn't allude to it. I'm not so naive as to not know that multiplayer gaming on PCs is far superior (lower latency, more services, more concurrent online gamers).
But I stand by my point that graphics do not a great game make. Just look at Angry Birds!
