shio said: Gh0st4lifE said: shio said: In other words, PC gaming is going to absorb Consoles. That's what many people have been saying in the last couple of years.   Almost the opposite. Multimedia activities are going from the PC to the living room, whether through consoles or through Tivo devices. PC is a solitary experience (lol), whith a complicated interface, and too much piracy / naughtyness, etc.   PS. Why do you think PS3 came up with the lame "This is living" ? The fact that PCs are shifting into the living rooms only strengthens what I said. And Consoles are becoming more and more like PCs, and if this keeps going they will actually become PCs. There's a reason why PC gaming is probably increasing faster than the console industry.

 

The fact that the percentage of PC sales is being heavily skewed towards laptops every year suggests your being deluded in what you read.  People are not putting PC's in their living room en mass, they're also not buying as many gaming units as in the past either. 

By what metric is PC gaming increasing faster than the console industry?  Last figures I heard had PC game sales down 14% last year yet console sales up around 20%.  Neither of those figures included downloadable figures obviously but its still hard to understand how this is definitave proof of PC gaming increasing.

I love my PC for gaming and bought COD4, L4D and TF2 to play it on because of the superiority over my consoles so I have no bias when I say PC gaming isn't growing faster than consoles.

slowmo said: shio said: Gh0st4lifE said: shio said: In other words, PC gaming is going to absorb Consoles. That's what many people have been saying in the last couple of years.   Almost the opposite. Multimedia activities are going from the PC to the living room, whether through consoles or through Tivo devices. PC is a solitary experience (lol), whith a complicated interface, and too much piracy / naughtyness, etc.   PS. Why do you think PS3 came up with the lame "This is living" ? The fact that PCs are shifting into the living rooms only strengthens what I said. And Consoles are becoming more and more like PCs, and if this keeps going they will actually become PCs. There's a reason why PC gaming is probably increasing faster than the console industry.     The fact that the percentage of PC sales is being heavily skewed towards laptops every year suggests your being deluded in what you read.  People are not putting PC's in their living room en mass, they're also not buying as many gaming units as in the past either.  By what metric is PC gaming increasing faster than the console industry?  Last figures I heard had PC game sales down 14% last year yet console sales up around 20%.  Neither of those figures included downloadable figures obviously but its still hard to understand how this is definitave proof of PC gaming increasing. I love my PC for gaming and bought COD4, L4D and TF2 to play it on because of the superiority over my consoles so I have no bias when I say PC gaming isn't growing faster than consoles.

Retail is a very small part of PC gaming - It was only 30% of PC gaming revenue in 2007, and it should be much smaller today. This is due to the shifting of revenue to digital.

Digital and Online Revenue is increasing much, much faster than the console industry. PC's Digital Distribution Services such as Steam and Gamersgate increase over 100% yearly, and China's Online Gaming Revenue was up over 75% in 2008.

Hell, even EA's CEO came out and said PC Gaming was growing faster than teh Console Industry,

 

Hand held boom in the next 5 years for the US would be more likely.

I know Nintendo does work on various features, but they are edging a very clear distinction between PC and multimedia.

A few thoughts.

Gaming in other devices is not a new idea -- see Nuon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuon). Also, the multifunctionality of machines has always been there (playing CDs, DVDs, and BRDs).

VoD are also not new. PPV movies and events, dating back to the late 1970s, early 1980s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_per_view). Nor is the current interactivity as QUBE was tested three decades ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QUBE).

What has changed is how commonplace these technologies have become. This has happened because of the continual computerization and miniaturization of electronic components (in my opinion -- but probably in fact as well).

Also, what should be noted is that the first attempts on some of these technologies failed from a commercial standpoint. Just because something can be done does not mean that the public is waiting for it to be done. And the public is much more likely to be the Wii owner who has Wii Sports, Wii Play and 3-4 other games and is not hooked up to the Internet than the person who spends hours playing games on-line on multiple systems.

By the end of the year, all three consoles will have some sort of VoD service (for the Wii - see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR2009031202948.html). This is the beginning of a process that may take a decade or two, depending upon the diffusion of high-speed Internet, the combination of technologies, and the general status of the global economy and environment.

Mike from Morgantown

PS -- How many people use their laptops to surf the web or do work while watching TV? I do and my wife has started to do so as well.

shio said: slowmo said: shio said: Gh0st4lifE said: shio said: In other words, PC gaming is going to absorb Consoles. That's what many people have been saying in the last couple of years.   Almost the opposite. Multimedia activities are going from the PC to the living room, whether through consoles or through Tivo devices. PC is a solitary experience (lol), whith a complicated interface, and too much piracy / naughtyness, etc.   PS. Why do you think PS3 came up with the lame "This is living" ? The fact that PCs are shifting into the living rooms only strengthens what I said. And Consoles are becoming more and more like PCs, and if this keeps going they will actually become PCs. There's a reason why PC gaming is probably increasing faster than the console industry.     The fact that the percentage of PC sales is being heavily skewed towards laptops every year suggests your being deluded in what you read.  People are not putting PC's in their living room en mass, they're also not buying as many gaming units as in the past either.  By what metric is PC gaming increasing faster than the console industry?  Last figures I heard had PC game sales down 14% last year yet console sales up around 20%.  Neither of those figures included downloadable figures obviously but its still hard to understand how this is definitave proof of PC gaming increasing. I love my PC for gaming and bought COD4, L4D and TF2 to play it on because of the superiority over my consoles so I have no bias when I say PC gaming isn't growing faster than consoles. Retail is a very small part of PC gaming - It was only 30% of PC gaming revenue in 2007, and it should be much smaller today. This is due to the shifting of revenue to digital. Digital and Online Revenue is increasing much, much faster than the console industry. PC's Digital Distribution Services such as Steam and Gamersgate increase over 100% yearly, and China's Online Gaming Revenue was up over 75% in 2008. Hell, even EA's CEO came out and said PC Gaming was growing faster than teh Console Industry,

That's quite a claim you've got there... Let's see if you can get a source for it.

I agree with you on PC having online distribution ahead of consoles, and on the efficiency of such distribution. Retail accounts for 1/3 of a games' price. Consoles will go there too.

About Chinese PC gaming increasing 75% yoy you'd better add that China has a very specific market made of their own games and with a very specific revenue model (free or low-cost entry price, and then numerous pay-for-download contents). It is not really as if Chinese gaming was an extension of the WW market, rather a parallel universe for the moment being.

If we get back to the point, it's not PC vs Consoles, but the future of consoles.

Why i would never become a PC gamer
1- miss out on all the exclusive titles i love
2-miss out on all other ported titles because the release 6-12 mnths later

sorry ill pass shio

It appears as if this generation of home consoles (bar the Wii) are getting more and more like PCs with their multimedia capabilities. Who knows what the next generation will conjure up, probably an even closer resemblance to PCs with varying abilities.

I do believe though that one day the mobile phone will dominate most markets, they have already taken on cameras and MP3 players detracting many sales; Apple certainly have recognised this with the release of the iPhone.

The PC will disappear, and eventually, hardware as in PS3, 360 or Wii, too . In the same way software is shifting from physical media to DL, hardware processing will be streamed just like video on demand. For everyone to own a processing unit at home, it's just not efficient if you think about it.

I have a BT Vision box which is a PC running Microsoft Mediaroom does a fantastic job of pretending to not be a pc.

If they added a browsing capability and the ability to print to a printer it probably would be our PC.

Gh0st4lifE said: shio said: slowmo said: shio said: Gh0st4lifE said: shio said: In other words, PC gaming is going to absorb Consoles. That's what many people have been saying in the last couple of years.   Almost the opposite. Multimedia activities are going from the PC to the living room, whether through consoles or through Tivo devices. PC is a solitary experience (lol), whith a complicated interface, and too much piracy / naughtyness, etc.   PS. Why do you think PS3 came up with the lame "This is living" ? The fact that PCs are shifting into the living rooms only strengthens what I said. And Consoles are becoming more and more like PCs, and if this keeps going they will actually become PCs. There's a reason why PC gaming is probably increasing faster than the console industry.     The fact that the percentage of PC sales is being heavily skewed towards laptops every year suggests your being deluded in what you read.  People are not putting PC's in their living room en mass, they're also not buying as many gaming units as in the past either.  By what metric is PC gaming increasing faster than the console industry?  Last figures I heard had PC game sales down 14% last year yet console sales up around 20%.  Neither of those figures included downloadable figures obviously but its still hard to understand how this is definitave proof of PC gaming increasing. I love my PC for gaming and bought COD4, L4D and TF2 to play it on because of the superiority over my consoles so I have no bias when I say PC gaming isn't growing faster than consoles. Retail is a very small part of PC gaming - It was only 30% of PC gaming revenue in 2007, and it should be much smaller today. This is due to the shifting of revenue to digital. Digital and Online Revenue is increasing much, much faster than the console industry. PC's Digital Distribution Services such as Steam and Gamersgate increase over 100% yearly, and China's Online Gaming Revenue was up over 75% in 2008. Hell, even EA's CEO came out and said PC Gaming was growing faster than teh Console Industry,   That's quite a claim you've got there... Let's see if you can get a source for it. I agree with you on PC having online distribution ahead of consoles, and on the efficiency of such distribution. Retail accounts for 1/3 of a games' price. Consoles will go there too. About Chinese PC gaming increasing 75% yoy you'd better add that China has a very specific market made of their own games and with a very specific revenue model (free or low-cost entry price, and then numerous pay-for-download contents). It is not really as if Chinese gaming was an extension of the WW market, rather a parallel universe for the moment being. If we get back to the point, it's not PC vs Consoles, but the future of consoles.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS131586+19-Aug-2008+BW20080819

Exclusive PCGA Study Shows PC Gaming a $10.7B Industry, Reveals
Explosive Online Growth

LEIPZIG, Germany--(Business Wire)--
The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) today unveiled the key findings from
its first "Horizons" Report, an exclusive research study of the PC
gaming industry worldwide. Speaking at the Games Convention
Developer's Conference in Leipzig, PCGA president Randy Stude
announced that PC gaming was a $10.7 billion industry during the year
of 2007, with retail sales accounting for just 30 percent of total
revenues. According to the report, growth was largely driven by online
revenues from Asia, the world's largest market, which is approaching
half of total worldwide sales.

Online PC gaming revenue led the way in 2007 with $4.8 billion,
nearly double the worldwide retail sales numbers for PC games. Digital
distribution sales approached $2 billion, while advertising revenues
from websites, portals, and in-game ads accounted for $800 million.
Both are expected to grow substantially as major developers and
publishers begin to adopt formal strategies to take advantage of new
online opportunities.

"Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming,
proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported,"
said Stude. "Today's consumers shop where they live - online."

I'll show you one better, this is from DFC:

"DFC estimates there are over 260 million PC gamers worldwide, and that should grow to close to 350 million by 2012."

And what's wrong with China?! Are you REALLY excluding China from the revenue because they don't pay for the same type of games?! LOL. Hey, let's exclude Japan too, and how about UK (they buy too much Wii Fit), or better yet, let's exclude North-America because they're the only ones that buy Xbox 360 that much.
If you were paying attention, you'd see that there are many "Chinese" games being developed in the Western world, like Star Wars: The Old republic, Battlefield Heroes, Quake Live, Battleforge and Need for Speed World Online.