Xbox 360 / PS3 - what are they now, 400$ for XBOX and 600$ for PS3?
To make a computer that can perform at the same level is easily twice that.
True, if you know what you are doing you can buy it piece by piece and get it cheaper, but the 'average' gamer is NOT people like us here on MMORPG.com
The average gamer would much rather buy a box for 400$ and have everything they need.
I love console gaming. I'd rather play my FPS and adventure/hack n slash games on console any day.
But I also love MMOs and I'd much rather play my MMOs on PC.
But, if someone could make console MMO with a good enough control scheme, I'd love to sit on my couch, kick back w/ my wireless remote and go to town on my HD TV.
Eventually, there will be no difference between console and PC gaming. Our days of sitting a foot away from a tiny screen using a mouse/keyboard are numbered. Mark my words.
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment) - 2.25 million World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) - 914,000 The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack (EA Maxis) - 433,000 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward) 383,000 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Los Angeles) - 343,000 Sim City 4 Deluxe (Maxis) - 284,000 The Sims 2 (Maxis) - 281,000 The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 271,000 Age of Empires III (Ensemble Studios) - 259,000 The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 236,000
Console games sales 2007:
Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 4.82 million Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 4.12 million Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 3.04 million Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 2.72 million Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 2.52 million Pokemon Diamond Version (Game Freak, Nintendo, NDS) - 2.48 million Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 1.90 million Guitar Hero II (Harmonix, Activision, PS2) - 1.89 million Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 1.87 million Mario Party 8 (Hudson Soft, Wii) - 1.82 million
Need to say more ?
Is that report measured in number of sells or $ made?
In case you don't know, those number only includes games that's bought from the shelf. A lot of the PC games nowadays are distributed electronically. Just think how many of those little games have you downloaded that just ask you to "register for $20" so that you can continue playing? Those games are not included in the statistics.
If it's $ made, then I don't think any game can compare to WoW.
Lies. It was just a bad year for the PC game market. Some games are getting too far ahead of themselves with technical specifications only 1% of their market could hope to meet. 2008 will be better.
Lies. It was just a bad year for the PC game market. Some games are getting too far ahead of themselves with technical specifications only 1% of their market could hope to meet. 2008 will be better.
I would count on it. The *same* game (COD4, for example) sold almost 10x better on the console. That is not a gap that can be easily overcome.
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment) - 2.25 million World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) - 914,000 The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack (EA Maxis) - 433,000 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward) 383,000 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Los Angeles) - 343,000 Sim City 4 Deluxe (Maxis) - 284,000 The Sims 2 (Maxis) - 281,000 The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 271,000 Age of Empires III (Ensemble Studios) - 259,000 The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 236,000
Console games sales 2007:
Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 4.82 million Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 4.12 million Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 3.04 million Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 2.72 million Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 2.52 million Pokemon Diamond Version (Game Freak, Nintendo, NDS) - 2.48 million Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 1.90 million Guitar Hero II (Harmonix, Activision, PS2) - 1.89 million Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 1.87 million Mario Party 8 (Hudson Soft, Wii) - 1.82 million
Need to say more ?
More needs to be said yes , this does not take into account Digital downloads .. how many millions of digital downloads were there in 2007 ?
I dont know mate... I have ALWAYS found that PC had a wider selection of better games that lasted longer than consoles ever did. Maybe thats changing, but it hasn't happened yet. I stop PC gaming for a month when an amazing game comes out a console... at most, but then I'm drawn back to the more dynamic, diverse nature of PC gaming.
I'm not sure what you're talking about, but the diversity has always been on consoles, mainly because entire genres were near unplayable with a mouse and keyboard which seriously damaged sales. Ever tried playing a fighting game or an action game like Ninja Gaiden on a keyboard? Not recommended. Imo the PC market is overflown with first person shooters, RTS and MMO's and an RPG thrown in every here and there...and that's pretty much it
The reverse is true too though. Ever try to play an RTS with a gamepad? Forget it.
Lies. It was just a bad year for the PC game market. Some games are getting too far ahead of themselves with technical specifications only 1% of their market could hope to meet. 2008 will be better.
Does anyone think what happened with Chrysis will be a wake up call for the PC game devs?
Another great example of Moore's Law. Give people access to that much space (developers and users alike) and they'll find uses for it that you can never imagine. "640K ought to be enough for anybody" - Bill Gates 1981
I dont know mate... I have ALWAYS found that PC had a wider selection of better games that lasted longer than consoles ever did. Maybe thats changing, but it hasn't happened yet. I stop PC gaming for a month when an amazing game comes out a console... at most, but then I'm drawn back to the more dynamic, diverse nature of PC gaming.
I'm not sure what you're talking about, but the diversity has always been on consoles, mainly because entire genres were near unplayable with a mouse and keyboard which seriously damaged sales. Ever tried playing a fighting game or an action game like Ninja Gaiden on a keyboard? Not recommended. Imo the PC market is overflown with first person shooters, RTS and MMO's and an RPG thrown in every here and there...and that's pretty much it
The reverse is true too though. Ever try to play an RTS with a gamepad? Forget it.
Actually I did, and it's not halve as bad as some PC fanatics claim it to be. It's not as good as a mouse and keyboard but it certainly doesn't play bad and it's far from impossible. It plays different, I think most PC fanatics are not willing to give it a fair try. There is a good reason why console FPS are selling so well, PC fanatics are overreacting. Playing a FPS isn't nearly as difficult as playing a fighter or Ninja Gaiden on a keyboard.
I still dare to say best games are made for pc last year was top year for pc. And consoles can,t still compete with hardware pc is superior in almost all areas.
True. However, the discussion is about the dismal (or not so dismal depending on how much digital download adds to the equation) state of PC games business.
There is obviously no doubt that PC has better hardware. The question is whether development will dry up (except for MMORPGs, of course) if retail sales of box games are so low.
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment) - 2.25 million World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) - 914,000 The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack (EA Maxis) - 433,000 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward) 383,000 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Los Angeles) - 343,000 Sim City 4 Deluxe (Maxis) - 284,000 The Sims 2 (Maxis) - 281,000 The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 271,000 Age of Empires III (Ensemble Studios) - 259,000 The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 236,000
Console games sales 2007:
Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 4.82 million Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 4.12 million Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 3.04 million Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 2.72 million Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 2.52 million Pokemon Diamond Version (Game Freak, Nintendo, NDS) - 2.48 million Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 1.90 million Guitar Hero II (Harmonix, Activision, PS2) - 1.89 million Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 1.87 million Mario Party 8 (Hudson Soft, Wii) - 1.82 million
Need to say more ?
More needs to be said yes , this does not take into account Digital downloads .. how many millions of digital downloads were there in 2007 ?
Yeah, digital downloads weren't probably taken into account, but how many could there be? Let's double the number - it's nearly 800 thousand copies of COD4 PC sold. Compare that to 3 million of 360 version and more than 2 million of PS3 version (announced around a week ago).
On the other hand it's funny to read Infinity Ward talking about how many people play illegal copies of COD4 when the developers did almost nothing to prevent it.
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment) - 2.25 million World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) - 914,000 The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack (EA Maxis) - 433,000 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward) 383,000 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Los Angeles) - 343,000 Sim City 4 Deluxe (Maxis) - 284,000 The Sims 2 (Maxis) - 281,000 The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 271,000 Age of Empires III (Ensemble Studios) - 259,000 The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 236,000
Console games sales 2007:
Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 4.82 million Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 4.12 million Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 3.04 million Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 2.72 million Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 2.52 million Pokemon Diamond Version (Game Freak, Nintendo, NDS) - 2.48 million Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 1.90 million Guitar Hero II (Harmonix, Activision, PS2) - 1.89 million Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 1.87 million Mario Party 8 (Hudson Soft, Wii) - 1.82 million
Need to say more ?
OK, now this is purely personal opinion and it's been touched on earlier, but these lists are the reasons why I've been getting disillusioned with PC games for a few years now. Look at the PC: MMO, RTS, FPS. The Sim series is an exception to this (nice to see Sim City still going strong, but I don't like the direction EA took the series), but I wonder what would be next if we combined those 4 Sims titles into one; I'm willing to bet more of the 'holy trinity'. I'm not sure I'd even think of flight sims any more.
Then look at the console - FPS's are there, true. But the ubiquitous platformer is there (Mario), an action adventure (Assassins Creed), RPG/Adventure (Pokemon), Sports sim (Madden) and what may best be described as weird/party games for the rest; in short, they're different (and yes I realise the irony that they're mainly sequels...)
I miss my Monkey Islands. I miss my wargames. I miss all those other genres that used to be a legitimate choice when I walked into the shop. But now? There just doesn't seem to be anything that appeals to me (note: personal taste again). I like FPS. I can tolerate an RTS. MMO's and online play in general I've not long got into due to only recently (*within the last 3 years) getting a decent net connection, another barrier to many PC games; yes I know that the use of the internet is spreading, but it's by no means universal yet. So where have all those other genres gone? To console evidently, probably because FPS and RTS exploded so forcefully on to the scene and were so fresh and new at the time that they were the only products that sold for a time - self fulfilling really. WoW is proving the same with MMO's.
I'm rambling a bit now (need my sleep!) so I'll wrap up with a personal observation. Every games shop I've walked into for the past few years (even predating the latest generation of consoles) has been shrinking the PC section more and more, and relegating it further and further to the back corners. I know, I know, we can't judge an industry from one part of the world, but evidently they don't feel the need to ... encourage PC gaming sales.
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment) - 2.25 million World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) - 914,000 The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack (EA Maxis) - 433,000 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward) 383,000 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Los Angeles) - 343,000 Sim City 4 Deluxe (Maxis) - 284,000 The Sims 2 (Maxis) - 281,000 The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 271,000 Age of Empires III (Ensemble Studios) - 259,000 The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 236,000
Console games sales 2007:
Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 4.82 million Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 4.12 million Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 3.04 million Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 2.72 million Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 2.52 million Pokemon Diamond Version (Game Freak, Nintendo, NDS) - 2.48 million Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 1.90 million Guitar Hero II (Harmonix, Activision, PS2) - 1.89 million Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 1.87 million Mario Party 8 (Hudson Soft, Wii) - 1.82 million
Need to say more ?
And you got these numbers from where?
Its great we have some numbers to go by now, but knowing where they came from is just as essential.
Also I presume these are just for NA alone? Blizzard have advertised well over a million sales.
Facts, all important facts, you fail to specify Lobotomist.
If you look at the Asian (mainly Chinese/Taiwanese) game development, it is almost 100% MMOs now. There is almost NO ONE doing single player games anymore.
i heard that the primary reason is piracy. It has become so big that developers just give up there. MMO, OTOH, cannot be pirated. (Yes, I know about private servers but they are NOT the same).
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard Entertainment) - 2.25 million World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) - 914,000 The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack (EA Maxis) - 433,000 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward) 383,000 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Los Angeles) - 343,000 Sim City 4 Deluxe (Maxis) - 284,000 The Sims 2 (Maxis) - 281,000 The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 271,000 Age of Empires III (Ensemble Studios) - 259,000 The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack (Maxis) - 236,000
Console games sales 2007:
Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 4.82 million Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 4.12 million Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 3.04 million Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 2.72 million Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 2.52 million Pokemon Diamond Version (Game Freak, Nintendo, NDS) - 2.48 million Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 1.90 million Guitar Hero II (Harmonix, Activision, PS2) - 1.89 million Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 1.87 million Mario Party 8 (Hudson Soft, Wii) - 1.82 million
Need to say more ?
And you got these numbers from where?
Its great we have some numbers to go by now, but knowing where they came from is just as essential.
Also I presume these are just for NA alone? Blizzard have advertised well over a million sales.
Facts, all important facts, you fail to specify Lobotomist.
I think it really means PC gamers won't just buy any piece of shit on the shelf anymore. We have become very demanding in getting good products and if they are not there we will not buy.
Yeah, except WoW, Tabula Rasa, EQ2, Vanguard, every other weak game people play
Gamers are gullible and will buy a game, play it for a day or 2 then not pick it up again.
Spokesman of NPD already said: they do not count anything digital downloaded in these numbers.
We all know, that the market is changing and the old ways of retailselling is getting old. Yes for the consoles they mostly only sell in retail, because its part of the protection system.
For PC however, most games are digitally bought/downloaded or are MMO versions nowadays.
Direct2drive, matrixgames, battlefront, gamersgate, there are so many digital downloadproviders and they are all not counted.
Lets face it, whats cheaper and easier: buy and download from your home and then maybe burn it on cd or dvd OR take the car to nearby town, pay the fuel, pay parking tickets or use public transport and spent the time to go there, to buy a game in a retail shop?
My choise personal is for some years now the digital download provider.
NPD studies however show, that the pc is still the platform where people spent the most playing time.
So, i see this topic everywhere, but to me, it seems more some advertisement of console companies, to draw more people to the consoles.
PC gaming is not dead, wont die, because its still cheaper to upgrade a normal pc to a gaming pc, then buy a pc and a console to play games. Yes most people need a pc for work, study or other things.
PC market is changing and some companies dont realize that yet. Retailers/distributors are slowly not involved anymore and the software is going directly from developer to customer or through digital provider site. Way more direct lines.
So the conclusion is: Retail shopping is dying, except for consoles, who keep doing it the old fashioned way still.
Its not the job for the PC to beat consoles. Pc's are all-in-one utilities, consoles are designed for gaming. As long as the PC remains the primary outlet for:
hehe... fun reading. Lots of desires interspersed with reasoning. Since I have several PCs around the house (software dev working from home) and only a PS2, I am HIGHLY motivated personally to want to believe PC gaming is not dead. So I'm definately not a console-salesman.
But my only prediction, (one that I would bet money on occuring), is that companies are going to follow the money.
This whole thing reads like a comparison between linux to windows in regard to what a software developer would develop for. Whether or not linux is better than windows is IRRELEVANT. Devs are going to follow the money.
The only question a dev should ask themself:
"do I even bother doing a PC game? My profit will be PC-only customer purchases minus piracy losses minus dev-costs... so is it worth doing? OR should I invest that same dev-time in console-game number 2, because my profit there is just sales... which if these sales figures are correct and complete, is around 10 times as much quantity.... ?!"
IF those sales numbers above are true and complete, then it looks pretty bleak for PC games... maybe a big if.... need more data on digital download sales now I think...
PC titles make twice the profit console titles do.
It depends what you seek, number of sales or % profits.
Ultimately the key it is having a hit title. Not the Platform you wrote it for.
World of Warcraft for example, although only selling a million in America last year, has also been selling for two years previously. Will Halo 3 still be selling millions on the Xbox 360 in 3 years time? No.
Will Halo 4? Quite likely.
With 14% of total video games sales and 1/3 or total video game revenue, you can develop for whichever platform you feel like mate. There is a wide open multi-billion dollar global market all ready and waiting for your product.
As long as there are billions to be made in PC gamer software, there will be a multitude of developers out there.
Consoles haven't killed the PC game industry. Quite the opposite, there is a lot of industry cross over. A drop in PC game sales of 6% in the year of 3 new console releases is neither here nor there, since the dawn of the games console, PC game sales have increased 1,000 fold. Consloes too. The platforms have evolved side by side. Video games studio's develop for both PC and console. Rarely just one or the other. They can make games for any platform and chop and change between them as they like.
Spokesman of NPD already said: they do not count anything digital downloaded in these numbers. We all know, that the market is changing and the old ways of retailselling is getting old. Yes for the consoles they mostly only sell in retail, because its part of the protection system. For PC however, most games are digitally bought/downloaded or are MMO versions nowadays. Direct2drive, matrixgames, battlefront, gamersgate, there are so many digital downloadproviders and they are all not counted. Lets face it, whats cheaper and easier: buy and download from your home and then maybe burn it on cd or dvd OR take the car to nearby town, pay the fuel, pay parking tickets or use public transport and spent the time to go there, to buy a game in a retail shop? My choise personal is for some years now the digital download provider. NPD studies however show, that the pc is still the platform where people spent the most playing time. So, i see this topic everywhere, but to me, it seems more some advertisement of console companies, to draw more people to the consoles. PC gaming is not dead, wont die, because its still cheaper to upgrade a normal pc to a gaming pc, then buy a pc and a console to play games. Yes most people need a pc for work, study or other things. PC market is changing and some companies dont realize that yet. Retailers/distributors are slowly not involved anymore and the software is going directly from developer to customer or through digital provider site. Way more direct lines.
So the conclusion is: Retail shopping is dying, except for consoles, who keep doing it the old fashioned way still.
digital downloads do not outsell normal retail sales. In fact, even if digital downloads sold just as well as retail sales the sales would still be small compared to console counterparts.
PC titles make twice the profit console titles do. It depends what you seek, number of sales or % profits. Ultimately the key it is having a hit title. Not the Platform you wrote it for. World of Warcraft for example, although only selling a million in America last year, has also been selling for two years previously. Will Halo 3 still be selling millions on the Xbox 360 in 3 years time? No. Will Halo 4? Quite likely.
With 14% of total video games sales and 1/3 or total video game revenue, you can develop for whichever platform you feel like mate. There is a wide open multi-billion dollar global market all ready and waiting for your product. As long as there are billions to be made in PC gamer software, there will be a multitude of developers out there. Consoles haven't killed the PC game industry. Quite the opposite, there is a lot of industry cross over. A drop in PC game sales of 6% in the year of 3 new console releases is neither here nor there, since the dawn of the games console, PC game sales have increased 1,000 fold. Consloes too. The platforms have evolved side by side. Video games studio's develop for both PC and console. Rarely just one or the other. They can make games for any platform and chop and change between them as they like.
World of Warcraft is the only game that sold over a million last year. Crysis sold 80k units its first month, UT3 sold only 33k units its first month, both FPS and both high anticipated games. Even Mario & Sonic at the olympic games massively outsold those two games.We see more and more developers switching over to consoles, it's clear where the industry is going with this.
Comments
It's a matter of cost.
Xbox 360 / PS3 - what are they now, 400$ for XBOX and 600$ for PS3?
To make a computer that can perform at the same level is easily twice that.
True, if you know what you are doing you can buy it piece by piece and get it cheaper, but the 'average' gamer is NOT people like us here on MMORPG.com
The average gamer would much rather buy a box for 400$ and have everything they need.
I love console gaming. I'd rather play my FPS and adventure/hack n slash games on console any day.
But I also love MMOs and I'd much rather play my MMOs on PC.
But, if someone could make console MMO with a good enough control scheme, I'd love to sit on my couch, kick back w/ my wireless remote and go to town on my HD TV.
Eventually, there will be no difference between console and PC gaming. Our days of sitting a foot away from a tiny screen using a mouse/keyboard are numbered. Mark my words.
Is that report measured in number of sells or $ made?
In case you don't know, those number only includes games that's bought from the shelf. A lot of the PC games nowadays are distributed electronically. Just think how many of those little games have you downloaded that just ask you to "register for $20" so that you can continue playing? Those games are not included in the statistics.
If it's $ made, then I don't think any game can compare to WoW.
Lies. It was just a bad year for the PC game market. Some games are getting too far ahead of themselves with technical specifications only 1% of their market could hope to meet. 2008 will be better.
I would count on it. The *same* game (COD4, for example) sold almost 10x better on the console. That is not a gap that can be easily overcome.
It's piracy thats doing in PC gaming.
I still dare to say best games are made for pc last year was top year for pc.
And consoles can,t still compete with hardware pc is superior in almost all areas.
Hope to build full AMD system RYZEN/VEGA/AM4!!!
MB:Asus V De Luxe z77
CPU:Intell Icore7 3770k
GPU: AMD Fury X(waiting for BIG VEGA 10 or 11 HBM2?(bit unclear now))
MEMORY:Corsair PLAT.DDR3 1866MHZ 16GB
PSU:Corsair AX1200i
OS:Windows 10 64bit
I'm not sure what you're talking about, but the diversity has always been on consoles, mainly because entire genres were near unplayable with a mouse and keyboard which seriously damaged sales. Ever tried playing a fighting game or an action game like Ninja Gaiden on a keyboard? Not recommended. Imo the PC market is overflown with first person shooters, RTS and MMO's and an RPG thrown in every here and there...and that's pretty much it
The reverse is true too though. Ever try to play an RTS with a gamepad? Forget it.
Does anyone think what happened with Chrysis will be a wake up call for the PC game devs?
Another great example of Moore's Law. Give people access to that much space (developers and users alike) and they'll find uses for it that you can never imagine. "640K ought to be enough for anybody" - Bill Gates 1981
I'm not sure what you're talking about, but the diversity has always been on consoles, mainly because entire genres were near unplayable with a mouse and keyboard which seriously damaged sales. Ever tried playing a fighting game or an action game like Ninja Gaiden on a keyboard? Not recommended. Imo the PC market is overflown with first person shooters, RTS and MMO's and an RPG thrown in every here and there...and that's pretty much it
The reverse is true too though. Ever try to play an RTS with a gamepad? Forget it.
Actually I did, and it's not halve as bad as some PC fanatics claim it to be. It's not as good as a mouse and keyboard but it certainly doesn't play bad and it's far from impossible. It plays different, I think most PC fanatics are not willing to give it a fair try. There is a good reason why console FPS are selling so well, PC fanatics are overreacting. Playing a FPS isn't nearly as difficult as playing a fighter or Ninja Gaiden on a keyboard.
True. However, the discussion is about the dismal (or not so dismal depending on how much digital download adds to the equation) state of PC games business.
There is obviously no doubt that PC has better hardware. The question is whether development will dry up (except for MMORPGs, of course) if retail sales of box games are so low.
On the other hand it's funny to read Infinity Ward talking about how many people play illegal copies of COD4 when the developers did almost nothing to prevent it.
OK, now this is purely personal opinion and it's been touched on earlier, but these lists are the reasons why I've been getting disillusioned with PC games for a few years now. Look at the PC: MMO, RTS, FPS. The Sim series is an exception to this (nice to see Sim City still going strong, but I don't like the direction EA took the series), but I wonder what would be next if we combined those 4 Sims titles into one; I'm willing to bet more of the 'holy trinity'. I'm not sure I'd even think of flight sims any more.
Then look at the console - FPS's are there, true. But the ubiquitous platformer is there (Mario), an action adventure (Assassins Creed), RPG/Adventure (Pokemon), Sports sim (Madden) and what may best be described as weird/party games for the rest; in short, they're different (and yes I realise the irony that they're mainly sequels...)
I miss my Monkey Islands. I miss my wargames. I miss all those other genres that used to be a legitimate choice when I walked into the shop. But now? There just doesn't seem to be anything that appeals to me (note: personal taste again). I like FPS. I can tolerate an RTS. MMO's and online play in general I've not long got into due to only recently (*within the last 3 years) getting a decent net connection, another barrier to many PC games; yes I know that the use of the internet is spreading, but it's by no means universal yet. So where have all those other genres gone? To console evidently, probably because FPS and RTS exploded so forcefully on to the scene and were so fresh and new at the time that they were the only products that sold for a time - self fulfilling really. WoW is proving the same with MMO's.
I'm rambling a bit now (need my sleep!) so I'll wrap up with a personal observation. Every games shop I've walked into for the past few years (even predating the latest generation of consoles) has been shrinking the PC section more and more, and relegating it further and further to the back corners. I know, I know, we can't judge an industry from one part of the world, but evidently they don't feel the need to ... encourage PC gaming sales.
All mere personal opinion - take it or leave it.
Its great we have some numbers to go by now, but knowing where they came from is just as essential.
Also I presume these are just for NA alone? Blizzard have advertised well over a million sales.
Facts, all important facts, you fail to specify Lobotomist.
---
I will give another fact as food for thought.
If you look at the Asian (mainly Chinese/Taiwanese) game development, it is almost 100% MMOs now. There is almost NO ONE doing single player games anymore.
i heard that the primary reason is piracy. It has become so big that developers just give up there. MMO, OTOH, cannot be pirated. (Yes, I know about private servers but they are NOT the same).
Its great we have some numbers to go by now, but knowing where they came from is just as essential.
Also I presume these are just for NA alone? Blizzard have advertised well over a million sales.
Facts, all important facts, you fail to specify Lobotomist.
Those are North American NPD numbers.
Yeah, except WoW, Tabula Rasa, EQ2, Vanguard, every other weak game people play
Gamers are gullible and will buy a game, play it for a day or 2 then not pick it up again.
If it's trash, don't even buy it.
Wait for Starcraft 2 then tell me if PC gaming is dead or not. Then think why did SC2 pwn so much...
NPD numbers dont mean anything at all.
Spokesman of NPD already said: they do not count anything digital downloaded in these numbers.
We all know, that the market is changing and the old ways of retailselling is getting old. Yes for the consoles they mostly only sell in retail, because its part of the protection system.
For PC however, most games are digitally bought/downloaded or are MMO versions nowadays.
Direct2drive, matrixgames, battlefront, gamersgate, there are so many digital downloadproviders and they are all not counted.
Lets face it, whats cheaper and easier: buy and download from your home and then maybe burn it on cd or dvd OR take the car to nearby town, pay the fuel, pay parking tickets or use public transport and spent the time to go there, to buy a game in a retail shop?
My choise personal is for some years now the digital download provider.
NPD studies however show, that the pc is still the platform where people spent the most playing time.
So, i see this topic everywhere, but to me, it seems more some advertisement of console companies, to draw more people to the consoles.
PC gaming is not dead, wont die, because its still cheaper to upgrade a normal pc to a gaming pc, then buy a pc and a console to play games. Yes most people need a pc for work, study or other things.
PC market is changing and some companies dont realize that yet. Retailers/distributors are slowly not involved anymore and the software is going directly from developer to customer or through digital provider site. Way more direct lines.
So the conclusion is: Retail shopping is dying, except for consoles, who keep doing it the old fashioned way still.
Its not the job for the PC to beat consoles. Pc's are all-in-one utilities, consoles are designed for gaming. As long as the PC remains the primary outlet for:
1: MMO's
2: Strategy
3: free online FPS play
lovers of these genres will stick around.
Extremism in the defense of Liberty is no vice.
hehe... fun reading. Lots of desires interspersed with reasoning. Since I have several PCs around the house (software dev working from home) and only a PS2, I am HIGHLY motivated personally to want to believe PC gaming is not dead. So I'm definately not a console-salesman.
But my only prediction, (one that I would bet money on occuring), is that companies are going to follow the money.
This whole thing reads like a comparison between linux to windows in regard to what a software developer would develop for. Whether or not linux is better than windows is IRRELEVANT. Devs are going to follow the money.
The only question a dev should ask themself:
"do I even bother doing a PC game? My profit will be PC-only customer purchases minus piracy losses minus dev-costs... so is it worth doing? OR should I invest that same dev-time in console-game number 2, because my profit there is just sales... which if these sales figures are correct and complete, is around 10 times as much quantity.... ?!"
IF those sales numbers above are true and complete, then it looks pretty bleak for PC games... maybe a big if.... need more data on digital download sales now I think...
PC titles make twice the profit console titles do.
It depends what you seek, number of sales or % profits.
Ultimately the key it is having a hit title. Not the Platform you wrote it for.
World of Warcraft for example, although only selling a million in America last year, has also been selling for two years previously. Will Halo 3 still be selling millions on the Xbox 360 in 3 years time? No.
Will Halo 4? Quite likely.
With 14% of total video games sales and 1/3 or total video game revenue, you can develop for whichever platform you feel like mate. There is a wide open multi-billion dollar global market all ready and waiting for your product.
As long as there are billions to be made in PC gamer software, there will be a multitude of developers out there.
Consoles haven't killed the PC game industry. Quite the opposite, there is a lot of industry cross over. A drop in PC game sales of 6% in the year of 3 new console releases is neither here nor there, since the dawn of the games console, PC game sales have increased 1,000 fold. Consloes too. The platforms have evolved side by side. Video games studio's develop for both PC and console. Rarely just one or the other. They can make games for any platform and chop and change between them as they like.
digital downloads do not outsell normal retail sales. In fact, even if digital downloads sold just as well as retail sales the sales would still be small compared to console counterparts.
World of Warcraft is the only game that sold over a million last year. Crysis sold 80k units its first month, UT3 sold only 33k units its first month, both FPS and both high anticipated games. Even Mario & Sonic at the olympic games massively outsold those two games.We see more and more developers switching over to consoles, it's clear where the industry is going with this.
As usual when developers and publishers (EA!) mess up they blame the gamers....
Stop
Creating
Crap
And I'll gladly buy it at nearly any price.
Heck I can't even fathom the amount I've spent on WoW alone so far,
two Collector's Editions and the monthly fee and all...
I'm just not gonna buy those 'new' sport games, or the crap that was C&C3...
The only reason there's a drop in sales is because there's an influx of crap.
Played so far: 9Dragons, AO, AC, AC2, CoX, DAoC, DF, DnL, DR, DDO, Ent, EvE, EQ, EQ2, FoMK, FFO, Fury, GW, HG:L, HZ, L1, L2, M59, MU, NC1, NC2, PS, PT, R:O, RF:O, RYL, Ryzom, SL, SB, SW:G, TR, TCoS, MX:O, UO, VG, WAR, WoW...
It all sucked.