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A report from the PC Gaming Alliance claims that PC games now generate global revenue in excess of $11 billion, with the PC sitting comfortably as the world’s preferred gaming platform.
"This is not only proof that PC gaming is alive and kicking," the PCGA’s president, Randy Stude told PC Retail. "It is proof that the PC is by far the largest platform for gaming everywhere in the world."
The report seems to add tangible weight to the argument against those who say the PC is dying as a games platform – a claim largely based on declining box retail sales.
"That would be like saying the music industry is having a downturn because people are buying songs on iTunes," continued Stude. "You can’t draw a conclusion for an entire industry based on yearly retail sales alone. In the digital age, people have already voted. They don’t want to buy content in a physical container anymore – they want it delivered digitally."
The PCGA also claims the growing popularity of microtransaction models for in-game items in Asia is likely to be replicated in the West.
"I think the PC in particular is poised to continue that momentum and spring it in to more western style games," said Stude. "I’m looking forward to Electronic Arts’ Battlefield Heroes and Strike Team from Valve, which will use that kind of model and the new Quake game – all these titles show that the western side of the industry is starting to emulate the success that the big Chinese and the Korean game developers in particular have had on the PC."
