PC Game Downloads Now Half of All Game Sales

Its no surprise Steam is #1....

Downloadable games like Doom back in the days when it was shareware you didn't get the full version you get the Demo version then they link you to there website to buy the full version of the game it sold very well.

They should of counted Epic Games as well <.<?

Steam forever.

Without a worthy multiplayer component (cdkey = 100% protection), PC games don't deserve to be bought.

(Note that this user is geographically isolated)
Let's see I buy something online with no taxes and wait a few hours for the download.

Or start coughing up sales tax. Then money for the gas. Then the possibility that the product isn't on the shelf when and if I decide to get there. Note it takes a week for either shipping to store or mailbox.

Interesting. But then again the NPD study is flawed
- They don't take account of MMO subscribtion
- Development for the PC is cheaper since microsoft don't ask you to pay anything if you do it, unlike if you're developing fot the console, thus cheaper games
- Some of the good games are free indies
- DLC's are mostly free

in a PC Gamer report, they argued that the core market for PC gaming, that is FPS, MMO and RTS never changed, IE the market for them is still strong. Just that the other genres has gone cheap or free

hmm not surprising indeed.

would have prefer if majority of the console games(like demon souls,super street fighter IV,killzone 2 etc) appear on the PC but that's not gonna happen.

Proud steam user here.

No the pc sales didn't decline because of that, its because people has played it all, and the other big name titles are still in development, like what Blizzard is doing with Starcraft 2 (ps. if you move that july 27 date, i swear...)

Perhaps if you guys stopped pirating every...

Oh fuck it, I know you all wont :\

Am i the only one tired of hearing the same shit with companies blaming piracy for the low sales this year ?
Where the hell were they when the economy went down ?
They definitely don't seem to remember that the shit hit the fan and companies became going into debt,people lost jobs and the cost of living raised. Piracy is to the digital world as Prostitution is to the normal world, Its the oldest, so blaming it for this years low sales and not i don't know the recession, I find the rather retarded.

Next note: when it came to gaming the PC has always been better. The pc can do things that the consoles can't and if you build a good one, it can last as long as a console and not to mention can your consoles push the same graphics a PC has ? I think not, not to mention the things a PC can do that a console can't, the only reason i want a console is because of the exclusive games.

2nd Note:- All the protections the companies are using are getting overbearing. Like i have to download the entire game in-order to play it........WTF!!??!! do gaming companies think the world is full of godlike internet speeds ? Guess places that have DSL and lower can all suck it because your not fast enough to download a 3 DVD game, sure this way well create more profits and not piss of those who have to spend there money, but i guess thats the way things have to be right ? fighting the pirate war ? Like you can win.

Used to be a pirate when I was a poorfag, then I got a job > Installed Steam, I'm having hell of fun playing original games and supporting the industry, most of the games I bought on special sales, I'mean c'mon $5 bucks for games like Fallout 3 GOTY, Fallout NV, Saints Row, Dead Space 1 & 2, & several great games, and some free2play, Team Fortress 2 rocks. Steam is doing great they give good prices for everyone around the world. I live in Mexico and payin $10 to $5 Dollars is more reasonable and more economical viable than paying $70 to $80 dollars just for one game.

The real question here is what counts as a "PC game download"? Would something like CakeMania or some other crap fit under that?

not ONE of you mentioned that even if the total $ for online sales is down, MORE money goes back to the devs, apposed to if printed the discs and all that shit, shipped them to retail and than sold them retail.

Thus far I haven't seen many noteworthy PC games. Most of the games I found fun so far were all on console which most of the Japanese companies cater to. (And with good reason, their games are freaking good!)

Shows that Activision/Blizzard takes in more money than they pay for server upkeep on WOW.

How Much Has WoW Cost Blizzard Since 2004?
http://kotaku.com/5050300/how-much-has-wow-cost-blizzard-since-2004

Proud pirate here.

LOL That looks like my surroundings.

They like to blame fucking piracy for everything.
Hmm console stores are after all what the name implies, only interested in console sales.
Every time I go to the local game store, you pretty much need to make a fuss to get staff to realize 'yes I actually want you down here in the PC game section'.
PC titles are considered an unwanted waste of shelf space, they're treated like the unwashed in gaming retail outlets.
So of course PC gaming is going digital sales, why not, I don't need a fucking store any way.
I've bought this year alone several PC titles as digital downloads. I mean, I don't need the fucking case the jacket cover and the disc, I just need the program. I also don't really need friggin manuals although some still obsess over the worthless wastes of paper.
Granted, I ONLY buy from two wargaming publishers, because only they seem to get it, I bought their game honestly and I won't tolerate DRM.
eLicense is a fuck off and die prospect. Inability to copy is a fuck off and die prospect. Need to go online is a fuck off and die prospect.
But Matrix Games and Slitherine both use ONLY a serial number and not one other method of annoyance. And guess what, I buy their games.
Respect the customer, and maybe they will respect you back.
And piracy will ALWAYS be there. Best you can do is not piss off the people that like you.

It probably has somethng to do with the economy downturn.
Pc gaming is realitvly cheaper to support.Games are made for longevity and arent 60$ - 40$
Instead you pay for internet fees which are much smaller to play one game in the same time frame it takes to play several console games.

Anonymous said:
It probably has somethng to do with the economy downturn.
Pc gaming is realitvly cheaper to support.Games are made for longevity and arent 60$ - 40$
Instead you pay for internet fees which are much smaller to play one game in the same time frame it takes to play several console games.

Factually flawed.

I recently bought Command Ops Battles from the Bulge from Panther Games published through Matrix Games. 80 dollars. That game cost the company a lot of money to develop. But it's a niche portion of the industry.

Not all great PC games are MMOs.

But as for longevity, that is something I can agree on.
I'm waiting in Civilization V to come out. And that title will likely be as great as Civ IV was.

I've not really "Stolen" and that itself is part of the problem. IMO, a bigger part than piracy.

There's frankly not that much out there that I want, a low enough number that I do buy what I like.

And I've made countless blog postings and letters telling companies what I'd like to see, getting zero response. Well, if my interests are too small for theirs, fine, no malice but they won't get my business.

But I love games. I'm actually playing with some construction kits to make what I do want.

And, btw, there's one new game I do want bad, but it seems to be XBLA only; "Limbo" You might look it up for some vids on the 'Tube...

Still waiting for Duke Nukem something....

Budget/re-released games that I missed 1st time around are decent enough entertainment not to worry about what is the most recent iteration of "FPS Flavour of the month that looks pretty much the same as the one that came out last year" whether its console or PC games- my game spending has plummetted.

All hail Gabe Newell!

I've never been much of a PC gamer myself...I'll stick to consoles.

PC game downloads and DLC is the way of the future.

Nintendo,Sony,and Microsoft offer DLC at some reasonable prices.PC market didn't bother to count the Free to play games where people offer donations for fast leveling items?

give it 1 week and Blizzard will jump to #1 with 5 million dl's for SCII

Put out some good games and the sales might go up

Games these days are distributed electronically, which means the game devs are telling people from places with intarnet dl speed of barely 60kB/s to go to hell. Not to mention unstable servers and screwed up servers. I've given up on Steam because it refuses to run even with every single program known to mankind was turned off.

Gaming industry is heading to hell, YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.