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PCGA: PC software sales totaled $13.1 billion in 2009
The report looks at some of the key trends in the PC game market. For instance, it's claimed that the transition to free-to-play games and the emergence of social network sites caused revenue to decline in some established markets. Subscription games suffered from the lack of major new releases, while boxed retail sales saw the biggest downturn of all categories and now account for less than 20% of all revenue.
Nevertheless, the downturn in established markets was largely offset by the growth of digital distribution. Most countries in North America and Europe saw revenue declines of 10-15% from 2008. But despite the worldwide recession, growth in the Asia Pacific region helped fuel the PC games market. You can find out more about the PCGA and the Horizons Report here -- unfortunately the full report is only available to paying PCGA members.
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User Comments (13)
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TomSEA
on March 10, 2010 10:45 AM |
Another ambiguous report. Does this include online subscriptions, particularly WoW? How about those "throw away" games you get from Yahoo! and Comcast like Bejweled, Monopoly, etc.? I mean I'm glad to see PC game sales doing well, but this doesn't really say where the sales are coming from. |
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rskapadia2294
on March 10, 2010 11:55 AM |
WOW! cool! but what games did they count in? its good to see PC games are also in form! |
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Richy2k9
on March 10, 2010 12:34 PM |
hello .. yeah if it means good sales figure, then i'm happy for it means that piracy doesn't kill the market, yet i'm sure things could be better. PC games are cheaper with better quality for most, yet because of the material & the high level of piracy, it make it a quite sensible market, scaring sometimes the good developers. sure hope things get better & better & one day we can see the PC as one of the lead gaming machine. cheers! |
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DryIce
on March 10, 2010 12:56 PM |
Let's hope it grows even more. That might encourage more companies to stop ignoring PC gamers. |
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Vrmithrax
on March 10, 2010 1:39 PM |
They do mention subscription games and transitions to free-to-play models hurting the bottom line, so I am assuming they have at least some measure of the MMO/online gaming genres in the numbers as well... But, I'm not going to join the PCGA just to find out! :P |
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Timonius
on March 10, 2010 6:49 PM |
I'm sure the game companies (yes, even the smaller ones) will be checking that report out. This would probably be too much info for the average consumer. However I'm sure most of us would like a general breakdown of MMO subscriptions vs general game sales, retail purchases vs online purchases, etc. |
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mrtraver
on March 10, 2010 8:03 PM |
PC game sales are never going to reach their true potential as long as most of them require dedicated graphics cards, which most pre-built mainstream computers do not have. Brad Wardell at Stardock is onto somethign with scaleability. |
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rufio
on March 11, 2010 12:01 AM |
World of warcraft anyone? oh how i wish i am smart enough to program a game like that. |
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Yoda8232
on March 11, 2010 11:17 AM |
I love you PCGA, your doing the right the for the PC community. Richy2k9 is right about PC games. EAT THAT NPD AND YOUR CONSOLE FANBOYS. |
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jasonk1229
on March 11, 2010 3:59 PM |
Sadly, the PC gaming world is on a decline because of the popularity of the consoles however IT IS THE BEST, consoles limit its users is so many ways. |
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yorro
on March 11, 2010 11:07 PM |
I could very well much imagine what would happen if piracy did not exist, the numbers would go through the roof. I guess only a small part of those sales were games. |
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Wagan8r
on March 12, 2010 4:03 PM |
Lies! Piracy has killed PC gaming! At least that's what the developers believe. |
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levar
on March 13, 2010 1:40 AM |
meh I think its because most of the PC games are moving to consoles watch when Crysis 2 comes out which users will purchase that certain media whether it be PC, 360 or PS3. We need more PC only games can't wait ti'll Civilization V hits the floor I just know that game is gonna rock! I also agree with the developers a bit of this is the pirates fault, can't do anything about it drm- clearly didn't work *coughs* ubisoft such a shame. |
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