PCGA: PC gaming hardware outships major consoles

Matthew DeCarlo

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Say what you will about the state of PC gaming, but as far as hardware sales are concerned, the industry is doing rather well according to the PC Gaming Alliance. The group says that PC gaming hardware shipments doubled that of all the main consoles combined in 2009, including the Wii, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Unfortunately (or conveniently), the press release (PDF) doesn't mention whether "PC gaming hardware" constitutes individual components or entire machines. That's probably dissected in the full report, which is tucked behind a $5,000 to $30,000 membership fee.

Revenue from consumer desktops and laptops shipped with discrete graphics totaled $54.6 billion, which is expected to reach $61.3 billion by 2014. The Asia Pacific region represents 33% of that market, while Western Europe and the US account for 24% and 21.5%.

Around 212.6 million people play games on such computers, and that's predicted to grow to 322 million by 2014. The PCGA also notes that gamers are relying more on notebooks to get their fix, which isn't too surprising with the increasing availability of powerful and efficient systems.

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Yeah, the whole playing games on laptops seems weird to me. In my IT dept I know of 3 people who own Alienware laptops for gaming - and they all use it to play WoW, especially on the road. Which seems like hardware overkill for that game, but I guess if you have the money....
 
I hear you burty, but really gaming on notebooks is not fun IMO at the moment. Anyway, the story only strengthens the argument, PC's are more fun to play with than consoles, obviously for practical reasons ;)
 
It's not always about having the money. I spend more than half my year on the road, a gaming capable laptop is more of a necessity than a luxury.
 
Not surprising, as PCs are by far the number one gaming device. However I doubt the report breaks down the distinction between casual and hardcore gamer. And I'd say the majority of this site if not all are considered to be in the latter category who prefer and use gaming desktops while playing the most demanding games.

Vrmithrax makes a good point, I know several gamers who use laptops out of necessity rather then choice. I myself used to game on a laptop out of necessity but I didn't really play anything demanding.
 
Consoles follow PC advances in tech when the new generations of consoles are released. PC gaming will always be more powerful than consoles. When PC ports of console games are better than 1:1 with increased resolution,improved sound, higher framerate, exact same controller use in Games For Windows, improved loading times,etc, why play consoles anymore? Consoles could easily become extinct soon now that the exact same experience is on PC. (but better)
 
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