You could argue that us being able to choose our vendor for downloading games makes digital distribution more appealing than the closed markets on the consoles (hence the supermarket discount launches). If Sony and MS allowed a competitive market on their consoles you might find the same disappearance of console games from the shelves.
is the pc gaming world profitable?
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You could argue that us being able to choose our vendor for downloading games makes digital distribution more appealing than the closed markets on the consoles (hence the supermarket discount launches). If Sony and MS allowed a competitive market on their consoles you might find the same disappearance of console games from the shelves.
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Very interesting read indeed, I like this bit at the bottom on the comments:
" It kills their value proposition; especially when coupled with Secondary Sales/Loaning still occurring on a scale that rivals or exceeds that of Piracy on the PC. I have to go back to my friend loaning me 6 PS3 games. They all worked great. IF I were a Pirate... he saved me a ton of time having to go crack/download the game... and it's all completely legal. No money ever went back to the Game Developer. Again...thanks for the inputs/feedback! "
No-one can put any stats on how many copies of console games get the above treatment.
" It kills their value proposition; especially when coupled with Secondary Sales/Loaning still occurring on a scale that rivals or exceeds that of Piracy on the PC. I have to go back to my friend loaning me 6 PS3 games. They all worked great. IF I were a Pirate... he saved me a ton of time having to go crack/download the game... and it's all completely legal. No money ever went back to the Game Developer. Again...thanks for the inputs/feedback! "
No-one can put any stats on how many copies of console games get the above treatment.
Nonsense. In absolute terms, the PC gaming industry is much bigger than it was 10-15 years ago. PC might be a smaller proportion of the total games market, but the total games market is far, far bigger than it was 10-15 years ago.
It's a good article, but I'm not impressed by the way it refers to second ahnd sales and game lending as lost sales. Those things are the same as piracy to publishers, but they are good things. They help consumers get familiar with a game franchise or dev, in the same way lending a book can hook a consumer onto that authors other works.
I also dont like the way publishers are seeing Free-to-play as an attractive model. I play almost exclusively single player games, free-to-play internet-based games are of no interest to me.
The article's reference links at the end are pretty good. It includes a link to the best debunking analysis of the "90% piracy" stat I've encountered, at the wolfire blog (the people who organise the humble indie bundles):
Another View of Game Piracy
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2nd hand & game lending is lost sales tho...same goes for renting games
The original question was not if PC gaming is dead (its obviously not), it was if game development is profitable.
I'd say for 80% of developers, no, its not really profitable like it used to be, a project could probably be considered a success if it breaks even. The big players are profitable as it takes a massive budget to push a game these days but the small teams struggle to make any real cash, especially on mobile gaming.
I'd wager a very large % of the games released on iOS/Android would be very lucky if they broke even.
I'd say for 80% of developers, no, its not really profitable like it used to be, a project could probably be considered a success if it breaks even. The big players are profitable as it takes a massive budget to push a game these days but the small teams struggle to make any real cash, especially on mobile gaming.
I'd wager a very large % of the games released on iOS/Android would be very lucky if they broke even.
I dont think developers help themselves, if they dont release demos for any platform including PC prior to the game release then loads of people arent going to fork out £30, £40 maybe even £50 on a game they havent played that may not be any good. Thanks to current steam/origin rules you cant trade them back in. So whats the option? - pirate it, play it weeks before general release and see if its worth the asking price. Console players have it easy, if theyre not sure about a new release, rent it from blockbusters or similar for ~£5 and decide.
If the individual that pirated it, actually then pays for a genuine version is impossible to say and I guess we'll never know but unfortunately thats the way it is. Until developers learn this and release demos then it serves them right.
Imagine buying a new car, would you still buy it if the salesman said no you cant have a test drive?
If the individual that pirated it, actually then pays for a genuine version is impossible to say and I guess we'll never know but unfortunately thats the way it is. Until developers learn this and release demos then it serves them right.
Imagine buying a new car, would you still buy it if the salesman said no you cant have a test drive?
Yes PC gaming is totally dead, that's why Steam has 4 million logged in users, more than at any point in its entire history.
The platform has never been stronger and people are still too stupid to see this. More PC games have came out last year than the last three before it.
The fact is, thanks to sites like Eurogamer really pushing that PC gaming isn't really that expensive anymore, you can buy a PC that does better graphics and performance than any console for just £300 or so. There are major gaming forums and the like with more and more PC-centric threads popping up (Neogaf comes to mind). There's been a huge, huge resurgence in PC gaming.
The platform has never been stronger and people are still too stupid to see this. More PC games have came out last year than the last three before it.
The fact is, thanks to sites like Eurogamer really pushing that PC gaming isn't really that expensive anymore, you can buy a PC that does better graphics and performance than any console for just £300 or so. There are major gaming forums and the like with more and more PC-centric threads popping up (Neogaf comes to mind). There's been a huge, huge resurgence in PC gaming.
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But why? Is it because consoles are were pretty much at the end of there cycle last year maybe even the year before? Graphics are really dated now on consoles and PC's have the edge until the new consoles are out. I am not sure, either way who cares, PC gaming is strong and I love my PC
nope
I'm afraid you will have to rely on Indie developers/indiegogames/kickstarters !
PC gaming is dead because no one makes decent strategy or RPG games anymore, and everything else we get is just console games with larger textures.
Where exactly is my Railroad Tycoon 3 sequel? Or rollercoaster tycoon, dungeon keeper, populous, baldurs gate etc.
I just don't know why they don't make awesome games anymore
I'm afraid you will have to rely on Indie developers/indiegogames/kickstarters !
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No, it is not lost sales.
People that go out and spend £10 on a 2nd hand game were never going to go and buy it for £35.
This is just a load of tosh that the publishers push to try and curb 2nd hand sales. Because that is easier than creating a game people will actually want to keep. If it were true, the book publishing industry would have died a century ago.
But why? Is it because consoles are were pretty much at the end of there cycle last year maybe even the year before? Graphics are really dated now on consoles and PC's have the edge until the new consoles are out. I am not sure, either way who cares, PC gaming is strong and I love my PC
It's probably because consoles are getting long in the tooth with boring & safe sequels and hardly new IPs coming out. That and a combination of PCs being cheap and even more hassle-free - which I didn't think was possible, but Microsoft, Sony and EA et al have all cocked up with their interfaces, DLC, on-disc content, and online passes which have made consoles a horrible chore to play on. PC games are headed in the opposite direction and are individually seen as much better value for money.
You have games like Team Fortress 2 for example, which gets updates for free all the time. You would have to pay if you wanted such on the 360. It's why TF2 on 360 is stuck at version 1 and will always be, because Valve doesn't agree with consoles nickle and diming you.
PC just seems like a more 'honest' platform to me and has always maintained that air whereas consoles are just a commercial, capitalist nightmare expressly ran by corporations, designed to empty your wallet while convincing you it's all good for you. People are rightly sick of it.
League of legends and xbox live have the same amount of concurrent users (3m) and it's just one pc game. When you add steam 5m+, origin, tons of other dd platforms, mmos and retail games that do not use steam or origin you realise that pc gaming truly dwarfs console gaming. I would say two pc games LoL and WoW are bigger than console gaming.
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which is more than xbox live and psn put together.
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Good post, makes sense to me.