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PC gaming revenue to overtake consoles' in 2014, says report

by Tarinder Sandhu on 26 September 2011, 12:13

Tags: NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), AMD (NYSE:AMD)

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"It's long been mentioned that consoles are king for gaming. The PC, meanwhile, possessing fundamentally better technology, simply lacks enough quality gaming titles to make it a serious contender in the gaming market." This sweeping generalisation may ring true in the minds of many, yet some research by DFC Intelligence, picked up by NVIDIA, seems to suggest otherwise.

Console

As far as PC gaming is concerned, DFC reckons the good times are just around the corner. The NVIDIA-provided graph, by way of PCPer, shows that PC gaming revenue will topple consoles' by 2014, peaking at some $24bn by 2015, which is almost double the revenue achieved in 2008.

While no sane person is going to argue that PC gaming can look so much better than on a console, the bullish numbers put significant stock in gamers opting for PC-only titles, you would think.

It's difficult to know exactly what constitutes console gaming here - DFC isn't forthcoming with a breakdown - but the mere fact that PC gaming revenue is in the same ballpark is heartening if, like us, you love GeForce and Radeon graphics cards.

Console

And perhaps one reason why PC gaming revenue is set to rise rests with distribution. Digital downloads, from the likes of Steam, are now the most-popular method of obtaining games - there's no messing around with discs or waiting for a game to arrive by post. These downloads are set fair to grab an even larger piece of the gaming pie, according to DFC, and will account for $20bn worth of sales in 2015.

To quote an oft-used phrase "there are lies, damn lies and statistics." Do you believe this one?



HEXUS Forums :: 16 Comments

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The NVIDIA-provided graph,
So no conflicting interest there then? :p

but the mere fact that PC gaming revenue is in the same ballpark is heartening if, like us, you love GeForce and Radeon graphics cards.
I don't follow the card comment - surely this revenue is largely made up of facebook and browser gaming, the likes of which don't exactly require a powerful GPU?
I find it hard to beleive those numbers….
kalniel
So no conflicting interest there then? :p

I don't follow the card comment - surely this revenue is largely made up of facebook and browser gaming, the likes of which don't exactly require a powerful GPU?

It all depends on what is classified as PC gaming, which is what I'm determining at the moment. One would hope that increased software revenue would at least keep AMD and NVIDIA interested in pushing the boat out with successive GPU launches, though AMD's undeniably going to be in a better position to harvest any gains through its range of moderately-priced APUs.

Perhaps I'm just a techno-oldie who wants reasons, whoever implausible, for NV and AMD to continue racing each other.
The console is king of gaming numbers not because of lack of games on the PC , but the high price a gaming PC costs compared to a console that has a life span of around 5 years.
Brewster0101
The console is king of gaming numbers not because of lack of games on the PC , but the high price a gaming PC costs compared to a console that has a life span of around 5 years.

Depends on the game and what you consider acceptable. You can build a budget PC for about £300 that'll play pretty much everything at better settings than you'll see on the 360 or PS3.