PC gaming not domed?

[Kuciwalker]

What console MMORPG's? All I remember is a Final Fantasy one...

[Kuciwalker]

nostromo: I don't think that keyboard is useful for gaming - certainly not as a keyboard replacement. It's supposed to allow faster text chat on Live.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
What console MMORPG's? All I remember is a Final Fantasy one...

Phantasy Star Online as well

[FrostyBoy]

We've been through this before, the conclusion was that the PC is more important and better for gaming.
The console is just a dumbed down PC, and look now, we're trying to turn consoles into PC's! (again!).

[Blake]

PC gaming is not doomed.

If anything consoles will become more PC like (more feature-filled), while PC's become more console like (easier to use) until there is really little distinction.

It may even end up with a unified API allowing (ie Microsoft) games to run on both consoles and PC's.

[Bkeela]

PC gaming is not helped by Microsoft limiting Direct X 10 to Vista. But that might not be such a problem if reports on Slashdot are true about DX10 being hacked http://games.slashdot.org/games/07/04/23/1348239.shtml

As one person commented:

We are hacking Windows apps to run them on Windows OS's.

Let the sadness ensue.

[Asher]

Since when was Geometry Shaders = DX10?

[snoopy369]

http://www.gamershell.com/pc/neocron_2/

Dome gaming

Seriously, though, I largely agree with what Blake said - eventually there won't be a distinction, and I think that will largely be a PC victory; consoles will become more PC-like (see X-Box) until there's nary a difference. (As will your TV, your Stereo, your Refrigerator... )

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by nostromo
Oh no, not this again. Shame on you, Lord of the mark

New factoid.

Oh, and I wasnt really looking for another discussion of console vs PC gaming in general, but some speculation about the meaning of this latest factoid. IS it WOW and Sims Xpacks? Is it other new titles? Why are those other new titles stronger than new PC titles in the past? Is it just that some new titles came out in January instead of December?

Will Spore be released in 2007, and will that spur 2007 PC game sales?

[Nostromo]

The Gamespot summary:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6169642.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

Burning Crusade fueling PC gaming resurgence
Retail PC game sales were up 48 percent in 2007's first two months, thanks largely to WOW expansion; MMOGs up 43 percent alone.

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Apr 24, 2007 3:26 pm PT

In January, NPD Funworld reported that, after sliding in 2005, PC gaming had bounced back in 2006. According to the industry research group, last year some $970 million worth of boxed PC games were sold in the US, up from $953 million the previous year.

Now, 2007 appears to be shaping up as a banner year for PC gaming. A recent New York Times article (registration required) cites NPD figures showing that $203 million of PC games were sold at US retailers through the end of February. That's a 48 percent increase over the $136.9 million generated during the same two-month period in 2006. (NPD had not provided said numbers to GameSpot directly as of press time.)

While impressive, the NPD PC numbers represent only a fraction of revenue being generated by PC games, as they do not include online transactions. Most significantly, the figures also don't include subscription fees for massively multiplayer online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft, which currently has over 8.5 million paying subscribers.

"The robust performance we're seeing in PC game sales can be tied to several key titles across several genres," NPD analyst Anita Frazer told the Times. "But we'd be remiss not to address the continued success of World of Warcraft."

To underline WOW's success, the Times cites NPD figures showing a 43 percent increase in MMORPG sales. However, nowhere does the article mention the main reason for the genre's 2007 spike--the release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

From the time it went on sale on January 17 to February 28, the first WOW expansion sold nearly 1.6 million copies in the US, generating just over $62.1 million in revenue. Remove The Burning Crusade from the equation, and only $140.9 million of boxed PC games were sold in 2007. That's a mere $4 million--or 2 percent--increase, year over year.

[Nostromo]

Will Spore be released in 2007, and will that spur 2007 PC game sales?

Obviously not. Did Black and White spur PC game sales like Burning crusades did?

[lord of the mark]

ok, so the sales of WoW:BC are equal to almost all the growth. Gotcha.

OTOH, one could spin it as follows.

The tremendous sales of WoW:BC didnt cut into sales of other PC games, which in fact managed to grow slightly.

BTW, is WoW:BC sold via DL? If so, do those sale figures exclude DL sales, as do the NPD figures for all PC games sales?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by nostromo


Obviously not. Did Black and White spur PC game sales like Burning crusades did?

No, but the Sims did.

Has Peter Molyneux ever had the kind of market success that Will Wright has had?

[Nostromo]

Molyneux has a couple of hits under his belt, but nothing that comes even close to the Sims. And don't forget that Will Wright has also a couple of flops under his belt. The Sims online, anyone? Not everything he touches turns into gold. The Sims sold because its basically a computer version of playing with dolls. A classic game that young and not so young girls love playing. I would be really, really surprised if Spore sold as well as the Sims. My prediction: it will sell at least as well as Black and White.

[Nostromo]

BTW, is WoW:BC sold via DL? If so, do those sale figures exclude DL sales, as do the NPD figures for all PC games sales?

Yes, they also sold it via DL.