The whole "PC gaming is dead" adage has been repeated for years now, but is simply not true. These are figures for the US, where console gaming is bigger than everywhere except Japan: http://www.gamesetwatch.com/newzoo_2010spend.jpg
As you can see, traditional non-MMO, non-casual PC gaming adds up to 19%, while all consoles put together (Xbox, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP) add up to 43%, so it is very likely that PC gaming is bigger than any single console. Other places like Europe probably have PC gaming bigger than all consoles combined. And even more importantly, console game sales have declined while PC game sales have jumped up.
edit: of course, I'm biased here -- I think stuff like paying to play peer-to-peer and console makers using that money to pay for timed exclusivity is what will destroy gaming as a whole. I'm also philosophically inclined towards open systems rather than closed ones.
Yup, even more so since we're not even sure new consoles are even going to come out.
Have you heard about Microsoft's plans for the next XBox? Or Sony's next generation PlayStation?
Exactly. Nothing.
Games are pretty profitable on consoles, but makers of these consoles usually lose hundreds of millions of dollars over several years before they can even bring a console to market, and then they need to hope that this console will be successful enough to recoup the R&D.
No wonder even rich and successful companies such as Microsoft and Sony are just a few steps away from giving up on creating consoles completely.
Also look at employment trends. More indies, more digital distribution, social, web and mobile game companies. The AAA studios are known to be fragile, risky operations, and the smaller retail-oriented studios(whether PC or console) have mostly disappeared, with the exception of a few making low-end shovelware.
No, it's not just marketshare, it's the first derivative of the marketshare too. Nokia and RIM are slipping, while PC gaming is growing and console gaming is shrinking. And remember that since PC game sales are mostly digital now, the amount that publishers actually receive on selling a PC game is much higher (70%) than on console sales (~30-50%).
The whole "PC gaming is dead" adage has been repeated for years now, but is simply not true. These are figures for the US, where console gaming is bigger than everywhere except Japan: http://www.gamesetwatch.com/newzoo_2010spend.jpg
As you can see, traditional non-MMO, non-casual PC gaming adds up to 19%, while all consoles put together (Xbox, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP) add up to 43%, so it is very likely that PC gaming is bigger than any single console. Other places like Europe probably have PC gaming bigger than all consoles combined. And even more importantly, console game sales have declined while PC game sales have jumped up.
edit: of course, I'm biased here -- I think stuff like paying to play peer-to-peer and console makers using that money to pay for timed exclusivity is what will destroy gaming as a whole. I'm also philosophically inclined towards open systems rather than closed ones.