nvidia PC To Beat Consoles In Game Sales By 2014

[Muhammad Farrukh]

PC To Beat Consoles In Game Sales By 2014

The future is looking bright for PC gaming, according to graphics card producer Nvidia. In a recent conference call, the company stated that it believes PC game sales will surpass that of consoles by 2014. Put on your rose-tinted glasses and keep reading to hear the company's explanation.

Techgage has a comprehensive breakdown of Nvidia's claims, but the thought process goes something like this: the longer the lifespan of each console generation gets, the more attractive PC gaming will become to consumers. Why, you ask? Because while the technology in the console on your entertainment stand will remain the same for 5+ years, PC technology is constantly evolving - you could upgrade your graphics card with something newer and better every year, if you are so inclined (and have the cash to do so).

While I can see some logic in the argument (being able to adapt quickly to new technology is never a bad thing), it also assumes that graphical processing power is the most important selling point to consumers (Nintendo Wii?), and overlooks the fact that most gamers are happy that the lifespan of consoles are increasing. After all, PC games have always looked better - some gamers just don't want to pay an arm and a leg for cutting edge technology when they can sit back on their couch, grab a controller, and play something that still looks pretty darn good.

That didn't stop Nvidia from putting together this nifty graph that predicts gaming sales out to 2015:

The rest of the article posits some other interesting ideas, including the importance of digital distribution and free-to-play games, so even if you doubt Nvidia's prophetic claims, it's worth checking out.

[via Destructoid]

[Yogurth]

It was about time. PC is and always has been the best playing experience. It is infinitely flexible, graphics are best on PC, controller is the best (Mouse + Keyboard), sound can be the best....etc. The only thing slowing PC down are exclusive contracts with developers...which sucks balls, since not even these will be able to prevent the kill off of the gaming console.

[The Evil Overlord]

GL With that bro, (seen this type of chart before)

(Although Technically I suppose the latest xbox and ps3 could be considered pc's in their own right, that tech has moved in leaps and bounds, but I think games consoles are still safe as pc's aren't as 'instantly playable'.)

[Arceles]

It's just about right, gaming in consoles is definitely not the same as it was with playstation 2 / gamecube / dreamcast... and prededesors, PCs simply offer the best experience, not to mention steam...

Gaming nowadays is almost ruined in consoles, mostly by the greedy companies out there, not to mention that great games are simply ignored by not being heavily publicized as others, steam has greenlight, and I got Gianna Sisters from there.

[The Teej]

It was about time. PC is and always has been the best playing experience. It is infinitely flexible, graphics are best on PC, controller is the best (Mouse + Keyboard), sound can be the best....etc. The only thing slowing PC down are exclusive contracts with developers...which sucks balls, since not even these will be able to prevent the kill off of the gaming console.

KB+M is only good for RTS and FPS (edit: and P&C games) - if I'm playing something like Assassin's Creed or a racing game, or even Trine, you can bet your last penny I'll be using a controller for those games, and this is coming from an enthusiast PC builder.

[threetonesun]

KB+M is only good for RTS and FPS (edit: and P&C games) - if I'm playing something like Assassin's Creed or a racing game, or even Trine, you can bet your last penny I'll be using a controller for those games, and this is coming from an enthusiast PC builder.

Well, you get both on the PC. But really, there's no way they mean uber-gaming-PCs in this chart, it's phones + tablets + PCs > consoles in the future. AAA games though? Always going to be console first.

[Arceles]

KB+M is only good for RTS and FPS (edit: and P&C games) - if I'm playing something like Assassin's Creed or a racing game, or even Trine, you can bet your last penny I'll be using a controller for those games, and this is coming from an enthusiast PC builder.

Yeah, gaming on PC... curiously enough, requires the mandatory gamepad from a console, be either Dualshock 3 or Sixaxis, otherwise feels weird :D

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I could see this happening for several reasons. PC gaming isn't as expensive as it used to be. Hardware prices are lower and developers are making more free-to-play games. Console hardware, on the other hand, is expensive on launch and successful games like Call of Duty or even Halo rarely drop in price (from the $60 launch price).

Also, modding is making a comeback with games like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and even Far Cry 3 (as evidenced by a recent "hack" to hide the game's UI). Another thing is that developers are finally treating the PC platform with respect. More and more games are dropping support for DX9 and Windows XP. They're also adding features like changeable FOV, high-res textures, and DX11-specific features (like tessellation and DX11 AA).

And one thing I just remembered is the recent crowd-funding phenomenon. It has shown that gamers are willing to pay for games that publishers refuse fund. I'm talking about previously ignored genres like space sims (e.g. Star Citizen), old-school RPGs (e.g. Project Eternity, Wasteland 2) and point-and-click adventure games (e.g. Double Fine Adventure).

KB+M is only good for RTS and FPS (edit: and P&C games) - if I'm playing something like Assassin's Creed or a racing game, or even Trine, you can bet your last penny I'll be using a controller for those games, and this is coming from an enthusiast PC builder.

With third-person games, it's a matter of preference but I'm sure most people would prefer to use a controller for racing games. Everything else would be better with a mouse and keyboard.

[hooko22]

Gaming on console is so damn convinient though, nothing beats laying down in your sofa like the worlds worst sloth and relax infront of the tv. Although yea I do agree with the fact that pc will most of the time be way ahead in terms of the latest tech.

[spaceelf]

It's true that the consoles took far too long to be replaced, but assuming the PCs growth will continue unabated is just ignorance with new consoles due before or in 2014.

[siah1214]

I think consoles are going to start filling more and more roles that used to be filled by both PCs and set-top boxes. Eventually the two bars in that graph are going to merge and know one's going to know the difference between the two.

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Maybe the next gen of consoles will have better and easier upgrade paths?

[Fourjays Veteran]

PC gaming isn't as expensive as it used to be.

:blink: You're kidding right? I lucked into a very good deal on my current video card, but a comparable one at the moment would cost me about 3/4 of what I paid for my PS3. I've looked at quite a few video card upgrades recently and it is far more expensive than I remember... my first self-build had an (at the time) awesome video card that cost "just" ?130 and lasted me a good 3 years of "maxed" graphics in games and another 2 of "high" to "medium". And back then the gulf between console and PC graphics was far larger than it is now, IMHO.

and successful games like Call of Duty or even Halo rarely drop in price (from the $60 launch price).

That isn't any different on the PC. Activision still want ?40 for Blacks Ops on Steam and ?20 for MW, while physical copies seem to roughly match the console prices. The issue is a certain greedy developer.

[Noir Angel]

KB+M is only good for RTS and FPS (edit: and P&C games) - if I'm playing something like Assassin's Creed or a racing game, or even Trine, you can bet your last penny I'll be using a controller for those games, and this is coming from an enthusiast PC builder.

I disagree. I love the AC games, and with a 5 button mouse the only things I use regularly on my keyboard are the direction keys. I couldn't imagine performing some of the complex movements as quickly and with as much precision on a gamepad as I do with my keyboard and mouse.

[theyarecomingforyou]

PC hardware costs more but the games cost considerably less. The advantage of PC gaming is that you can spend what you want on them and they are hugely flexible - quad-GPUs, triple-monitors, 3D, eight-core CPUs, dual-CPUs, solid state drives, 32GB of RAM, steering wheels / joysticks / gamepads, virtual reality headsets, touchscreens, etc. Consoles are for gamers on a budget; PCs are for gamers who actually care about graphical fidelity, performance and innovation. Don't get me wrong though, even as a PC gamer I acknowledge that console gaming has had a major influence on gaming as it has allowed for massive budget multi-platform titles like Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, Far Cry 3, etc.

I love PC gaming and while there are some really innovative console exclusives, the poor performance, gamepad limitations and poor graphical fidelity mean that I'd prefer to skip them than have a consoles that I'd barely ever use.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

By that time, next-gen consoles will be the new hot thing on the market and will be selling like hot cakes, and PC gamers and NVIDIA would be sitting in our houses thinking.

2017!!!

[dead.cell]

I could see this happening for several reasons. PC gaming isn't as expensive as it used to be. Hardware prices are lower and developers are making more free-to-play games. Console hardware, on the other hand, is expensive on launch and successful games like Call of Duty or even Halo rarely drop in price (from the $60 launch price).

Also, modding is making a comeback with games like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and even Far Cry 3 (as evidenced by a recent "hack" to hide the game's UI). Another thing is that developers are finally treating the PC platform with respect. More and more games are dropping support for DX9 and Windows XP. They're also adding features like changeable FOV, high-res textures, and DX11-specific features (like tessellation and DX11 AA).

And one thing I just remembered is the recent crowd-funding phenomenon. It has shown that gamers are willing to pay for games that publishers refuse fund. I'm talking about previously ignored genres like space sims (e.g. Star Citizen), old-school RPGs (e.g. Project Eternity, Wasteland 2) and point-and-click adventure games (e.g. Double Fine Adventure).

With third-person games, it's a matter of preference but I'm sure most people would prefer to use a controller for racing games. Everything else would be better with a mouse and keyboard.

Hardware prices are lower? They're roughly the same from what I can tell. 6 years ago, I spent $130 for a graphics card. Before that card, I had spent maybe $90. All that's changed is the advancement of technology really. The prices aren't exactly lower. All of my PCs over the years have done quite well with $450 put into each machine, and they function as full blown computers, not as just a game console or gameconsole+half-baked-pc. Some might consider this pricey compared to a console, but there are obvious reasons for that. And spending $300 on cheap desktop tower probably isn't going to yield the best results. Never really has, from what I've seen...

Modding isn't exactly making a comeback, as that'd imply it died down somehow. It's always been popular, depending on the game and what the developers did to provide them tools for modification or even simply reducing restrictions to game modification. What we're seeing now though is the full embrace as Valve's Steam Workshop comes into play. I'm hoping Rockstar can strike a deal with them too, as I'm sure they could do wonders with GTAV and pushing profits/sales to a greater level.

But yeah, it's really a good time to be a PC gamer right now. I've always been rather curious though, as how a company like Microsoft renown for being THE software company for PCs... fails so hard at getting their games on the PC or even a good distribution system for that matter... (Sorry if anyone's a fan of Games for Windows Live...) I mean, I'm not complaining, I can totally live without Microsoft's involvement, but it always had me curious.

[LaP]

The current gen of consoles are realy underpowered. All it takes to get slightly better gfx on PC is a mid range PC. My pc is 3 yo and you can probably find one of the same power used for under 400$ easily. Yet i can get far better gfx quality on it than a current gen console. Right now when a game is avalaible on PC and console it's a given i'm buying the PC version. I can output my PC to my TV and play with a 360 controller anyway.

[George P Global Moderator]

I think all this chart shows us is 2 things, current gen consoles are old, when it takes a cheaper midrange card to play the PC ports of the console games and have it look better then that plays into it. The 2nd thing is that we're seeing the casuals playing more on their new shinny mobile devices which tend to count as a PC. I think once we get the new consoles in late 2013 or so, with the updated graphics and new abilities to do more outside of gaming that the chart will once gain swing the other way.

As good as the PC is when it comes to performance and overall graphics quality it still tends to be a pain to just enjoy a game with little or no issue. I'd take the ability to just pop-in a disc and start playing a new game right away without much hassle and know that it'll run well without having to tweak settings etc over, in some cases, crazy long install times and often buggy releases that need at least a pair of patches before the game can run fine. Not everyone has the same setup so some don't have the issues as others do but we've all at least once ran into a PC game that's just a mess to try and play. Not to mention when you start talking drivers and the issues those can have.

[Jose_49]

The 2nd thing is that we're seeing the casuals playing more on their new shinny mobile devices which tend to count as a PC.

^this x 1 million.

I was going to post about that. Glad that someone shares my same point of view.

Since we are talking about Nvidia, we are also counting the Tegra processors which are mobile, and tablets are getting considered as PCs nowadays.... At least with the come of Windows 8 and RT, which can be counted as PC OSes, PC "gaming" (<-emphasizing on Casual gameplay) will do surpass Console by 2015, if not sooner.

[Pupik]

With digital services like Steam that don't release their sale numbers, I believe that the numbers already were surpassed.

[Andre S. Veteran]

I don't think taking sales from the year preceding the launch of the next-gen consoles and assuming the current downward trend will continue makes any sense. Console sales should pick up the pace as new hardware is released next year. That said, it's nice to see that PC sales have become much more competitive since 2008.

[aviator189]

Sorry, but as much as I or anyone else want this to come true, it's not happening.

The consoles are at the end of their generation and so, naturally, the sales are slowing down.

Once the 720 and ps4 hit the market, sales will pick up like crazy again.

[Athernar]

As good as the PC is when it comes to performance and overall graphics quality it still tends to be a pain to just enjoy a game with little or no issue. I'd take the ability to just pop-in a disc and start playing a new game right away without much hassle and know that it'll run well without having to tweak settings etc over, in some cases, crazy long install times and often buggy releases that need at least a pair of patches before the game can run fine. Not everyone has the same setup so some don't have the issues as others do but we've all at least once ran into a PC game that's just a mess to try and play. Not to mention when you start talking drivers and the issues those can have.

These complaints about PC gaming are so outdated, seriously. The days of "having to get patches" died when services like Steam took off and automated patching and content-delivery. And let's not act like console releases don't often have release-day patching and numerous bugs either.

It's like how Mac users say that Windows BSODs all the time, when the last version of Windows they used was 95.

[Jose_49]

These complaints about PC gaming are so outdated, seriously. The days of "having to get patches" died when services like Steam took off and automated patching and content-delivery. And let's not act like console releases don't often have release-day patching and numerous bugs either.

It's like how Mac users say that Windows BSODs all the time, when the last version of Windows they used was 95.

You see, in defense of Athernar, even nowadays Xbox 360 games come with issues. Take for example Star Wars The Force Unleashed, which had a disastrous beginning, which needed to be patched.