Support NeoGAF

[patapuf]

This news is actually pretty consistent with the Ars Technica study on the most popular Steam games. In other words, most multiplatform game sales are still probably lagging behind consoles. It's just that the few games that are popular on PC happen to be extremely popular.

I'd say it's mostly that PC gamers don't play console games that much (especially since consoles aren't big in Asia minus Japan)

The most popular genres are Moba's, MMO, FPS and strategy. Only one genre is prominent on console and the only really popular multiplat FPS on PC is Battlefield (and CS if you want to count that).

 

[Darkroronoa]

Why cant people accept that mobas and mmos are games too, amazing games? Consoles have popular games too.

 

[StoopKid]

To be fair, this analysis is a bit misleading because it includes revenue generated by titles that aren't cinematic third person action adventure games.

?

 

[Nzyme32]

On the PC gaming front as whole, it's not too surprising. I look forward to seeing how PC gaming does with all the new tech coming out as well as pushes of different form factors. Should be a net positive for everyone.

In regards to free to play - that's not really unexpected. However there are issues with new and also bigger developers making free to play games, not quite understanding how to maintain and continually evolve them and also not understanding how to encourage and maintain the economies they create, leading to a pretty shitty result that has given free to play games a bad name.

 

[leadbelly]

Again completely missing the point. Steam does not represent the majority of the highest revenue PC games not remotely. F2P mmo's and games like them bring in significant amounts of revenue. LoL isn't that much above many of them, in fact it's below them according to some charts.

So this statement is completely misleading..

There are numerous high revenue pc games

I think you're missing my point; In terms of the majority of AAA titles, console is still a better market. I don't literally mean there are only a few 'games' that are hugely successful, but rather I should say a few 'genres'.

To a lot of AAA developers it doesn't really mean anything.

 

[Principate]

?

It's a joke because on some people in this thread disregarding this analysis due to MOBA's

 

[Ceebs]

it's just that only a few genres really dominate it

You could say the same thing about console games. What really sells multiple millions other than open world action stuff and shooters?

 

[nynt9]

I think you're missing my point; In terms of the majority of AAA titles, console is still a better market. I don't literally mean there are only a few 'games' that are hugely successful, but rather I should say a few 'genres'.

To a lot of AAA developers it doesn't really mean anything.

Can you cite numbers for the bolded part please? You seem very certain of this.

 

[Principate]

I think you're missing my point; In terms of the majority of AAA titles, console is still a better market. I perhaps don't literally mean there is only a few 'games' that are hugely successful, but rather a few 'genres'.

To a lot of AAA developers it doesn't really mean anything.

Lol what? Are we even talking about the same market. Console middle tiers devs are dead as dodo, the number of AAA games being released have drastically reduced and have for a long time (Epic says this gen will gave a 3rd less AAA games than previous generation). The truth is the exact opposite of what your saying. Console games games are being increasing dominated by the mega rich publishers. The only hope of lower tier developments is from indies know the same indies that originally found popularity in the pc market.

 

[leadbelly]

You could say the same thing about console games. What really sells multiple millions other than open world action stuff and shooters?

Yes, but as I also said, most multiplatform games still sell better on console. The reason the PC market is so big is because the games that dominate it, do so at unbelievable numbers.

 

[fedexpeon]

Found it:

That is insane

Tencent, our new game overlord...I am serious too.

 

[hbkajshdvfbkjhvgkahsgdfka]

damn. a hat trick of salt

I ain't salty bruh bruh. I'm a PC gamer and I'm just pointing out that a handful of PC games make more money than consoles.

 

[Aruhamel]

'LoL and Dota 2 lead PC to the top' is hardly some big triumph for PC gaming (quite the opposite).

 

[patapuf]

I think you're missing my point; In terms of the majority of AAA titles, console is still a better market. I don't literally mean there are only a few 'games' that are hugely successful, but rather I should say a few 'genres'.

To a lot of AAA developers it doesn't really mean anything.

The console AAA industry isn't exactly a diverse market either in terms of genre.

It's quite clear that PC gamers and console gamers have some overlap but the audiences as a whole are pretty different.

This is in part because the PC platform has a much better reach in regions where there is no/little console prescence and where there is another game culture (asia, russia ect).

MP gaming in general is even more important on PC than on consoles.

Can you cite numbers for the bolded part please? You seem very certain of this.

COD is almost irrelevant on PC compared to consoles. GTA comes with significant delays ect. There's exeptions, Elder scrolls or Battlefield sell very well on PC but traditional console AAA games tend to sell quite a bit more consoles (not that their PC sales are peanuts).

Of course, there's plenty of PC games with AAA budget, they are just not always retail products.

 

[Principate]

I ain't salty bruh bruh. I'm a PC gamer and I'm just pointing out that a handful of PC games make more money than consoles.

But the table above you implies otherwise, heavily implies.

 

[hbkajshdvfbkjhvgkahsgdfka]

But the table above you implies otherwise, heavily implies.

Okay, two handfuls.

 

[Principate]

Okay, two handfuls.

That's just the top 10 (obviously) there's more than that lol.

 

[nynt9]

Okay, two handfuls.

Again, do we have numbers to back that the same doesn't apply for consoles?

 

[Fjordson]

You could say the same thing about console games. What really sells multiple millions other than open world action stuff and shooters?

Sports games are huge hits. FIFA, NBA 2K, Madden, etc. Certain fighting games like mainline Street Fighter. There's more than just shooters and open-world games that thrive on consoles.

That being said, I would argue the PC is more diverse and serves a wider variety of audiences, both large and small.

 

[Nzyme32]

'LoL and Dota 2 lead PC to the top' is hardly some big triumph for PC gaming (quite the opposite).

I don't think that is quite fair. You would have to look at the trends of multiple years to really determine if this is just some one off thing caused by MOBAs or if there is a variation of different game types rising and falling where trending game types receive the most revenue. In my opinion it is the product of iteration and competition, leading to production of different styles, genres, gameplay mechanics and monetisation strategies. It is no coincidence that the majority of such games originate on the PC and it is also no coincidence that there are large communities of players consuming a wide variety of game types successfully

 

[jordisok]

'LoL and Dota 2 lead PC to the top' is hardly some big triumph for PC gaming (quite the opposite).

How come?

 

[Archie]

'LoL and Dota 2 lead PC to the top' is hardly some big triumph for PC gaming (quite the opposite).

They're much better than your 8 hour "AAA" corridor shooter.

 

[Pain]

Only if you count free to play. In a few years I see f2p playing a much bigger role on console too.

 

[Swarna]

How come?

They're not good games because they're not on consoles, yet.

 

[Tabular]

Maybe when multiplats sell better on PC vs the leading console; companies like Konami will look at it more seriously.

 

[Chariot]

PC games are not real games. If you take away all the games on PC how many games are actually left? Right! Zero! Consoles are truly superior.

 

[Salex_]

I think that chart was average spent per user.



Doesn't count. It's all consoles vs PC. They're like brothers, you can't separate them

Spoiler

until LOL900P xbone sucks. but they are united against PC scum

I don't know why you're so bitter, but I want to comment on why people sometimes use all consoles to compare to PC. If someone plays on consoles, it's going to be on PS3, PS4, Wii U, 360, or Xbox One. If someone plays on PC, it'll be on PC (games on laptop still register as PC). Multiplat games (from the limited information we have) are still far behind majority of the time in sales.

 

[Principate]

Maybe when multiplats sell better on PC vs the leading console; companies like Konami will look at it more seriously.

The majority of pc gamers don't care about multplats. That's the simple fact.

 

[nynt9]

I don't know why you're so bitter, but I want to comment on why people sometimes use all consoles to compare to PC. If someone plays on consoles, it's going to be on PS3,PS4, Wii U, 360, or Xbox One. If someone plays on PC, it'll be on PC (games on laptop still register as PC). Multiplat games (from the limited information we have) are still far behind majority on the time in sales.
Side note: I find stats like this interesting:


The most popular shooter on PC typically has the same amount of users as one console.

The most popular shooter on PC? Are you sure that's not something like CrossFire, as implied by this:

Found it:

That is insane

Edit: Thanks Archie

The most popular shooter on PC has 4 million concurrent users.

 

[QaaQer]

Found it:

That is insane

WoW is free to play?

 

[Felix Lighter]

I don't know why you're so bitter, but I want to comment on why people sometimes use all consoles to compare to PC. If someone plays on consoles, it's going to be on PS3,PS4, Wii U, 360, or Xbox One. If someone plays on PC, it'll be on PC (games on laptop still register as PC). Multiplat games (from the limited information we have) are still far behind majority on the time in sales.
I find stats like this interesting:


The most popular shooter on PC typically has the same amount of users as one console.

Check those numbers during the day in the US and evening in Europe. The platforms shift quite a bit and more often then not resulting in PC being the most populated platform.

 

[Archie]

I don't know why you're so bitter, but I want to comment on why people sometimes use all consoles to compare to PC. If someone plays on consoles, it's going to be on PS3,PS4, Wii U, 360, or Xbox One. If someone plays on PC, it'll be on PC (games on laptop still register as PC). Multiplat games (from the limited information we have) are still far behind majority on the time in sales.
I find stats like this interesting:


The most popular shooter on PC typically has the same amount of users as one console.

The most popular shooter on PC has 4 million concurrent users.

 

[Principate]

WoW is free to play?

WoW has a cash shop, yes similar to f2p games. And it does market itself as a f2p game.

So it's pretty close (though highly misleading from them).

 

[jordisok]

Hell, even cs:go is pushing 90,000 users alone a lot of the time, TF2 usually a solid 50,000. Unless we're only talking true multiplats in which case ignore.

[Actual stats from helpful nonlazymobileusers on next page]

 

[Swarna]

I love how people keep bringing up multiplats like they are the main concern of PC gaming. Multiplats are mostly just console games in terms of design. It's not rocket science that they'll never be megahits on PC.

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

damn. a hat trick of salt

The fuck are you talking about?

 

[leadbelly]

Can you cite numbers for the bolded part please? You seem very certain of this.

Do I really need to? In terms of physical copies PC sales for many AAA titles have been much lower for a while. And various publishers have said as much. I also noticed in the recent Ars Technica study, that a lot of the big selling AAA titles were conspicuously absent from the most owned games,

This is the Take Two breakdown for 2012 as an example:
Console – 80%
PC – 18%
Mobile – 2%

http://www.lazygamer.net/xbox-360/this-is-why-gta-v-isnt-on-pc-yet/

 

[nynt9]

I don't know why you're so bitter, but I want to comment on why people sometimes use all consoles to compare to PC. If someone plays on consoles, it's going to be on PS3, PS4, Wii U, 360, or Xbox One. If someone plays on PC, it'll be on PC (games on laptop still register as PC). Multiplat games (from the limited information we have) are still far behind majority of the time in sales.
Side note: I find stats like this interesting:


The most popular shooter on PC typically has the same amount of users as one console.

Hell, even cs:go is pushing 90,000 users alone a lot of the time, TF2 usually a solid 50,000. Unless we're only talking true multiplats in which case ignore.

In fact, as of the time of this writing, CS:GO has currently 86k online and today's peak was 131k. See here: http://store.steampowered.com/stats/?snr=1_steam_4__110

Edit: That's roughly equal to the amount of all the console players in your infographic combined.

 

[Nethaniah]

Do I really need to? In terms of physical copies PC sales for many AAA titles have been much lower for a while. And various publishers have said as much. I also noticed in the recent Ars Technica study, that a lot of the big selling AAA titles were conspicuously absent from the most owned games,

These are Take Two breakdown for 2012 as an example:
Console – 80%
PC – 18%
Mobile – 2%

http://www.lazygamer.net/xbox-360/this-is-why-gta-v-isnt-on-pc-yet/

Physical copies......really?

 

[RK9039]

The most popular shooter on PC typically has the same amount of users as one console.

U WOT M8?

 

[Nzyme32]

I don't know why you're so bitter, but I want to comment on why people sometimes use all consoles to compare to PC. If someone plays on consoles, it's going to be on PS3, PS4, Wii U, 360, or Xbox One. If someone plays on PC, it'll be on PC (games on laptop still register as PC). Multiplat games (from the limited information we have) are still far behind majority of the time in sales.
Side note: I find stats like this interesting:


The most popular shooter on PC typically has the same amount of users as one console.

These kind of comparisons are somewhat meaningless. It fails to take into account what games interest PC gamers and how long does that interest tend to last. Are PC players only interested in certain types of shooters? Are they disinterested with the genre? The same could be asked for all sorts of genres and game types and chances are you will find that the trends between console and PC are fairly different in places.

Just see now how many players are playing cs:go right now http://store.steampowered.com/stats/

86,732 currently, with a peak today of 131,114.

There is a large difference between that and battlefield 4 for example. The reasons for that are wide ranging

Edit - It also seems you haven't realised editing your post won't edit all the ones that already quoted you

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

If that's the case. let's take COD away from console revenue, I mean it is the most popular console game, so it shouldn't count.

Why would you take it away? I never implied that games as a service money is a bad thing.

You pay for online in Consoles... by subscription I wonder if the analyst took that into account or not..

Even if you include XBL/PSN, it still isn't touching PC.

 

[leadbelly]

Physical copies......really?

Well, that is what I recall. There was an argument though that it is not representative because it didn't include digital downloads. Those numbers aren't released.

You've never heard that argument before?

 

[BPoole]

Tencent, our new game overlord...I am serious too.

As you should, Tencent makes up ~45% of the total revenue on that lis twith just two games

 

[Phediuk]

How long until the MOBA bubble bursts?

 

[lights]

Apparently DFC Intelligence also predicts that the PS4 and Xbox One will sell 100 million units each:

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/127...ps4-and-xbox-one-will-reach-100-million-sales

And that the Wii U will sell 25 million:

http://mynintendonews.com/2013/12/1...me-sales-will-be-only-about-a-quarter-of-wii/

 

[Aruhamel]

They're much better than your 8 hour "AAA" corridor shooter.

Uhm, I'm a PC gamer myself.

 

[patapuf]

WoW is free to play?

That's just the revenue from the microstransactions.

 

[DigitalDevilSummoner]

The title should read

DFC Intelligence Analyst: 'PC games revenue have surpassed console games globally'

How long until the MOBA bubble bursts?

how long did it take for the WoW bubble to burst ?

 

[Imperfected]

Looks like a lot of people got caught up in the CrossFire. (CrossFire!)

Sorry, I just wanted to make a lame 90's reference while also calling out the now-fixed thread title. You can go back to passing judgment on whether or not gamers are "real" based on the type of games they play or (apparently) whether or not they're Chinese. I'll be playing my fake games with my fake Chinese friends.