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[sonycowboy]

BTW, PS2 SW sold 65% of PC YTD $ sales in December.

NPD Group: PC Game Sales Slide in 2005
Tuesday January 17, 5:48 pm ET
NPD Group Says PC Game Sales Slide in 2005 As Online Gaming Picks Up in Popularity

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nearly 1 million copies of the top-seller "World of Warcraft" PC game in 2005 still wasn't enough to swing domestic retail sales of computer games from its slide to below $1 billion, a research firm said Tuesday.

As online gaming picked up in popularity, annual U.S. retail sales of PC game software sank 14 percent to $953 million last year, down from $1.1 billion in 2004, according to data by the NPD Group.

Overall volume totaled 38 million units, a 19 percent decline from 47 million units the year before, NPD said.

The research group attributed the dwindling volume -- which reflects only games sold on CD-ROMs -- to increased game play through Web sites and subscriptions to massively multiplayer online, or MMO, games.

"While we have seen retail sales of PC games decrease for several years now, we know from talking to consumers about their online gaming behaviors that playing games on the PC, whether it's via online casual sites or through MMO subscription play, has been increasing," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Following Vivendi Universal's top-selling "World of Warcraft" title, with more than 957,000 units sold last year, were Electronic Arts Inc.'s "The Sims 2: University Expansion Pack," with 574,000 units, and "The Sims 2," with 559,000 units.

 

[GitarooMan]

There just isn't a lot of compelling, polished PC software, IMO. The stuff I used to play a lot on PC (space sims, adventure games) just don't really have a lot of support, and the occassional FPS I play (like FEAR) is cool but that's a rarity

 

[jamesinclair]

There just isn't a lot of compelling, polished PC software, IMO. The stuff I used to play a lot on PC (space sims, adventure games) just don't really have a lot of support, and the occassional FPS I play (like FEAR) is cool but that's a rarity

I really want Civ 4 but my laptop wont let me play the way I want....huge map, 12 civs.

 

[Brofist]

There are less and less quality games, and the price of the latest video cards is even starting to intimidate me lately, I remember when dropping $250-300 at least gave you close to the best out there, now it's more like $500ish. And the variety of games isn't there either. After RTS and FPS games and then the random game there is little selection.

 

[Illuminati]

2005 was sort of a "meh" year for PC games. Only F.E.A.R., Civ 4, and AOEIII I can think off of the top of my head were the big games of the year. No wonder why sales were sluggish.

This year should be better though:
- UT2k7
- ET: Quake Wars
- HL2: Aftermath
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
- ES: Oblivion
- NWN 2
- Hellgate: London
- Dreamfall
- etc., etc. too lazy to list

 

[littlewig]

But the power, the graphics! What went wrong?

 

[Chairman Yang]

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/dec2005/id20051220_720594.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech

Those who view 2005 as yet another year of decline for PC gaming aren't seeing the full picture.

Like the old man in the Monty Python sketch -- tossed out with the plague despite his pleas of health -- PC gaming faced a skeptical industry in 2005. But a closer inspection of the "corpse" reveals an underlying market that not only held strong but also grew in the hardcore genres.
Advertisement


From both a critical and commercial perspective, PC gaming turned in another of its increasingly stealthy years of quiet, reliable profits for companies that made smart investments in it.

The most superficial analysis of the PC gaming market - i.e., the NPD summary of retail sales - showed yet another year-on-year tumble. Analysts (both professional and amateur) lined up to declare the platform dead. But there was a more sophisticated analysis to be made, and it pointed to continuing opportunity in the PC space.

Relying on NPD's number blinds one to the ongoing evolution of PC game distribution. The key insight, as summarized in a new report from IM Consulting (the market-intelligence unit at Ignited Minds), is that "the PC game software market is much more robust than a cursory glance at the data suggests...(our analysis) becomes a call to publishers to recognize that the PC market can be a very lucrative and profitable place to publish, if the games are done properly in the right genres."

Biggest genres
If we were to set apart the three biggest genres in PC gaming - first-person shooter, real-time strategy, and RPG (including MMOs) - and consider them as a market unto themselves, we would see a market that is in fact growing. (Estimates vary as to how much, though the consensus among senior publishing executives I've discussed this with range from 5 to 10 percent.)

Needless to say, this growth has been achieved without anything like the marketing muscle placed behind the consoles - nor, for that matter, with anything like the benefit of a fair shake at retail, where the PC shelves continue to be squeezed.

Creatively and critically speaking, the market has rarely been stronger. Any review of the creative year in PC gaming should start with the tally from the E3 Game Critics Awards nominations. Two PC games nominated for Game of Show (compared to one Xbox 360 game); the PC's Spore nominated for Best Original Game (not a single 360 game was nominated in this category); three PC titles nominated for Best RPG (compared to one 360 title, which was Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a PC co-launch); and PC games taking all five of the Best Strategy Game nominations. PC games took four of the five nominations for Best Online Multiplayer Game at this year's E3, while not a single Xbox 360 game made the cut in this category.

Millions of gamers
It's debatable whether any other platform produced a second-half lineup with the impact of F.E.A.R., Civilization IV, Battlefield 2, and Age of Empires III. And this is to say nothing of the burgeoning MMO category, where World of Warcraft and many others continue to attract millions of gamers.

Yet the PC gets no love from retailers, and little more from some of the major publishers. Shelf space contracted in most of the major retail chains. EB Games suspended its policy of accepting PC game trade-ins. Unwilling, or perhaps unable, to separate the overall decline in PC retail sales from the growth in the triple-A high end, publishers were tempted to throw in with retailers in a large-scale abandonment of the category.

Online sales
With this in mind, perhaps the single biggest accomplishment of 2005 was the online sales (via Steam) of Valve's opus, Half-Life 2. The company keeps its figures close to vest, but reliable estimates indicate that perhaps as much as half of the game's formidable sales total was achieved via Steam.

Importantly, these online sales did not come at the expense of the game's retail performance. Valve's Doug Lombardi says that Valve "saw increased sales via Steam without cannibalization of retail forecasts." According to Lombardi, NPD's retail-sales charts are understating the strength of PC games sales, and will increasingly understate that strength as the PC publishing model moves online to alternatives like Steam.

Publishers (and some developers) took notice. EA has unveiled Downloader as its Steam equivalent, and made its Battlefield 2: Special Forces expansion available for direct purchase. Smaller players have undertaken full-scale projects to migrate their businesses to direct-download models.

2005 was a year that proved our industry needs a newer and wiser perception of the PC gaming market. As IM Consulting put it, "Instead of giving up on the PC game market because retail sales are lagging, we urge publishers to adapt their distribution strategies to the changing landscape."

 

[Tony HoTT]

I really want Civ 4 but my laptop wont let me play the way I want....huge map, 12 civs.

yeah I bought a laptop right before summer and it can hardly play Civ IV. Luckily I have a more powerful desktop but still. I wish they had some forethought about supporting slower hardware when the game's gameplay doesn't require awesome graphics in any way.

 

[Mrbob]

But the power, the graphics! What went wrong?

Not too many notable releases for 2005.

Also NPD does not cover online game distribution.

 

[littlewig]

All joking aside, I spent more time gaming on the PC this year than ever before thanks to World Of Warcraft.

 

[Chairman Yang]

Also, 2006 looks absolutely nuts (in a good way) for PC gaming: http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24145969

 

[sonycowboy]

Not too many notable releases for 2005.

Also NPD does not cover online game distribution.

Online distribution is nothing in terms of dollars, beyond steam and MMPORPG's.

 

[siege]

Yeah, 2006 should be a much more interesting year for PC. Next month kicks off with Empire at War, which should be a huge seller.

Quite a bit of MMO's set to launch this year as well. It should be a well rounded year for all types of gamers. In 2005, there really wasn't much to offer. You had a couple of FPS' that were popular, namely Battlefield 2, and then Civ IV and AoE III.

 

[Pimpbaa]

If they want sale to go up, they need to stop focusing their efforts for top end video cards (and computers). They need to take the approach blizzard usually takes with their games (make sure it runs on more computers).

 

[Juice]

But the power, the graphics! What went wrong?

I suggest you join the winning team of Diminishing Returns™!

 

[Chairman Yang]

Online distribution is nothing in terms of dollars, beyond steam and MMPORPG's.

MMORPGs consist of, like, $1.5 billion in revenue, and they're still growing, so I wouldn't dismiss them so easily.

 

[HyperZone<3]

If they want sale to go up, they need to stop focusing their efforts for top end video cards (and computers). They need to take the approach blizzard usually takes with their games (make sure it runs on more computers).

Ex-freaking-zactly.

There have gots to be TONS of people like me who have got "legacy" computers and aren't willing to drop over a grand on a new box when their old one gets them through the day just fine. If I had a slight chance of running F.E.A.R., I would already own it, but my PC gaming dollar gets diverted to less strenous adventure titles and console stuff. Overall PC sales ain't what they used to be either, as PC growth has taken a HUGE drop in recent years. I think this whole thing is more like the PC industry re-calibrating itself, rather then shrinking.

Oh yeah, and way too many MMO's.

 

[siege]

Oh yeah, and way too many MMO's.

It's only going to get worse. I'm sick of them myself, but they're proven money makers and that's all that matters to publishers.

 

[Pimpbaa]

First person shooters are more of a problem than MMO's. First person shooters with ridiculously high hardware requirements seem to be standard fare for pc games.

 

[cvxfreak]

Does Iwata/Nintendo actually count the PC market when they say the videogame industry is shrinking?

 

[Dalthien]

Online distribution is nothing in terms of dollars, beyond steam and MMPORPG's.

What exactly was the point of this statement? That is like saying that Gamecube software is nothing in terms of dollars, beyond Nintendo games. Or Xbox software is nothing in terms of dollars, beyond sports, fps, or action games.

You mention online distribution is nothing in terms of dollars and then exclude the two biggest aspects of online distribution. Not to mention that steam and MMPORPGs are estimated to exceed $1 billion, which is more than the total NPD for retail sales of CD/DVD-Roms which you referenced. I'm trying to figure out exactly how you just so casually eliminate that much revenue from the picture.

 

[svenuce]

Online revenue in 2005 for PC gaming worldwide exceeded retail revenues for the first time.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1198&Itemid=36

 

[Dalthien]

Online revenue in 2005 for PC gaming worldwide exceeded retail revenues for the first time.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1198&Itemid=36

Exactly, for anyone just to dismiss such a significant chunk of revenue just because it isn't tracked by NPD is ridiculous. NPD becomes pretty useless in a marketplace where half of the sales of the platform are just completely ignored.

 

[john tv]

 

[Ghengis Cohen]

Online revenue in 2005 for PC gaming worldwide exceeded retail revenues for the first time.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1198&Itemid=36

But isn't this due mainly to MMO's subscription fees?

 

[svenuce]

Subscription, item sales (legitimate), e-distribution, advertising all had a role in 2005. I believe sub revenue was the largest this year, but that will change.

Item/expanded content sales (again, legitimate, not IGE/Powerleveling.com) are projected to become the largest non-retail revenue generation mechanism by 2009 in PC games worldwide I think followed by e-distribution then advertising.

Subscription revenue is expected to grow slightly, but shink with regard to overall share.

The Asians are well ahead of western markets in this regard.

SOE's forthcoming "free" online game will explore some of these alternatives.

 

[Vormund]

But isn't this due mainly to MMO's subscription fees?

I don't think they give a shit where the money comes from.

 

[Ghengis Cohen]

I don't think they give a shit where the money comes from.

i'm saying it doesn't exactly mean PC games as a whole are on the up and up.

 

[jamesinclair]

Ex-freaking-zactly.

There have gots to be TONS of people like me who have got "legacy" computers and aren't willing to drop over a grand on a new box when their old one gets them through the day just fine. If I had a slight chance of running F.E.A.R., I would already own it, but my PC gaming dollar gets diverted to less strenous adventure titles and console stuff. Overall PC sales ain't what they used to be either, as PC growth has taken a HUGE drop in recent years. I think this whole thing is more like the PC industry re-calibrating itself, rather then shrinking.

Oh yeah, and way too many MMO's.

And those of us on laptops cant upgarde even if we wanted to.

When I do go home to my desk top during vacation, Id have to give it a new graphics card, and more RAM.

Worth it for 1 month? Obviously not.

 

[Dalthien]

i'm saying it doesn't exactly mean PC games as a whole are on the up and up.

I'm not sure that I follow your reasoning. Monthly subscription fees are dollars spent to play PC games, the money goes to the exact same publishers that it would go to for traditional retail games, and the time spent is still spent playing games on the PC. Yeah - it is a different model than what we've been used to for much of the past 2.5 decades, but it's all still time and money spent playing games on the PC.

For myself, I would much rather see a stronger single-player market. I've always preferred single-player games, and I don't care for the focus moving so strongly to online play. But as far as the publishers are concerned, it is all still revenue earned from PC gaming, and for many of the publishers (such as Valve), they are more than happy to remove the retail sector from the equation when they are able to.

 

[Ghengis Cohen]

I'm not sure that I follow your reasoning. Monthly subscription fees are dollars spent to play PC games, the money goes to the exact same publishers that it would go to for traditional retail games, and the time spent is still spent playing games on the PC. Yeah - it is a different model than what we've been used to for much of the past 2.5 decades, but it's all still time and money spent playing games on the PC.

For myself, I would much rather see a stronger single-player market. I've always preferred single-player games, and I don't care for the focus moving so strongly to online play. But as far as the publishers are concerned, it is all still revenue earned from PC gaming.

I mean PC gaming as a whole, and on the consumer side. I could give a fuck less how much money is pouring into MMO's publishers coffers, it doesn't mean I am going to get a wide variety of content, just more MMOs.

 

[Dalthien]

I mean PC gaming as a whole, and on the consumer side. I could give a fuck less how much money is pouring into MMO's publishers coffers, it doesn't mean I am going to get a wide variety of content, just more MMOs.

From a consumer standpoint - I totally agree with you. Give me great single-player stuff like NOLF, Baldur's Gate, & Longest Journey anyday.

 

[rs7k]

I used to be a huge PC gamer. I would never touch consoles. It got to a point where console graphics were good enough to satisfy me (when the Dreamcast came out), that I jumped ship and it's been that way ever since. I really don't miss spending $300 on a video card upgrade every 8 months. I once spent $500 on a video card (goddamn Voodoo5).

PC gaming is a lot more affordable now, but I remember the PC scene being more interesting than it is now.

 

[Tabris]

I hope PC gaming dies and developers move to the console market.

It's annoying to play games on PC while relaxing to play laid back infront of your TV.

 

[Monk]

There are a ton of good games coming this year for the pc though.

Oblivion
Gothic 3
NWN 2
Tabula Rasa

And a few TBA:
Night Watch
Hellgate London



It's rpg heaven for pc fans.

 

[Dalthien]

I hope PC gaming dies and developers move to the console market.

It's annoying to play games on PC while relaxing to play laid back infront of your TV.

Funny - I actually enjoy getting right into a game on the PC, just me and the monitor. I suppose it depends what type of gaming you enjoy. I enjoy many games on consoles as well, but even then, I tend to park myself right in front of the tv in much the same way that I do with the PC. I take my gaming pretty seriously for the most part, and don't do much 'relaxing' while playing. Others enjoy to kick back on the couch and chill whilst playing.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[ToxicAdam]

This needs to be stressed:


While we have seen retail sales of PC games decrease for several years now, we know from talking to consumers about their online gaming behaviors that playing games on the PC, whether it's via online casual sites or through MMO subscription play, has been increasing," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.


More playtime for fewer games. Even this year, there were 4-5 releases where you could easily play for 200+ hours (maybe even 600). You can't find that on a console game, where the average lifespan is about 20 hours of gameplay.


PC gaming is the greatest value in gaming today. You can game for an entire year, and never have to spend one dollar. From free MMORPGS, to free Flash games, to massive communities based around common card/board games to games with community mods/maps that extends the life of the game for YEARS. These facts offset that you MAY have to buy a new 300 dollar card every two years.

That 300 dollars you spend on a video card would buy you 6 or 7 games for a console, and that wouldn't equal the time you may spend with a BF2 or WoW or Civ4.


As long as there are PC's and older gamers ... there will always be PC gaming.

 

[elostyle]

I hope PC gaming dies and developers move to the console market.

It's annoying to play games on PC while relaxing to play laid back infront of your TV.

I hope everything you enjoy dies as well. If you fancy FPS and RTS games on consoles then knock yourself out with halo 1-X but don't be wishing the stuff I enjoy shouldn't exist.

 

[Xenon]

and the price of the latest video cards is even starting to intimidate me lately

This is the main reason I stopped buying PC games.


I miss 3DFX =(

 

[Fantasmo]

No surprise. I can't remember the last time I opened up a PC gaming magazine and anticipated anything I saw.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

...i think WoW has sold well over a mil in the US

anyway alot of people game on their PC online, and that makes games last a very long time, i mean look at WC3 bnet i STILL play DoTA and other custom maps on there. The PC gaming scene is about good competition and just like a great fighter, if you always have good competition the game lasts a long time. I mean for a LONG time CS had the largest internet imprint in the world. Millions upon millions of people game on the PC, the communities that form from the good games make them last for so freaking long. CS, battle.net, BF, MOH, CoD, Rainbow Six, Civ, AOE, Sims, RYL the list goes on, right on down to flash games and online poker. Basically with mods and constant competition PC gamers dont have to buy 5 or so releases a year, they can just play and evolve the games they love. That said there are alot of great PC games that slip under the radar because of this too, like sacred and disciples.

 

[echoshifting]

- Hellgate: London

ha ha ha

Keep dreaming buddy, somebody's gotta do it.

 

[Andrew2]

I hope PC gaming dies and developers move to the console market.

It's annoying to play games on PC while relaxing to play laid back infront of your TV.

Not going to happen considering its more cost-effective to publish a title on the PC than a console. In fact, even Japanse publishers like square enix, namco, capcom and sega seem to be looking to the PC market.

Notice how sega released Outrun, Hotd 3, CT3 and just to name a few on the PC; same deal for Square enix? your going to see alot more devs follow them.

 

[teepo]

i think a large part of this is the volume of pc games being released is next to nilch save for a few big titles here and there.

 

[Andrew2]

This is the main reason I stopped buying PC games.


I miss 3DFX =(

Nvidia = 3DFX

If you remember, nvidia absorbed 3DFX.

 

[Vieo]

Not going to happen considering its more cost-effective to publish a title on the PC than a console. In fact, even Japanse publishers like square enix, namco, capcom and sega seem to be looking to the PC market.

Notice how sega released Outrun, Hotd 3, CT3 and just to name a few on the PC; same deal for Square enix? your going to see alot more devs follow them.

One PC future! Consoles are getting frucking expensive.

I always thought instead of going the console route, MS should have tried to kill off consoles instead and make PCs the the premier gaming platform.

 

[Borys]

NPD doesn't count on-line and European sales.

Funny shit considering that (on-line + Europe) > 2 * US sales.

They should just stop bothering with releasing PC games in the US, PERIOD.

When a game like Sacred (RPG) sells 200K units in the US and 1.3M units in other countries it's time you leave the dumb American market to dumb console owners (I've got two BTW).

I can bet $100 that Gothic 3 (PC) will outsell Oblivion (PC + 360) here in the Europe, easily.

Oh, well, in Vista I trust. If Microsoft wants to sell Vista he better goddamn stop with stealing PC franchises and moving them to 360. Show me exclusive Vista content (GAMES) not found ANYWHERE else and maybe I'll bother with upgrading.

 

[Deg]

PC games shat all over console games this year.

Many of the so called best console games were pretty weak. But i guess fanboys keep the quality up :lol

2005 was was an awesome year. A year of transistion in many ways as online becomes more dominant. Also quality has risen. The overall standards are higher

Here in the UK pc games in shops can even match or can be larger than PS2 shelf space in many cases There are also various online download services (some from retailers) selling many games online via download.

 

[_PsiFire_]

PC gaming will never be the same as it was back in the adventure days..

No more Sierra or Lucas Arts adventure.. *cry*

At least I have this to look forward to.

 

[Phoenix]

But the power, the graphics! What went wrong?

Consoles caught up and can deliver a similar (and in some cases better) experience for less than the price of a video card upgrade. PC gaming is just no longer economically sound thanks to price gouging from nVidia and ATI.