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Why Consoles Overwhelm PC Games At Retail

Posted by simoniker on from the kicking-and-screaming dept.

An anonymous reader writes "With the GameCube at $99 and PlayStation 2 sales still huge, people are starting to really notice the shrinkage of PC games at retail. Why? What does the future hold? An article at JoeUser.com asks that question and looks at what is likely to happen to PC games as consoles slowly take over most of the retail space for games." This piece, written by Brad Wardell, creator of Galactic Civilizations, argues: "The issue isn't whether the PC game market will die. It won't. The issue is whether PC games will be able to keep up with console games from a production values point of view."

4 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Tipware is the future. by cloudless.net · · Score: 3, Informative

    I wonder what makes you think that. It takes some incredible effort to create a modern video game, and you think the developers will do it for free?

  2. No comments needed here... by jermyjerm · · Score: 2, Informative

    "With the GameCube at $99 and PlayStation 2 sales still huge, people are starting to really notice the shrinkage of PC games at retail. Why?"

    The question answers itself.

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    --- "Yeah, I'm a bit stressed out. I have a research paper due tomorrow and it has to be +5, Insightful."
  3. Just added to Splinter Cell: by Inoshiro · · Score: 2, Informative

    Vselka Infiltration (Available 11/13/03)
    Having located the Vselka, Sam Fisher must now infiltrate its claustrophobic corridors and access its archive system to locate the nuclear warheads.

    Vselka Submarine (Available 11/14/03)
    Having neutralized both Alekseevich and Masse, Third Echelon finds out from Masse's files at Kola Cell that Alekseevich's plan is already in motion and his men have captured a submarine docking station. Third Echelon suspects that the docked submarine, the Vselka, carries nuclear warheads, and Fisher is sent in to stop the theft or, if he's too late, find out where they have been moved to.

    This adds on top of the Kola Cell you can download.

    What's that, you say, a console that's flexible? Pish posh!

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
  4. American Cultural Bias by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    In Germany, PC games consistently sell about twice as well as console games -- even info/edutainment sells better than console games. Germany isn't a huge market, but I suspect that the rest of Europe is the same. I'd say:
    Japan: consoles dominate
    N. America: consoles & PC duke it out, consoles may be gaining an edge.
    Europe: PC dominates.

    Also, don't forget that consoles are at the height of their game sales cycle, and PC sales usually decline at that point; let's wait another couple of years before drawing a conclusion.