In response to earlier accusations that the PC is dying, Games for Windows boss, Kevin Unangst, has stepped up to the plate to announce that PC gaming is not kicking the bucket. Rather, PC gaming is fine, and is not going to pass on anytime soon.
Unangst declared recently that there is no physical obstacle that the PC must overcome. No more attention is needed by retailers and developers to boost sales. "The roadblock, if any, is the perception that there is a roadblock in PC gaming," Unangst wisely declared. He went on further to say that the idea of PC gaming death is near ludicrous, and those who believe so simply haven’t looked at the facts.
However, when one does look at the NPD numbers, as Unangst recommends, it can be seen that for both 2006 and 2007, PC sales for The Sims and World of Warcraft soared. These must be the only numbers Unangst saw; Call of Duty 4, for example, the fourth game in a series that was started on the PC, sold 383,000 copies for the PC. This dramatically pales in comparison to the 360 version, which sold a whopping 7 million copies. That’s one hell of a difference.
But Unangst had an answer for this, as well. He was more than ready to point out that consumers spent more money on Windows games than on PS3 games, and bought more Windows retail games than Wii games, in 2007.
In addition, Unangst states that you need to see the growing online market sales to truly understand what’s going on. Microsoft is now working with NPD to do just that. "I think you’re going to begin seeing what’s a more accurate picture of what’s really going on in PC gaming, and then people can stop judging the success or failure of the segment by monthly reports from NPD and retailers," Unangst stated optimistically.
So, is PC gaming on a decline? Perhaps. Is PC gaming really alive and well? Maybe. However, at this juncture, it is quite difficult to forecast the future vitality of the PC gaming industry. In the future, we will know what happens, but for now, everything is guesswork and assumption.
[via Next Generation]
