If you didn’t know any better, you might think that video game consoles were the most popular products in the industry. Yet according to data from industry researcher PwC, PC game sales are expected to reach $29 billion by the end of 2016, compared to $28 billion for gaming consoles. Part of the reason why the gap will narrow is because of the rising popularity of PC gaming in countries like China and India. Another reason is that the only way to play some of the best looking and most popular games is on a gaming PC.
Gaming Consoles Lag Behind PCs
According to market researcher IDC, there were more than 308 million PCs sold worldwide last year compared to 300 million of the XBox One, the PlayStation 4 and the Wii U. On a global level, it’s hard for gaming consoles to compete with gaming computers, and companies are seeing this firsthand. That’s why some are utilizing social networks and other add-ons to keep players interested in their games.
It’s likely that gaming consoles won’t try to compete with PC gaming like they have in the past. They will probably march in their own lane, offering gamers a unique experience that only consoles can offer. In the meantime, we can expect gaming computers to win back fans – for two major reasons. E-sports and Steam.
E-Sports and Steam
A trend called e-sports has become an international sensation, grabbing the attention of people across the globe. E-sports involves competitive gaming between highly trained professional gamers, and these live events draw in millions of viewers. The top competitive games are only available on PC – Riot’s League of Legends and Valve’s Dota 2.
Second, platforms like Steam are making huge waves in the PC gaming industry. When a game is sold on PC, it’s often sold through an app and website called Steam. Steam offers a number of benefits such as bundle sales, discounts and more. It’s part social network and part online store, and users can access games that are still in the development phase. Console games, on the other hand, are tedious. Many are still sold in boxes and shrinkwrapped just like back in the day.
Virtual Reality: Is it Next?
The next wave of technology will most likely have something to do with virtual reality, so it will be fun to see the impact that the video game industry will have because of it. In the meantime, it’s neat to see PCs making a comeback, especially because the best games are played this way. Nothing offers the visual and audio experience that the modern gaming PC does.
VMPete
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