Last year we reported that PC gaming had managed to bring in $20 billion in 2012. DFC Intelligence has released early word about the potential sales of the PC market ahead of their official market report, and there is an expected elevation in PC game sales from $20 billion to land anywhere between $22 and $25 billion in 2014.
OnGamers spotted the post from GamesIndustry.biz, where DFC analyst Jeremy Miller revealed to them that...
"...core gamers seem to be willing to spend more money than ever.""We thought with the lack of major new releases that overall usage would be down,"... "However, the top titles of 2012 continued to do well in 2013 and new titles like Battlefield 4 and Total War: Rome II had solid performances."
Solid financial performances despite Arma II-level jankiness that followed both Total War: Rome II's controversial release and the building tension around Battlefield 4's current state.
DFC also notes that, according to their research and market trends, paying up front for games seems to be going out of trend in no less a manner than married men paying for sex on the weekends when their wife goes out of town to visit the mother-in-law.
DFC analyst David Cole dropped this truth bomb on GamesIndustry.biz, saying...
“The big surprise is that an upfront payment business model still seems to do very well. Dota 2 charged a $30 beta fee before going free-to-play and a great deal of people took advantage of that. So really we see a hybrid business model working where you can call it F2P but still charge upfront,""Also the traditional model where you charge a one-time fee is also very attractive....but again there is now a greater ability to upsell consumers after the initial purchase. We think this is a major driver of growth versus the pure free-to-play games."
What's funny is that traditionally released PC games seem less likely to gouge with microtransactions than console games these days. Yeah, PC titles still have DLC and the free-to-play outings are laced with more microtransactions than Justin Bieber's DNA is laced with douche genes, but a lot of PC games are just straightforward titles without all the ridiculous price-gouging content crap.
Added to this, PC gaming really is moving closer and closer to developer and gamer relationships that don't exist in the other markets. A lot of this is in due part to Steam's Early Access, where gamers can buy into the game during its early development phase and follow it through to release.
Cole further noted...
"2013 was a slow year for releases on the PC in large part because developers were gearing up for new console systems. We actually think the launch of the new console systems will help lift the PC game business because there is large overlap between console and PC gamers and it becomes another platform for developers."
On the flip-side, this definitely makes it harder for console manufacturers to sell the consoles. Buying an Xbox One for a game that's already on PC and not in 720p is a huge benefit to the PC gaming platform. Services like PlayStation Now, PlayStation Remix and backwards compatibility can help keep a distance between PC and console engagement.
The DFC report also notes that outside of Asia, the Glorious PC Master Race and the Prestigious Console Kings (or the super hard-core gamer) total at about 285 million. I guess hardcore gamers, both console and PC, aren't quite in the minority as everyone says, eh?
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