PC gaming not as dead as we though?

[lars573]

We've all seen the numbers. In 2007 console game sales were $19 Billion, while PC game sales were a platry (comparably) $911 million. According to The NPD Group, a research firm that tracks such things. However according to a study by the PCgaming alliance that's not the whole story. According to them, and their study, in 2007 PC gaming revinue was $10.7 billion. So how do you get such a disparity? 911 million is only the US, and (this is key) only at retail. The NPD groups numbers don't track digital distrobution, or subscritions to MMO's. And the PCG alliance states that retail sales are a mere 30% of PC gaming sales internationally.

According to the PCGA's Horizons report, games on the oldest active gaming platform generated around $10.7 billion in sales worldwide. Of that, $4.8 billion--nearly half--comes from online revenue, including subscriptions for massively multiplayer games such as the omnipresent World of Warcraft. Digital distribution sales hit $2 billion globally, with in-game and game portal advertising revenues reaching $800 million.

Linky

If you want to read the report follow the link to the PCG alliance website.