PC gaming is not quite dead, generates $18.6 billion in 2011

PC Gaming Alliance cites $18.6 billion of software sales in 2011, 15% increase versus 2010.

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The latest report from the PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) paints a different picture to the "PC gaming is dying/dead" argument, citing record software sales reaching $18.6 billion in 2011, a 15-percent increase over 2010.

PC gaming is not quite dead, generates $18.6 billion in 2011 | TweakTown.com

This increase in sales, is said to be attributed to China, where they're seeing a growth twice as fast as the global market, generating $6 billion for a 27-percent jump on-year. Surprisingly, no geographical market declined in sales, with the US, UK, Germany, Korea and Japan seeing a nice 11-percent boost to $8 billion in revenue.

PCGA does not that free-to-play games provided a very nice slice of that profit pie, with Zynga alone reporting $1.1 billion in sales. The report reads:

The PC gaming juggernaut continues unabated, across the industry and geographic boundaries. While reports of gaming sales at retail show signs of struggle, the impact hasn't been as great for PC gaming which had an earlier adoption of newer formats, business-models and delivery...

This is something quite surprising, given the state of the economies of the world. People find solace in gaming, instead of going out and spending at retail, on cars, houses, etc. Gaming is an escape from the crumbling world around us. So, PC gaming isn't dying, but it is changing. We've seen a departure from the bleeding-edge graphics, next-gen graphics engines outed every 12 or so months, mod-friendly platforms, "hardcore" gameplay, and so on.

This has moved over, letting stagnant console ports, closed platforms, DLC, and more mainstream gameplay.

Anthony joined the TweakTown team in 2010 and has since reviewed 100s of graphics cards. Anthony is a long time PC enthusiast with a passion of hate for games built around consoles. FPS gaming since the pre-Quake days, where you were insulted if you used a mouse to aim, he has been addicted to gaming and hardware ever since. Working in IT retail for 10 years gave him great experience with custom-built PCs. His addiction to GPU tech is unwavering and has recently taken a keen interest in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

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