ACE, you are confusing store policy with actual availability. Try another store, as I have see many more PC games today than 20 years ago, the difference is that stores have only a fixed amount of shelf space for games so obviously they have to divy up the available space to consoles as well as PC games as consoles become more common.

You are not seeing PC gaming dying so much as consoles becoming more prevalent. Consoles are becoming more prevalent because in order to gain more market share console makers purposefully restrict their underwriting of game titles to the console only to boost sales. The PC market is quite healthy, it is just being artificially shut out on some titles. There is a marketing effort to try and kill PC gaming, but only because PC gaming is so damn strong. Consoles intrinsically would be a niche market if not for such cutthroat marketing. PC gaming is not dying, and without console makers' active offense against it, you would in fact see a lot more shelf space devoted to it.

I invite you to come look at Steam and Stardock Central/Impulse, which are digital stores offering PC games.

http://www.steampowered.com/
https://www.stardock.com/products/sdcentral/
https://forums.stardock.com/forum/457
http://www.impulsedriven.com/

Specialty game stores like EB and Gamestop have cut back because their profit is almost entirely based on used game sales, and they no longer take PC tradeins because of piracy fears. As such, they've tried to minimize PC shelf space in favor of more profitable items (used console games).

As to the bigger stores, I'm not seeing it. Walmarts and Best Buys still have as much or more PC game shelf-space than they do for any one console, which seems pretty balanced to me.

actually consoles might suffer piracy now that some of the 7th gen consoles have internet.

Another place for Ace to look, amazon.com and other online retailers.

At least a third of PC game buyers purchase some or all of their titles online. Retail chains are a dying industry for digital media.

n York region (Ontario, Canada) where I live, there was actually a law forbidding the resale of open PC software for a while, which meant that the EB Games stores could not buy or sell used games. Ironically, travel a few kilometres south to Toronto and the EB Games stores there could still do it because they were not bound the York region laws.

That being said, the other reason they don't pay much attention to PC sales is because their entire operating philosophy fails with PC games. When I bought Dungeons & Dragons Online, the guy asked me if I wanted to insure the game. Basically, you pay $3 more so that if the DVD gets damaged so that you cannot use it, you can get a new whole new box (I presume they just clean up your old disc and resell it as "used"). I promptly informed him that this was useless because a) the game was an MMO and if I swapped it for a new one, the next person to buy it would not be able to use it because I had already created an account with the game key, and most MMO developers allow you to download the game off their website (in case something happens to your discs). The same argument applies to Valve's games, but the EB Games staff are forced to push a corporate agenda, unfortunately.




I've had the same experience. While the PC shelfspace may not be nearly as large as the consoles, there is still quite a lot of shelf space for PC games. I even find obscure, little known titles hanging around.


Mad Cat

Just take a look in any Future Shop or Best Buy. There are still plenty of PC games and lots of shelf space for them in those stores as well.

This thread is probably the biggest debauchery of every subject from computer gaming to economics that I have seen in quite a while.

And for that, I must give you your props Seth

Dont Worry Starcraft 2 will Blow up the PC gaming world. Blizzard Rules.

Stupid fanboys...

I retrospect there probably is more slow down in the computer gaming industry, but no downturn last forever, the US economy in itself is a testament to that.

Just how does the economy affect whether PC Gaming will die or not? Besides people buying computers and games.

Agreed. Just stopped by both a WalMart and GameStop today. The PC game shelves between the two stores were night and day: The new release shelves for PC games were larger and pretty empty at the WalMart, and the store is packed with ads for Spore, including some big ones as you walked in. Looks like new PC games are flying off the shelves there, and they can't keep up with demand.

The GameStop, on the other hand, had a small section of PC games with pretty much nothing new on it . Looked like it hadn't been touched much: I think the PC gamers in the area just gave up and decided WalMart was better for PC games.

Er, it sounds more like they're clearing shelf space. Of course, I could be wrong.




They probably just got tired of their BS. I know I have. "Would you like to ensure that for-" "Frak no, now leave me alone and let me BUY the frakin' thing!" "Uh, ok. Just remember, you can also trade in your old PC games." "What, you mean the ones that cost me $50 two months ago which you are offering me $2 to take off my hands?"


Mad Cat

True, although that doesn't explain the Spore ads.



Agreed. If the companies weren't so obsessed with DRM, making backup copies wouldn't be a problem, and there would be no need for GameStop to offer "insurance."