It's over PC gaming is finished!

With graphs like this one (blamed on piracy among other things) a lot of people have been proclaiming that PC gaming’s death draws nigh. What this graph doesn’t say though, is that the numbers it gets for consoles is hardware and software sold in retail for all three consoles vs software sales of PC in retail. Thats right, not alienware PCs, not graphic cards, not gaming peripherals, not MMO subscriptions, not even digital sales.
While this graph is technically correct it gives a skewed picture of the situation to say the least.

It’s true that the last couple years have not been the best for PC gaming, partly thanks to PC getting down prioritized by several studios for their AAA titles (GTA4, Assassins Creed among others), but there are still several important niches that PC gaming fills that I don’t see any console competing for in the near future. Those niches, among others, are strategy, simulations, MMOs and e-sports. While consoles might catch up on the last two eventually I doubt they will replace PCs completely in either; the amount of people still playing Counter-Strike, Quake, Starcraft and other ten years or older tournament games combined with World of Warcraft’s complete dominance should be plenty proof of that. (continue reading…)