Industry sales tracking firm NPD claims that U.S. sales of PC games last year was $970 million. That may look like small potatoes next to the $13.5 billion the whole games industry raked in last year, but that includes sales of console hardware. And in a year with a launch of two new consoles, and where console prices are higher than before, it's not exactly an even comparison. Looking at just software, it's $970M for PC game sales, and over $6.4B in console sales.

Looks bleak, doesn't it? Well that's not the whole story. See, NPD just tracks retail sales, and just in the United States. Europe is heavily into PC games. And a lot of PC games are bought online. If you factor in online sales through digital distribution, online sales of a boxed product that comes to you in the mail, and subscriptions to massively multiplayer games, the total U.S. sales for PC game software is closer to $1.4 or even $1.5 billion (it's hard to get accurate data for online sales and subscription fees). Online sales are big on the PC, and growing very rapidly. Consoles are far behind in this regard—most games are bought at retail, and online stuff like the Xbox Live Marketplace, while successful, is still relatively new. $1.5 billion for the U.S. alone is a good figure, but it's still not close to that huge console figure, right?

Well, sure it is. I mean, why are we comparing a single platform (the PC…and honestly, pretty much just Windows) against the combined totals of the PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox and 360, Gamecube and Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP? It's not as if game developers get to write a game for one console and it magically works and is sold for all the others, after all. If you take those console software sales figures and break them down by platform (something I rarely see done, so I'm sorry I don't have the figures), the picture isn't quite so bleak. There are console platforms that generate less revenue in game sales than the PC, and there are some that generate more. The PC fits in the lineup nicely.

So why this perception that the PC is dying as a game platform? Well, because in some ways it is. At the end of the day, the bulk of game purchases are at retail. While an expansion to a PC game, World of Warcraft, can pull in 2.4 million in sales in a single day, that's the exception that proves the rule. All you need to do is go into any retail store and the PC's place in the hearts and minds of "gamers" and retailers is clear. PC games are in non-uniform boxes, lined up with their spines facing out, in the back corner of the store where hardly anyone goes. Even in stores where the PC game isle is more robust, it's nothing compared to the fancy displays and "try it here" kiosks for consoles. PC games are harder to install and uninstall than they need to be, while console games are "put the disc in and play." System requirements are confusing, especially when you ask someone what sort of processor they have, or how much RAM, and they say "It's a Dell. It's a Dimension. Does that help?" Clearly, someone needs to do something. Continued...

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