In the global gaming market brands such as PlayStation 5 owner Sony, who helped pioneer the console gaming market, are facing a rough time according to analysts with consumers taking to PC gaming.
Recently Sony jacked up the price of their PS5 console in several markets by up to 24%, but even before the price rise consumers were deserting the Sony console, for better performance PCs from brands such as MSI, Lenovo and Acer.
Consoles long relied on their advantages over PCs in gaming controls and processing sophisticated graphics.
But gaming PCs that have emerged in recent years outperform consoles with brands such as Sony now struggling to get a return on their consoles that use to be discounted out, with brands like Sony hoping recoup their investment in consoles by selling more of their games.
Gaming PCs made up 8% of personal computer sales to consumers in Japan last year, up from 1% in 2015, according to market researcher GfK Japan.
At the giant Tokyo Game Show this week, which use to be the domain of the Sony console, attendees were drawn mainly to exhibits of blockbuster games such as Apex Legends and PUBG’s, Battlegrounds all available via Steam’s PC gaming service.
Steam, the PC gaming platform operated by Valve is today stripping gamers away from the overpriced Sony PS5 gaming console.
The PlayStation and other consoles that long dominated the industry have lost prominence among core gamers who now see consoles from the likes of Microsoft with their Xbox and Sony with their PS5 as being entry level machines.
According to Nikki Asia, Steam has attained an extensive reach globally through its chat feature and multiplayer invites.
Developers ranging from indie houses to high-budget triple-A studios have released over 10,000 titles on the platform to date.
The number of monthly Steam users nearly tripled from 47 million in 2018 to 132 million last year, eclipsing PlayStation’s falling 102 million monthly users.
The Nintendo Switch has just over 100 million users per annum mainly teenagers and young children.
The market for PC games totalled $33.7 billion last year, topping the $28.3 billion for console games, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
This differential is projected to widen beyond $10 billion by 2026.
The entire gaming market spans $214.2 billion. Since more than 1 billion smart devices are delivered each year, mobile games account for roughly 70% of the demand.
Powering PC gaming demand is the growth in popularity of e-sports, where hardware performance can determine victory or defeat. In Singapore there is even a n E Sports Hotel.
Several PC-only games, such as League of Legends, boast 100 million players.
Ease of development and distribution also contributes to the rise of PC games with developers in the past having to invest in dedicated console development environments.
like console games do, meaning small studios and even individuals can release titles.
Publishing a game on Steam requires only an upfront fee and passing a screening process.
The platform has helped expand the scope of developers and users.
Big-name developers are responding quickly to this sea change. At Capcom, half the titles sold in the April-June quarter are for PC games.
“PC software will be the main [focus] going forward,” Capcom President Haruhiro Tsujimoto said. “There are users all across the world, so it’ll be easy to expand sales territory.”
About Post Author
Be the first to comment