So my main point is, if there are more sales, and more profit for companies developing on the PC, why do so many publishers prioritize the console version or even ditch a PC version (Madden)?"
First off I'd think that PC Gamer UK is a far better source then Wikipedia. Second off the reason why PC sales aren't as high as consoles is just as you listed. You are comparing all consoles that include 4 viable platforms (Wii, 360, PS3, and PS3) vs. the PC which is a single platform. It's as Vandal just stated PC gaming as a single platform makes up more then half of what consoles make. Sure it may be behind 4 of the platform but it is still ahead then any one of them.
EDIT - Reply to HitNRun's source...they listed Aquaria as a casual game. :|
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That still didn't answer my question
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Why is Madden off of the PC? That's simple it isn't a game that is suited for the PC like say the multi-million selling SEGA's Football Manager series is. In terms of why developers focus on the console version more. Well why do some companies prioritize the handheld version of games over the console versions (LEGO Indiana Jones)? Why do companies prioritize the Japanese release over the Western (Persona 3)? It's simple the type of game they are making and the market they appeal to.
Handhelds are typically a platform consisting of gamers who play the games on the go or bit by bit.
Consoles are typically a platform consisting of gamers who play their games within a notable duration of time.
PC is a platform consisting of gamers who play their games within a long duration of time.
Within these things come the age groups, the type of game players on the platform, and where they thrive.
Take consoles for instance. Their age group is usually in the late teens to the late 20's. The type of game players usually fall into stream gamers who look toward the next big blockbuster. And consoles thrive in North America, Japan, and the U.K.
PC's however are a tad bit different. Their age group is usually consisting of people in their mid 20's to middle age. The type of gamers are usually really die-hard who play niche and complex games. And they don't particular thrive anywhere notably big enough, but they spread across the world to have a healthy userbase.
Call of Duty and Rainbow Six are doing better on consoles? Yeah but they are clearly targetting a bigger audience. The stream gamers far outnumber the core gamers as well as them being in a define place. Just look at how much the developers tweaked those games. Rainbow Six used to be a very respectable tactical shooter series. Now? Just another "fun" action shooter.
It isn't so much the fact that console move more games that exist on PC, but more so they can move more games if you retweak them. Case and point just look at the Rayman series. It was originally a semi-respectable platformer series that targeted kids and serious gamers on the Playstation line, however now it targets mostly casuals on the Nintendo line (by no means that means those consoles are only for casuals) and sells far better. People always give comparisons like Call of Duty 4 console vs PC sales or Bioshock console vs PC sales, but in reality people are missing the big picture here. Those games were clearly rebuilt for console gamers in mind especially in gameplay (complexity, depth, etc.). They were recrafted to capture the bigger more casual console audience.
PC games still sell very well. Games like The Witcher have sold over half a million copies during only 3 months on the shelf. Sins of the Solar Empires sold over 100,000 copies in three weeks. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. sold over a million and half copies. And these are just RETAIL sales, include Digital Distribution you might as well double them (possibly even more). Looking at these games there's no way they'd perform the same on consoles. RPG's rarely reach the half a million mark on consoles. I mean the closest game series to resemble The Witcher in terms of userbase on console is the main Shin Megami Tensei series, and the best selling one didn't even surpass 400,000. Sins of the Solar Empires is a mere niche game for core RTS players, comparing to consoles it's similar to Soul Nomad or other NIS titles. And being honest I can't find anything to compare S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with.
Look I've explained as much as I can.
Why are publishers putting PC franchises on consoles now? For a bigger more casual userbase hence why all of them are retweaked.
Why are PC sales down? They aren't.
Why don't PC games sell that well? They do sell well, but just like any other platform it depends on what game you make and where you market it at as well as how.
Clean said:
"well everyone is pirating games so they can't make a decent profit"
Pirating is everywhere. Nintendo lost near a billion due to piracy. The simple fact is that those who pirate are usually from countries where it runs rampant. Most of the pirates you hear about are in countries like Korea, Russia, Thailand, and the likes. The biggest difference is that PC piracy is easier to track because one can just go to torrent sites, consoles? Who knows? Regardless the PC pulls in more money then any platform on the market does it really isn't as big as an issue as people make it seem."
wow ... i can't wait to see how many people try to bash your face in for making a thread that actually makes sense ... but this is the end all be all of the console/pc discussion and should really have it's own thread dedicated to it.
"As a PC gamer i'd say the biggest problem with the platform is it has no immediate face to it. And by that i mean Xbox has Microsoft, Playstation has Sony and the Wii has Nintendo to back their consoles and have conferences for them at the likes of E3 an other gaming events.
The PC however has no one to actually say "well this year on the PC we intend to..." because all it has is developers who are more interested in flogging their games than to actually promote the platform. I think everyone can agree this years E3 conferences seemed to focus more on why you should buy the console than promote what good games are coming out on it.
There is also the fact that the PC has no genre to call its own as games from all genres can be found on both the PC and consoles. Ten years ago it used to be that consoles were better for platformers, fighting, racing and the odd flying sim game where as the PC was better at RPG, FPS, RTS and the MMO. But now its all mixed together and the PC has lost its solidarity to those genres. The current situation for gamers is that by owning only one platform you limit you're gaming experience.
We're also seeing more and more of the same type of games being released on the PC too, if it isn't another MMO with a fantasy setting its another FPS with flashy graphics and no real substance to the gameplay. As a gaming platform the PC is the most expensive and with the economy how it is globally at the moment i imagine most people aren't too inclined to drop a small fortune on building a new PC. The platforms hit a negative period, but hopefully we'll see it pick up again soon to prove its still a viable option to play games on. "
I think sometimes we see the evolution of pc gaming and its current predicament, which we perceive as death. In all reality we need to learn how to adapt to the new market otherwise it will be us pc gamers left out in the cold to shiver ourselves into a catatonic state. So please everyone please talking about the demise or death of pc gaming, it is simply evolving. Yes the "pc" doesn't have a lot of exclusives nor can you say it's a "platform" because of the varied hardware out there. The pc is a utility used for more than just gaming, but let us realizes that for the most part the pc version of a game created by Id or Valve and even Bethesda will always be superior to its console counterpart.
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I agree 100%.
People need to realize that EVERY generation of consoles has been met with claims of the "death" of PC gaming. EVERY SINGLE ONE! I know a lot of you weren't around for the times when PC games LOOKED better than everything else out there, but even back then, there were people claiming PCs were too hard to use ... and too expensive ... and PC gaming was dying out because of one reason or another. It has been a cycle this entire time and I feel like a lot of the PC naysayers out there, just weren't old enough to appreciate the times when PC gaming was the end all be all of gaming.
Stop treading on PC little dudes ... it's been like this for longer than you've been alive ...
I've bought a bunch ... I think I'm up to like 40ish now ... it's really great when they release new games on steam. Just saves me a trip to the store! :)
Really xruntime, you're slow internet isn't really an excuse for not buying games on steam. If you pre-order any game, they let you pre-load it WEEKS before it is released so that on release day, you download a small bit and you can play right away.
And what is so wrong about DRM? Aren't you sick and tired of people killing good PC games by hacking and downloading them? Steam is in no way intrusive in the way it does it's DRM and it goes a long way towards doing things the right way.
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