PC gaming is the only gaming market to experience growth in CY 2022

Armenius

Armenius

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GamesIndustry.biz has released their annual report of the video game market for calendar year 2022, and the numbers show that every market experienced the expected decline except for PC. PC gaming saw a 1.8% growth in revenue while the console market receded by 4.2%. Mobile gaming was even worse with a 6.2% loss. This comes as commenters across social media lament the few high profile duds of the year like The Callisto Protocol and Gotham Knights, once again raising the infamous question, "Is PC gaming dying?"

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gamesindustrybiz-presents-the-year-in-numbers-2022
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Might have to do with the supply situation. I don't think PS5s can be found in stock regularly yet.

DooKey said:
PC gaming isn't dying. Only entitled babies that want high-end cards for low-end prices are screaming that.
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A middle of the road card costs almost as much as a high end card these days. Unless prices drop, it will become a burden for younger people to get into PC gaming. A **60 is what, $600+ with current prices?

Of course I assume prices will drop in the new year. Even Nvidia realizes the high price of the 4080 isn't good for sales. I'm not sure a $800 4060 would be a good seller either.
 
DooKey said:
PC gaming isn't dying. Only entitled babies that want high-end cards for low-end prices are screaming that.
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Exactly. I do believe the pandemic has really increased the interest in not only PC building, but PC gaming as well.
 
DooKey said:
PC gaming isn't dying. Only entitled babies that want high-end cards for low-end prices are screaming that.
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Well said. People want cards out of their budget and can't stand it, so they whinge. Those people should buy something that they can afford, nothing wrong with having to stick to a budget. You'll still have the same games, just not all the eye candy. Big whoop.

I've seen pre-built computer deals with a 12700k Intel cpu, 3060ti Nvidia gpu, and eveything else you need to play for $1k. That's a great machine for 2560x1440 or below, but people snub it. Their loss. Pc's also have more use than just gaming!
 
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I don't think PC gaming is in danger of dying any time soon. I just don't think it's going to dominate the market as some diehards would like. As it stands, the variations don't really represent a sea change at this moment.
 
DooKey said:
PC gaming isn't dying. Only entitled babies that want high-end cards for low-end prices are screaming that.
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Middle performance video cards now cost significantly more than halo cards from 5 or 6 years ago. I have noticed that there are waaaay more people who simp for multi hundred billion dollar companies now than there were a few years ago though
 
Let's not pretend this is something it isn't. PC Gaming isn't experiencing a revolution. It's up 1.8%... And availability of parts has been a lot better in the last year.
 
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Doesn't look like it's including standalone VR. Quest 2 sold more than the new Xbox. It's essentially a console, and perhaps taking away some of that market.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Well said. People want cards out of their budget and can't stand it, so they whinge. Those people should buy something that they can afford, nothing wrong with having to stick to a budget. You'll still have the same games, just not all the eye candy. Big whoop.

I've seen pre-built computer deals with a 12700k Intel cpu, 3060ti Nvidia gpu, and eveything else you need to play for under $1k. That's a great machine for 2560x1440 or below, but people snub it. Their loss. Pc's also have more use than just gaming!
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I bought my parts used off forum. I paid $325 i5-12600k o/ced 5.2 + asus tuf z690 wifi 1-2 year warranty and Evga rtx 3080 xc3 2 year warranty $525 shipped Total cost $850.

I play on 27" 1440p 165hz and i can play every game no problem. i would rather buy used from forums here. i get used for cheaper and i can get better gpu for same price as less gpu for same price
 
kirbyrj said:
Let's not pretend this is something it isn't. PC Gaming isn't experiencing a revolution. It's up 1.8%... And availability of parts has been a lot better in the last year.
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Still depending on how much of those consoles sales are going to the PS5-XboxX/S, Pc gaming could be bigger than both combined even with browser stuff separated, which would not be new, but not something that it necessarily trended to be or how often we hear about it vs those in term of influence on dev.
 
TMCM said:
Middle performance video cards now cost significantly more than halo cards from 5 or 6 years ago. I have noticed that there are waaaay more people who simp for multi hundred billion dollar companies now than there were a few years ago though
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I don't give a crap about any company. I find it funny that anyone thinks a big company owes them anything. Buy what you want and don't cry like a baby because some company beholden to shareholders won't give it to you.

You're right though. Lots of people simp for AMD, NV, Intel, Apple, Samsung. I could go on and on.
 
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GoldenTiger said:
Well said. People want cards out of their budget and can't stand it, so they whinge. Those people should buy something that they can afford, nothing wrong with having to stick to a budget. You'll still have the same games, just not all the eye candy. Big whoop.

I've seen pre-built computer deals with a 12700k Intel cpu, 3060ti Nvidia gpu, and eveything else you need to play for $1k. That's a great machine for 2560x1440 or below, but people snub it. Their loss. Pc's also have more use than just gaming!
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The fact of the matter is that many are stuck at a small budget or choose to be and will cry about high-end prices because they consider it cool to "fight the man."
 
1_rick said:
$400. Houston Microcenter has probably 100 units in stock, across at least 4 or 5 models.
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For a 2 year old card that is being replaced. We've yet to see how the 4060 is priced or the performance it brings. I am really hoping 3*** inventory sells out and they drop the 4080 price greatly, and release the rest of the product stack at more normal prices.

Looks like the "4070 Ti" (formerly 4080 12GB) might still be priced at $900 or so. But we'll have more info in the next few weeks.

MSI-RTX4070Ti.jpg
 
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DooKey said:
Let's not pretend this is something it isn't.
PC Gaming isn't dying.
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I never said it was. My point is that 1.8% is more in the margin of error. Coupled with the greater availability of components in 2022, it would be shocking if it didn't grow a little.
 
There's so many things effecting the market. The meager growth believe it or not is not neceessarily a good sign. In many places like China regular lockdowns in theory should have driven higher growth.

That being said Sony releasing their games on PC is huge. Epic games, Amazon, giving away AAA titles incessantly only bolsters demand.

We'll see how 2023 turns out. PC gaming has a ton of competition for your attention from Streaming, consoles, moblie phones, etc.
 
jlbenedict said:
Tell me about it! lol..

2+ years after release, and I still can't walk into the local Target, WM, etc.. and grab a PS5.
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They've been purchasable through PlayStation Direct for over a month now. As a matter of fact two weekends ago was the first time I walked into a store and saw a PS5 on the shelf... a single God of War bundle at Walmart.
 
PC gaming is at an all-time high, although we are in a weird period where more devs are selling broken games and hoping to fix them later. We've been through it before and I'm sure it'll pass, but it's annoying.
On the plus side, 2023 is filled with high-profile releases from typically reputable developers. Even with delays and the occasional total whiff it should be a good year.
 
Domingo said:
PC gaming is at an all-time high, although we are in a weird period where more devs are selling broken games and hoping to fix them later. We've been through it before and I'm sure it'll pass, but it's annoying.
On the plus side, 2023 is filled with high-profile releases from typically reputable developers. Even with delays and the occasional total whiff it should be a good year.
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Couldn't have said it better. It is very annoying to be the beta tester in these new games when they first come out.
 
Flogger23m said:
Might have to do with the supply situation. I don't think PS5s can be found in stock regularly yet.
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Or people just woke up and realized that a PC is better at gaming in every way. It can play older games, it can play games from consoles, and it can do this without needing a monthly subscription for online play. Plus a PC can do other things besides gaming like video editing, web browsing, printing, write documents, and of course browse for porn. PS5's were scalped to hell and back during the pandemic so it's not hard to see that maybe some people just got a nice laptop.
 
DukenukemX said:
Or people just woke up and realized that a PC is better at gaming in every way. It can play older games, it can play games from consoles, and it can do this without needing a monthly subscription for online play. Plus a PC can do other things besides gaming like video editing, web browsing, printing, write documents, and of course browse for porn. PS5's were scalped to hell and back during the pandemic so it's not hard to see that maybe some people just got a nice laptop.
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Still generally easier and cheaper than a PC. For all the other tasks, average people use phones. The average person is very computer illiterate, society has taken a step back in this area since the 2010s. In the early 2000s we thought young kids would all grow up being experts at using computers. How wrong we were. The average person these days doesn't know how to write a single sentence reply on a computer anymore. And they would prefer to suffer through a video editing app on their phone than using a more efficient screen with a superior UI and manipulation tools. Documents? Most people don't even know what those are anymore.

I'm not seeing people buying gaming computers because they can print or type. They'd rather suffer and do things the long way.
 
Flogger23m said:
Still generally easier and cheaper than a PC. For all the other tasks, average people use phones. The average person is very computer illiterate, society has taken a step back in this area since the 2010s. In the early 2000s we thought young kids would all grow up being experts at using computers. How wrong we were. The average person these days doesn't know how to write a single sentence reply on a computer anymore. And they would prefer to suffer through a video editing app on their phone than using a more efficient screen with a superior UI and manipulation tools. Documents? Most people don't even know what those are anymore.

I'm not seeing people buying gaming computers because they can print or type. They'd rather suffer and do things the long way.
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Some (edit: a lot) smart home stuff you need a phone/tablet exclusively to set up and use or you're SOL - computer is an afterthought at best there in that area as well now :/
 
staknhalo said:
Some (edit: a lot) smart home stuff you need a phone/tablet exclusively to set up and use or you're SOL - computer is an afterthought at best there in that area as well now :/
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The only winning move is not to play use proprietary IoT devices that require apps exclusively to setup and manage.

ng4ever said:
I absolutely hate this.
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Just another aspect of the dark cyberpunk future we have found ourselves in. :borg:
 
The quality of games released on console this year have been below par, so the news is hardly surprising.
 
staknhalo said:
Some (edit: a lot) smart home stuff you need a phone/tablet exclusively to set up and use or you're SOL - computer is an afterthought at best there in that area as well now :/
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I believe Comcast phased out the website for setting up router settings if you're using a Comcast supplied router. Have to do it on a phone.

The quality of games released on console this year have been below par, so the news is hardly surprising.
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Some of the higher profile games released on PC this year were Playstation ports. The irony. At least Sony does a better PC porting job than half of the other AAA game developers.
 
rinaldo00 said:
Yet GPU sales hit a 20 year low.
Desktop GPU Sales Hit 20-Year Low
https://hardforum.com/threads/desktop-gpu-sales-hit-20-year-low.2024500/
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That just means people aren't buying new cards, not that PC gaming is dying. The majority of PC Gamers don't even have 1050 class GPUs.
There are large numbers of PC Gamers still using integrated graphics. Any GPU released in the last 7/8 years is perfectly capable of playing every PC game. Second hand sales are huge.

The numbers of players on Steam is still growing.

PC gaming isn't dying.
 
Depending on what happen to the exchange rate, +1.8% in the current inflation world could still be an effective decline, just less than elsewhere
 
Dayaks said:
Show it in terms of revenue and margin…
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Revenue are also massively down, but it would rewritten history acting has if there is not a massive mining to gaming of quite capable GPU occurring and an always increasing popularity and capability for Laptop-APU, a decrease of new dGPU does not mean we should expect a decrease of game sales, at least not short term.
 
Lots of places talking about desktop discrete GPU sales being down but no mention of Mobile GPU sales. I would be very interested to see how it stacks up against Mobile chip numbers.

I know a fair number of gamers who switched to gaming laptops instead of desktops because they just don’t have the space or their work keeps them moving too frequently.
 
While momentarily encouraging, a 1.8% uptick in an industry that was down 4.3% overall is hardly cause for celebration. Anyone who says PC gaming is dying is just being melodramatic. That said. PC gaming has been losing market share for a long time. It's not like younger generations are flocking to PC as they were 20-25 years ago. They want mobility of cell phones. And that is likely to continue going forward.


revenues-by-segment.jpg
 
rinaldo00 said:
Yet GPU sales hit a 20 year low.
Desktop GPU Sales Hit 20-Year Low
https://hardforum.com/threads/desktop-gpu-sales-hit-20-year-low.2024500/
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Gee I wonder why. We went through 2 years of nearly every new GPU being bought by miners or scalpers immediately when it hit store's inventory. Notice the heavy shipment drop in the article correlates exactly when the Ethereum POS merge date was confirmed in Q2, and the price was already down ~40% in Q1.

It's been a great year for a lot of gamers to catch up on upgrades with cheap 20/30 series cards in the used market.
 
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