     |
 |
 |
 | | | | |
 |
|||
 |
||||||
          |
 |
 |
||||
|
Analyze This: The Current State of the PC Game Business [On the state of the PC game biz]: "The PC game business more than ever is an essential part of the overall game industry. It is at the cutting edge of new trends and has a very diversified consumer base. Unfortunately, being at the cutting edge is not always the most profitable place to be. "When I first started covering the game industry back in 1994, the general consensus was PC games would dominate the market and console systems were doomed. DFC had a very contrarian opinion and we argued the console systems would do better. I remember being asked how much we were being paid by Nintendo and Sega to say this stuff. Our argument was simply that the hardware manufacturers spend billions to develop, market and manage a platform that helps create a steady consumer base. The PC game market was flooded with incompatible products, a constant need to upgrade, and thousands of products and companies trying to enter the market. In the late 1990s, many companies and products failed and the PC game market lost much of its luster. Meanwhile the console business continued to grow. "In recent years, we have seen fewer [PC games] at retail, but also the rise of online games and more people playing MMOGs, casual games and all types of games online via the PC. We have seen the rise of a PC game business in Korea and China. Even console-centric Japan is getting online via PCs.
[On piracy]: "Piracy is a big problem. There has been no legitimate console business in much of Asia because of piracy problems. Over in those markets it was the PC game companies that were the ones that found a way around the piracy issue [through MMOGs]. "However, our core concerns from over a decade ago remain. The PC game market lacks a true market maker to promote and stabilize the platform. There are all kinds of different distribution options and business model possibilities. Consumers also tend to get confused by too many choices. The closest the PC market had to such a market maker was Microsoft. [On Windows Vista]: "In recent years Microsoft moved away from PC games with the slight distraction of the Xbox. Now Microsoft has Vista to promote. A cynical view would be that Microsoft wants to promote games to promote Vista. Maybe that is true. Microsoft spending money to promote PC games, no matter what the motivation, is best seen as the rising tide that can lift all boats.
Got a business-related question concerning the games industry that you would like to suggest for discussion in Analyze This? Are you a professional analyst who covers the market and would like to take part in this column? Feel free to send an email to howardhwen@gmail.com. |
|||||||||||||||
Features
|
|
|