subject: Why Are Pc Video Game Sales Down? [print this page] Over the last few years, video game sales on the PC have been slumping quite a bit. The obvious is that in a bad economy, people stop paying $50 to $60 for a new video game, but the drop in sales is much more dramatic than one that would be affected by a bad economy. Why are these sales down?
First of all, there are more methods of delivering games to the end user than are being taken account of. There are new services like Direct2Drive and Steam that deliver games directly to the customer via download. These services make buying a new game much simpler and easier. You get the game instantly via download and you do not have CDs or DVDs that you might worry about losing or breaking.
Secondly, consoles have more than caught up with the quality of PC games. Generally console gaming lagged behind in the quality of games compared to the newest PC games. This was because PC gamers constantly upgraded their equipment where consoles were only made every 3 or 4 years. Eventually console games were bad games compared to what was new. Today's consoles offer almost the same experience as PC games.
People are tired of bugs and patches. For more than a few years, the newest PC titles have been found full of flaws and bugs. Many times in the first few months after release, there are patches that much be downloaded. From day one, a new game is not a finished or quality product, which can frustrate the buyer.
Third, there are tons of free games that offer high quality and even a social environment that many like playing with. With games that are part of Facebook and other simple browser based games, millions of people have something to play on a regular basis without having to spend upwards of $60 for a new game. Many are satisfied with the free options that are on the internet to play.
