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PC gaming not really dead after all photo

Despite what you may have heard, PC gaming isn't really dying. Sure, the consoles get all the attention and as well they should. But the niche market of the PC is still very alive and very strong. Hell, even I have returned to PC gaming again thanks to games like Company of Heroes and Command and Conquer 3. Looks like I wasn't the only one to remember what PC gaming is like; from the NY Times:

Anita Frazier, an industry analyst for the NPD Group, a market research firm, noted that in the first two months of 2007, domestic retail sales of PC games reached $203 million, a 48 percent increase over the $136.8 million in the period a year earlier. She noted that these figures do not include revenue generated by PC game sales online, or online subscriptions to play PC games. 

How have your gaming habits changed? Have you seen a return to PC gaming for yourself? 








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27 comments | showing # 1 to 27
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BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:09
BahamutZero
I definitely play PC games as much if not more than consoles. Gametap kicks ass and I check Steam for new stuff pretty regularly. I also bought Supreme commander and Medieval 2:TW which is on my personal top 5 of all time list. PC gaming has never died and will never die - too many people own them, and the graphics have been "HD+" for years. who needs a $2000 HDTV when I have already have a flatscreen display?
Niero's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:12
Niero
My PC habits changed dramatically -- I got sick of going through power supplies at the mercy of two overclocked SLI cards, so I decided to take a break and got a laptop. Now all I play is Destructoid on it :)
bobafettm's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:13
bobafettm
I never left PC games SON! MMO's have kept me addicted to them since the late 90's. So there is always an easy 10 - 15 a month coming outta my pocket to a PC game. On top of amazing RTS games like C&C3 and CoH. Lately my kick has been playing old school PC games though like Civilization and Colonization!
Futuris7's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:17
Futuris7
I got a hand-me-down graphics card from a relative and I downloaded Painkiller via Steam. That's it though.
wardrox's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:17
wardrox
I dont play as many games on the PC as I do on the console, for me its easier tog et gams for the concole because I know it'll run. However, I have recently become addicted to "Frets on Fire"... It slike guitar hero, only for the PC and you use the keyboard held like a guitar! It's definatly made of win.
bhive01's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:21
bhive01
Niero! I play Destructoid on my laptop too! It's the bestest game EV4R! I love how I always get 60 FPS.
brad drac's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:22
brad drac
Never stopped playing PC games. You get a very different type of game than consoles. Console strategy and FPS games will never be as good as PC ones, and the PC is the most popular format for western RPGS.
imcowman's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:26
imcowman
I am not a pc gamer at all. however, I have taken up a little bit of WoW lately.......*cringe*
TheBrain's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:30
TheBrain
PC games make up about 10 to 15% of my collection and take up probably 10 to 15% of my playtime. It would take up more if I didn't have to fiddle with options and download patches for an hour to get games running smoothly.
gitrooman's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:33
gitrooman
Dumb story. PC gaming has always been alive and well, Anyone who has thunk otherwise was just ignoring the pc gaming market. probably playing the same game over and over again on a console system, just with a diffrent number.

B-Radicate's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:37
B-Radicate
i haven't bought a pc game since the original guild wars, which i promptly stopped playing after a month or so anyway. the only pc game i have touched since then is unreal tournament 2004 when i need a good twitch-fest shooter. other than that i play consoles exclusively. no need to update hardware = happiness.
Kartzan's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:38
Kartzan
Hell, I cant remember the last time I touched a console... PC FTW!!!
DrRockso's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 11:59
DrRockso
I play WoW a lot... :/

And Freedom Force. I <3 Freedom Force.
DJDuffy 's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 12:02
DJDuffy
My gaming habits have changed quite a bit too. I rarely play on the PC now...even though I used to mostly play on the PC. For me it is the games. PC's are all about the MMO's right now, and that isn't what I am into. I'll get back to PC gaming once Click-Adventure games make a return, like the Monkey Island series, or if they finally make a new Starwars Space Sim that is as good or better than X-Wing vs TIE Fighter. I still check out the PC for Half Life stuff on Steam sometimes, but that is about it right now. My 360 and Wii keep me really busy. Maybe Spore will also bring me back to the PC. MMO's are killing the PC market.
Lord_Satorious's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 12:20
Lord_Satorious
If I wanted to play first person shooters, real time strategy and MMORPGs, then yeah, I'd play PC games. I'm sick to death of those genres, I've played them out. The only game I have installed is Guild Wars, and I haven't really played that in months. My Xbox 360 and especially my DS holds most of my gaming interest.
ClarenceBoddicker's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 12:36
ClarenceBoddicker
Looks like I'm not alone in being mostly into consoles now,I used to almost only pc games,but now my comp is a POS so I mostly console game,I do however miss my mouse and keyboard in fps games
xtofuconsumerx's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 13:34
xtofuconsumerx
I play everything but I have and always will be primarily a pc gamer. I love consoles bu the fact that I can sur the internet, play games, watch movies get work done and so much more out of one system. The money seems more worthwhile putting into a pc.
macr's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 14:11
macr
I never left PC gaming. Purely because you cant beat a Keyboard and Mouse for FPS games. I haven't upgraded my PC in a while and I own an XBOX 360. I still find more time for my PC than I do for the 360. Maybe because im looking for more of the console games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Metal Gear solid and Eternal Darkness that have a bit more than just shooting people in the face... which i can do much more accurately on the PC! The only game that really dragged me away from my PC 'recently' was Gears Of War, which was short lived mainly because it was a really short game and I played the death out of it on COOP. I tried Crackdown but got pretty bored and lost interest quickly. I prefer progressive gameplay with a storyline on the console rather than blowing shit up and collecting tokens. Plus you cant beat the atmosphere of sitting on the couch with a friend with the lights off and a zombie lurching out at you.

Bring on Alan Wake, I have high expectations!
Aaron Mxy Yost's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 14:14
Aaron Mxy Yost
I don't get a lot of gaming time in on my PC, and most of what I do have is taken up by GameTap. Gave up the WoW bug a long time ago. I'll sometimes pick up older console ports I missed to play at a later date on the PC, but I haven't had much luck getting around to them lately.
Civnerd's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 15:24
Civnerd
Fast access gaming = DS, control of the tv = 360... otherwise it's PC for web surfing..... and some diablo 2... and civ IV.... supreme commander..... If you asked me 6 months ago, it'd be Arathi Basin PVP day in and day out. PVP armor FTMFL. Skipping C&C 3.... twitch tactical games feel like shoddy button mashing fighter games to an old fart like me.
kodack's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 15:30
kodack
Console gamers get our table scraps!

PC gaming is where the innovation is and first tier games.

Don't forget that Halo would have been out on PC if Microsoft hadn't bought Bungie. Mac too.
Eschatos's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 15:44
Eschatos
PC is the most versatile. Hands down, I'd choose it over consoles.
Dot's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 16:17
Dot
Ehh, I'll be brief here and straightforwardly say: consoles suck big time compared to the PC. I haven't touched neither my 360 nor the Wii since this year's beginning. And most likely I won't be playing them until finally some worthy releases emerge this fall. And every single other game I'm playing this year is on the PC.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 16:43
king3vbo
I'm all about the PC gaming. I love my consoles, but I spend most of my time playing PC games
Tempus's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/23/2007 18:01
Tempus
PC games are where it's at for uberness, in my opinion but most of my time is spent on the DS. Pearl hasn't been out 24hrs and still, 9hrs racked up already...

I still play the same pc games though, fps mainly :)
nightmareci's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/24/2007 00:00
nightmareci
I don't really PC game much anymore, but I used to play Red Faction and nothing else from 2004-2005 and some of 2006, which did lead me to being really good at most FPS games. I mean my MacBook Pro is a pretty damn high end PC (can run Windows, if I wanted to, and there's Mac games), but I really don't have a need to. I did however manage to hack together old computer parts I had around into a machine that is solely built to run FreeDOS and run various DOS games, even managed to get internet working on it with Arachne (neat graphical internet browser for DOS). I think more people should have dedicated low-end PC's for DOS games, Soundblaster card and all, seems more like a "console" than modern PC's do, if your CPU is sufficient most games "just work".
Iceciro's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/24/2007 09:19
Iceciro
I run a counter-strike source server. Nuff said?

Actually I'm so hardcore that I play the pc and a console at the same time - CSS and then I play my console (or recently, pokemon Diamond) while I wait for the next round.

Fucking beautiful shit, that.
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