Un jour les PC seront livrés dans de beaux boîtiers silencieux et pratiques. Et on appellera ça des Mac...
Les fans de jeux PC se marrent à chaque fois que l'on prédit la fin de leur support de loisir préféré. Et visiblement, ils n'ont pas fini de rire... La PC Gaming Alliance annonçait en effet hier que ce marché avait atteint les 10,7 milliards de dollars de revenus en 2007 (soit un peu plus de 7 milliards d'Euros). Le truc amusant ? Seulement 30% de cette somme provient des ventes de jeux PC en boite, à l'ancienne. 2 milliards de dollars viennent de la vente en ligne de jeux, mais le gros du gâteau, ce sont les 4,8 milliards issus des différents marchés du jeu en ligne (abonnement MMO, microtransactions, etc.). De quoi rassurer les joueurs, mais aussi comprendre que le marché PC est à la pointe de la transformation du média, transformation qui s'accélère aussi côté console. Regardez bien vos boites de jeux, un jour, elles seront toutes collector. Sur PC cette année, la moitié de mes achats n'en avaient pas.
Vous trouverez ci-dessous le communiqué de presse de la PC Gaming Alliance à ce sujet. C'est bientôt la rentrée, il est temps de vous remettre à l'anglais !
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LEIPZIG, Germany - The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) today
unveiled the key findings from its first "Horizons" Report, an
exclusive research study of the PC gaming industry worldwide. Speaking
at the Games Convention Developer's Conference in Leipzig, PCGA
president Randy Stude announced that PC gaming was a $10.7 billion
industry during the year of 2007, with retail sales accounting for just
30 percent of total revenues. According to the report, growth was
largely driven by online revenues from Asia, the world's largest
market, which is approaching half of total worldwide sales.
Online PC gaming revenue led the way in 2007 with $4.8 billion,
nearly double the worldwide retail sales numbers for PC games. Digital
distribution sales approached $2 billion, while advertising revenues
from websites, portals, and in-game ads accounted for $800 million.
Both are expected to grow substantially as major developers and
publishers begin to adopt formal strategies to take advantage of new
online opportunities.
"Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming,
proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported,"
said Stude. "Today's consumers shop where they live - online."
According to DFC Intelligence, there is even more room for growth as the broadband market matures.
"By pioneering new business models, the PC has quietly remained the
single leading platform for games, not only in terms of consumer usage,
but revenue generation," said David Cole, an analyst with DFC
Intelligence. "The most fascinating thing about PC gaming is its
ability to attract such a diverse audience, both demographically and
geographically. The real key has been the rapid growth in penetration
of broadband-connected PCs in all markets around the world.
Broadband-connected PCs are the key driver of growth for PC gaming. DFC
Intelligence estimated that by the end of 2007 less than one-third of
households in the top 20 markets for games had a high-speed Internet
connection. That clearly indicates that there is still plenty of growth
to come. The initiatives of the PCGA will be a key enabler of growth as
they will help the industry identify key trends and opportunities in
this rapidly emerging market."
Updated bi-annually, the full Horizons Report is available to all
PCGA members. It encompasses sales from every region around the world,
and from every part of the PC gaming industry compiled by the PCGA from
internal resources through a third party. This includes retail, online
gaming, digital distribution, and online advertising. Those interested
in joining can find membership details and additional information about
the PCGA and its role as the voice of the PC gaming industry at
www.pcgamingalliance.org.
Anyone interested in the state of the PC gaming industry will also
be able to see Randy Stude present the key findings of the Horizons
report during NVISION 08 in San Jose, Calif. on August 25 in the San
Jose Hilton adjacent to the convention center at 3:30 p.m. in San
Carlos rooms 1 & 2. More NVISION details can be found at
www.nvision2008.com.
About the PCGA
The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) is a nonprofit corporation whose
mission is to drive worldwide growth of PC gaming. With high-profile
members such as Microsoft, Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, and Dell, the PCGA
provides an open forum where companies can cooperate to develop and
promote solutions that drive the PC gaming industry forward. The PCGA
encourages the exchange of information and views to promote PC gaming,
and shares promotional activity designed to grow the PC gaming industry.