14 DAY TRIAL // The PC has been long pronounced dead by those who believe that home gaming consoles and handhelds represent the future but thanks to digital distribution of videogames, done through services like Steam, Impulse, GamersGate, Direct 2 Drive and others, a market is developing, one that can create significant profits for publishers and developers. A company that is not planning on abandoning the PC anytime soon is the resurgent SEGA.
John Clark, who is the managing director for the United Kingdom division of publisher SEGA, told MCV that “The PC market is third in terms of its year-on-year performance with a decline of 26 per cent, but this doesn’t really reflect the full picture. The PC digital download business is now a viable sector but somewhat invisible as it’s not yet covered by Chart-Track. The PC market overall is actually performing much better than is currently reported and remains a vital and strong sector to be involved in.” Presumably, the same applies to the sales charts put out in the United States monthly by the NPD Group, currently dominated by home console titles.
The SEGA man also claimed that in 2010, the company he represents has a share of close to 13% on the PC market, with the performance mostly due to the successful launches of Napoleon: Total War, the strategy title that follows in the footsteps of the legendary tactician, and Aliens vs. Predator, which reimagined the classic three-way shooter, and because of the strong sales of Football Manager 2010.
SEGA also had a good PC performance in 2009, being the second biggest publisher for the PC. Clark believes creating videogames that can provide varied gameplay and draw the player in for a long time while fostering communities is the key to performing well on the oldest gaming platform.