PC Gaming Grows to 13.1 Billion Dollars in 2009

One of the most repeated refrains amongst both players and developers of videogames is that “PC gaming is dying.” But, as it often happens, facts appear to go contrary to perceptions as the PC Gaming Alliance recently released figures that show how, in 2009, the revenue derived from PC-based videogames went up to 13.1 billion dollars, which is 3% more than during the previous year, just as the overall gaming industry registered a decline of 8% in the same period.

The numbers come from a report created by DFC Intelligence and include money obtained through retail sales, downloadable sales, subscriptions to online games, money offered through micro transactions and revenue gotten from advertising included in free-to-play games. Of all those above, just the retail portion is included in the NPD Group numbers released monthly for the United States market.

The traditional way of selling games as a boxed product saw a big hit in 2009, accounting now for just about 20% of PC game software revenue. The decline is bigger in the United States and in Europe, where players seem to be interested in picking up more titles via digital download. There was also a drop last year in the revenue derived from MMOs that charged more than 10 dollars a month for subscription, despite the fact that the behemoth World of Warcraft continued to grow.

The DFC Intelligence report also says that about 50% of the players surveyed reported buying a virtual item for a PC game and more than 70% of them saying that they bought a game online, showing a significant shift in how PC gamers are approaching the process of acquiring their entertainment.

The PC Gaming Alliance is made up of high profile companies like Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Epic Games, Capcom and GameStop. Last year, the organization saw the departure of Activision Blizzard.