A Decline of PC game sales in the US refers to an apparent downward trend in the United States computer game market.

Explanations for decline

Compared to the continued annual growth rate of console gaming, US PC game sales have been on the decline since the release of the Dreamcast. A proliferation of high-speed broadband internet during the early 2000s is thought to have facilitated the growth of software piracy and some analysts attribute lower PC game sales to this effect. Others claim that PC sales suffered because of competition from consoles that offer lower prices on hardware and easier usability. Also Microsoft has admitted that some of its actions have contributed to the downturn [1418]. In vying for a share of the console market, Microsoft focused its efforts on an Xbox marketing campaign at the expense of not providing similar support for PC gaming.

As a consequence of this decline many previously PC-exclusive franchises - such as Quake and Elder Scrolls - are being developed primarily for the console market.

Evidence in sales

US PC Game Software Sales [1419] [1420]

1998 - $1.8 billion

1999 - $1.9 billion

2000 - $1.78 billion (84.9 million units)

2001 - $1.75 billion (83.6 million units)

2002 - $1.4 billion (61.5 million units)

2003 - $1.2 billion (52.8 million units)

2004 - $1.1 billion (45 million units)

Note that these sums do not include the concurrent revenue from MMOG subscriptions, a market segment that has been achieving significant annual gains.

A possible reprieve

Although PC game sales are down in the US, many companies are still sticking with the platform. Microsoft is planning to provide additional support for PC gaming after the release of the Xbox 360, including gaming-specific features in Windows Vista, cross-platform peripherals, and additional marketing aimed at PC gamers. Yet Microsoft's efforts have been met with some skepticism. Gabe Newell, developer of the Half-Life series of best selling computer games, had this to say about Vista's gaming features:

"There's a deeper issue in this, and that's 'what do we need from platforms?' Look, I spoke to some people at Microsoft, and as I said, I can't point to a single feature in Vista that I care about that solves problems for us. At all."[1421]

List of PC Escapees

As publishers and developers pay more attention to the decline in PC gaming, more and more PC game franchises are more eager to make the switch to a console market.

Call of Duty - the first game and its expansion packs were successes on the PC, and a console port soon followed. The sequel to the game is being primarily developed for the Xbox 360. Many have criticized the game as simplified down for consoles because of features that are strikingly similar (a radar, a lack of a health bar in favor of a "shield" system) to Halo 2.

Quake - The Quake franchise is a very popular franchise created by id games. All three of the Quake games have been released on PCs primarily and then ported over to consoles, while Quake 4 is being released for consoles and PCs simultaneously. John Carmack stated that the Xbox 360 has become his primary system [1422].

Elder Scrolls - The Elder Scrolls series started on the PC, and on its third offering was released simultaneously with consoles. The fourth in the series, Oblivion, is being developed primarily for the Xbox 360.

Ghost Recon - After winning numerous game of the year awards for the first part of the series, Ghost Recon, the sequel was never released for the PC, only for consoles.

Starcraft - Blizzard is arguably the most successful developer in the PC gaming market. Their next game, Starcraft: Ghost is going to be released only for consoles. Blizzard stated that they wish to return to console gaming [1423].