"PC gaming is dying" seems to be the motto for the past half of a decade now. Everywhere you look there's nothing but statements on how the death of PC gaming is upon us. Apparently, nobody bothered to look at the online only distribution channels such as Steam, Direct2Drive, and more.
IGN managed to squeeze a few sales figures out of a few of these companies that specialize in digital distribution.
Of course, for every ray of light there is bound to be a few naysayers.
Without any solid figures being released from these companies, it remains to be seen just how little or large the online distribution market really is. All that is known for sure is the fact that it is a growing market and looks as though it will remain that way for some time to come.
IGN managed to squeeze a few sales figures out of a few of these companies that specialize in digital distribution.
• Valve has seen an increase of 97% in year-over-year sales
• IGN's Direct2Drive service has also seen huge gains with a 56% increase in year-over-year sales
• Microsoft's Xbox Live service has seen a six month year-over-year increase of 73% for paid Live downloads
• IGN's Direct2Drive service has also seen huge gains with a 56% increase in year-over-year sales
• Microsoft's Xbox Live service has seen a six month year-over-year increase of 73% for paid Live downloads
Of course, for every ray of light there is bound to be a few naysayers.
Industry analyst Michael Pachter from Wedbush Morgan Securities says download sales still only make up about 5% of monthly video game sales.
"Downloads are probably $1 - 2 billion worldwide this year, compared to a $26 billion packaged goods market. Significant, but not enough to cause a 20% monthly sales decline," Pachter told IGN.
"Perhaps a 5% incremental impact in a given month (there were downloads last year, too), but not likely that the impact was more than that," he added.
NPD Analyst Anita Frazier agreed, saying in her monthly report: "While some of the decline in retail sales could be a migration on the part of consumers to acquiring content via digital distribution, our reports on downloads and subscriptions reveal that it's not yet having enough impact on the console market to be an overly meaningful factor in the retail down-turn."
If Battlefield 1943 is proof of anything, it's that gamers are willing to pay for download-only titles when priced accordingly. As the industry continues to move toward a more digital age, expect these sales continue to rise.
"Downloads are probably $1 - 2 billion worldwide this year, compared to a $26 billion packaged goods market. Significant, but not enough to cause a 20% monthly sales decline," Pachter told IGN.
"Perhaps a 5% incremental impact in a given month (there were downloads last year, too), but not likely that the impact was more than that," he added.
NPD Analyst Anita Frazier agreed, saying in her monthly report: "While some of the decline in retail sales could be a migration on the part of consumers to acquiring content via digital distribution, our reports on downloads and subscriptions reveal that it's not yet having enough impact on the console market to be an overly meaningful factor in the retail down-turn."
If Battlefield 1943 is proof of anything, it's that gamers are willing to pay for download-only titles when priced accordingly. As the industry continues to move toward a more digital age, expect these sales continue to rise.
Without any solid figures being released from these companies, it remains to be seen just how little or large the online distribution market really is. All that is known for sure is the fact that it is a growing market and looks as though it will remain that way for some time to come.