Retail PC games gone by early 2011
1C publishing director Darryl Still estimates the PC retail sales will cease to exist in early 2011 with publishers switching to digital.
Darryl Still believes the PC retail market will cease to exist in Q1 2011. Speaking to MCV he has pushed a far more aggressive date than other estimations.
“Q1 2011 is my estimate as to when PC games will be sold completely via digital. I have seen the predictions that by 2013 more than 50 per cent of our revenues will be earned digitally. But if the PC games market has to wait until 2013 then we are all in trouble.”
The reason for all this comes down to the retailer who has seemingly decided to make PC games very low profile. Many game stores across United States in particular have few PC games displayed and may only offer games like The Sims or World of Warcraft. Even in other parts of the world PC retail market is shrinking with retail PC boxes forced to a low profile position in store.
“It is extra strange because there is a much better margin on PC games” Still Said.
One has to wonder if the reason that PC games are barely receiving any exposure in big game retailers is because they have zero pre-owned value. PC games can’t be traded because of the CD Key system with some requiring online activations or an account through steam. Are retailers shunning PC games because they get no profit by buying back used games and selling them at absurd profit margins? The console pre-owned business is huge money.
Of course the digital market on the PC is booming at the moment.
“In the PC market at the moment the growth in digital is phenomenal....” said Still who is worried about the number of digital distribution outlets at the moment
“We have contracts with 25 of them at the moment, and of that amount six or seven are producing decent revenue numbers.”
One could guess those top seven would include big names like Steam, Direct2Drive, Xfire, Gamersgate. Whether the low profit channels will remain in business is another question. Q1 2011 seems far too aggressive to mark the end of PC retail. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of profits came from digital sources during 2011
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