You Guys Are Still Spending a Lot on Gaming PCs

Opinion: This is why consoles will eventually die: enthusiasts game on PC. To get that console feel, download an emulator and buy a usb sixaxis close, hook up 5970 to 54'' TV, and game.

I do agree that PC gaming is for the true enthusiast. but console gaming will never die because of how cost effective it is for the consumer, assuming that they buy all their games legitly.

If enthusiasts make up half of the money for gaming PCs, Who are the other half of people?

This doesn't surprise me. For every 10 Core2Duos E7400s sold, one I7-975/980X is sold.

You also have to account for supercomputers / companies.

i have certainly found myself spending a great deal more as i have grown up and started making real money. as the gaming generation matures i would not be surprised to see the dollar amount attached to it balloon.

Not to make a horrible comparison here, but this reminds me of an article that said Apple accounted for most of the $1000+ computers sold.

Of course, PC gamers aren't like Apple enthusiasts.

You are welcome. Now if I only got all those mail in rebates back, I could build another one. So ya, I'm not holding my breath...

I dont doubt it at all.

im also getting ready to add another chunk of my own to the sales numbers.

Almost all enthusiasts who build (some buy) their own rig also buy a console and if they are smart, it is a PS3. The reason is almost all Xbox games are on the PC too. Why play a FPS on a crappy hard to aim controller when you can get the game on a PC and kick butt with a mouse and keyboard.
You can build a descent killer rig including a 24" monitor for under $1,500. No need for overkill with a overpriced extreme processor or multi video cards.

See? PC gaming is NOT dead.

This is actually kind of surprising. I would have thought that the enthusiasts would be a smaller minority since it seems that most people don't want to learn how to build and tweak computers and custom computer companies seem to be holding strong.

Good to see.

I can make a 500$ Gaming PC which can run most multiplayer games.

Honestly, I have never seen the appeal for consoles. I have always gamed on a PC. Consoles, historically, have gamed at lower resolutions, have less config options, less players per multi-player game, and you pray that the next generation will be backwards compatible so you do not need to lug the old system around. Plus, there is a pride aspect in a gaming rig and the best you can do with a console without breaching your user license is slapping a vinyl sticker over it.

IMO, I think the industry is trying to force people onto consoles in fear of piracy, not that there is a lack of PC gamers.

Man what are you talking about, pc gaming is dying from piracy.

Just look at how many kijiji/craigslist adds out there for modding consoles, look at all the console games you can dl off torrent sites. Theres also more pc gamers for bad company 2 than both consoles put together!!!

http://bfbcs.com/pcThe

Wait a minute, thats evidence of the contrary, silly me...

Put me down for a grand spent last year on upgrades alone! This year I think Im good other than a 2 Tb hard drive upgrade, everything else is tip top! Quad core 4Ghz, 8Gb DDR3, 5870, 1920 x 1200 monitor,2 Velicraptors 600Gb,Thermaltake 750W PS, Win 7 64bit.

"You Guys Are Still Spending a Lot on Gaming PCs"

Yes, we are.

I like how there's a i7 980 pictured with this. Who buys those things? SLI GTX 480 or 2x 5870 would be a better use of 1k...I would be hard pressed to pay $600 for that processor, even if I didn't have my i7 920...

"You Guys Are Still Spending a Lot on Gaming PCs"

You still have readers/fanbase don't you?

I have to admit that I have spent a really high amount of money on hardware.... I don't know if its a good idea or not, but it sure is fun.

Another "study" that just states the obvious.

Developers, Studios, Engineers, aka professionals.

Man I really wish this were true..

I have been a PC gamer for quite some time now. My first game for PC was Quake 2 on launch day. I had just bought a PC and installed a Voodoo 2 card and waited patiently for about a week for that game to come out...Those were great days...Back then you had ID, Epic was up and coming with the first Unreal, shortly after you had Valve come on the scene with Half-Life, Monolith was making some good stuff, Blizzard, Westwood...I could go on....As a PC gamer there was tons to look forward to and it seemed that software was at or just in front of the hardware release pace. New video cards would come out and that meant something back then. So what happened? CONSOLE GAMES..dun dun dunnnnn... I used to read articles of PC developers right around the time of the PS2 release stating 'Why would we spend all of this time money and resources to make killer PC games that go on to sell a million copies when console developers release GARBAGE that go on to outsell us by a large margin?' And I guess I have to agree with them. You look at some of the great PC games of the times that for PC standards sold like wildfire and it was nothing compared to the sales figures of some crap WWF games that were pumped out for the consoles every 8 months. So all of the developers jump ship and become console developers. PC hardware now is leaps and bounds beyond our software. We buy a 5870 and sit around for a year or more before anyone even attempts to tap its potential. You know I hate to be mr. negative but I just don't see this changing. Games nowadays are in the 10's of millions of dollars to develop and release. No developer is going to take the chance of not recouping their costs and release PC exclusives unless you name is Blizzard. And honestly I can't blame them really...I mean they have to stay in business. Look at Free Radical. This is the team that made the original N64 Goldeneye and Timesplitters...GREAT developers. They release one dud, Haze on PS3 and BOOM..just like that they are out of business. The only answer for developers unfortunately is now cross platform console/PC ports just to make enough sales to stay afloat for their next game. It is truely unfortunate for us enthusiasts...

Forgive my wall of text guys and gals

That title is so judgmental. I'm offended.

*goes elsewhere*

enthusiasts = early adopters = beaucoup bucks for the manufacturers... That being said is it any wonder why there were so many upset with the nvidia 480?

Because thinking that businesses and your average Joe computer user are buying the highest-end hardware makes sense, right?

No duh these purchases are primarily made by the enthusiast crowd - they're exactly who it's targeted, marketed, and designed for in the first place.

What company paid these people to do this research? They could have visited any tech-site forum and figured this out in a matter of days.

People so easily forget about demographics. Specifically: age.

Enthusiast gamers have started to reach the age where they can afford to buy things for themselves rather than begging their parents, or working 3 minimum wage jobs.
When I was 16, I really wanted that 3dfx voodoo card, but my parents cetainly weren't going to buy it for me. Now I'm 31, and I can afford to buy that high end video card, and who's going to stop me?

I read the comment in bold and immediately passed over the rest. Anything over the bare minimum is classed as enthusiast hardware. Its like saying 'The majority of people who can read, can spell'... Du'h. I hate this type of journalism.

I have a 5870. To me that's obvious, especially when I go over my new egg invoices ^_^

So what you're saying is... The people who are in to PC gaming are the ones spending money on computers? Wow, that's quite the observation. Blows my mind.

So many great comments that I almost didn't bother posting my own. Gaming on PC is still the best way to go. I spend tons on pc hardware, but it's not just for gaming. I consider myself an enthusiast, and like auto enthusiasts who spend tons building a car they don't race all the time I enjoy many aspects other than just gaming. I'm in the process of a major upgrade right now, in fact.

PC Gaming is not dying, it is changing. This is the age of MMOs and Flash games, which you generally do on the PC.