Why is the PC section in EB so small?

DangerDave

DangerDave

CAGiversary!
I noticed today that the PC section at both of my local EB's just got downsized to give more room for Xbox games. It's about 1/4 the size of even the GC section

Whats the deal?

I was talking to one of the dudes working there, he said its smaller now because people have little to no interest in older pc games. Once a game gets released it may sell well at first, but even a game like Doom 3 won't sell 4 months after launch, so it will be pulled from shelves.

I'm a pretty hardcore pc gamer, I don't just buy the latest games with the latest graphics. I just recently got No One Lives Forever 2, great game, not the greatest graphics. Still very fun though. But maybe thats just me.

Do most of you Pc guys out there only care about getting the newest games with awesome, latest graphics?
 
The majority of stores around here that carry PC games (including EB) say they are slowly phasing out this section of the store. It's not very profitable to carry PC games and it takes away space for the console games. I don't agree with it either, but that's the fact of what is going on.
 
[quote name='DangerDave']I noticed today that the PC section at both of my local EB's just got downsized to give more room for Xbox games. It's about 1/4 the size of even the GC section

Whats the deal?

I was talking to one of the dudes working there, he said its smaller now because people have little to no interest in older pc games. Once a game gets released it may sell well at first, but even a game like Doom 3 won't sell 4 months after launch, so it will be pulled from shelves.

I'm a pretty hardcore pc gamer, I don't just buy the latest games with the latest graphics. I just recently got No One Lives Forever 2, great game, not the greatest graphics. Still very fun though. But maybe thats just me.

Do most of you Pc guys out there only care about getting the newest games with awesome, latest graphics?[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't say I am a hardcore PC gamer, but if you look at my collection I have a good number of titles (most of which are older). I prefer older games because my PC can't handle any new games.

PIII 933mhz
384 MB
16 MB Intel Graphics

Ugh...
 
[quote name='DangerDave']
Do most of you Pc guys out there only care about getting the newest games with awesome, latest graphics?[/QUOTE]

Not me. I'm a Cheap Ass.

I, too, am lamenting the shrinking size of EB's PC games section. It's also telling that all of the PC games are displayed edgewise, like books in the library, while all of the console games are displayed flat, so you can see the front artwork.

I buy almost exclusively either used games, or from "retailers of last resort" like Big Lots and other closeout places. EB definitely makes good money on used games, but my buying habits don't really help out the game developers/publishers. Perhaps we're reaping what we've sowed.
 
Went to Gamestop today. The PC section has been moved and is even smaller. I bet eventually they will get rid of the PC section all together and just keep a few select titles behind the counter. It's pretty sad.
 
What the developers are gearing up to do is make there games downloadable only. It's great for them because they don't have to pay for publishers and all the retail chain stuff. They say its good for us because we can instantly get the game and it can be constantly updated and all that the games will be cheaper (what about HL2???)

It will be a huge mistake. Think about it, you download Doom 5. You have to have a start up program (like with Steam) and you have to have a online connection to play, plus there servers must be online too. We all know it sucks.

So, when Doom 7 is out, I bet that the Doom 5 servers won't be up and running anymore. They will say there is not enough of a demand for it.


Plus, they will make it so you can only use it on one pc. So, when I upgrade, maybe get some new hdd's I will have to redownload, (if possible) to play it. And talk about non mainstream friendly. I mean, who's going to go to a website and download a game? Maybe hardcore gamers. But all those Sims fans out there will just be confused and probably just by it for the PS4 or something. I'm using way big numbers for this stuff, because this is going to take some years to be widely adopted.

Plus, I like to sport my games in my shelf. It's like yeah, check out all my games. I'm just that cool.
 
I actually like the "Buy once download bunch of times" thing for steam. I went home for two weeks over the summer and while I was there, I downloaded Counterstrike, Day of Defeat, and TFC to play on my laptop without even having to look up my CD-Key for Half Life.
 
true i am seeing this a lot in Best Buy's that are getting reinovated :( I hate CompUSA cause they are mostly overprices or take forever to drop a game price. I am a big PC gamer (show me a game on PS2/XB/GC that can stand up to HL2's graphics) myself.
 
Most PC Games I buy, I buy under $5. I've found that in the last 3 years there have only been 4 great PC exclusives (Call of Duty (sequal coming to XBOX 360), Half-Life 2 (which is coming to XBOX), NoOne Lives Forever 2, & F.E.A.R. is coming soon) so I don't really care that much. But I do like on EB's website how they often have PC games drop to $2-$5 for a few days, but the store doesn't do that anyway.
 
At my local CC, the PC game area has been relegated to this one tiny little shelf in the back. It's not even in the same area as the console games. I had to look all over the store before I found it, and even then, I almost walked right past it without seeing it.

I play a lot more console games than PC games, mostly because my favorite PC genre (adventure) all but disappeared off the face of the Earth several years ago. Most of what I see on the PC shelves now is FPS and RTS, and I don't play a lot of those. I'm playing Call of Duty for the PC right now, but that's a rare exception for me.
 
I think its because PC games are harder to resell used for exhorbitantly high prices. And we all know that a good chunk of EB's sales come from used games.

Most PC gamers that buy used get their games off the internet, often from places like ebay.
 
[quote name='Scahom1']Because they simply don't sell as much as console games.[/QUOTE]

We have a winner!!!

It also dosen't help that many of the PC's games are now gearing up to hit the console's as well, and I will wager that those same games will sell alot better.

Sure, Quake 4 and Call of Duty 2 will sell ok on the PC, but they will fly off the shelves for Xbox 360.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']I wouldn't say I am a hardcore PC gamer, but if you look at my collection I have a good number of titles (most of which are older). I prefer older games because my PC can't handle any new games.

PIII 933mhz
384 MB
16 MB Intel Graphics

Ugh...[/QUOTE]

Holy god that's bad. Please, please do something about that.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']
PIII 933mhz
384 MB
16 MB Intel Graphics

Ugh...[/QUOTE]


Welcome to 1998.
 
[quote name='DangerDave']What the developers are gearing up to do is make there games downloadable only. It's great for them because they don't have to pay for publishers and all the retail chain stuff. They say its good for us because we can instantly get the game and it can be constantly updated and all that the games will be cheaper (what about HL2???)

It will be a huge mistake. Think about it, you download Doom 5. You have to have a start up program (like with Steam) and you have to have a online connection to play, plus there servers must be online too. We all know it sucks.

So, when Doom 7 is out, I bet that the Doom 5 servers won't be up and running anymore. They will say there is not enough of a demand for it.


Plus, they will make it so you can only use it on one pc. So, when I upgrade, maybe get some new hdd's I will have to redownload, (if possible) to play it. And talk about non mainstream friendly. I mean, who's going to go to a website and download a game? Maybe hardcore gamers. But all those Sims fans out there will just be confused and probably just by it for the PS4 or something. I'm using way big numbers for this stuff, because this is going to take some years to be widely adopted.

Plus, I like to sport my games in my shelf. It's like yeah, check out all my games. I'm just that cool.[/QUOTE]

I don't think it *has* to be that way. That's just the way Valve does it. They could easily work it in ala Windows XP where you, say, phone in and give them a code and they spit out the other one you need. Or maybe they give each person a unique patch they run to active their copy that can be run offline. The sky is the limit when it comes to creativity.
 
Despite there being more PCs than console only 1% of the end users knows what there doing and plays games, that cuase pc game sales to low. QUake 4 will most likely sell better on 360 than on the pc sadly .
Then theres "My pc can't run such and such game" (that needs PS1.1) i can't tell you how many times i heared that. Just because you bough a new dell doesn't mean you can play Doom3 at the highest settings
 
Hold up, on the net its small. But most ebworld stores around my way, has tons and tons of pc games, back in the budget section. Its madness, and a great time for me, because i head str to the budget section.
 
[quote name='DangerDave']I'm a pretty hardcore pc gamer, I don't just buy the latest games with the latest graphics. I just recently got No One Lives Forever 2, great game, not the greatest graphics.[/QUOTE]

This argument can be applied to us all here at CAG, but I think it hits closest to home on PC titles.

Most PC gamers nowadays CANNOT afford the latest and greatest components for their computer, or at the very least cannot afford to upgrade them every 4-6 months. Because of that they tend to purchase last months games, after the retailer has significantly discounted them and no longer makes a (trivial) profit, and well after the original game manufacturer is tracking sales figures (which help to determine the creation of sequels).

I think it's a perpetual chain since PC manufacturers have practically flooded the market, and if you'll notice they are now turning toward making ultra-cheap barebones boxes for the less affluent market. I dunno, but I don't see the single-player PC market growing.

As for MMO? World of Warcraft just hit 4 million subcribers worldwide. Now THAT is where our $15 / month PC game budget is going. :)
 
Holy crap, just got back from one of the Gamestop locations near me and they have actually EXPANDED their PC section. They can now accomodate literally hundreds of games. Weird that one location near me is phasing out the PC section, and the other is making it larger. Must just depend on sales figures at each particular store.
 
Like most people said, PC games don't sell aswell, but there are always the exceptions. Look at all the mmorpgs that sell like hot cakes, WoW and Guild Wars being 2. I know those 2 sold very well. I believe a reason for this is bad marketing. Plus the fact you need to invest 1K plus on a system to run these games. The reason I say bad marketing is clearly true, since you barely ever see comercials for computer games, but console games have tons of commercials. Like when Doom 3 hit the PC, I don't remember seeing any commercials for it, but when the Xbox verison hit shelfs, there were tons of commericals.
 
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