Analysts: 92 per cent of all PC games sales are now digital

by Mark Tyson on 19 August 2014, 11:30

Tags: Valve, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA), PC

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Analyst firm DFC Intelligence recently revealed that 92 per cent of all PC games sales in 2013 were digital downloads. PCR reports that this figure leaves less than 10 per cent of global PC sales to high street and online physical games retailers. DFCI is expecting the number to rise further in the years to come; however it points out that its statistics only cover the games software - gaming hardware and/or accessories will of course never be downloadable (even with the impending 3D printing revolution).

The rise in popularity in purchasing games digitally has been hard not to notice but with the increasingly slick, frictionless online stores and faster downloads/internet available it may not be too surprising that it has almost taken over entirely. The trend hit a major milestone as digital game sales overtook physical for the first time ever last year. In 2013, sales of downloadable mobile, PC, console and tablet games reached £1.18 billion in the UK, whilst physical copies accounted for £1.015 billion.

Platforms such as Valve's Steam, EA's Origin, various online sellers of codes for these platforms and hugely popular sales and bundles have made a big impact on the triumph of digital downloads.

The same research firm, DFCI, also revealed earlier this year that PC games market revenue has surpassed that of console gaming, making it the most attractive gaming platform for years. This could be related to consoles now being seen as luxury items, where PCs are the household necessities and it could also be something to do with the amount of irresistible bargain priced game sales for PCs…

Do you think hard copies of games will be replaced completely in the near future? When was the last time you  purchased a hard copy of a game? Please let us know in the comments below.



HEXUS Forums :: 68 Comments

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I wonder what the percentage is of games that are actually played.
“When did you last buy a physical copy of a PC game?”

Oddly enough given the title graphic; B4

Largely because although i am forced to play it through the EA game service i wasn't willing to trust it as a purchasing portal in the way i do Steam.
I try to get physical copies of the (new) games I buy.

Of course, the last one I bought was probably… ME3, I think.

But yes, I do still have an optical drive in my PC.
Just as an example this is why I always buy retail - For a boxed physical copy of “Thief” from amazon - Cost £9 approx.

Same game from Steam which costs them a small amout of virtual storage space and some bandwidth to deliver to me - £20

So that's a 100% mark up for a digital game that contains no physical item production or storage costs?

Yeah i'll continue to buy physical for a long time to come until they can solve that issue.
Picked up The Elder Scrolls Anthology a couple of weeks ago. Not only was it cheap (about 10 GBP), but you just can't beat physical boxes for presentation et al.

I do, however, have a tendency to buy games on Steam and GOG as well. Also games of which I own a physical copy.