Sales generated by PC games are poised to overtake those for video game consoles, a monumental shift that is many years in the making, according to data from industry researcher PwC. By the end of 2016, PC game sales are expected to reach $29 billion around the world, compared with $28 billion in sales for the console market.
The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo -- E3 -- is Microsoft's, Sony's and other large game makers' biggest marketing opportunity for reaching console gamers.
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The gap will continue to widen over the next few years, thanks to the growing popularity of PC-based gaming in other countries, like China and India.
The video game industry is going through rapid change. Gone are the days when people played games only on specialized devices, like a video game console. Smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and virtual reality systems have begun to change the way video games are played, as well as how we all pay for them.
"You could have said 10 years ago that there were three major platforms: Console, PC and Web," said Brian Blau, an analyst with research firm Gartner. "Now you have TV streamers, mobile devices -- you even have watches today. There's so many more types of devices to play games."
One of the biggest beneficiaries of that change has been the PC, which has become the only way to play some of the best-looking and most popular games in the industry and to enjoy some of the most cutting-edge features online gaming has to offer. And later this year, that will also be the only way to play high-quality virtual reality games, offering players the opportunity to strap on a headset and transport themselves to all manner of imaginary worlds...
...There's another thing going the PC's way: A trend called e-sports -- competitive gaming between highly trained professional gamers -- has become an international phenomenon grabbing the attention of tens of millions of people. The top competitive games are available only on a PC: Riot's League of Legends and Valve's Dota 2.
