The state of gaming in South Africa

unless they track steam origin humble bundle and the rest of them how the hell do they know that pc gaming is dying.
 
unless they track steam origin humble bundle and the rest of them how the hell do they know that pc gaming is dying.

I came here to say that too. I can't remember when last I bought a physical copy of a game. Even my XBox games are all becoming digital now.
 
I came here to say that too. I can't remember when last I bought a physical copy of a game. Even my XBox games are all becoming digital now.

I COncur, im a hugh fan of buying physical discs (boxart, feel a sense of ownership etc) but my last 4 360 titles were all digital (its just so convenient to purchase online
 
Actual report is here:

http://www.pwc.co.za/en/assets/pdf/entertainment-and-media-outlook-2014-2018.pdf

unless they track steam origin humble bundle and the rest of them how the hell do they know that pc gaming is dying.
Some of the sources are listed in the report, but obviously the majority of them are buried in confidentiality agreements. They'd be tracking financial transactions rather that the individual platform sales though. But yeah....all of the audit firms have access to a *lot* of financial information (they just need to get permission to aggregate & publish it).
 
I COncur, im a hugh fan

Which one?

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Actual report is here:

http://www.pwc.co.za/en/assets/pdf/entertainment-and-media-outlook-2014-2018.pdf


Some of the sources are listed in the report, but obviously the majority of them are buried in confidentiality agreements. They'd be tracking financial transactions rather that the individual platform sales though. But yeah....all of the audit firms have access to a *lot* of financial information (they just need to get permission to aggregate & publish it).

Problem is steam doesn't release its figures. As far as I know.
 
Problem is steam doesn't release its figures. As far as I know.

Exactly, also tracking financial transactions wont help much either as some people pay via CC some via Steam wallet and other via Paypal. To get an accurate picture one has to get numbers from Steam directly and we all know Gabe is keeping that numbers for himself.
 
Problem is steam doesn't release its figures. As far as I know.
Right...so you get credit card info instead - that'll cover Steam/Origin/Android store etc. As I said...the audit firms have access to tons of info...its getting permission to use it that is tricky. Remember someone audits all the SA banks...

I don't know how the report was compiled (beyond whats listed in the methodology section of the report), but thats definitely where I'd start.
 
I only rly buy a hard copy of a game if it's a collectors edition that i rly want ant that's worth it. Otherwise its digital too. and of course the odd game that i would get as hard copy on my Bday or Christmas.

But it's the same old story to say that PC gaming is dying out specially in SA is a bit vain and flat footed thinking. i mean thos of us that are gamers and have kids teach our kids the fine art of gaming :p.

My sons love xbox way more than a tablet and i'm busy building them a gaming rig so they can play all the allowed steam games and their disney games
 
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WARNING: The following contains my own opinions

I can understand that PC gaming sales are going backwards.

Firstly, there are only a few gamers our there that are actually aware of Steam. i've met a lot of people that love playing games, own a PC and a console, but simply does not have, or never even heard of Steam. The fact of the matter is that broadband adoption in SA is still relatively low. I think this is the reason why our country has very low Steam action compared to console or physical copy sales. I am pretty sure that more than 60% of all PC game sales in SA are done over the counter, rather than over the internet. It's the reason why stores like BT Games, Look&Listen, Top CD and various others can still maintain, and grow, their gaming section.

We may not be buying physical copy of discs anymore, but we are really a small section of the greater gaming market in SA. I do not think we represent the bulk of the market. It is why physical sales will have a much bigger impact on overall market performance than online transactions.

I am reminded by a article MyG published with Steam statistics a while ago. It showed activity and number of players throughout the world, and I remember remarking just how low our activity stats are compared to the rest of the world.

Looking at the demography of our country, and taking into considerations various socio-economic factors, I think it makes sense that our country is showing a decline in PC sales revenue, as our market is much more indusive to console and casual gaming than PC gaming.

IMHO...
 
I am reminded by a article MyG published with Steam statistics a while ago. It showed activity and number of players throughout the world, and I remember remarking just how low our activity stats are compared to the rest of the world.

It would be interesting to see a year on year comparison of our activity stats. I need to remember to dig into that when I get home.
 
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