As console sales decline, growing PC games the "bright spot"

January 14th, 2011

PC is still the most popular platform to download illegal games to. But that didn't stop PC gamers from increasing the amount they spent on PC gaming last year, both at retail and certainly online, according to NPD.

"Declines in portable and console game sales were offset by new physical PC game sales, which increased by 3%," said analyst Anita Frazier, not to mention "increases in the consumer spend occuring via digital download," which includes web and free-to-play games.

NPD did not note how much "growth" occurred via download, but it's important to note that downloads from sites such as Steam make up the majority of overall PC games sales. 

Added Frazier, "Aside from PC games, accessory sales were up over 13% due to an increase in the average retail price of accessory items of 20%."

As for the best-selling PC games last year, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, and Call of Duty: Black Ops unsurprisingly led the list. 

The news of annual PC games sales growth comes as mouse and keyboard games continue to gain momentum, in light of aging consoles, despite underlying piracy concerns, and amid the growing popularity of the aforementioned web and free-to-play games.

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