Why Despite the Growing Popularity of Gaming Consoles Desktop Gaming is Still Very Common?

Consoles remain the second-most-popular gaming platform after mobile, despite current issues in the hardware supply chain for console makers. About 41% of gamers prefer consoles, to 37% prefer PCs.

History of the PC-Console Rivalry

There's a long, rich history of the PC-console rivalry, but it wasn't always so. The first video games were made for PCs, after which arcade games entered the fray, laying the groundwork for consoles. When consoles were introduced in the early 1970s, they made little headway due to their limited range. Games came pre-installed, so other games could neither be added nor removed.

But with technological advancements, consoles gained the same popularity as PCs and eventually surpassed them. Games have evolved, with unique scenarios and greater internet connectivity, thanks to longer, more extensive storylines. They now support multiplayer and multiplatform play (across different devices). The idea was to harness the social aspect of gaming and remove device inhibitions.

The Growing Popularity of PC

The PC hasn't always had smooth sailing in the gaming world. Despite being the first in at-home gaming, it only caught on in 1983 after video games tanked due to an insane influx of low-quality consoles and games into the market. But it only took seven years for all that to topple over in the 1990s, as consoles mounted a strong comeback from pioneers Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation.

Since then, PC gaming has gradually found its feet and entered the global gaming market. We can expect this newfound popularity to continue due to specific industry trends. Firstly, since morphing into a social space with unique viewership and fandom, the gaming industry has experienced a wave of influencers riding the creator economy. For instance, famous figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Henry Cavill (Geralt of Rivia and Clark Kent, Superman) have been recorded building at-home gaming rigs.

Although the popularity of PC gaming can't be attributed solely to this reason, the presence of influencers has undoubtedly helped. Matter-of-factly, computing hardware has maintained steady demand in recent years. For example, a study found that the PC gaming hardware market rose to USD 36.9 billion in 2020, USD 3.6 billion higher than in 2019. By 2021, the market was predicted to reach a new high of USD 45.6 billion.

In many ways, we are decades of innovation away from the earliest PC games, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator from 1982. The 2020 version of the same game looks way better, with hyper-realistic graphics and high-quality gameplay. In the same vein, rapidly emerging virtual reality chat rooms and eSports tournaments have added to the allure of PC gaming. As a result, we can expect further development and increased popularity in the sector.