Sure, there are more options but the vast majority of PCMR don't care about them tho
Behold, the Big Three™
- Thread starter LakeOf9
- Start date
Drell
Member
MS may be less annoying as third parties, but they can still buy the industry as a third party and that's still annoying.
killatopak
Member
The real big three:
Playstore
Appstore
Piratebay
Playstore
Appstore
Piratebay
Hyet
Member
RetroGamingUK
Member
This is it. The core gaming industry has rallied around three platforms, each with more than 100 million active users, each selling billions of games, each giving third parties large, receptive audiences to sell to. There are differences in all of them of course - other than the exclusives unique to each platform, they each specialize in different things; Steam and PC gaming is open, flexible, and all about giving users and developers options. PlayStation is the go to, premier, default console option. If you want to play games but don't want to muck with PCs, PlayStation is the way to go. Nintendo is the go to, premier, default portable and family-friendly option, prioritizing local multiplayer, user friendliness, and toy style hardware gimmicks.
With Xbox on the way out, and Steam starting to proliferate the platform beyond just PCs thanks to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and rumoured upcoming Steam OEM consoles, as well as Switch 2 anticipated to set sales records, and absorb a lot of third party support Nintendo didn't get before, plus PlayStation's ongoing dominance, means these three platforms are it. The big three for the industry.
Seeing this reminds me very much of 1999.
Back then if you stepped foot in a retail store you'd basically have a choice of…
PlayStation
Nintendo (N64/GBC)
PC-CD ROM
Sega had no retail presence for over a year following the Saturn's demise and the launch of the Dreamcast.
Commodore Amiga was pretty much dead at that point too.
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RetroGamingUK
Member
Steam there is basically representing PC.
These days it's pretty much the only way people access PC games.
BlackTron
Member
Only 4 million Steam Decks, yet Capcom sold 28 million PC games last year.
It's almost like we're intentionally missing something from this equation, I wonder what it could be?
Every Steam Deck owner bought Capcom game 7 times last year
BlackTron
Member
nice attach rate bro
Parazels
Member
I don't know such a platform. Where can I buy a steam disc or cartridge?
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BlackTron
Member
I respect your preferences, because I am also a staunch supporter of physical media. But those 28 million sales did not suddenly just vanish because they did not occur inside a vacuum of your preference.
For example, you counted 4 million Steam Decks for some reason. Even though there is no way to buy a physical copy for them. Why didn't you just count zero units then? It's a perpetual state of chameleon goalpost moving.
Parazels
Member
4 million is a negligible number in any universe to take the "platform" seriously.
BlackTron
Member
28 million is too large a number to handwave away a "platform" as irrelevant.
And that's ONLY capcom's sales for one year.
Parazels
Member
If Capcom sold several million games on some random site, it doesn't make the site a "platform".
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Kvally
Member
It's the Big Two now! Steam and Nintendo are all that remain. And I really want neither of those. So I guess I will stick with my "on the way out" PS and Xbox until they turn the lights out!
This is it. The core gaming industry has rallied around three platforms, each with more than 100 million active users, each selling billions of games, each giving third parties large, receptive audiences to sell to. There are differences in all of them of course - other than the exclusives unique to each platform, they each specialize in different things; Steam and PC gaming is open, flexible, and all about giving users and developers options. PlayStation is the go to, premier, default console option. If you want to play games but don't want to muck with PCs, PlayStation is the way to go. Nintendo is the go to, premier, default portable and family-friendly option, prioritizing local multiplayer, user friendliness, and toy style hardware gimmicks.
With Xbox on the way out, and Steam starting to proliferate the platform beyond just PCs thanks to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and rumoured upcoming Steam OEM consoles, as well as Switch 2 anticipated to set sales records, and absorb a lot of third party support Nintendo didn't get before, plus PlayStation's ongoing dominance, means these three platforms are it. The big three for the industry.
BlackTron
Member
"Sold 28 million there" and "some random site" is an oxymoron.
Edit: Also, the definition of several according to Merriam Webster: more than two but fewer than many
28 million is more than two, but does not meet the other requirement.
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Idleyes
Gold Member
Let's clear something up real quick:
Consoles = walled gardens. One store, one set of rules. You buy a PlayStation? You're shopping at the PlayStation Store. Xbox? Same deal.
PC = open ecosystem. Steam, GOG, Epic, Itch.io, Game Pass, Humble, take your pick. It's not one store, it's a marketplace warzone and you win as the consumer.
Now here's the kicker:
PC gaming pulls in more global revenue than both consoles combined, depending on the year and how you slice the data. That includes digital sales, microtransactions, MMOs, mod markets, you name it. Steam alone has more users than PSN and Xbox Live combined.
So yeah, if we're putting a "Third Platform" logo on anything?
Make it say PC in bold, surround it with storefronts, and call it what it is:
The actual biggest platform in gaming!
Consoles = walled gardens. One store, one set of rules. You buy a PlayStation? You're shopping at the PlayStation Store. Xbox? Same deal.
PC = open ecosystem. Steam, GOG, Epic, Itch.io, Game Pass, Humble, take your pick. It's not one store, it's a marketplace warzone and you win as the consumer.
Now here's the kicker:
PC gaming pulls in more global revenue than both consoles combined, depending on the year and how you slice the data. That includes digital sales, microtransactions, MMOs, mod markets, you name it. Steam alone has more users than PSN and Xbox Live combined.
So yeah, if we're putting a "Third Platform" logo on anything?
Make it say PC in bold, surround it with storefronts, and call it what it is:
The actual biggest platform in gaming!
If you're talking platforms I think you better add Android & iOS because mobile is actually bigger
This is it. The core gaming industry has rallied around three platforms, each with more than 100 million active users, each selling billions of games, each giving third parties large, receptive audiences to sell to. There are differences in all of them of course - other than the exclusives unique to each platform, they each specialize in different things; Steam and PC gaming is open, flexible, and all about giving users and developers options. PlayStation is the go to, premier, default console option. If you want to play games but don't want to muck with PCs, PlayStation is the way to go. Nintendo is the go to, premier, default portable and family-friendly option, prioritizing local multiplayer, user friendliness, and toy style hardware gimmicks.
With Xbox on the way out, and Steam starting to proliferate the platform beyond just PCs thanks to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and rumoured upcoming Steam OEM consoles, as well as Switch 2 anticipated to set sales records, and absorb a lot of third party support Nintendo didn't get before, plus PlayStation's ongoing dominance, means these three platforms are it. The big three for the industry.
I collect VHS tapes
Gold Member
this is actually rightIf you're talking platforms I think you better add Android & iOS because mobile is actually bigger
does this mean mobile is king?
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
I almost feel bad for you. Almost.
Parazels
Member
I almost don't care. Almost.
FoxMcChief
Gold Member
This guy gets it.
Crayon
Member
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
Let's clear something up real quick:
Consoles = walled gardens. One store, one set of rules. You buy a PlayStation? You're shopping at the PlayStation Store. Xbox? Same deal.
PC = open ecosystem. Steam, GOG, Epic, Itch.io, Game Pass, Humble, take your pick. It's not one store, it's a marketplace warzone and you win as the consumer.
Now here's the kicker:
PC gaming pulls in more global revenue than both consoles combined, depending on the year and how you slice the data. That includes digital sales, microtransactions, MMOs, mod markets, you name it. Steam alone has more users than PSN and Xbox Live combined.
So yeah, if we're putting a "Third Platform" logo on anything?
Make it say PC in bold, surround it with storefronts, and call it what it is:
The actual biggest platform in gaming!
Hahahha!
ReBurn
Gold Member
Cupcakes. That's what is missing. Man, I really would like a cupcake right now.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Yeah this. People trying to pass Steam as the only thing PC related are just silly console warriors. Anyone playing on PC knows very well there's much more to it than just Steam.Let's clear something up real quick:
Consoles = walled gardens. One store, one set of rules. You buy a PlayStation? You're shopping at the PlayStation Store. Xbox? Same deal.
PC = open ecosystem. Steam, GOG, Epic, Itch.io, Game Pass, Humble, take your pick. It's not one store, it's a marketplace warzone and you win as the consumer.
Now here's the kicker:
PC gaming pulls in more global revenue than both consoles combined, depending on the year and how you slice the data. That includes digital sales, microtransactions, MMOs, mod markets, you name it. Steam alone has more users than PSN and Xbox Live combined.
So yeah, if we're putting a "Third Platform" logo on anything?
Make it say PC in bold, surround it with storefronts, and call it what it is:
The actual biggest platform in gaming!
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Clearly.
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Idleyes
Gold Member
The part about Steam having more users than PSN and Xbox Live combined was fanboi hyperbole. They just have more users then each service in the standalone platform category.
Idleyes
Gold Member
Sure, there are more options but the vast majority of PCMR don't care about them tho
What? the PCMR absolutely does care. We'll put our big dicks in any technological challenge. It's what we do. It's also why we have so many bugs but that's another topic.
Idleyes
Gold Member
this is actually right
does this mean mobile is king?
Bullshit stats. Clearly they aren't accounting for shit like DLC's and Microtransactions. PC gaming should be right below Mobile games. Downloaded/Boxed PC games aren't the only things being purchased round these parts bruh bruh.
Edit: They probably aren't counting subscriptions for GAAS games which is essentially (in my opinion) an ongoing purchase of the same game. There are a lot of games that have monthly and yearly purchases that are on PC. A lot more than on Console that's for damn sure.
Edit 2: For fucks sake Trains simulator has $10,000 worth of DLC.
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awwr999999
Member
Out of the three, Steam's the only one that has AO rated games.
Nintendo and PlayStation can't both be everyone consoles with the exact same range of games from "E for Everybody" to "M for Mature".
At this point Nintendo's the only platform with a definite vibe, the Sesame Street vibe - it's the console for young kids (3-11+).
PlayStation needs to return to the peak PS/PS2 era PlayStation that's badass and grown up - PS2 ads were designed to shock and disturb strict parents.
PlayStation will benefit from adding AO games to PSN, curating their game catalog and distancing itself from Nintendo as the console for adults (16-100+).
A generation of little kids being given Nintendo and told they 'can't have PlayStation' will build a pipeline of aspirational PlayStation gamers who abandon Nintendo by high school.
Nintendo's angle of 'parents gaming with their kids' works up to the point where kids throw away their toys and don't want to be seen with their parents.
Memories of gaming with parents and a toy inspired Fisher-Price aesthetic will doom Nintendo to the kid pile the minute kids start wanting to be cool.
Strategically it would be best for PlayStation consoles in the West to have curated games (no little kid games) and not to be anchored to family time gaming and early childhood.
In an era where the Internet gives everyone access to everything, console gaming has the unique ability to be temporarily off-limits or restricted as a "grown up thing".
We see this type of age gating with cars, motorcycles, airplanes, powertools, firearms, adult entertainment, alcohol and tobacco.
When parents provide kids early access to those things and problems arise manufacturers are in the clear and parents are viewed as the problem.
Nintendo will exist as the thing kids are given while PlayStation will exist as the thing kids can't have yet.
In the end, the old adage is true: 'Most people are going to be older way longer than they're going to be younger.'
vs
Nintendo and PlayStation can't both be everyone consoles with the exact same range of games from "E for Everybody" to "M for Mature".
At this point Nintendo's the only platform with a definite vibe, the Sesame Street vibe - it's the console for young kids (3-11+).
PlayStation needs to return to the peak PS/PS2 era PlayStation that's badass and grown up - PS2 ads were designed to shock and disturb strict parents.
PlayStation will benefit from adding AO games to PSN, curating their game catalog and distancing itself from Nintendo as the console for adults (16-100+).
A generation of little kids being given Nintendo and told they 'can't have PlayStation' will build a pipeline of aspirational PlayStation gamers who abandon Nintendo by high school.
Nintendo's angle of 'parents gaming with their kids' works up to the point where kids throw away their toys and don't want to be seen with their parents.
Memories of gaming with parents and a toy inspired Fisher-Price aesthetic will doom Nintendo to the kid pile the minute kids start wanting to be cool.
Strategically it would be best for PlayStation consoles in the West to have curated games (no little kid games) and not to be anchored to family time gaming and early childhood.
In an era where the Internet gives everyone access to everything, console gaming has the unique ability to be temporarily off-limits or restricted as a "grown up thing".
We see this type of age gating with cars, motorcycles, airplanes, powertools, firearms, adult entertainment, alcohol and tobacco.
When parents provide kids early access to those things and problems arise manufacturers are in the clear and parents are viewed as the problem.
Nintendo will exist as the thing kids are given while PlayStation will exist as the thing kids can't have yet.
In the end, the old adage is true: 'Most people are going to be older way longer than they're going to be younger.'
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DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
Nintendo is not for just kids. On god if I have to say this again.
I would be willing to make a bet that launch day switch 2 sales are primarily being sold to peeps over 25.
Maybe even 75 to 80 percent of them.
Youngsters will start getting them around Xmas.
Crayon
Member
Nintendo is not for just kids. On god if I have to say this again.
That's right. They said the same thing about Trix but I eat them all the time and I'm fine.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
I must admit it's crazy to see users who clearly know nothing about pc thinking steam is PC. 
Yes it's the primary launcher but id love to see the numbers spread across every launcher possible.
I bet if you include them all, steam wouldn't be running away with that stat by a long way. As in overall tam. Percentage per pc user.
Yes it's the primary launcher but id love to see the numbers spread across every launcher possible.
I bet if you include them all, steam wouldn't be running away with that stat by a long way. As in overall tam. Percentage per pc user.
PeteBull
Banned
Mobilemofo
Member
Playstation would be the dick, Nintendo and Xbox, the unequal sized balls either side of the dick. 
Bro you didn't even have to READ the OP, just seeing the gigantic picture in the post would be enough and you still failedPlaystation would be the dick, Nintendo and Xbox, the unequal sized balls either side of the dick.
Hudo
Member
You really need to go work for Valve.
BlackTron
Member
Burger King
Member
The big 4:
PlayStation
Nintendo
Steam
Apple Store
PlayStation
Nintendo
Steam
Apple Store
Badlucktroll
Member
just wait till you can put native new steam os on all pcs
hououinkyouma00
Member
SteamOS isn't a viable Windows replacement for a lot of people until it fixes the issues with anti-cheat and Nvidia GPUs. When big multiplayer games aren't playable at all, and people with the most popular GPUs can't use it that's a problem.