Doug Lombardi: death of PC gaming is a 'perception problem'

Posted May 23, 2008 at 4:50PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: Interviews, Opinions & Analysis Tags: Doug Lombardi, Germany, interviews, Microsoft, NPD, Sony

Doug Lombardi: death of PC gaming is a 'perception problem' - Image 1

Long-time PC game developer Valve Software has never been more successful in years, even in these days where many say gaming on PC is dead or dying. Doug Lombardi, the company's co-founder, said in a recent interview that the idea that PC gaming is dead is more of a perspective problem and not even real.

First and foremost, at the advent of the interconnected console, the three console giants made it their awesome priority to drown the media with upcoming titles for their to-launch platforms.

Lombardi offered the idea that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo had armies of PR to run the idea that consoles were here to replace PC gaming. In fact, it was these divisions that may have even been the source of the hearsay, in an effort to boost their launch sales numbers by several folds. "The PC has nobody," added Lombardi.

Oh no wait, there was the Games for Windows initiative from Microsoft, alongside the Xbox team - but yes, even that publicity stunt did little to advocate the PC game. Perhaps it was because they focused too much on launching an operating system that many are still reluctant to adopt permanently.

Thus many people were led to believe that nothing much is heard of gaming on the PC, and so it must be dead. Later developments in early 2008, especially with the NPD Online Gaming Survey, told a different story.

The report showed more than a billion dollars earned in the online front - and that was just on the North American side alone. Lombardi explained that we need to stop taking America's side and start broadening our perspective:

But people are taking [the NPD US results] and discounting [the world].. in Germany for example, retail sales of PC products crush all other games, with the possible exception of the DS. It certainly kills all of the next-generation consoles.

In light of the PC Gaming Alliance, however, would that perspective begin changing? "We'll see. I mean, I think it's great that a group of major players are getting together and trying to address the problem," replied Lombardi, though Valve itself isn't part of the PCGA.

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Doug Lombardi: death of PC gaming is a 'perception problem'

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