PC rules supreme in gaming world

By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, San Francisco

The personal computer is king in the world of games, according to a new report by the PC Gaming Alliance.
On the opening day of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the Alliance said the industry made about $11 billion world wide last year.
PCGA president Randy Stude said these figures underline the PC as the "No 1 platform for gaming world wide".

According to research company IDC, there are over 1 billion personal computers world wide. The PCGA maintains that 250 million are being used for gaming.


In 2008, Americans spent more than $21 billion on video game hardware, software and accessories, up from $18 billion in 2007, according to market researcher NPD Group. And sales continued to rise in January and February of this year.


That is welcome news for Jeff Ball who is a musician and attending GDC for the first time with the aim of making contacts and getting work.
"I've just graduated and I'm trying to network and meet as many people as I can because that's how you get into the industry and coming here is thee place to do that."
Mr Ball is not alone in looking for business opportunities.
Pierre Langer of Dynamedion, Europe's biggest audio studio for video games, has attended GDC for the last five years. He told BBC News that this year he has changed his strategy for drumming up business.

"I think people are optimistic," said Marti Miernik of PR Sirens who is here promoting a game called Space Trader Wars for HermitWorks Entertainment.

"I don't know that the climate is affecting games too much. If anything I would think the games industry maybe ought to see a little kick because of this.
"People aren't buying stuff so much but the idea of going to the movies or buying a new game which you can use again and again and again probably still holds water," Mr Park told the BBC.
Ms Scavio said that while the industry is far from recession proof, this is undoubtedly a time for people to be creative.