According to a new study published by research firm Jon Peddie Research (JPR), approximately 20 million PC gamers “could defect to TV gaming platforms” including consoles by 2022.
JPR believes that majority of those “defecting” will be owners of low-end PCs that cost under $1,000 to build. The reason? Televisions have improved, console technology has advanced significantly, and console exclusives attract players. However, the company believes that improvements in TV gaming platforms will attract gamers with mid-range and high-end PCs as well.
“The PC market continues to decline because the innovation that took place in the past providing speed ups and clever new things has all but stopped, plus the product introduction times are stretching out to four years,” said President Jon Peddie. “This is not a panic situation and the GPU market still generates incredible volume. However, there are forces at work that we predict will drive some of this business toward TV displays and associated gaming services.”
JPR’s report is based on recent sales trends and forecasts for a number of platforms including the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nvidia Shield, Apple TV, cloud platforms, and more.
“We are observing a higher percentage of Low/Mid-Range PC products sold because of the consumer’s intent to use with games,” added Senior Analyst, Ted Pollak. “This, unfortunately, does not generate more volume but does guide research and design as well as marketing investments for hardware providers and foreshadows the ultimate use model of the PC, a desktop ergonomic gaming/computing environment that embraces user choice and customization. Gaming services used with TV displays, whether local or cloud-based, will absorb PC defectors and likely flourish with new entrants.”
Pollack believes that the number of customers with access to TV gaming platforms will increase by hundreds of millions in the next five years.
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