Jul 7, 2008. Where have all the PC Games gone? We search the brick and mortar stores as well as the Internet and find some startling conclusions.

by John Caines.

The world is changing in the PC gaming market. Yes, the PC still gets all the high-tech graphics laden games, but what happened to the small developers that once dominated the PC gaming market? And why are so many releases from these smaller developers in Europe rather than the States?

To release a title in the US, you need a US publisher. What does a publisher do that a developer can't? Publishers provide advertising for games, but more importantly, they distribute the games for you. Now when we mean distribute, what we're talking about is fighting for shelf space at gaming stores so that people can buy your game instead of another game.

It's real tough to get your game into places like Gamestop and even tougher into Walmart because these stores only want successful products, not new games that are untested. So publishers create buzz for your game through advertising and the Internet and really push your product to great as much hype as possible so they can get shelf space for your game.

The end result is that alot of games get pushed in and out quickly, and those that don't make it in terms of financial success, get put into the bargain bin. It's a cycle that has been in the gaming industry since the early days of PC gaming.

Now in Europe, PC gaming has been a strong staple of entertainment. There are less big name chains and many smaller mom and pop stores, so it's much easier for developers to sell to these stores because you can always count on a percentage of stores trying out your game for sale. One of the reasons is simply because Europe is very old in terms of land, so it's very difficult for chains to buy the retail space they need from people that have owned their shops since forever.

Another reason why there are less PC games today is because there are less publishers. There are a few major publishers left, but EA is the dominant one. Now as a developer, trying to get EA to publish your game against the hundreds of other submissions from around the world is very tough. The consumer ends up with a handful of games because EA isn't going to publish every game it gets from a developer.

Now does this mean you have to move to Europe for PC games? No. Thanks to the Internet, you can buy PC games for download from websites like direct2drive. This allows small developers to publish their game around the world without the need for EA or another US publisher. It's a great way for consumers to find games and try before you buy.

Of course, this means you don't get the gaming box and manual like this cloth map that came with Ultima. But most of the games today are empty boxes and black and white manuals anyways, so it's not even worth it in terms of cost to buy a box and throw it away just for the CDs or DVDs.

The bottom line is that PC gaming stores are what really is dying, but you can still get all the PC games you want on the Internet. That's why we will be reviewing PC games both in the stores and on the Internet because that's the new gaming distribution medium.