desktops vs laptops vs tablets sales and the role of consoles

does anyone have a graph, statistics or something?

I noticed that at the malls the desktops department is basically always empty, everyone is either buying a laptop or a tablet.

I'd like to know in what way that is affecting Desktop sales and how come Pc gaming keeps rising year after year despite the low sales?

I'm afraid that consoles will suffer from it as well, seeing how many android and ios games are being released, not only casual games, but also some big titles like Dead Space.

And you can't get those games for a fairly low price, I paid 6 euros for Dead Space on my Galaxy SII and surprisely I liked the controls (no button emulation, but finger movement to control the game: it works great)

I doubt that laptop sells have anything to do with gaming. While it's possible to game on your laptop, the cost is significantly higher than what you'd end up paying to upgrade a desktop. Tablets are simply the new craze. People are just buying them because they look cool. Otherwise they'd just get a laptop LOL.

Thats funny becauase at my mall there is a PC repair shop that specializes in custom built desktop PCs.

I think tablets are in big competition with smartphones, but not laptop or desktops. And I think consoles will end up being the true "home entertainment system" while PCs continue to be for everthing.

I do not have any real specs to go on Im afraid, but it IS true that desktops are selling less.

However it is not really a case of being less popular, but rather 10 years ago, everyone needing a PC would pretty much have to aim for a desktop.

Since then Laptops have improved enough that people needing a pc only for paper work and light computing (as in REALLY light computing) have an option to buy a smaller form factor.

PCs that needs alot of processing powers, are still sold fairly well, and Nearly all gamers fall into that category, so its not really a case of Desktops dying out as such, but rather the relatively huge segment that never needed a big and powerful pc, now have the option to buy something smaller, that is easy to take with you,or hide away.

With that out of the way, I can tell you the exact reason as to why alot of stores (where I live) do not have alot of desktops in thier stores.

A desktop is big and bulky, and takes up alot ofstorage space. Laptops and tablets are small, and take up near none. So alot of stores here have alot of those in thier stores for show, since it requires alot less space. The yDO still have alot of desktops on remote storage tho, so while they are not in the store, they DO have and sell them.

It also says something, that custom PC builders where I live generally havebetter earnings now then they ever did before, building custom PCs for people, those are by default nearly always desktops, since laptops can not be customized ;)

The way I see it, it is a case of differentsegments getting what they nee,d instead of a "one size fits all", and stores taking care of thier avaiable storespace.

What I HAVE noticed however (and I wonder about alot) is that prebuilt desktops are getting a somewhat rare here,even the run of the mill electronics stores here, hav discarded the idea of a prebuilt desktop in favor of custom made ones. (which I find both nice, and somewhat Ironic).

So thisdoes not have anything to do with consoles the way I see it, I think the amount of Gaming PCs sold, isconstant (well going by ati and Nvidia it is rising somewhat). Just options, and consoles have no blame,and does not suffer anything at all. Hell you still have to get lucky here if you are to get an amd 7970 card here :S

So I think its a matter of perception rather then decline ofanything in particular.

Desktops are bought by enthusiast gamers and people who need performance. But the general public is rather buying laptops and/or tablets.

most people don't need a gaming computer, so Desktops are useless for that purpose. Desktops are still utilized for professional use though.

but, really, a laptop is the best choice for the average person, you get a piece of device that does it all (well almost) and you don't need to buy a webcam, a microphone, card reader, wireless pen, bluetooth and so on.

Desktops sure have their pros, but they're far outweighed by the laptop's convenience.

I, for one, find it absolutely useful the fact that I can bring a device anywhere, unlike the static desktop.

Well it's like this.

Back in the day I played on PC because I didn't have a choice.

All the good games weren't ON anything but a PC.

Now they're on 10 different devices, even phones.

Whereas PC has the best performance, but if you're not a performance ho then you don't care, you just wanna play the game conveniently and cheaply.

Who are the primary players of games in the world?

Kids.

If their parents don't have a full size desktop because they don't need one?

"mommy I want a wii/360/ps3"

A generation ago these kids would be playing on PC because they have no choice.

Now mommy has a choice and she don't feel like building a rig for junior.

So a console becomes the babysitter instead of a PC.

So PC starts becoming more and more of a "small elite hardcore" group for adult gamers who know better, while consoles and other devices build a much bigger base from the cradle.

I don't know what will happen in the future but I don't see PC's being prevalent going forward, ever again.

The trend is smaller, smaller, smaller.

Nobody wants a 40 pound piece of schit sitting on the desk taking up space except people who NEED that 40 pound piece of schit.

And that's where things are going. Beyond that I dunno.

Well it's like this.

Back in the day I played on PC because I didn't have a choice.

All the good games weren't ON anything but a PC.

Now they're on 10 different devices, even phones.

Whereas PC has the best performance, but if you're not a performance ho then you don't care, you just wanna play the game conveniently and cheaply.

Who are the primary players of games in the world?

Kids.

If their parents don't have a full size desktop because they don't need one?

"mommy I want a wii/360/ps3"

A generation ago these kids would be playing on PC because they have no choice.

Now mommy has a choice and she don't feel like building a rig for junior.

So a console becomes the babysitter instead of a PC.

So PC starts becoming more and more of a "small elite hardcore" group for adult gamers who know better, while consoles and other devices build a much bigger base from the cradle.

I don't know what will happen in the future but I don't see PC's being prevalent going forward, ever again.

The trend is smaller, smaller, smaller.

Nobody wants a 40 pound piece of schit sitting on the desk taking up space except people who NEED that 40 pound piece of schit.

And that's where things are going. Beyond that I dunno.

LazySloth718

Consoles were always aiming at kids and families actually. PlayStation just made console gaming mainstream while Wii made it accessible to everyone.

Just to add some statistics to the discussion.

PC World: "...Desktop sales have since stabilized, accounting for 20.3 percent of all PC sales among U.S. consumers in 2011, with similar share numbers over the past few years."-http://www.pcworld.com/article/248610/desktop_pc_killers_past_present_and_future.html

According to IDC numbers and Tim Cook, tablets exceeded desktop PC sales in the last quarter of 2011. The iPad alone equalled17% of the overall PC market. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/24/businessinsiderthis-is-what-the-pos.DTL)

Obviously, the desktop PC market is not strong. However, it is not showing any signs of disappearing either. After a long decline, it seems that it has now found a stable market of people who want the benefits that it offers (be it business, gaming, etc.)

I think laptop gaming will get a shot in the arm once external GPUs become more common. The new Thunderbolt port found in the latest laptop computers could be the ticket to finally get external GPUs to take off.