GDC 08: PC Gaming Alliance Officially Formed

31
A consortium of corporate giants ranging from Microsoft to Intel joined hands in an effort to advance the PC gaming platform today, officially announcing the PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) at this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The stated goal of the PCGA is to serve as a forum for developers to collaborate on the marketing, production, and analyzation of the PC market. The body will act as an advisory board, with the focus on providing a single "voice" for the PC gaming industry.

"PCGA members believe that we are stronger and more effective together than any member company is alone, and that our shared vision and group effort will improve PC gaming worldwide," said Intel's Randy Stude. "Industry forums have proven to foster competition and innovation among member companies and grow markets while improving user experiences."

The full list of PCGA members is composed of Acer/Gateway, Activision, AMD, Dell/Alienware, Epic Games, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia. and Razer.

"There's no one source that says 'hey this is where the PC market is going'," said Stude according to Develop. "Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are always calling their market share--we're going to call our market through this group."

"What we intend to do is look at what's out there and tell developers what consumers have and understand what audiences exist," added Microsoft Games for Windows chief Kevin Unagast. "The role of the PCGA is providing guidance to developers when they are making a game, explain how they can achieve consistency."

From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 19, 2008 8:34 PM

    Kinda reminds me of the Games for Windows initiative. Lets hope this is more than a bunch of companies saying "Ya, we kinda like PC gaming" (ie. Epic), and instead, a strong body which can make some positive changes for PC gaming.

    • reply
      February 19, 2008 8:45 PM

      It sounds like it's an extension of it. The software companies involved all don the GFW badge afaik

      • reply
        March 2, 2008 1:31 PM

        Epic don't (see: Unreal Tournament 3).

        Microsoft seem to actively prohibit GFW branding from going on any game that isn't exclusive to Windows and the Xbox 360. Call of Duty 4 & UT3 spring to mind...

Hello, Meet Lola