$1 Billion in MMO Revenue Found 'Under a Rock,' PCGA President Explains Goal of Coalition

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PC Gaming Alliance president and Intel gaming program director Randy Stude offered commentary on the health of the PC gaming industry, expressing amusement at sales tracking firm NPD's recent move to track MMO subscription sales.

"I chuckle when I read through the articles or opinion that say that PC gaming is in a decline and they continue to quote NPD's North American retail sales figures as the reason why they believe they're in decline," Stude told Crave.

He added, "NPD decided in the first quarter of 2008 to attempt to quantify North American MMO subscription revenues. And lo and behold, after just a quarter of research, they found—under a rock that they hadn't looked at before—a billion dollars."

The director elaborated upon the goals of the PCGA, a consortium aimed at providing a forum for developers to collaborate on the marketing, production, and analysis of the PC market.

"Like the Wi-Fi Alliance and other initiatives, we've got to come together as an industry. Otherwise we've got a bifurcated industry that doesn't have any consistency whatsoever and creates consumer confusion that doesn't lead to mainstream success of anything," Stude explained. "That's basically the elevator pitch for why everyone is sitting at the table and having this discussion."

Stude also spoke on the PCGA's role in managing game piracy, a topic of heated discussion as of late. But contrary to some speculation, the director noted that the PCGA will take a more academic role in piracy management.

"We're collecting research on PC game piracy... trying to have some understanding of how big it is, and then hopefully quantify the economic impact," Stude noted. We don't intend to become the police force for PC game piracy. We're not the RIAA, we're not going to become the RIAA. Rather we're a group that's trying to look out for PC gaming, and if there's a problem with it, we're going to make industry recommendations."

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