PCs Still The Preferred Gaming Platform For Developers; Mobile Catching Up

Gaming has evolved into the world's favorite form of entertainment, edging out the likes of television, films and digital music, according to Oppenheimer Funds. This has relevance for multiple stakeholders such as game developers, gaming device manufacturers and chipmakers. 

Among devices, the PC is still the favorite of gaming developers, according to Statista, which cited a survey by UBM, the organizer of the annual Gaming Developer Conference.

PCs Rule The Roost

PCs may not be a dying breed anytime soon. Lenovo Group Limited LNVGY, Dell Technologies Inc DELL HP Inc HPQ and the likes can take heart from the findings of the survey by UBM, which showed that of the 4,000 developers surveyed, 66 percent said they are developing games for PCs.

The PC also seems to be their favorite platform, as 60 percent said they are interested in developing games for PCs in 2019.

Source: Statista

Some factors that tip the scales in favor of the PC are an affordable price point, a better upgrade path relative to other devices, backwards compatibility and the availability of free-to-play games, according to PC World.

Mobile Devices Pick Up Pace

Mobile devices take the second spot, with 38 percent of the developers surveyed responding that they are developing mobile games. About 33 percent said they are interested in developing mobile games.

The wide adoption of smartphones and the ease of developing games for these devices are the reasons behind developers' interest in mobile platforms, Statista said.

Nintendo's Switch Evinces Interest

NINTENDO LTD/ADR NTDOY's Switch also seems to be a developer favorite, with 45 percent interested in developing games for the platform. However, only 18 percent of the survey's respondents are currently developing games for Switc, with the divergence being attributed to Switch

Among other consoles, Sony Corp SNE's PSP4/Pro seems to be on a solid footing, with 31 percent currently developing games for the platform and 38 percent expressing interest. 

Microsoft Corporation MSFT's Xbox has both metrics at 28 percent.

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