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PC Gaming Revenue 2016 Exploded Against Console Gaming; Netted Six Times More With Over $35 Billion; PC Not the Top Earner Though

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It was a good year for the gaming market. According to the latest reports, the gaming industry contributed $91 billion to the global economy, proving that it's really a big business. But for an industry largely dominated by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft for a decade, it would seem like there's a change in the gaming atmosphere.

While it's expected that consoles and PC's will dominate the market, it's the mobile gaming that really topped 2016. Contributing about $41 billion, mobile gaming rose because of games such as "Clash of Clans" and "Monster Strike". Even "Pokemon Go" was such a big hit hauling in $799 million, Digital Trends reported.

PC games are not too far behind with $35.8 billion for games such as "Counter Strike: Global Offensive" and "Overwatch". Microsoft's "Minecraft" was also a large contributor with $89 million in overall sales. This can be attributed to the fact that it became more affordable than the console.

Consoles have become luxury items and PCs became necessities, at least according to David Cole, the DFC Intelligence Analyst. First person shooters, MMO, and MOBA were also the shakers and movers in the PC gaming arena. This only means PC has a wider range of audience.

Console games trailed far behind, however, hauling in $6.6 billion overall. But the figure was a significant increase from $5.7 billion in 2015. "Call of Duty" and "FIFA 16" were the biggest haulers, trailed by "GTA V" in third place hauling over $370 million in global sales.

According to SuperData, eSports hasn't reached the billion mark yet. But it doesn't mean that it's a dead market. It's gaining momentum and if it will break barriers next year, it wouldn't be a big surprise because it's only growing larger than ever.

VR is the lowest income hauler in the gaming industry, Hot Hardware reported.  That's because it lacks hard selling content. When Rift was launched, it was so hard for buyers to purchase it. But companies with long-time experience in hardware manufacturing such as Sony is expected to double or quadruple their income next year.  

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