Post PC My Ass, Continued: Gaming Hardware Sales To Hit $23.6 Billion In 2012

Posted 05/03/2012 at 11:13am | by Brad Chacos

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When people say that we're living in a post PC era, they're typically only looking at sales of prebuilt systems -- the HP, Dell and Lenovo "PCs in a box" that grace the shelves of your local retailers. Those numbers, however, fail to take component sales and custom builds into consideration. (Sacrilege!) Now, a new report highlights just what we're missing by omitting component sales: Jon Peddie Research, a prominent research firm, says that PC gaming hardware sales will hit $23.6 billion -- that's "billion," with a "B" -- in sales by the end of the year.

The sales will be fueled mainly by enthusiasts who drop more than $1,000 on hardware, the firm says. JPR claims that all the new CPUs and GPUs coming out, along with gaming-focused machines from both mainstream and boutique builders will be major factors in pushing enthusiasts into upgrading. New power supplies, SSDs, cooling systems and peripherals will only add fuel to the fire, the firm claims, and gaming hardware should hit a whopping $32 billion by 2015. Hardware sales in Brazil, Russia, India and China are expected to nearly double in the same time frame, from $4.7 billion this year to $7.7 billion in 2015.

"The hobbyist aspect of the DIY market is driving billions in component sales and small form factor rigs are being hooked up to HDTVs, essentially being used as 'super consoles,'" senior gaming analyst Ted Pollak said in Jon Peddie's press release.

The actual reports are locked behind a doozy of a paywall for $7,500 a pop, so we aren't able to comment on hard numbers. Still, we thought we'd share the good news, even if it's just a summary. Now, off to plan my next build…