Posted 11/20/08 at 04:53:40 PM by Andy Salisbury

As it stands, the PC gaming industry is estimated to be worth a massive $20 billion today, and it is predicted to enlarge to $34 billion by 2012.

While many have claimed that PC gaming is dying, they don’t take into account the sales of gaming-oriented PCs. According to Ted Pollack, one of the two men behind this robust estimation, “Retail software figures are not an accurate barometer for the health of the PC gaming industry. The retail numbers don’t capture the casual and digitally distributed games, either.”

Pollack goes on to state that PC gamers don’t really buy that many games to begin with. “Enthusiast PC gamers often latch onto one or two games that offer multiplayer options and stick to these titles for years. Hardware is where they spend the big bucks.”

And yes, it is noticeable that a good amount of the sales went to complete PCs, but there’s also a large market of you that buy your own parts. Many of the sales come from upgrade pieces such as improved graphics cards and memory. And for this, we at Maximum PC salute you.

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4

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gaming, hardware, consumer electronics, build a pc, rigs, sales

Posted 11/17/08 at 11:24:42 PM by Nathan Grayson

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gaming, Software, news, sales, npd

Posted 10/17/08 at 06:33:31 PM by Andy Salisbury

Radiohead’s tight lips have opened up (gross) to finally tell the world about their pay-as-you-like experiment for selling their latest album, ‘In Rainbows’. Despite CNN’s calling it one of the dumbest moments in business last year (they were looking forward to the follow-up album, ‘In Debt’), the English rockers have earned a well deserved “we told you so” moment.

Earning a considerable amount more than they did on their previous album with nearly 1.75 million physical albums sold and 3 million copies sold total, Radiohead has earned the right to mark this down as a rousing success. It should also be noted that they made more money off of the digital distribution of ‘In Rainbows’ than they did on their previous album, ‘Hail To the Thief’ which only sold somewhere in the low hundred thousands.

Admittedly this isn’t a formula that will work every single time, some credit should be given to the fact that Radiohead is the first high profile band to have done this. But, that doesn’t mean that recognition shouldn’t be given where it’s due. Innovation in an industry such as music is something that’s rare, and it’s always welcome to see bands take moves towards getting their music into people’s ears rather than getting money into their pockets (though, this time it’s a win-win).

Radiohead, keep up the good work. Music industry, take notice.

Should you be interested more in the numbers surrounding Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’, hit the jump.

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5

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music, free, radiohead, sales, Albums

Posted 10/17/08 at 05:02:14 PM by Andy Salisbury

While there’s no doubt that Apple’s insanely popular iTunes store would hit this milestone, they felt it necessary to announce that they’ve finally hit 200 million sales of TV episodes, with more than one million of those being HD episodes sold just last month.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services, said in a statement this past Thursday, “We've got an incredible Fall 2008 TV lineup with over 70 primetime comedies and dramas, including many of the most popular shows on TV in stunning HD. With over 200 million episodes sold, iTunes customers have proven they love watching television on their computer, iPod, iPhone and TV with Apple TV.”

Thanks to the partnership of major television networks such as Bravo, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, ESPN, FX, HBO, MTV, Nickelodeon, Sci Fi, Showtime and USA, these sales don’t look they’re going to slow down anytime in the near future.

For those keeping track, the iTunes store now offers over eight million songs, over 30,000 TV episodes and over 2,500 films. Almost makes a man never want to leave his house.

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Software, apple, tv, itunes, sales, tv shows, iTunes Store

Posted 08/05/08 at 12:58:24 PM by Paul Lilly

The next time anyone tells you that PCs will soon become obsolete in a world filled with media centers and gaming consoles, feel free to give them a wedgie. And while you're tugging at their skivvies, be sure and let them know the real truth about PC sales, which are not only in no danger of disappearing, but are boasting stronger than expected sales.

"How strong?," the wedgie recipient asks, appearing more surprised at the news than he is of his underwear being pulled higher than it every has been before.

Tell him $127 billion, which represents global semiconductor chip sales for the first half of 2008, or 5.4 percent above the H1 2001 result. Then let him know that June 2008 sales climbed 8 percent from June 2007's numbers, settling in at $21.6 billion compared to $20 billion.

Hit the jump to find out why memory manufacturers aren't sharing the same enthusiasm.

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Memory, hardware, build a pc, rigs, sales, chip

Posted 07/25/08 at 09:50:11 AM by Chris Moody

It looks like the sluggish economy is affecting LCD panel revenues, they dropped 11% in June, but they still represent a 12% on-year growth. Samsung Electronics remains the worldwide leader in terms revenues, followed by LG Display and AU Optronics, according to DisplaySearch.

There was $6.9 billion in total LCD revenues for June. No matter how you look at it, that is a lot of LCD panels.

Panel makers however see the price drop as a possible stimulant to boost demand. They believe prices will stabilize in August, and stand a chance of rising in September, driven by back to school demand.

That means look for your bargins now to complete your 3 or 4 monitor setup!

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lcd, samsung, hardware, LG, revenue, sales, AU Optronics

Posted 07/19/08 at 02:09:13 AM by Pulkit Chandna

It was more a question of when than if: Wii sales leaping past Xbox 360’s in the U.S. The Wii has formally breached Xbox 360’s bastion by going past its US sales tally, according to the latest data from NPD. Wii is now the best-selling console in the U.S also. The month of June proved to be quite fecund for the Wii, as the headcount of US Wii owners rose by 666,000 in this month. Nintendo has sold 10.9 million units of its popular 7th generation console in the States. The month of June was great for the US videogame industry as a whole. The PS3 saw a massive increase of 94% in sales compared to the preceding month and also trounced the Xbox 360 to finish second.

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microsoft, sony, ps3, Xbox 360, nintendo, wii, data, june, sales, npd, best selling console

Posted 07/11/08 at 02:30:45 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The nascent ultra-portable market has been bristling with brimful of good news and has been extremely sprightly. But finally there is some bad news from the world of netbooks. Asustek has announced that it could only manage to ship 1.7 million of its Eee PC netbooks in the first half of 2008 and failed its own expectations by 300,000 units.

However, unperturbed and undeterred, Asustek is sticking to its target of 5 million Eee PC shipments in 2008. A shortage of Intel’s Atom processors is being held responsible for Asustek’s failure to meet its Eee PC shipping forecast. If the shortage persists than Asus might find it difficult to meet its shipping forecast for 2008. Moreover, it has got worthy competition in form of the MSI Wind which is a lot more enticing with its relatively cheaper, more value-for-money price tag.

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notebook, hardware, ultraportable, sales, msi wind, netbook, asustek eee pc, shipment