How PC gaming is doing these days is something of a touchy subject today for people. Some say it's doing crap, some say it's great. Some say, who cares if half the money made comes from World of Warcraft? Others (i.e. myself), say one or two games can't be responsible for half (or more) of the industry. That's a pretty limited scope. If WoW was the only game making great profits on the PS3, 360 or Wii, in theory, would gamers say the same? I doubt it. Pretty sure they'd be whining, "Where's my [insert totally awesome console killer app here]?" (and rightfully so, there are a good many).

Anyhow, the PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) is here to tell you how things are going with its first "Horizons" Report, an exclusive research study of the PC industry, with a global perspective. Speaking at the Games Convention Developer's Conference (GCDC), PCGA prez Randy Stude revealed some interesting numbers: $10.7 billion was what came of computer gaming last year, with retail sales accounting for 30 percent of total revenues. This proved an increase over years previous, and was driven mostly by online revenues from Asia, the world's largest market, which evidently is responsible for nearly half of total global sales at this point.

Online PC gaming, now, generated $4.8 billion in revenues, about double the worldwide retail sales for PC titles. Digital distribution is on the rise, too, with those sales getting up to $2 billion. Advertising via websites, portals, and the games themselves made $800 million.

"Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming, proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported," said Stude. "Today's consumers shop where they live - online."

David Cole of DFC Intelligence - a "strategic market research and consulting firm" - says there's yet more room for growth as broadband gets bigger and better:

"By pioneering new business models, the PC has quietly remained the single leading platform for games, not only in terms of consumer usage, but revenue generation. The most fascinating thing about PC gaming is its ability to attract such a diverse audience, both demographically and geographically. The real key has been the rapid growth in penetration of broadband-connected PCs in all markets around the world. Broadband-connected PCs are the key driver of growth for PC gaming. DFC Intelligence estimated that by the end of 2007 less than one-third of households in the top 20 markets for games had a high-speed Internet connection. That clearly indicates that there is still plenty of growth to come. The initiatives of the PCGA will be a key enabler of growth as they will help the industry identify key trends and opportunities in this rapidly emerging market."

Things appear to be looking up for PC gaming in any case, though it could certainly stand to regain some of its previous success in North America and Europe. Will upcoming titles like Diablo III, Starcraft II, and Street Fighter IV help it become comparably as popular in its own right as consoles are these days?