Understanding where Unangst is coming from requires people to look at the bigger picture. The PC gaming market cannot be judged by NPD US stats alone. Per usual, the PC has been leading innovations in business models, new revenue streams and distribution. US NPD sales do not reflect subscription revenues and paid content downloads, two areas alone that can generate enormous revenues on the PC platform.

And even though there was a slight decline in US retail sales in 2007, Unangst says that online revenues are "more than making up" for those losses reported at brick-and-mortar retail.

Microsoft has been working with the NPD Group on new regularly-scheduled reports that will track online revenues, which should give publishers, developers and gamers the information that Unangst feels is required to facilitate a perception change. "I think you're going to begin seeing what's a more accurate picture of what's really going on in PC gaming, and then people can stop judging the success or failure of the segment by monthly reports from NPD and retailers."

Unangst is also quick to point out that, according to NPD data from 2007, US consumers bought more Windows games at retail than Wii (36 million units vs. 31 million) and spent more on PC games at retail than PS3 ($910.7 million vs. $740 million).

moscallout"You're going to begin seeing what's a more accurate picture of what's really going on in PC gaming, and then people can stop judging the success or failure of the segment by monthly reports from NPD and retailers."/moscallout"...Anyone who feels and believes that the PC gaming market overall is in decline is totally mistaken," Unangst reiterates. "It's just about making sure that the whole picture is viewed, and people get that data. But frankly, that's part of our responsibility, to make sure that as a platform holder, we work not just with all these analysts and NPD, but also with other companies."

The US does play an important role in the PC gaming business, but it's not the be-all-end-all of the market. In many European and Asian countries, PC gaming is more popular than consoles, and retail revenues have actually grown in Europe, according to Unangst.

Research firm DFC Intelligence forecast that PC games generated $8.2 billion worldwide in 2007, taking into account online distribution and retail. $5.1 billion of that came from online sales, according to the firm.

PC gaming is about as global of a market as you can get, and that must be taken into consideration when checking the segment's barometer.

"We see stronger ties to the PC and certain game types [overseas]...The US has had a larger focus on consoles, historically. People like to follow the console battles in the big three markets of Japan, the US and the UK."

Games for Windows - Live: What's the status?

Microsoft formed the Games for Windows initiative about a year ago, with the goal being to create a set of standards and criteria for PC game developers, publishers and retailers. GFW is meant to help raise the quality and ease-of-use of PC games, while creating a more pleasing aesthetic at retail with consistent branding and demo kiosks. So far, around 60 games carry the GFW branding and over 10,000 retailers worldwide have adopted the initiative, according to Microsoft.