Hey evryone,

Straight to the point, forget about WIndows store, Window Phone 8 and Windows 8 tablets for a minute. I have a medium of level of game programming knowledge using C++ and Direct X, so my question is, Is games for the PC's even relevant anymore? Can I still target the PC market and make games people will enjoy without using the likes of the Windows Store. Most games I see on there are really not that graphic intense. Say for instance I make a small shooter for a windows machine, compile it and get an .exe file, will this still be able to run on WIndows 8 machines.

I use to sit for hours in a day learning game programming using C++, never really got anywhere with it and decided to move on to mobile, being Android, and although I like the idea of making little apps and getting the results out quicker, self publishing, I really am not to keen on Java when it come to games programming.

So basically I want to know is if the market and want is still kicking for PC games, with traditional C++. SInce I struggled to learn it.

Is games for the PC's even relevant anymore?

Yes.

According to Wikipedia we are rapidly approaching 2 billion personal computers in use globally. Not a total of 2 billion computers sold since the 1970s, but personal computers in active use.

If you create a broad market game you have a potential customer base of perhaps 1/7 of Earth's population.

The rate of home computer purchases is still trending upward. More people are buying laptops for themselves and their children, and that means more potential customers as well.

So I can still create a pure C++ game and it will be able to play on Windows 8 and WIndows 7 as an executable.

Yes of course. You can make games with C++ for Win7 and Win8 just fine. The whole "the sky is falling" effect around PC market and Windows 8 being "bad for games" is just blatant lies.

Thanks guys you have been very helpful,. I just have one last question, For PC games I know I can self publish, but is there anywhere besides Steam that I can host my game so other could download and potentially buy. Like a PC games marketplace, besides the Windows Store.

Say for instance I make a small shooter for a windows machine, compile it and get an .exe file, will this still be able to run on WIndows 8 machines.

I use to sit for hours in a day learning game programming using C++, never really got anywhere with it and decided to move on to mobile, being Android, and although I like the idea of making little apps and getting the results out quicker, self publishing, I really am not to keen on Java when it come to games programming.