The PC Gaming Alliance is a non-profit organization of hardware manufacturers, game developers, game publishers and others, with the goal of promoting and advancing the PC

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 as a gaming platform.

The PC Gaming Alliance was announced during the Game Developers' Conference 2008.

Goals and activities

PCGA is among other things working to develop marketing

Marketing

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

 for PC games, combat piracy

Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

, developing new business model

Business model

A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...

s beyond retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 sales, and establishing minimum hardware requirements for PC games, along with guidelines for developers to make games work for those requirements. According to president Randy Stude, the PC Gaming Alliance is to "help make certain that the PC game industry had a public voice and a pulpit for accurately communicating the size, growth and overall popularity of the single largest gaming platform worldwide." They will also perform market research for their members and the public.

Members

• Acer Inc./Gateway, Inc.
  Gateway, Inc.
  Gateway Computer Corporation, is a computer hardware company headquartered in Irvine, California, USA which develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories...
  
  
• AMD
  Advanced Micro Devices
  Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
  
  
• Antec
  Antec
  Antec, Inc. is an American-based maker of PC components and accessories. Antec's principal products are computer cases and power supplies. Antec also offers PC cooling products and notebook accessories. Founded in 1986, the company is headquartered in Fremont, California, U.S.A., with additional...
  
  
• BFG Technologies
  BFG Technologies
  BFG Technologies was a privately held U.S.-based supplier of power supplies and 3D video cards based on NVIDIA graphics technology and a manufacturer of high-end gaming/home theater computer systems. BFG Technologies branded products were available in North America and Europe at retailers and...
  
  
• Bigfoot Networks
• Capcom
  Capcom
  is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
  
  
• Dell
  Dell
  Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
  
  /Alienware
  Alienware
  Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidary of Dell, Inc. It mainly assembles third party components into desktops and laptops with custom enclosures for high-performance gaming. These products also support graphically intense applications such as video editing, simulation, and audio editing...
  
   (formerly)
• Entertainment Merchants Association
  Entertainment merchants association
  The Entertainment Merchants Association is the not-for-profit international trade association dedicated to advancing the interests of the $32 billion home entertainment industry....
  
  
• Epic Games
  Epic Games
  Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
  
  
• Flextronics
  Flextronics
  Flextronics International Ltd. is an electronics manufacturing services provider that offers services to original equipment manufacturers . It also provides supporting supply chain services, including packaging and transportation throughout the world, as well as design and after-sales...
  
  
• GameStop
  GameStop
  GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
  
  
• GameTap
  GameTap
  GameTap is an American online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "first of its kind broadband gaming network", the service provides users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content...
  
  
• Gas Powered Games
  Gas Powered Games
  Gas Powered Games is a video game developer located in Redmond, Washington. The development studio was started in May 1998 by Chris Taylor, creator of Total Annihilation, and several other ex-Cavedog Entertainment employees....
  
  
• Howie's Game Shack
• InstantAction
  InstantAction
  InstantAction was a web gaming site and digital distributor featuring 3D, browser-based games.The site was created by game and technology developer GarageGames after its acquisition in 2007 and released a year later. InstantAction's goal was to allow publishers and developers the ability to embed...
  
  
• Intel Corp.
• Logitech
  Logitech
  Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
  
  
• Microsoft
  Microsoft
  Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
  
   (formerly)
• Nvidia
  NVIDIA
  Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
  
   (formerly)
• Pyxel Arts Digital Entertainment S.L.
• Razer USA Ltd.
  Razer USA Ltd
  Razer is a privately held computer peripherals manufacturer specializing in products specifically marketed to gamers.Razer's main slogan is 'FOR GAMERS, BY GAMERS'....
  
  
• Sony DADC (formerly)
• Southern Methodist University Guildhall
  The Guildhall at SMU
  The Guildhall at SMU is a video game university located at the Southern Methodist University Plano campus. Students learn how to create a game, from the basics to a total conversion. Graduates present their work at a semiannual exhibition...
  
  
• WildTangent
  WildTangent
  WildTangent is a Redmond, Washington based game network, privately held in the United States that powers game services for several PC manufacturers including HP, Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, Samsung, Acer and Lenovo...
  
  

See also

• Games for Windows
  Games for Windows
  Games for Windows is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of Windows Vista. The brand represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way...
  
  
• GamePC Consortium
  GamePC Consortium
  The GamePC Consortium was an ad-hoc PC industry standards organization in the mid-1990s. It was founded through the joint efforts of ATI's Ken Nicholson and Diamond Multimedia's Glenn Coffman. The two competing companies shared a common interest in the evolution of PC games and agreed that the...
  
   -- a similar organization formed in the mid-1990s
• Multimedia PC
  Multimedia PC
  The Multimedia PC, or MPC, was a recommended configuration for a PC with a CD-ROM drive. The standard was set and named by the "Multimedia PC Marketing Council", which was a working group of the Software Publishers Association . The MPMC comprised companies including Microsoft, Creative Labs,...
  
  , an early effort by the SPA to define levels of PC hardware capabilities