The PC game industry may be switching from a retail business to a digital download revenue model but gamers still need to buy hardware to play their games. A new press release from Jon Peddie Research claims that the hardcore Enthusiast class of gamer represented 46 percent of the revenues generated by PC game-related hardware purchases in 2009.

The press release says the study shows that the Enthusiast class will represent a smaller percentage in future years as more dollars are spent by the less hardcore Performance and Mainstream classes. However the overall PC gaming hardware market is still expected to increase and the study claims the Enthusiast class will see its revenues increase from $9.5 billion to almost $12.5 billion by 2013.