Gaming Grows To Nearly US$100 Billion

Market researchers Newzoo early this morning released an update into their annual analysis of the video game industry, and their results aren’t really that surprising.

Games make a metric shit load of money.

[credit provider=”Shutterstock / Iryna Tiumentseva” url=”http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-301782131/”]

Researchers Newzoo update their annual analysis into the industry every quarter, and according to their latest projections video games will generate US$99.6 billion in revenue this year alone.

The majority of that comes from PC and MMO games; smartphones (but not tablet devices); and consoles, with consoles just barely the largest segment. Tablets are expected to make up around 10% of that figure, while the market for handhelds is expected to shrink.

The Asian-Pacific market is also now the largest segment in gaming, worth a staggering US$46.6 billion. China accounts for US$24.4 billion of that, an amount that is expected to grow to US$28.9 billion.

Perhaps more interesting than the segment breakdowns is the expectations for virtual reality. “Worth noting is that Newzoo expects game software revenues from VR to remain marginal for the near future and to largely substitute other game spending on console, PC and mobile,” the firm says.

“In the short to medium term, Newzoo expects the lion’s share of VR revenues to be generated by hardware sales, spectator content, and live viewing formats.”

The firm says one of the biggest drivers for the industry is “the convergence of games and video on a global scale, with esports at the epicenter”. “This trend is transforming games into all-round entertainment franchises, opening up new ways of engagement and complementary revenue streams,” they added.


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