Video Game Industry: Market Research Reports, Statistics and Analysis

Key Market Segments

• Climbing world demand for Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) is expected to push the market to over $14 billion by 2015, according to Global Industry Analysts. Technological developments along with faster, wider-reaching broadband connectivity are driving the market.

• The world social gaming market almost hit the $1.5 billion mark in 2010, reports Business Insights. The market is expected to reach close to $4 billion by 2015, with the US a leading region generating sales of $1.2 billion, followed by Japan at $570 million. There are currently 600 million social gamers worldwide, with China representing close to 110 million, followed by the US at 95 million gamers. By 2015, it is predicted there will be close to 275 million gamers in China and 150 million in the US. Leading game companies include Playdom, CrowdStar, Synga, Digital Chocolate and EA.

• With consumers connecting to the internet with smartphones, gaming has become increasingly mobile. More than 27% of smartphone subscribers have installed one game or more, with close to 35% having installed at least five on their phones, according to Visiongain. Mobile game makers, and phone and electronic device makers have been collaborating to capitalize on the trend towards mobile gaming.

• The world game console market is expected to reach almost $25 billion by 2014, according to MarketLine, representing almost 13% growth in five years. The Americas represent almost 45% of the overall market. The three leading companies in the market are Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.

Regional Market Share

• India’s gaming market is predicted to grow by 30% by 2014, reports Netscribes. The market is lead by mobile gaming, which represents close to 60% of the overall market. Gaming competitions, the creation of gaming zones and increasingly popular MMOGs will fuel the market. Service providers are likely to generate higher revenue, and 3D games will become increasingly popular.

• China’s games and accessories market is expected to continue recording strong growth. Peripherals and accessories represent a leading market segment, with increasing demand for auxiliary devices to keep up with gaming product innovation.

• The online game market in Korea reached a value of over $2 billion in 2011, reports Pearl Research. Game companies in Korea continue to concentrate on international business, expanding in the US, the EU, China and Japan. Of the $585 million generated by leading game operator Nexon, the largest share came from business outside of Korea.

Market Outlook

The global gaming industry has seen consumer demand soar thanks to social networking, technological innovation favoring mobile gaming, and the popularity of cyber communities promoting collective online gaming. Marketing and distribution is being facilitated by social networking sites, which do much of the work of attracting an increasing numbers of gamers.

As ever, IP protection and piracy remain major issues for the industry, which continues to lose revenues do to illegal downloading.

Moving forward, the global gaming industry is likely to represent an ever-present contender for other media, including music and TV. As the cultural trend towards social networking and gaming continues, consumers are as likely to log in to play a leading game (like World of Warcraft) as they are to switch on the TV to watch a film. 

Leading Industry Associations

• American Gaming Association www.americangaming.org
• Entertainment Software Association www.theesa.com
• National Video Game Association http://nvgaonline.com
• Interactive Software Federation of Europe www.isfe.eu
• European Games Developer Federation www.egdf.eu