It is a known fact that the video games market is huge, but it seems that its going to expand even more! According to a Gamasutra article, market research firm DFC Intelligence has come out with a report that states that the video games market expected to grow from an existing value of around $33 billion to as much as $47 billion by 2009.
The DFC Intelligence indicates that the PC games market will grow to over $13 billion by 2012 but a key portion of the growth will come from online games revenue such as subscriptions, advertising and digital distribution. As for the consoles, the PS3, Wii and the Xbox 360 will together sell between 180 and 210 million units by 2012, which is more than the total during the PlayStation 2 era. Also, the report mentions that Nintendo Wii as well as the Sony PS3 will dominate and the Microsoft Xbox 360 will come third in the long run. It states that the portable games market is also expected to continue to increase.
David Cole is an analyst with David Cole. He explains, “Revenue from portable game software has more than doubled in recent years and we think that the Nintendo DS could eventually become the best selling game system ever in five years. The Xbox 360 will need to build a strong base outside North America to avoid being in a fairly distant third.”
It looks like there is a lot of potential in the gaming industry but what remains to be seen is whether the consumers will get their due. There are many blockbuster titles lined up for the PC as well as the next-gen consoles. However, gamers will be looking for more innovative and genre-defining games and if they are supplied with that, then the gaming industry will get a greater impetus.