John-ShepardAlthough the recent recession hit just about everything hard, gaming has been on the upswing and analysts are predicting big numbers for the future.
According to a series of reports recently released by DFC Intelligence , it has been predicted that worldwide gaming revenues will top $70 billion in 2015. If it comes true, that would represent a leap of 16% from the $60.4 billion DFC counted for 2009; the numbers in question "represent the firm's best estimates of the global total of revenues derived from console, PC, portable, and online games, from boxed products and subscription fees to microtransactions." Now, that 16% growth wouldn't be considered amazing given the rate the industry was growing prior to 2008, but the crash from a few years back has caused analysts to revise their estimates…and still, 16% ain't a bad prediction. At the same time, DFC warns the industry will actually shrink over the next few years, as they expect much of the anticipated growth to occur between 2013 and 2015. As the current generation of systems age and as the trend towards online gaming continues to rise, gaming may take a total revenue hit in the immediate future. But all in all, things are pointing up, and we should be encouraged.
And of course, the consumer can always do his part by rewarding developers for fantastic efforts. The more we do that, the more greatness we'll have; it's a fairly straightforward circle.
Market crashes or not, gaming is one business that is not going anywhere anytime soon. It's been a real pleasure watching gaming go from such humble beginnings to this worldwide entertainment giant.
Completely agree. I feel as if I've grown up along side video games. lol, I was an infant during it's infancy. Now it's a full grown adult with me too! ^.^
As if you got a downvote for that. lol. Good comment, Alienange.
We "geeks" and "nerds" are finally becoming the social norm! Yahhh!!!
At my school, whenever someone uses the word "nerd" as if they genuinely mean it as a slur, the get dirty looks! ;P
I'm felling pretty geeked up.
I'd like to – plan to – be a part of this industry some day. I grin a happy grin.
Yet some companies wanna ask us to pay for demos and then there's this other compan saying that they need to sell half of the game first and that if we want the rest we'd have to buy it online, lol…
Anyway, games is the best hobby there is, maybe tied with anime.
It'll keep advancing like this
The morale in the gaming world should be high as the industry continues to progress. The true potential of the PS3 is starting to show, great games and constant updates to the PSN shows good work all the way around, and I'm sure that if developers keep giving us good games we will have no problem rewarding them for their efforts 🙂
I hope that 16% jump is made (which is a pretty serious leap for one year) and has anybody else noticed that there are ten times as many good games coming out as movies lately?
holy tap dancing christ thats allot of cashola!!!
i always said people have too much money, but god they did not have to prove it to me.
wonder what part of that would be made up of used sales. i walked into EB on monday to pick up alpha protocol and blur and they were deserted, they always normally are. but than i went back on wednesday on my day off and they were packed because they started their used games sale.
not bad actually, for once EBs cheap i picked up splinter cell conviction, ME 2, metro 2033, burnout paradise and mirrors edge for a mere 200 bucks. just SPC and ME2 alone are worth that much!!!
I don't want to be sexist as there're sure alot of girl gamers out there, it's just that I seen a show on tv around the start of the recession where we all started feeling the pinch.
It was about how different industries where being affected by the down turn in the economys and womens make-up product sales where on the rise and rise whilst everywhere else was in decline. The theory that the show put forward was that this was the womens way of lifting their spirits through the doom and gloom and pampering themselves was making for good business.
I figure you could apply that same theory to gaming, or infact most forms of entertainment. We all need some outlet to get us away from the pressures of the recession. 16% isn't half bad considering how hard it must be for some people to fork out full whack on the latest titles.
The fact that some people rearrange their prioritys to buy these games, in hard financial times, is evidence enough of how we're all looking for an escape.
I wish I had the 'mere 200 bucks' to blow on games. Maybe when I find a new job, until then I'll settle for 1 or 2 games a month now.
my point exactly the gaming industry is the only industry that has not suffered a loss in revenue.
food prices have gone through the roof thats certainly not helping either.
I do not think it will happen, the world ends in 2012.
This goes back to my original statement on the article Ben wrote about how more developers and publishers are looking to charge for online play.
Paying for Xbox Live, overly priced DLC, and online access for used games is nothing more then a continuation of nickle and diming the consumer base. You can take a mile from people if you do it 10 feet at a time.
Why do I feel this way? The video game business is now a multi-billion dollar entertainment giant that now rivals Hollywood. The global economy as a whole, is not. See the US and EU woes for example.
16% growth doesn't sound like much, that is until you understand that 16% equals 9.6 billion dollars. Yes, I understand that this money is spread worldwide and divided amongst thousands of companies. We are not talking about chump change here. Allow me to provide a nice visual reference for you —
If you were to tightly stack $100US dollar bills on each other, a 16% (9.6 US billion) stack would be 38,400 ft tall. That's 7.2 miles in height (or roughly 11.5 kilometers for our non-American friends). Keeping this in mind, let me ask you this.. How tall would your stack be?
I am well aware that certain peope who read this might take offense, or feel the need to offer some type of rebuttal. Perhaps some of you might take up the cause to defend the industry.
To those who might feel compelled to do so, you'll have to excuse me. For I am not wealthy, I do not live at home with mom and dad, I am not single, and I have children. I am not complaining one bit about any of the above. I love where my life is.
Anyways, now that my rant is over, I am glad to see the video game business grow into the titan it is today. Just don't forget about where you came from Mr. Gaming Giant, and the people who made it possible!!
Last edited by maxpontiac on 5/28/2010 10:41:40 AM
I like what you're saying. I pretty much feel the same way.
Stop talking about Splinter Cell Conviction all the time ________, the game sucks! NO GAMES ARE WORTH THAT MUCH MONEY.
This is great news, only a few more years and I will be well on my way to choosing the ideal Development studio to work with and hopefully become the Art Director I always wanted to be.
Last edited by BeezleDrop on 5/28/2010 2:07:28 PM
right the game sucks so thats why it got 9s across the board?
whatever.