DFC Intelligence, an accounting firm and strategic market analyst group has let loose some figures involving the future revenue of the video game industry and it's looking good, especially if you're into PC gaming.
According to GameIndustry.biz International, DFC has estimated that games will grow quite steadily from the $50 billion or so earned over the course of 2011 and by 2017 the market will have increased by more than 20% to an impressive $70 billion.
DFC states that the revenue is split three ways between PCs, consoles and mobile devices. The PC market leads the bunch with 39% of the market share value, followed closely by console at 36% of the market and mobile devices are last with only 25% of the revenue share.
David Cole, CEO of DFC Intelligence comments that...
"While the game industry is expanding on all fronts with new demographic groups playing games on a regular basis, the core consumer still remains male, age 12 to 30,"..."In every segment, the key growth factor is improving access and monetization capabilities to that core demographic. Digital distribution, already widely accepted among core gamers globally, is clearly broadening access to products and driving much of the industry growth."
Very true, according to the NPD Group, in America alone there are 64 million kids playing games who are destined to be core gamers, taking their hard earned money and dumping it into some of the most sought after and anticipated interactive entertainment titles.
But it's not just retail packages that are moving SKUs. The digital space is growing rapidly and DFC is seeing that free-to-play titles are playing a big role in revenue, as well, with Cole stating that...
"Gamers tend to make purchases several times a year in bulk sums of around $20 to $50," .... "A successful game should count on an average paying consumer spending $75 a year for two years."
Yeah even I got caught in that money-trap a few times. It's easy with addictive, core-titles that are also free-to-play. Also, Gamigo and MMOSite both estimate that core gamers are really digging MMOs and digital multiplayer games, while NewZoo's market data corresponds to DFC insofar that free-to-play games are where core gamers are headed, for PC.
However, even though free-to-play titles are the ones that may be on the rise in the PC market, Facebook and social games are not the brunt of what core gamers are playing. This is entirely unsurprising as there is a deep-rooted, seething resentment amongst core gamers for Zynga-type titles, which are basically money pits without actual gameplay. DFC's David Cole states that...
"The bottom line is core gamers spend money on products they like and right now the game offerings on sites like Facebook are simply not appealing to that demographic,"
No duh, Sherlock.
Why other devs keep saying that Facebook-like games (especially those on mobile devices) will somehow curb-stomp hardcore gaming into the dirt is really beyond me. But as DFC states, we can expect to see the market continue to flourish and grow both in terms of core gaming on home platforms, as well as with mobile devices.
You can learn more about DFC Intelligence by paying a visit to their Official Website.
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