GAMES AND SOCIAL VIRTUAL WORLDS

Games and Virtual Worlds

Game Usage Worldwide

• 19 January, 2007 USThe Australian
  • Overall US video game sales rose 18 per cent to $US13.5 billion in 2006, boosted by new consoles from Sony and Nintendo and titles like Madden NFL 07 and World of Warcraft, market research firm NPD has reported.
  • Sales of video games and accessories for consoles and portable devices grew to $US12.5 billion from $US10.5 billion in 2005. Revenue from PC games rose 1 per cent to top $US970 million in 2006.
  • US Top 10 console/handheld video games 2006
    • 1. Madden NFL 07, EA
    • 2. Cars, THQ
    • 3. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, LucasArts
    • 4. NCAA Football 07, EA
    • 5. New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo
    • 6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted, EA
    • 7. Gears of War, Microsoft
    • 8. Call of Duty 3, Activision.
    • 9. Lego Star Wars, LucasArts
    • 10. Fight Night Round 3, EA
  • US Top 10 PC games 2006
    • 1. World Of Warcraft, Vivendi
    • 2. The Sims 2, EA
    • 3. The Sims 2: Open For Business Expansion Pack, EA
    • 4. Star Wars: Empire At War, LucasArts
    • 5. The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack, EA
    • 6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Take-Two Interactive
    • 7. Age Of Empires III, Microsoft
    • 8. The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff Expansion Pack, EA
    • 9. Civilization IV, Take-Two
    • 10. The Sims 2 Nightlife Expansion Pack, EA

• 29 November, 2006 – US - USC-Annenberg Digital Future Project survey Hollywood Reporter
  • Internet users reported going to the movies and playing video games more than nonusers, spending 0.2 more hours per week in the theater and nearly one more hour per week gaming. Nonusers reported spending two more hours listening to the radio than Internet users.

• 14 July, 2006 - Overall U.S. video game sales jumped 25 % in June to $844.5 million. - Yahoo News

• 12 July, 2006 - Avatar activists see red article Sydney Morning Herald
  • According to some estimates, there's already 25-35 million online game-players in China, a figure that is forecast to grow to 80 million by 2010, according to China-based research firm Pacific Epoch.

• 24 June, 2006 The Age - The computer and video game industry globally generated $24.5 billion in revenue during 2004, outstripping cinema box-office receipts. According to a recent survey commissioned by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, 76 per cent of Australian households have a device for playing games and 38 per cent of players are female. About 70 per cent of people who play do so at least once a week. Other sources conservatively estimate that about 10 million people around the world regularly play multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft and Everquest, with typical users spending about 25 hours a week logged in. Gaming companies also committed more than $1 billion in 2004 to the creation of online play spaces.

• 21 June, 2006 PWC Global Ent & Media Outlook: 2006-2010 - Worldwide
  • By 2010, the worldwide video game market should grow to $46.5billion, at an average 11.4% compound annual rate which compares with the filmed entertainment business, estimated to grow at a 5.3% compound annual rate, to become a $104 billion market by 2010, or the television networks business expected to grow at a 6.6% rate to $227 billion.
  • Asia Pacific should grow even faster than the U.S. for the same period bringing a $9.8 billion market in 2005 to $17.4 billion by 2010, a 12.3% compound annual increase.
  • Europe, the Middle East and Africa will lead the globe in terms of video game growth at a 13% compound annual rate through 2010 reaching a $13.9 billion market size, up from $7.6 billion last year.
  • In the Asia Pacific market, wireless and online games are expected to grow at about the same rate (23% compounded annually) with online games reaching $4.4 billion and wireless reaching $4.2 billion by 2010.[1]

• 21 June, 2006 PWC Global Ent & Media Outlook: 2006-2010 - US
  • The estimated $8.4 billion U.S. video game market of 2005 likely will grow 8.9%, to hit $13 billion in 2010, lagging Asia Pacific and the combined region of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
  • In the U.S. PwC expects wireless games to grow the fastest -28.6%-ballooning from a $646 million market last year to $2.3 billion by 2010, triple the rate for the overall video game market in the country.[2]

• 28 Feb, 2006 - Paris, France - Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced plans to release a fully localised Spanish version of World of Warcraft®, its popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The Spanish version will represent the fourth language available to players in Europe. World of Warcraft's European customer base is currently at more than 1 million players, with the worldwide total now at more than 6 million players.

• 30 Jan, 2006 - More Parents Playing Video Games article Sydney Morning Herald
  • The average Australian computer and video game player is 24 years of age
  • Approximately 60% are male and 40% are female
  • 70% of Oz PCs are game compatible
  • 10.6mill units sold worldwide in 04
  • Thirty-five percent of parents, say they play, too
  • 80 percent of that segment play video games with their children
  • The average "gamer parent" spends 19 hours a month playing video games
  • Two-thirds of the gamer parents said they feel that playing video games has brought their families closer together.
  • The typical gamer parent is 37, and almost half the group are women.
  • Twenty-seven percent of gamer parents began playing video games around the same time their children started.

• By 2008 games will eclipse music and be the world's 2nd most popular form of entertainment. - source Price Waterhouse Coopers

• 38% of game players are female. - source Gameplay

• 72% of gamers play for more than 1 hour at any one time. - Gameplay

• The global 2002 electronic games market was estimated at $40.8 billion, surpassing box office receipts of $39.6 billion - Price Waterhouse Coopers

• Young men (18-34) play 12.5 hours of videogames a week, versus 9.8 hours watching TV - Nielsen Entertainment

• Gamers spend over $700 a year on console games, PC games, and gaming accessories - IGN Gamer Study

• Today, the average gamer is 29, and nearly 40 % of all gamers are female. Additionally, both education and household income of a typical gamer is above average

Game Usage Australia

• January 18 2007 Australia IEAA report CNet
  • The introduction of two new consoles helped spur the Australian games industry to new highs in 2006, with overall sales clocking in at AU$925 million for the year.
  • 2006 game sales down under rose by 7 percent from 2005.
  • Most of the growth can be attributed to hardware, which grew by 18 percent in 2006 to account for AU$329 million in sales.
  • Game software accounted for A$596 million worth of sales last year, a marginal rise of only 1 percent from 2005 figures.
  • The overall number of games sold experienced a dip -- 12.5 million games were sold in Australia in 2006 compared to 12.6 million in 2005.
  • 2007 will be a considerable year for hardware sales and the Australian interactive games industry will comfortably exceed the A$1 billion mark IEAA CEO predicted.

• 14 December, 2006 Australia The Age
  • Australians have spent more than $1 billion on interactive games and consoles this year following the arrival of new "next-generation" systems.
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates Australians have treated themselves to more than $800 million of games software this year, an increase of 20 per cent since 2005.
  • Spending on games hardware was $400 million - a rise of 47 per cent.
  • Sony has now sold more than 2.1 million PS2 consoles which means they are in 27 per cent of Australian households.

• 30 November 30, 2006 Australia - Australian Electronic Game Profile Report, a study commissioned by the Game Developers’ Association of Australia Sumea
  • The Australian gaming industry is growing at a quick rate. The employment base of the industry has grown to 1,600 individuals, which is a sixty-percent increase over the last three years.
  • Studies also show that the Australian gaming industry is amounting to revenues of AU$110 million.
  • Of the 12 largest companies in Australia, five are in Queensland, five in Victoria, one is in NSW, and one is in the Australian Capital Territory. - 37 percent of the industry's permanent employees are based in Queensland; 46 percent are based in Melbourne. - 77 percent of games companies think attracting talented staff is the biggest hurdle to the industry's growth.

• 28 Jun, 2006 - The strongest growth in the Interactive Industry occurred in 2005 retail gaming hardware figures, experiencing an 8 per cent growth through increased console sales. This strengthening of the market comes after two years of slower returns where competition saw a worldwide trend in cheaper hardware. Overall software figures continued to climb in 2005, lifting the total retail value of the industry by 119 per cent since 2000. source AFC

• 2.5 mill play console games in Oz

• 35% of Australian households have a dedicated console gaming system (IEAA)

• 72% are male, 28% female

• 45% are 0-18 year olds, 36% are 18-35 year olds and 36+ year olds are 19%

• Over 84% of 7-17 year old Australians own a computer game console - Nielsen 04

• In 1996 a total of six Australian companies were developing electronic game software. By 2003 this number had increased to over 50 - House of Reps Jun 04

Online Role Playing Worlds

Second life - a MMOW, Massively Multiplayer Online World

• 16 June 06 - Comparison between Second Life and World of Warcraft source G Hayes comp
  • SL Residents (subs) 257 353 yesterday - World of Warcraft - 6.5 million
  • SL Sub Fees $10/45 pm - Wow - $15pm
  • SL land major purchase one off $5-$2500+! - WoW - game/software fee $60 US approx
  • Transfers from real world to game world - SL. $1=$300Linden. WoW. $100=1000gold
  • Money traded per month SL - Av $2mill . Wow - Av ?
  • Concurrent users: SL around 6000 - WoW max 200 000
  • Specialization: SL - buy goods created by users. WoW - buy in-story elements
  • Creation. SL - user generated 98% ‘world’. WoW - developer generated ‘game’
  • SL - expensive goods, land, fashion, avatar customisation, people
  • WoW - expensive goods, gold, skills, weapons, levels
  • WoW - many earn over $120k pa. SL - many earn over $50k pa. AnsheChung makes around $115k pa
  • Immersion: SL - motivation ‘escapism and social’. WoW - ‘narrative addiction and group gameplay’
  • SL is really a Massive Multiuser Online World
• 1 June 06 - Current users 220 000, Spend during April 2006 - US$16 000, 50 000 users spent between US$16 and US$1600 each. Over half of the residents have been active in last two months.

source Second Life Economic Report

Casual Games

• - Online gaming attracts more women than men Hollywood Reporter
  • Nielsen's extensive survey of demographic, age and gender trends in the video game space found that as of August, about 117 million people in the U.S. qualified as "active gamers," meaning they spend at least one hour per week on a gaming device. That's up from 112 million last year. Of the active gamers, 56% play games online, and 64% of those online players are women, according to the study.
  • Teenagers still comprise the largest chunk of the active gamer universe at 48 million, followed by players in the 18-24 age range (17.5 million). About 15 million active gamers are 45 or older.
  • According to the report, active gamers spend upward of five hours a week playing games socially, a pace led by teenagers, who are socially involved in gaming about 13 hours per week.
  • While women are dominant among online gamers, men still outnumber women in the overall video game space by more than 2-to-1 (70%-30%). Older females make up the largest percentage of casual gamers, usually playing online card and puzzle games. Thanks to casual games and the emergence of massively multiplayer online games, 64% of active gamers play on a PC. About 24% of active gamers engage in gaming on their mobile devices.
  • Active gamers generally average about 14 hours a week on their consoles, while they often play as many as 17 hours a week on such hand-held systems as Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. About one-quarter (24%) of active gamers also play on their mobile phones. The majority of active gamers also own at least a console and one other platform, with the level of cross-ownership between consoles and hand-helds more than doubling (7% to 16%) between 2005 and 2006 to date.
  • During the past six months, active gamers purchased an average of four games and five DVDs. Of those, 90% were bought in retail stores, with the remaining 10% purchased online. On average, active gamers spend 47 hours playing each individual game they have purchased.

• 6 September, 2006 - Casual games — a genre loosely describing simpler games that can be played in short spurts or for long stretches — are expected to post worldwide revenues of $953 million this year, up from $713 million last year, according to DFC Intelligence Yahoo News.

• ‘Checkers’ and other traditional games has 20 times players of hardcore games like EverQuest. souce Warren

• 82.5 million players worldwide. source Warren

• Mostly 35+ years & Female

• Ruling class of casual gamers = mums and grandmas. source Wall Street Journal

Massive Multiplayer Games

• 2 June 2006, MMORPG Hours vs. TV Hours source Daedalus Project
  • MMORPG gamers spend on average 21.0 hours per week playing the game (survey number 1996), and spend on average 7.7 hours per week watching TV. The national average for TV watching per week is around 28, which is what the above averages add up to. In other words, this suggests time that was spent watching TV has been displaced by MMORPG playing. Female players are on average older than male players (33.0 vs. 28.4, N male = 1587, N female = 379, p < .001) and also spend more hours in the game than male players (22.3 vs. 19.0, p < .001).
  • Among male players, age correlates positively with hours of TV watched per week (r = .08, p = .003). Among female players, age correlates positively with hours spent playing an MMORPG per week (r = .12, p = .02). With both male and female players, hours spent playing an MMORPG does not correlate with hours spent watching TV (r = .03 and r = -.03 respectively, p’s > .05).
  • The following table shows average weekly hours spent playing MMORPGs and watching TV among MMORPG players. Of interest is the spike in play-time among female players over the age of 35. The trend among male players appears to be mostly linear.
  • 

• MMORPGS (online role playing games) are already at $1bill US in Asia Pacific

• Already games are bigger than box office at $10bill US

• In the next 4 years games will surpass music sales

• Sales of virtual property inside RPGs at $100mill US

• Around 9.5 million hooked players paying $10US per month. Total revenue approx. $1.2 bill US per year

Mobile Games

• January 9, 2007 US Mobile Gaming The Australian
  • Mobile gaming accounted for 14 per cent of EA's revenue in the fiscal year ended March 2006, or $US393 million.
  • Research firm IDC said US mobile game revenue hit $US722 million in 2006.
  • According to research firm IDC, the audience of mobile game purchasers in the United States will grow more than 16 per cent annually to reach nearly 50 million by 2010, substantially increasing total mobile gaming revenue by the end of the decade.

• 12 December, 2006 SMH
  • Australians will spend about $500 million this year downloading games, ring tones and pictures to their mobiles, a figure expected to double year-on-year.
  • Worldwide, $3 billion will be spent this year on mobile games, rising to $17 billion by 2011.
  • American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy says the Jamdat acquisition helped to position EA immediately as the leader in the mobile gaming space and was a significant long-term purchase.
  • A recent study by researchers Nielsen Entertainment in six countries found mobile phone users are now playing games more often and for longer periods - 80 per cent of respondents said they played at least once a week and the average play session was 28 minutes.