Many people think of video games as “kids stuff”. They do not realize the true size of the market and opportunity across all age levels. How big do you think total revenues for the video game industry in the U.S. is annually?

Newzoo, a Dutch research firm, estimates that 183.5 million gamers spent $25.29 billion in the US last year according to their latest report. This matches with the estimates from NPD and others.

2009 GAMING POPULATION & SALES (Estimated)

• US: 183.5 million / $25.29 billion
• UK: 31.3 million / £3.78 billion ($5.61 billion)
• Germany: 35.5 million / €3.65 billion ($4.67 billion)
• France: 25.4 million / €3.57 billion ($4.57 billion)
• Netherlands: 9.3 million / €590 million ($754 million)
• Belgium: 4.7 million / €570 million ($729 million)

 2009 GAME SALES – US

• Console (including handhelds): 60%
• PC: 16%
• Game portals: 11%
• Massively multiplayer online: 8%
• Mobile (incl. iPhone): 4% 

In many ways, new platforms such as the iPhone and iPad have lowered the barrier to entry for independent developers, while increasing the need to focus on marketing and community building. This provides a great opportunity for new and existing developers. There is also a growing need to integrate technology that is readily available in other industries.

Are their opportunities for your company in the gaming industry? There may be more possibilities for extending your technology into the industry than is evident at initial glance.

Read more about the report from NewZoo here.

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