Video Game Industry Numbers
Gaming is a huge industry and it is growing fast. Once a niche market and considered by some as a curiosity in the mid-1970s, the computer and video game industry took in about USD$9.5 billion in the US in 2007 (ESA annual report). Halo 3, the top selling game in 2007, brought in more money in its first day of sales than the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie–Spiderman 3.
The ESA’s report showed that 63% of the US population plays video games, and 30% played more in 2007 than in 2006. This acceptance of gaming, along with the expansion of demographics that are spending time and money on gaming, has made some in the retail world take note, and it’s expected that more stores in the future will begin allocating more shelf space to games and related hardware. Sales of video game hardware and software will be at $21 billion in 2012, according to eMarketer.
All this spending and gaming has gotten marketers attention and more and more advertisers are becoming integrated into video games, since that’s where people are spending their time, attention and money.
The opportunities to make money gaming are there. Will you take advantage of them?