Archives by Day

April 2024
SuMTuWThFSa
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930

About Rainier

PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

Advertising

As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.





Online Game Market Set to Grow According To 'DFC Report'

by Rainier on June 6, 2002 @ 2:31 p.m. PDT

A new research report from DFC Intelligence forecasts that 114 million people worldwide are expected to be playing online games by the year 2006. Furthermore, online game usage is expected to increase nearly six-fold in that period. According to David Cole, president of DFC Intelligence, "Online games should garner significant usage over the next few years. The major question mark is whether individual companies will be able to monetize that usage."
The report also discusses how top online games are now able to generate revenue in excess of $100 million each. "The end of 2001 saw another major success story with the release of Mythic Entertainment's Dark Age of Camelot, one of the fastest selling online games of all-time. This could bode well for some of the big budget online games being released in 2002," said Cole.

However, Cole also notes that the online game market is still in its infancy and already there are substantially more products in development than the market can support.

The report also looks closely at the issue of console online gaming. "Microsoft's Xbox Live service is probably the biggest investment in online games yet. It is likely to be a major indicator of the future of console online gaming," said Cole.

The report goes into detail about the difference between Microsoft's approach to online gaming and Sony and Nintendo's approach. DFC forecasts that by 2006, 23 million consumers worldwide will be playing console games online.

The 400-page report, The Online Game Market 2002, provides a complete market overview. Issues covered include the history of online games, business models, operating costs, technology considerations, online distribution, advertising, game genres, consumer types, playing online via video game console systems, and detailed company profiles.

blog comments powered by Disqus