Post by Segaman on Jul 12, 2004 15:39:26 GMT -5
From CNET, "The boom in this niche could be a saving grace for the gaming industry, which is expected to see fluctuating hardware and software sales in the coming years."
"Falling console prices are a big driver in the shift, the Yankee Group said. Priced at $299 when they launched, console prices are expected to fall as low as $49 within the next five years."
"One segment that's giving the online-gaming industry a boost is 'massively multiplayer online games.' According to the Yankee Group study, in the United States alone there will be 5.2 million people subscribing to these games by 2008, generating $556 million in revenue. By comparison, the approximate number of people subscribed to these games in 2003 was 2.4 million, with a revenue base of $209 million."
"Asia is said to be the next big market for massively multiplayer online games. While most retail game publishers in the United States have so far ignored Asia because of widespread piracy there, that's less of a problem with games that have huge subscriber bases, because the bulk of the revenue from those games is derived from monthly subscriptions. Many online-game developers have been eyeing China because of its sheer market size."
"Falling console prices are a big driver in the shift, the Yankee Group said. Priced at $299 when they launched, console prices are expected to fall as low as $49 within the next five years."
"One segment that's giving the online-gaming industry a boost is 'massively multiplayer online games.' According to the Yankee Group study, in the United States alone there will be 5.2 million people subscribing to these games by 2008, generating $556 million in revenue. By comparison, the approximate number of people subscribed to these games in 2003 was 2.4 million, with a revenue base of $209 million."
"Asia is said to be the next big market for massively multiplayer online games. While most retail game publishers in the United States have so far ignored Asia because of widespread piracy there, that's less of a problem with games that have huge subscriber bases, because the bulk of the revenue from those games is derived from monthly subscriptions. Many online-game developers have been eyeing China because of its sheer market size."
