A recent report issued by industry analysts Newzoo indicates that the U.S. gaming consumers spend approximately $25.3 billion per year.
Culled from data pulled from the 2009 Today’s Gamers Survey, operated in conjunction with global search firm TNS, the Newzoo Games Market Report brings to light not only some staggering monetary figures, but also reveals where, exactly, this money is being spent. A total of 13,000 gamers were surveyed, and Newzoo speculates that there are approximately 183.5 million gamers in the U.S.
Almost half of all sales made in the video game industry in the United States (46 percent) can be attributed to the trading (buying/selling) of used titles, as well as online forms of payment(s) – subscriptions, virtual currencies, microtransactions, and digital distribution or downloadable content.
What this means is that the remaining 54 percent of sales are still coming from “traditional” (read:boxed) forms of games revenue generation. When viewed from Europe, these numbers are even higher with Belgium having a 59 percent “traditional” revenue making model, with up to 78 percent in France.
U.S. gamers clearly prefer consoles, as the largest percentage of the spending is on console based games – $15 billion. This includes both home and handheld gaming software. PC spending scores a paltry 2nd, with only $4.5 billion headed in it’s direction. Mobile device (i.e. smartphones) take home around $1.1 billion, MMOs, $2.12 billion, and Game Portals $2.78 billion.
Below are highlights from the Newzoo Games Market Report available for only 299 EU
Tags: digital distribution, downloadable content, microtransaction, mobile device, Smartphones, video game industry
