We all know the story. Ever since the launch of the NES, the video game market has exploded. Within 21 years the gaming industry went from being almost extinct, to one of the fastest markets that can closely compete with Hollywood. The 7.4 billion dollar market has managed to capture 67% of Americans.
So where’s the market now?
About every four years, the market leaders throw in their bets as too what the Gaming industry as a whole will bring in. Ubisoft’s CEO, Yves Guillemot showed his statistics at the Leipzig game convention last week.
“There are so many new customers to the business; this is going to grow the market tremendously. I expect the market to grow by 50 percent in the next four years,”
Fifty percent increase! It’s surprising, but when you take a step back and look at the past 9 months, you can really see that Guillemot’s prediction is clear. When Nintendo used the Wii to break the dam dividing gamers and non-gamers, they unlocked a market that will fuel the video game market for another 20 years. What Nintendo did, benefits everyone. Take Microsoft’s own, Jeff Bell, for example. When industry growth is mentioned, he tells us why.
“I certainly hope so. I’d like to see the industry grow and be robust. In many ways, I’m thankful the Wii has been as successful as it has. The data that I’ve seen has not suggested that in fact these are new gamers. It does look like their Gamecube owners and Nintendo fans. But if it does grow the market, good for all of us. I don’t see any problem that has both a Wii and a 360. In fact I would expect that you’d see that, as they are very different experiences.”
Countless other developers are praising the Wii and DS for improving sales through and through. Though once the casual gamers are completely conquered the big question will be”¦what markets are left to tap into? But we’ll save that for a later time.
With all these predictions aside, lets enjoy the golden age of video games. Here’s to you Nintendo, for giving the current industry a much needed reboot.
Where do you see the gaming market in the next four years?