March 15th, 2009 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Analysis & Editorial | No Comments »
CSMG released its report on the global video games market and its impact on operators. Fuelled by increased and faster networks, the dramatic growth in the market presents opportunities for operators to capture a greater share of the market.
“Despite the current economic downturn, gaming has proven to be resilient in these trying times and is the leading entertainment segment that is fueling growth,” said Rich Nespola, Chairman and CEO of TMNG Global. “The expansion of casual games, simpler user interfaces and the proliferation of innovative business models is broadening the gamer demographic. The timing is ripe for service providers to hedge the business cycle by capturing the robust opportunities to grow the mobile gaming market.”
The report finds that the global gaming industry is expected reach $40 billion in annual revenues by 2012. By comparison, U.S. gaming software sales reached $20 billion in 2008 from $9.4 billion in 2005. Mobile games represents the fastest growing segment with a 24.6% (CAGR) compound annual growth rate forecasted for 2007 through 2012. The average age of a gamer has increased to 33 years and female gamers now reach almost 50 percent across many types of games.
According to CSMG, service providers are well positioned to become a compelling digital distribution channel for video games given their existing assets. Carriers already have a scalable network infrastructure, established subscriber base, sophisticated billing systems and bundled product portfolios. Furthermore, service providers can leverage its network to offer value added services such as VoIP and IP chat to enhance the consumer experience and drive adoption.
“Service providers cannot afford to be late to the game in capturing the value created by the video games market and will need to create new business models to adequately capture the mobile gaming growth opportunities,” said Armaghan Farooq, Manager, CSMG.
The report finds that the standardization of mobile software platforms presents the biggest opportunity for service providers in capturing a greater share of mobile gaming. Operators have the opportunity to create a standards based mobile gaming marketplace. This approach will encourage and incent the mobile gaming developer base, with the potential to accelerate market growth by increasing gamer penetration, gaming ARPU (average revenue per user), on-deck/off-deck purchases and operator and developer revenue share.
