It took more than 35 years for the global games business to grow to $35 billion in 2007, the year that the iPhone was introduced. Since then, the games market has added an extra $100 billion in revenues to arrive at this year’s total of $137.9 billion worldwide, according to the global games market report 2018 from Newzoo. The uptake of smartphones has been a key contributor to the accelerated growth of the games market, in terms of both engagement and revenues, but is only one of the many factors that have brought us to where we are today.
The way games are run has changed completely in only 10 years, from both an organisational and a business perspective, regardless of platform. Add to that the ongoing global alignment of distribution channels, franchises, and business models and it becomes clear that this is more than several individual trends happening simultaneously. Ultimately, the consumer has determined the pace of change. No other form of entertainment or media gives as much power to the consumer as games. Today, not only do games empower people to actively participate, but allow them to enjoy their passion for gaming in ways that suit any mood, interest, lifestyle, location, and budget. The viewing experience is part of games’ DNA. Almost any new game includes competitive modes that could lead to a professional esports scene, including live events, pro-gamer heroes, and teams with millions of fans.
The global games industry has reinvented itself to maximise consumer engagement and revenue growth on a global scale. This global games market report 2018 features a new segmentation based on engagement in three different dimensions: playing, viewing, and owning.
The global games market report 2018 also details:
- Key global trends
- Games as IP – thinking bigger
- Mobile gaming – start of a new growth phase
- Games as a service is the new normal
- Gaming gives power to consumers to accelerate change
- Streaming and esports spark all-around entertainment
- Hyper-casual games unlock value in social networks
- Immersion and competition bring the gaming experience to mobile
- Gaming drives innovation acros consumer markets
- Cloud gaming gets a new chance
- The next big thing – subscription-based gaming is the start of a new business model
- The global games market
- Regional revenue
- Device revenue
- Regional overview
- Territory revenue
To download the full Newzoo global games market report 2018, please click here.
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