Austin, Texas - The Game Initiative, the organizer of the Austin Game Conference and a producer of conferences and events for game industry professionals, announced new market research detailing the growth of the online game industry. The news was presented at the Austin Game Conference (AGC), the fourth-annual event that brought together more than 2400 game industry professionals from 20 countries representing more than 520 companies.
The online game market will grow from $1.1 billion in 2005 to $4.4 billion by 2010 in North America, according to a new study conducted by Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market research and consulting company. Currently, PC gamers spend an average of 18.5 hours playing each week--more than console (13.6 hours), portable (8.9 hours), or mobile games (4.6 hours). Of those PC gamers, 70 percent play some form of multiplayer online game.
Additional market research, forecasts, and current industry trends from researchers Parks Associates, NPD Group, and MMOGChart.com was discussed in detail at the Austin Game Conference.