Video-game sales overtaking music
It's a tale of dueling trajectories -- global trends will converge this year, a new study says, and the video-game industry in the U.S. will surpass the music industry in 2008.
By Reuters
The video-game sector will remain one of the above-average growth segments of the global entertainment industries through 2011, with global games spending set to exceed music spending this year, according to consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In the United States, the size of the games market will exceed that of the ailing music sector next year, PricewaterhouseCoopers projects.
Key growth engines will include online and wireless games, new-generation consoles and the burgeoning in-game advertising business.
The predictions are all part of the eighth annual edition of PwC's "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook" report, released last week.
By 2011, the worldwide gaming market will be worth $48.9 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% during the five-year period, with gains slowing every year because of the maturation of the current generation of consoles, according to the report. The compound gains handily exceed the 6.4% advance that PwC foresees for the overall entertainment economy during the period.
Its data include consumer spending on games, but exclude spending on hardware and accessories.
"Video gaming is one of the most exciting stories in terms of pure growth numbers," said Marcel Fenez, PwC's global managing partner for its entertainment and media practice.
For the U.S. gaming business, PwC projects 6.7% compound annual gains for the five-year period, to $12.5 billion.
Asia-Pacific should remain the region with the highest overall spending on gaming during the period and reach $18.8 billion in 2011, PwC forecasts.
Despite its leading size, its 10% average annual gains will only be exceeded by the combined region of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which is pegged for a 10.2% compound annual gain and is set to remain at No. 2 in terms of worldwide gaming.
6/26/2007 3:00 PM ET
source: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...kingMusic.aspx
