Games Industry To Double By 2011

GamesDailyBiz is reporting that the games industry will double in market size by 2011. This is according to a study, not some sort of time-scrying device. From the article: "The videogame industry has been growing exponentially in recent years, and a new study from ABI Research has indicated that the growth will continue. According to the study, the videogame market will expand from $32.6 billion in 2005 to $65.9 billion in 2011. Online and mobile gaming will be the primary source of the growth, while the rest of the market will see growth, but to a lesser extent."

Comments

That is...

[sc0ttyb]

Until everyone gets tired of playing the same old unimaginative crap over and over.

As the industry gets bigger, fewer companies are going to risk making games that don't fit a norm. Right now we're seeing tons and tons of me-too/same-old games coming out and very few new, refreshing game experiences. One of these days people are going to get tired of playing Unreal Tournament 2600, Madden 80 Hojillion, and Need For Speed: New Cars. Well, maybe not. If people can watch the same damn sports games only with different rosters over and over and over again, then I assume they'll continue to play games of this type as well.

We're in for a shake-up, and I think that Nintendo just might be on to something. Surely, the PS3 and Xbox 360 are very powerful machines, but the cost of producing a 14-20 hour game at or beyond the quality level of all previous offerings can be staggering. I expect that we'll soon begin to see the trouble the movie industry is currently having: multimillion dollar budgets for titles that ultimately flop.

We do still have the occasional rare nugget of gaming goodness that's truly unique and fun, but I don't know how long that'll last.

Despite all this naysaying, I am still hopeful for the future of the hobby I love.