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Games Industry Growth Outpacing US Economy

Posted by Zonk on from the plenty-of-blocks-and-coins-to-go-around dept.

Gamasutra is reporting that the Entertainment Software Association believes the games industry has outstripped the US economy as a whole. In fact, the group found that the industry grew by an astonishing 17% between 2003-2006, some 13% faster than the general US economy. "The ESA states that the video game industry contributed $3.8 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2006. Though 24,000 are directly employed, according to the report in total 80,000 are employed directly and indirectly by the industry in 31 states and U.S.-based game industry employees received a total of $2.2 billion in compensation. Predictably, California is the largest employer in the video game industry, accounting for around 40% of the nation's industry jobs. California industry growth was 12.3% last year, which the ESA claims is "nearly three times faster" than the state's overall growth."

7 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Self-perpetuation by arootbeer · · Score: 2, Funny

    Games Industry Growth Outpacing US Economy A trend like this will continue until the economy stops growing at all, and all people do is either write games or play them.
  2. Not that amazing, really... by Lendrick · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...seeing as how nowadays you can outpace the US economy just by not tanking.

  3. Re:Eating someone elses lunch by feepness · · Score: 4, Funny

    Music and cinema have declined in the last 10 years. This may be why (not piracy). If music and cinema didn't want their lunches stolen they should have marked there lunches and not left them in the fridge over the weekend.
  4. Re:its news stories like these.... by snowraver1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    You have to use currency conversion in order to make that work.

    Assuming an exchange rate of $10 to one chicken (the cost in the store, live chickens may be less, chicks SIGNIFICANTLY less.) The game industry would only be contributing a whopping 380 million chickens.

    Now imaging batering in crickets. Crickets cost only $0.10! That would work out to 38 BILLION crickets. Now that is ALOT.

    You could also go crazy and barter with something that has no value at all, like dog shit. Now you get an INFINATE amount of dog shit that you can bater with.

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  5. and yet... by DragonTHC · · Score: 2, Funny

    most of us still can't break into the industry! go figure.

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    They're using their grammar skills there.
  6. Re:Move? by Saige · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can do it my way.

    Keep trying to find a position at Microsoft until you get one. Once you do, then they'll relocate you to the Seattle area. Spend a couple years on the team doing good work and befriending people on the Xbox team until positions open up. Start applying for them.

    Here I am, working on the Xbox, and I love it. And now that I have experience in the game industry, it'll be a lot easier to continue to stay in it should I want to leave Microsoft.

    Yes, I realize that to most people on /., the thought of working at MS is unpalatable. I'm just saying.

    --
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  7. What this really means by c0d3h4x0r · · Score: 2, Funny

    More people are spending more time gaming and less time working :-)

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