If you've been avoiding jumping into the MMO pool, you may not be able to for much longer.
by Daemon Hatfield
March 20, 2007 - A report released today by media analyst Screen Digest suggests that massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) are here to stay and are going to become even more popular over the next several years. Titled "Western World MMOG Market: 2006 Review and Forecasts to 2011," the report finds that the MMO market in North America and Europe hit one billion for the first time in 2006.Most of the cash generated from MMOs comes from subscriptions, which account for 87 percent of the market. But new business models like in-game advertising and microtransactions are on the rise, and are expected to slice a bigger piece of the pie in the coming years. In 2006, the North American subscription market hit $576 million, and Europe rose to $299 million. Europe has seen the fastest growth over the last few years, rising from $74 million in 2004, and is expected to see the most growth over the next few, as well.
MMO publishers can follow this green staircase to the money pile.
World of Warcraft is still the most popular subscription MMO in the Western market, by far. Blizzard's money-printing machine accounted for 54 percent of the subscription market in 2006 and generated $471 million in revenue. WoW's next-nearest competitor is Jagex's RuneScape, a much smaller-profile game from a boutique developer. Overall subscription revenue in the Western market in 2006 was worth $875 million.
Here's a screenshot from the new Pac-Man MMO.
"During the past few years the Western landscape for MMOGs has become increasingly fragmented following the introduction of new genres of game including social networking, virtual pet rearing, and virtual world building title," says Piers Harding-Rolls, Games Analyst at Screen Digest. "These new games and platforms have brought with them many new gamers and also new business models that are generating revenue that is largely incremental to the incumbent subscription business."By 2011, Screen Digest predicts over 10 million subscription accounts will be generating $1.5 billion in MMO revenue. Germany should maintain the largest amount of subscriptions in Europe, followed by the UK. France is set to see the strongest growth of European countries, growing 15 percent annually, with Spain and Italy both growing by 14 percent a year.Piers Harding-Rolls says, "Growth in the market will be primarily driven by increasing broadband household penetration, increasing penetration of online console platforms, and the continued introduction of more casual MMOG experiences, which are attractive to a wide number of consumers."
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