Online Gaming Essay -- Video Games Computer

Introduction "The video gaming industry generates revenue of between 18 and 25 billion US dollars per year (according to various estimates), with development costs, revenue and use/audience comparable (and often exceeding) that of the movie industry."--John Kirriemuir, Ceangal Why should businesses care about gaming? After all, how much are people willing to spend on entertainment? Surprisingly, quite a lot. The video gaming industry generates revenue of between 18 and 25 billion US dollars per year (according to various estimates), with development costs, revenue and use/audience comparable (and often exceeding) that of the movie industry. With the arrival of the next-generation online consoles from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsft, the industry expects to surpass $30 billion by 2009(RocSearch Ltd). Both arguments show that the video game industry as a contender in the media markets. As such, business leaders expecting to make their mark in the media industries must acquire an understanding of video games on a global level. Doing so will require a look at the three major video game markets: Asia, North America, and Europe. The purpose of this site is to ask the major global questions: Does online gaming change from region to region? Who are the online gamers in these markets? How do the different markets respond to online gaming? What are the positive and negative aspects of online gaming? And finally, what is the future of online gaming? Follow the links on the left for the answers. The Pros & Cons of Online Gaming "But as far as videogames are concerned, I think we've got very strong support in general. There are a lot of software companies and nobody's been able to get all the programmers to devote themselves... ... * Kelly, R.V.(2004). Massively multiplayer online role-playing games : the people, the addiction and the playing experience.NJ: McFarland & Co. * Drotner, Kirsten (2001). Medier for Fremtiden. Copenhagen: HÃ ¸st og SÃ ¸n. Websites Consulted: * DW Staff. . 2002. * Glenn, Elias. 2004. * ESA. 2005. * RocSearch. 2005. * Berkowitz, Ben. 2004. * Terdiman, Daniel. 2005. * Play Online. 2004. * Game Research. 2002.