According to research compiled by Nielsen Games, the European Union is the second-largest videogaming territory in the world.
Gaming generated EUR 7.3 billion (USD 11.4 billion) in the European Union during 2007, compared with EUR 7.4 billion (USD 11.5 billion) in Asia and EUR 6.9 billion (USD 10.7 billion) in the United States.
The average age of a gamer in the UK is 33 – the highest out of the territories surveyed - and 42 per cent of UK game players have children.
Across Europe, 81 per cent of parents say that they enjoy playing games with their children.
Of those polled, 72 per cent found gaming "a fun way to spend time" - compared to 68 per cent for television and cinema - and 57 per cent believe that gaming "stimulates the imagination" - compared to 48 per cent for movies and 35 per cent for television.
The research also revealed that 93 per cent of Europeans recognise the PEGI age rating labels.
"This research confirms what the industry has realised for a long time - gaming is now enjoyed by an incredibly diverse audience," said ELSPA managing director Michael Rawlinson.
"And the UK is a particularly mature market – we have the oldest, most passionate gamers across Europe.
"The fact that gamers are growing up and enjoying gaming with their children illustrates the enduring nature of the medium. It's fair to say that, compared to other forms of entertainment, games are doing well."
The research, entitled Videogamers in Europe – 2008, was compiled by Nielsen Games based upon surveys of 6000 active gamers, aged 16-49, across 15 countries: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, Poland and Latvia.
New report from Skillsearch found that 22% of those surveyed had been laid off within the past 12 months.
It's a step forward for Stop Killing Games.
The Callisto Protocol director thinks the solution involves the right people, the right timing, and perhaps a little bit of AI
I don't agree with that. I WISH I could agree with that. But buying habits and customer opinions prove otherwise
We've seen developers in the AAA space try new things and ideas. More often than not, the customers aren't willing to give things a chance, or not enough people buy into the project for it to grow.
Creativity works better in the indie space because the budgets, pressures, and expectations aren't the same.
it's a nice idea and it worked during the PS2/PS3-era when AAA didn't cost hundreds of millions of dollars. smaller budgets and shorter development time left room for more creativity and more risk. a game didn't need to sell 4 million+ copies to break even. things are different now.
This is the guy who bragged about crunching his staff and having them work through the night. Crunch culture has lost more talent and done more damage to the industry than any other factor. Screw him.
finish the console war
finish it with MGS4
discard all your other consoles as you did with x360 ( 60% traded for either PS3 /Wii)
Thats why
PS3 is strongest in all the strong territories now. And it's still tieing and winning in the U.S. also ; P
But i am sure theyll spin it around somehow
ok, now it's unanimous,
X-Box 3rd60 will lose this console war.
The proof is right here. You PUTO Bots just lost your last foot hold in the U.S. to the Wii and Europe to the PS3