Interactive Entertainment in Europe Will Be Driven By Online Games
A study commissioned by the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and conducted by Screen Digest has revealed new statistics that seem to indicate online gaming in all of its forms is likely to be the main revenue driver for interactive entertainment in Europe.
The study suggests that consumer spending on emerging game technology and the evolution of video game platforms on consoles, PCs, mobile devices and interactive TV will experience more than 5000 percent growth or from EUR$127 million last year to EUR$5.6 billion in 2006.
"As the technology, networks and business models come together, online gaming in all its forms will become the next significant growth driver in the interactive entertainment business," said Ben Keen, co-author of the study.
The main factor driving broadband subscriptions in Europe is thought to be online console gaming, and Screen Digest predicts 16.6 million households will be broadband-enabled in the next five years.
Hurdles First, Then Big Profit Expected for Mobile Gaming Market
Market analysts Frost & Sullivan recently released new analysis of the mobile gaming market that reveals the potential and the hurdles facing this sector in the near future.
According Frost & Sullivan's report, the world mobile market saw revenue of US$436.4 million in 2001. Based on steady growth in the messaging, Web accessibility and downloadable mobile gaming sectors, Frost & Sullivan predicts revenues in the range of US$9.34 billion by 2008.
Hindering the growth of this market, said Frost & Sullivan, is the inability for mobile service providers to bill for third-party services, such as game play, as people are wary of paying for such services with their credit card at the time of purchase. Additionally, the already well-known aversion to paying for online content will carry over to the mobile pay-for-content model and operators will need to make a compelling case to convince users to pay for the services.
"Network operators will face an uphill challenge in getting consumers to pay for premium mobile content such as games," said Sullivan Research Analyst Kshitij Moghe. "The Internet model of free content has become well engraved in consumer attitudes, especially in North America."
Number of Internet Users in India Falls Sharply
Figures released by India's Department of Telecommunications and reported on by ZDNet show a sharp decline in the number of Internet subscribers in that country.
Between March 2002 and June 2002, the number of Internet subscribers dropped from 4 million to 3.3 million, or an 18 percent decline. The cause for the drop is speculated to be from the failure of free Internet service providers and the recent mergers of major service providers.
On the bright side, April 2002 saw India introduce and legalize Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony services, which has boosted Internet usage time by 20 percent.
Internet Newcomers in Japan Use Broadband
A recently conducted survey by Yahoo Japan Corp. polled new Internet users in that country about how they are connecting to the Internet.
Results of the poll of 42,700 people show that, of those using the Internet for the first time this year, 52 percent use ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and another 22 percent use other broadband service types to connect. Twenty-two percent of new users are connecting through their phone lines.
A Yahoo Japan Corp. company representative said, "The results underline that broadband services, including asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) services, have further spread around the nation, and prices of such services have become affordable".
European 'E-Workers' to Increase Dramatically
The U.K. Institute for Employment Studies has released a report citing a trend that will dramatically increase the number of remote or 'e-workers' in Europe.
The number of e-workers is expected to reach 27 million by 2010 and account for nearly one-sixth of the entire European workforce. There are currently a little more than 9 million, or six percent, of European workers employed in this manner.
The study divided e-workers into categories such as teleworkers, multi-locational e-workers, e-lancers and e-enabled self-employed based on the amount and type of work done at home or in a home office.