Asia generates half of the World wide online game revenues, Europe representing 20%

PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 20, 2008 – In 2007, the global online games revenues — estimated between 3.5 to 4.5 Euro billion — are made 90% by PC games. 50% of revenues are generated in Asia, while North America accounts for about 30% and Europe 20%. This results from InfoCom’s report FTTX — EXPERIENCES AND STRATEGIES — Filling the pipe of the NGN, which contains an entire chapter dedicated to games applications.

South Korea represents indeed a large gaming community with around 17 mn of 48 mn total inhabitants playing regularly online games. Most of the online games are free to play, but require purchases to get to more advanced stages according to a so-called “free-to-play backed-by-item-sale” model. Online gaming providers generate revenues mainly by micro-transactions, i.e. sale of “items” like avatar customisation. The South Korean PC online games market in 2006 was estimated at EUR 800-850 mn, around 25% of the total online gaming revenues worldwide (and over 40% of the revenues generated in Asia), of which over 40% represented by Massive Multi-Player Online games (MMO). The study illustrates NCsoft’s and Webzen’s business models with fee structure for massive multi-player games, with detailed figures on single games, by country and number of users.

As of Japan, opinion poll among online gamers in 2006 revealed that the most popular equipment for game access was the PC (35%), followed by the mobile phone (~14%), the game console (~9%) and portable gaming device/PSP (~7%). An opinion poll showed that people are overall unwilling to pay for games.

The most popular games were table/card games, role-playing games and puzzles. The study illustrated the different models based on free games, games with monthly subscriptions, as well as charges for additional items during the game. NTT’s strategy so far has been to push gaming along its FTTx-based Internet access, with a cut-rate starter package to connect Wii consoles.

Despite Asian tiger nations playing a major role in developing gaming business models to fill their FTTx pipes, interesting developments are to be observed in Europe too. Altibox in Norway, for instance, is a partnership model for communities and power utilities owning a fibre optic network. Altibox does not only implement basic telephony or internet services for owners of infrastructure, but also offers access to leading Norvegian game platforms. GameConnect, in Sweden, a gaming platform offered to city carriers and ISPs, which pay for connecting their platform/network physically to the GameConnect server. And this way ISPs can give their own users access to the GameConnect services. In Italy, Fastweb’s gaming offers are part of an “interactive channels” offer within the TV services with Milestone as a sometimes exclusive partner.

This analysis, which encounters the main interesting gaming applications, provides also a detailed presentation of service offers as well as of the business models of the different players in different countries, with interesting examples of the different pricing models, offer details and partnerships between telecom carriers and game developers.

FTTX — EXPERIENCES AND STRATEGIES — Filling the pipe of the NGN is one of the latest InfoCom’s reports. With more than 100 pages of text and data market models, the study illustrates the different business models of players around the world, innovative providers and applications, service bundle offers, bandwidth needs of future applications and market drivers and obstacles, with potential assessment and forecasts.
FTTX — EXPERIENCES AND STRATEGIES — Filling the pipe of the NGN is only one of several reports that InfoCom provides. To know more, please contact us.