The American Video Game Player

Two out of three adult Americans who are gamers are social consumers looking for entertaining experiences to share with friends, family, and strangers across multiple platforms. The adult American gamer comprises a market that can no longer be segmented as hardcore and casual and is underserved in key sectors such as online PC and mobile phones. The US entertainment and games software industry includes about 1,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $12 billion. Major companies include Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, THQ, and Take-Two Interactive, along with divisions of large integrated companies such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. The video game publishing segment is highly concentrated: the top 10 companies have over 80 percent market share. The game development segment is fragmented: most game development studios have a single location and fewer than 20 employees. Demand is driven primarily by personal income. The profitability of individual companies depends on an understanding of consumer needs, timely product development, and effective marketing. Large companies publish a portfolio of titles and have advantages of scale in manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and selling. Small development studios compete through creative designs and by partnering with large publishers. Computer and video games compete as a leisure time activity with TV, movies, music, the Internet, and other forms of electronic and non-electronic entertainment. Major entertainment and games software product segments are video game software (about 85 percent of revenues) for dedicated gaming machines that work with TVs, such as Sony’s PlayStation, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Nintendo’s Wii; and PC game software (about 15 percent). Video game software also includes content for portable handheld devices such as PSP (PlayStation Portable); Nintendo’s Game Cube and DS systems; and cell phones.