New report questions gaming 'golden age'
Forrester investigate industry health
Listening to the boastful reports of games industry growth, the global significance of the industry and of course the wealth of the industry's major players, you could be forgiven for thinking that the arrival of the next-generation heralds the dawning of a 'golden age' of videogaming. In fact, as a report from research group Forrester notes, this may not be the case in the least. Market research concludes that gaming will continue to expand in popularity incrementally, and is still almost the exclusive preserve of young men - not quite the mass entertainment some of the industry's leading players would like us to believe. More over, the costs of developing for the latest hardware are beginning to outstrip the growth in audiences, meaning that profit margins will increasingly be squeezed, according to the report.
In fact, Forrester analyst Paul Jackson believes that in the future games makers will increasingly look to other models in order to drive profits, which will mean more in-game advertising, which remains largely untapped, and more subscription model games. Whilst we might point to the powerful multi-purpose functionality of devices like the PSP and, to a lesser extent, the Nintendo DS, as examples of how gaming is opening up to the mass market, Jackson's report suggests that these devices will in-turn be superseded by mobile phones and similar gizmos, which offer gaming and more in an instantly familiar product. Phones, not handheld consoles, will become the centres for convergence innovation, by the new report's reckoning.
That said, gaming is undeniably growing, steadily too, and PC gaming in particular could be at the advent of a major renaissance, thanks to the growing popularity of MMOG games. Indeed, Forrester note that despite the hype surrounding consoles, the PC remains the most popular gaming platform in all nations apart from the UK, France and Spain. There are also fears that console growth will slow, that a total market penetration point will be reached. The potential for the games industry remains huge then, but it may not be in the living room where the success will rest, but in the study, with the highly profitable subscription-based games. More as we get it.
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