Matt Martin 20:09 (BST)
08/08/2007

Online console market worth $10.5bn by 2011

Analyst predicts connected consoles to account for 19 per cent of market

The online console market will be worth USD 10.5 billion by 2011, with connected home consoles accounting for 18.6 per cent of global videogame market revenue.

That's a leap from USD 981 million in 2007, representing just 2.5 per cent of the global games market, according to new research from IDC.

Entirely separate from PC gaming, the online console market will be crucial to the success of the format holders and third-party publishers, with subscription fees, paid for downloadable content and in-game advertising all key to growth.

"Gamers' use of connected consoles is expanding the business opportunities and cash flow this console cycle," says Billy Pidgeon, program manager for IDC.

"This emerging sector has huge potential. Getting gamers online and enticing them to spend on content and services is crucial for vendors and publishers."

The research shows that revenue from downloadable content is set to soar between 2007 and 2011. Worth an estimated USD 493 million in 2007, it's expected to grow to a massive USD 7.2 billion in 2011, or 68.6 per cent.

Although subscription revenue for online services and games is set to grow from USD 476 million in 2007 to USD 2.4 billion in 2011, its share of online console revenues will drop from 48.5 per cent to 23.2 per cent in 2011.

And considered to be still in its early stages, revenue from advertising sponsored services, in-game ads and product placement within the console market, is expected to reach USD 12 million in 2007, growing to 858 million in 2011, or 8.2 per cent of online revenue.