Gartner has released a report forecasting $74 billion in revenue for the video game industry this year. This 10% rise from 2010 is largely credited to smart phones and tablets, which are expected to be a major driver of sales going forward. The report stated, “mobile games are the most downloaded application category across most application stores. For this reason, mobile gaming will continue to thrive as more consumers expand their use of new and innovative portable connected devices.”
With smart phone gaming and micro-transactions in traditionally subscription-based games, Gartner expects a compound annual growth rate of 27% through 2015, a year in which the industry will be pulling down $112 billion. If anything’s clear, it’s that video games are no longer a child’s hobby; this is big business.
