According to a new report from Parks Associates, a market research and consulting firm, online gaming revenues will increase from $1.1 billion in 2005 to $3.5 billion in 2009. Nearly half of this
growth will come from so-called networked games, which include online console gaming, massive multiplayer online games, multiplayer Internet gaming, and mobile multiplayer gaming. Roughly a quarter of
the total will come from digital downloads. The Parks Associates report, "Networked Gaming Driving the Future," states that "significant derivative revenue from in-game advertising" is something
publishers can count on in the future. Meanwhile, the console video game business is going through a rough patch, despite the arrival of the XBox 360 and the pending arrival of Sony's PlayStation 3.
Stock prices are falling for major publishers due to poor game sales the last several months, which bottomed out at an 18 percent year-over-year decline in sales this November.
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