• Associated Press, Thursday, March 9, 2006 10:30 AM

Worldwide online game subscription revenue grew 43 percent to $2 billion in 2005, a fraction of the estimated $29 billion in worldwide video game sales, according to research firm DFC Intelligence. Massively multiplayer online games, like Blizzard Entertainment's "The World of Warcraft," accounted for half of subscription sales, while so-called casual games--easy to learn puzzle and card games--accounted for roughly $400 million in subscription sales. Sports, shooters and children's games brought in the rest. The research group predicts massive growth for online games in the next five years, forecasting $6.8 billion in subscription sales by 2011. Much of this projected growth will come from the next generation of Internet-enabled consoles, the group said; today, the vast majority of subscription revenues come from PC-based games.

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