Disclaimer:
The opinions blogged herein represently only those of Rick E. Bruner and do not reflect those of his employer, persons or companies mentioned herein, or anyone else.
Client: Zona, Inc.
Released October 9, 2002
Zona, a supplier of out-sourced network infrastructure for the massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) developers, sponsored Executive Summary to analyze the market sector for this fascinating new breed online games. (MMOGs, like EverQuest, Ultima Online and Dark Ages of Camelot, allow thousands of players to interact in the same game space simultaneously. The five-year-old game genre has proven addictive for many players, who spend hours playing each week for subscription fees of $10 per month or more.) Through interviews with numerous industry insides and exhaustive review of existing research, reporting, business records, game-player commentary and more, Executive Summary produced a 50-page report that examined the trends driving this sector to what I project will be a nearly $3 billion worldwide industry by 2006.
Those trends include:
The potential profit for hit MMOG games is tremendous
Big business and Hollywood are investing heavily into MMOGs
The games have demonstrated wide international appeal, particularly in Asia, as well as in the U.S. and Europe
Users are increasingly willing to pay for content
Broadband adoption continues to grow steadily
The 'next-generation' of game consoles are all pushing online games
New massive multiplayer games, including Sims Online, Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Harry Pottyer, Marvel Comics-based games, Toontown (from Disney) for kids, and others, are expected to break through to the mainstream audience in the coming months.
To review a copy of the report, please contact David Libby.