Note on Video and Computer Games

By the late 1990s, video gaming had become part of the commercial mainstream, with annual revenues that exceeded those of the motion picture industry. In the past three decades, video gaming companies expanded their reach by offering violent adult-oriented games for men, social and fitness games for women, educational games for young children, and most recently, mental acuity games for senior citizens. In 2006, the market for gaming software continued to expand as all three dominant console makers introduced new systems with “improved graphics, greater online functionality and expanded artificial intelligence capabilities.” According to IDG, an industry research firm, such improvements would help grow video gaming revenues in North America and Europe by 30 per cent from $14 billion in 2005 to $18 billion in 2009. This note is intended to be used as an industry background supplement to the case The Launch of the Sony PlayStation 3, product 9B07A014.