With the growth of the Internet and the ever improving speeds at which we can surf the web, online gaming becomes more and more popular. Whether it’s playing your favourite MOBA, watching people stream their gameplay online or even the odd session on online casino sites it seems that the growth of online gaming shows no signs of slowing down.
With this level of growth though also comes controversy and some shocking facts. However, some of these facts are not that shocking to everybody. As the world changes and more and more people take to online gaming there are some surprising things taking place.
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The Growth of Online Gaming Has Trebled since 2005
With the size of the online gaming market hitting $41.4 billion dollars that is a huge amount of money. Taking into account the fact that it was worth around $13.8 million in 2005 and this shows the rate of change in the industry. Such success is never frowned upon; it is a sign of a sector that is in good health.
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Online Sales Are Huge
Another statistic that is interesting and surprising is the amount of global online sales. Reaching a height of $24 billion in 2012, it is projected to hit $40 by the end of 2017. A big part of this has been the rise of the mobile games and the ever successful “free-to-play” model where in-game transactions are pushing the market to new heights. The freemium model games and popularity of online casinos are set to help sales stay high for some time to come.
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Social Gaming is Popular with Older Generations
We often think of gaming as being a young person’s pastime, and derogatory stereotypes are often push this belief. The truth is social gaming is being picked up by older generations too. What we have to remember is the fact that these people are the ones who originally played the retro games we see today, and they have stuck with games to this day. Should it be so shocking that they are still fans? Even if it is just Facebook games or online casino sites, these are still gamers who help keep the market going.
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Over 50% of Gamers Are Female
Latest statistics tell us that around 52% of gamers are in fact female. In a gaming community that is often frowned upon for its treatment of women, this is a sign that views must change. Bad press continues to surround gaming at the moment, and that is a problem for everybody. Hopefully times will change and the gaming industry and the people who play it can concentrate on the important thing, playing the actual games.
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Online Gambling is a Huge Part of the Success of Social Gaming
Just looking at the fact that the UK’s online gambling sector has risen to over £2 billion shows the power of this area of the gaming world. It continues to grow, as do other forms of gaming, and as technology improves we can expect bigger and better things.
While these facts may be shocking to some, it will not be to others. With Virtual Reality and other advances improving our ability to play games together, I’m sure even more shocking revelations will appear to show how well gaming is doing in this Internet age.
