Online market worth USD 13 billion by 2012 - DFC

The worldwide online gaming market will surpass USD 13 billion (EUR 9.6 bn) by 2012, according to research from DFC Intelligence, with digital distribution via home consoles accounting for USD 1 billion (EUR 744m).

Although subscriptions will still account for the majority of business, the company predicts that sales of virtual items and digital distribution will account for 40 per cent of the market.

"For PC games, digital distribution is expected to become the leading business model in East Asia," said the report. "However, the videogame console systems are expected to see strong growth in digital distribution and by 2012, revenue from digital distribution on console systems is expected to pass USD 1 billion."

The report points out that although East Asian countries are leading the online gaming market, it's expected that Europe and Japan will show strong market growth over the next five years.

And while MMORPGs accounted for over half of online gaming revenue in 2006, DFC expects that the fastest growing game genres are likely to be first-person shooters, sports and racing games.