We all sort of knew that virtual worlds usage would continue to grow over the years, but a new report put out by Strategy Anayltics has given us some numbers to think about -- and they're pretty darn big. They've predicted that by 2015, the overall population of virtual worlds will go from what it is now at 186 million people all the way up to 640 million, or more than triple today's userbase. Here's the firm's breakdown of the populations today and in the future:
"Kids" in this case refers to those aged 5 to 9, and as can be seen in the above table, this group is predicted to grow the most over the years. As for how companies will cash in on all this growth, subscriptions are still listed as one of the key drivers of revenue, but 86% of revenue in 2015 will come from microtransactions -- this equates to a growth from 2008's microtransaction figure of roughly $1 billion, to $17.3 billion in six years time.
[Via Virtual Worlds News]
Reader Comments (6)
Posted: Jun 16th 2009 10:07AM Miffy said
If thats right then it means more easy mode kids mmorpgs :( I think in a few more years us old timer mmorpg players will have nothing... well we have nothing today actually cause they've all been ruined.
Posted: Jun 16th 2009 12:21PM (Unverified) said
Alright Mr Doom and Gloom
Here is what I see
Adult - 11.5 million to 32.5
That's TRIPLE the ADULTS there are now. I would imagine they will have something to play that appeals to them aside from "WoW 2".
Reply
Here is what I see
Adult - 11.5 million to 32.5
That's TRIPLE the ADULTS there are now. I would imagine they will have something to play that appeals to them aside from "WoW 2".
Posted: Jun 16th 2009 11:43AM (Unverified) said
Time to make a new mmo and get cash...
Posted: Jun 16th 2009 5:41PM (Unverified) said
Actually, while the 'kid' category has the largest proportional increase, the tween/teen category is still going to grow the most. The growth in the tween/teen category alone is larger than the entire population of the kid category. While certainly we'll see more kid friendly MMOs, the real market are teenagers (based on these predictions).
Posted: Jun 17th 2009 4:04PM Miffy said
why woulda you make a game for 30 million when you could make a game for 300 mill?
Posted: Jul 28th 2009 7:12AM (Unverified) said
Does anybody have any experience with this market research firm?








