Online Games: How Big?

Last week video games makers converged on the German city of Leipzig at Europe’s biggest computer games fair. The most attention went to games featuring real-time competition between multiple players in different locations. Though still a relatively small market, online gaming has the potential to become a huge revenue-generator with subscription fees and higher games and console sales. Currently, according to London-based consultancy ScreenDigest, the Internet gaming market is projected to reach $1 billion this year, and to grow into a $2.2 billion market in Europe and North America by 2007.