Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.

EA’s Riccitiello: Over a Billion Gamers in the World Today

This article is over 15 years old and may contain outdated information
image

EA big boss John Riccitiello thinks that there are more than a billion people playing games all across the world, and that the emergence of online gaming has played a huge part in rapidly expanding that market.

In case you didn’t get the memo around the time last month when Modern Warfare 2 smashed pretty much every single entertainment record in the book, gaming is a pretty big deal these days. But while mainstream games are more popular than ever, the number of people playing games skyrockets when you count all the stay-at-home moms playing Peggle, or the millions playing FarmVille and Mafia Wars on facebook.

In fact, in an interview with PBS, EA CEO John Riccitiello said that he was being conservative with an estimate that there were a billion gamers in the world today.

“With the advent of the new digital media landscape, we’ve seen a torrent of new consumers. Conservatively, if I add up mobile users who play games, social network people who play games, people who play PC games online in Asia, there’s at least a billion people gaming today … So we have five times the audience we’ve ever had, and it’s growing in leaps and bounds.”

This isn’t necessarily at odds with the prediction Riccitiello made back in June, where he expected there would be a billion gamers “in a year or two,” it just means that perhaps it came a little more quickly than expected.

Naturally, as a businessman Riccitiello was quick to point to the fact that his company was moving to position itself as a giant in the digital space – scooping up casual game maker Playfish in November for $300 million – which is where he expects the industry to see the most growth, saying last week that the digital space would be as “important as, and over time maybe more important than, our packaged goods business.”

In fact, he had another billionaire statistic to throw at the PBS interviewer: “We’ve hosted over a billion online games. That’s a staggering number. I mean, it’s the productivity of a small nation wrapped up in just EA Sports online.”

It’s a little strange to think that there are more gamers in the world than there are people living in every country but India and China, but … it’s also kind of cool, too.

(Via Edge)

Recommended Videos

The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy