Screen Digest has issued a global report on social network gaming, which they said was a $639 million industry in 2009 – up from $76 million in 2008. The report examines micro-transactions, advertising revenue and lead generation revenues to operators.
The market remains dominated by the distribution power and massive userbase of Facebook, but this market is by no means a one network opportunity, reads the report. Screen Digest is tracking millions of users on alternative social networks that are playing games, especially in markets where Facebook is not highly penetrated such as China, Russia and Japan. And with monthly active users of games reaching over 500 million at the end of 2009, from a much smaller base of 60 million in 2008, it is clear that much of the recent growth in the PC casual games market is now being driven by social games.
Highlights of the report say that Zynga dominates the ssector of social games, with revenues over $100 million. It is expected for the market to grow and be worth roughly $1.5 billion in 2014.
Additionally, while the U.S. and U.K. are the largest market for social games, China, Russia and Germany are expected to increase significantly over the next five years. Other social networks, especially, in Asia Pacific, are expected to stock up on their own gaming catalogs as well.
Source: Screen Digest
