According to the Inside Virtual Goods report, the U.S. virtual goods market is expected to hit $2.1 billion in revenues in 2011. The report, issued by Inside Network head Justin Smith and Virtual Goods Summit chief Charles Hudson, indicates that the market will be up 40 percent from $1.6 billion in 2010.
If 2010 was the year that virtual goods made a splash in western markets, 2011 will be the year that these markets begin to mature as the collective opportunity across social games, online games, virtual worlds, consoles, and mobile games reaches the $2 billion dollar mark, said Smith.
While Facebook is one of the leading platforms for games with virtual goods, there are also offerings on the iPhone, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and newly free-to-play online games like Lord of the Rings Online.
Source: VentureBeat
