Video games are more than just a hobby. As a new report indicates, Canadian gaming sales are on the rise and making a significant economic impact. Who knew playing Unreal could help your country?
Digital Journal — Canada’s entertainment software industry has continued to see impressive growth, with online and console games on the rise, according to a new study from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC).
The $1 billion gaming market in Canada is no slouch. As the ESA reports, more than 260 firms work in the field, and those companies help boost Canada’s global reputation. The study, dubbed Entertainment Software: The Industry in Canada and conducted by Ottawa consulting firm Hickling Arthurs Low, says:The Canadian entertainment software industry acts as an important anchor and attractor for talent, and offers much opportunity for domestic small and medium-sized firms.
Other highlights of the study include a section on Canada’s potential for growth in the gaming market. Consumer spending on video games in Canada is expected to rise by 21 per cent in Canada, compared to 16 per cent in the U.S. Also, sales of console and handheld games are expected to soar by 20 per cent, reaching $554 million US by 2011.
Canada’s Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, said in a press release:The Canadian video game industry is an important and growing segment of Canada’s economy. This kind of innovation, coupled with the highly skilled jobs in this sector, are integral to Canada’s future prosperity.
The ESAC report also stressed the growth of online games, which represented 28 per cent of the Canadian market. The study assumed online game popularity is a result of high broadband penetration in the Great White North — at the end of 2006, close to 200 million broadband subscribers lived in Canada, and that number is expected to double by 2010.
The ESAC report also wanted to position its representatives as global players. In a section titled Economic Significance, the authors cited a Statistics Canada study that showed entertainment software ranking fourth in annual revenues of Canadian industries (behind conventional television, milk production, and cable and satellite). The report applauded gaming companies in Canada that have made an impact worldwide: Electronic Arts in Vancouver, Ubisoft in Montreal and BioWare in Edmonton.
In addition, the study dropped an interesting fact for video-game observers curious about the industry’s demographic: the average gamer in Canada is 39 years old.
The gaming market is no longer child’s play, whether we look at demographics or market output. As evidenced in the ESAC report, entertainment software in Canada is rippling across the world and feeding into the Canadian economic engine. It looks like mashing those buttons is actually doing the country some good, after all.
