Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Back to Other Leisure Activities Index and Shopping Cart

Back To REPORTFINDER home page and Search Engine

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The electronic games market has been expanded over the years to cover games played with television sets (known as video games), computers, electronic learning aids and hand-held games. This report focuses on the console video game sector, which is dominated by systems from three Japanese companies: Sony (PlayStation), Nintendo (N64) and Sega (Dreamcast -- to be launched in 1999).
The market for these console games is worth £650m in 1998, this figure includes hardware -- consoles, joysticks, hand-helds; and software -- games on CD (compact disc) or cartridge, which are often bought simultaneously. This makes it a substantial market, given that the whole toys and games sector is worth around £2bn, but sales are highly concentrated among young men (aged 15 to 24 years-old).
Volatility is the key characteristic, the market having dropped from over £500m in the early 1990s, to barely half that level in 1995 before recovering to its current size. The rollercoaster effect is due to cycles of hardware launches, each stimulating the market: the 32-bit PlayStation in 1995, the
64-bit N64 in 1997, and the forthcoming 128-bit Dreamcast, launched in Japan by Sega in November 1998 (expected in the UK in September 1999).
The current market leader, Sony, has helped to reduce market volatility by building a steady base of support with hundreds of different games available for the PlayStation, with price points also broadening out. Themes of games, however, are generally unchanging, suiting the young male market (team sports, racing, fighting and fantasy). Games for computers offer more variety, and the PC (personal computer) games market is now worth as much as the video games market (£400m).
Video games as standalone centres of home entertainment seem to be permanently established, although PC games will become an even greater threat in the future. The immediate future should be secured by the move up to the 128-bit platform, and Sega's Dreamcast will undoubtedly be followed by greatly improved consoles from Sony and Nintendo in the early 2000s.

Back to Top

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

Market Definition

INTRODUCTION

MARKET SECTORS

MARKET POSITION

MARKET TRENDS

TECHNICAL TERMS

Table 1: Main Genres of Game for Electronic Games, 1998

Table 2: Electronic Games as Part of Consumer Spending (£m), 1997

Market Size

THE TOTAL MARKET

MARKET SECTORS

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Table 3: Consumer Expenditure on Games-Related Electronic Products (£m and percent), 1998

Table 4: The Market for Video Games by Value (£m at rsp), 1991-1998

Table 5: Imports and Exports of Video Games by Value and Volume (£000 at msp and 000), 1993-1996

Table 6: Imports of Video Games by Country by Value and Volume ( percent), 1997/1998

Table 7: Households with Interactive Products Installed (million households), 1998

Industry Background

RECENT HISTORY

INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION

DISTRIBUTION

TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Table 8: Sales of Electronic Games by Type of Outlet by Value ( percent), 1998

Table 9: Leading Multiples Selling Electronic Games (number of outlets), 1998

Competitor Analysis

THE MARKETPLACE

MARKET LEADERS

ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION

Table 10: Leading Suppliers to the Electronic Games Market Selected by Turnover (£m), 1995-1998

Table 11: Market Shares in Advanced Console Hardware by Value and Volume ( percent), 1995-1998

Table 12: Leading Publishers of Console Video Games, 1995-1998

Table 13: Main Media Advertising Expenditure of Electronic Games Companies (£000), Year Ending June 1997 and 1998

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

Buying Behaviour

INTRODUCTION

CONSUMER PARTICIPATION

PURCHASER PROFILES

Table 14: Amount Spent on Computer and Video Systems and Games ( percent adults),1995 and 1998

Table 15: Analysis of Computer Systems and Computer/Video Games Buyers in the Last 12 Months ( percent), 1995 and 1998

Table 16: Detailed Analysis of Computer/Video Games Buyers ( percent), 1995-1998

Outside Suppliers to the Industry

INTRODUCTION

GAMES DEVELOPERS AND CONVERTERS

GAMES PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTORS

ARCADE GAMES SUPPLIERS

Forecasts

INTRODUCTION

CONSUMER TARGET MARKETS

INTERNET DEVELOPMENTS

OTHER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS

TECHNOLOGY AND CONVERGENCE

FORECASTS 1999 TO 2003

Table 17: Population Changes for Selected Age Groups (millions), 1998-2002

Table 18: Forecast Video Games Market by Value (£m at rsp), 1999-2003

Company Profiles

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITIONS

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Sources

ASSOCIATIONS

PERIODICALS

DIRECTORIES

GENERAL SOURCES

HBI UK INFORMATION SOURCES

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

OTHER SOURCES

Text © 1998 Key Note

Back to Top

Back To REPORTFINDER HOME PAGE

Ariadne - working together with our customers to enhance productivity and increase knowledge

© 1999 www.the-list.co.uk Ariadne

Last updated by Jacob van Eldik 09th April 2000