Study: German Video Game Spending Estimated At €4.6B For 2011

A new study from market research firm Newzoo estimates that video games spending in Germany in 2011 will reach a total of €4.6 billion ($6.5 billion), up 6 percent over last year. This compares to estimated spending in the U.S. decreasing by 3 percent this year, and an estimated drop of 1 percent in the UK. There are currently over 36 million active gamers in Germany -- around 44 percent of the total population -- and 66 percent of these people spend money on games. According to the 2011 Games Market Revenue Report, almost every area of gaming is expected to increase in revenue intake. Digital distribution on PC and Mac will increase by 37 percent over last year, while MMOs will see an increase of 23 percent. The only area expected to see a decline in revenue is casual gaming, which Newzoo believes will see a 10 percent drop over last year. However, the report also found that 73 percent of German gamers play casual games. This is equal to the number who play desktop games, and just higher than the number of German console gamers, at 70 percent. In total, German gamers play over 47 million hours of gaming a day, with 22 percent of this time spent playing console games, and 17 percent spent on casual gaming websites. Peter Warman, CEO of Newzoo, explained, "The strong recovery of the German economy shines through when looking at our data." "Germany has always been a stronghold for core PC/Mac gaming and does not seem to have given that up in favour of online or mobile gaming. It seems that Germans are simply adding game platforms to their menu, illustrated by the fact that the average German gamer plays games on 4.1 different platforms." "Also, the time spent on games has doubled in two years, averaging 6.4 hours per week for every German," he concluded.