CrunchGear

Despite all the hullabaloo (sp?) about online gaming taking the world by storm, there is still a huge amount of growth potential in the sector, at least in the US. Over the last year, a study shows, gamers in general have increased by more than ten percent, but online gaming has increased by less than half that. Furthermore, 90 percent of online gamers are on PCs. That means there is an enormous untapped console market, despite what you hear about all the Halo and Gears matches going on. This doesn’t take into account the vast Asian market which is, as I understand it, completely saturated with online games, such that the streets are empty and every business is a snack delivery service.

People are trusting the online system here more now, although DRM issues still pervade it. People will gladly go boxless if they trust the provider, as shown by Valve with the Orange Box pack. So the retail business is moving online as well. And get this: according to the study, a full quarter of online gamers are in the 2—12 year old demographic. Excuse me? I guess this explains how my team always sucks so bad in Team Fortress 2. Shoot the medics already!