Analyst firm, Ovum, has predicted that the Asia Pacific digital games market will grow to be worth $30 billion by 2016.
That number indicates a compound annual growth rate of 18 per cent. Ovum analyst, Mark Little, said via a release that the casual games market is the primary driver for this growth.
That said, some of the major Asia Pacific markets, such as Australia, will be just as attracted by the margins that digital games offer. Australian developers are currently struggling from the high value of the Australian dollar, and digital distribution allows a margin of 50-75 per cent on sales for the developer and publisher. At retail, margin is only 20-30 per cent, and additionally developers and publishers have to deal with the pre-owned game market.
In a release, Little said ““Game publishers’ evolving strategy is turning game products into game services, extending product life with virtual content that continually refreshes a title’s ability to engage the gamer.”
The free-to-play business model is another opportunity that Little claims will help grow the digital download industry in APAC.
