Lowenstein: Games crucial to economy
RELATED ARTICLES
October 8, 2007
Superbad DVD, Blu-ray, PSP
Sony has set $118 million-grossing Superbad, from the same filmmakers behind DV...
More
May 7, 2007
P2P Downloads Coming to PS3?
Word on the Web is that Sony will More
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium star Zach Mills was named best emerging actor at the KIDS FIRST! award show in Malibu on Oct. 7.
Arts Alliance America recently held a screening of Run Granny Run with film star Doris “Granny D” Haddock in Keen, N.H.
Sony and Reef Check celebrated the DVD release of Surf’s Up at Malibu Bluffs Park in Malibu, Calif., on Oct. 6.
» VIEW ALL GALLERIES
» VIEW FEATURED GALLERY
E3: Report shows industry contributed $18M to U.S. in 2004
By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 5/10/2006
MAY 10 | LOS ANGELES--Seeking to emphasize how economically crucial the videogame industry is as it faces continued legislative pressure, the Entertainment Software Assn. released a research report Wednesday that claims that videogames contributed more than $18 billion to the U.S. economy in 2004.
The report, “Video Games: Serious Business for America’s Economy,” found that gaming sales reached $10.3 billion in 2004 (including both domestic sales and exports), while the industry spurred an additional $7.7 billion in spending that year.
That additional spending includes purchases of everything from specialized gaming personal computers to broadband Internet access.
“Clearly, this is an industry about a lot more than fun and games,” researchers concluded. “It’s a serious business that improves training, efficiency and productivity in a variety of industries and has led to innovation in other segments of the technology industry. We found that videogames play a real role in maintaining America leadership in information technology and are a powerful driver of the digital economy so important to America’s economic future.”
In his annual state of the industry speech that opened the Electronic Entertainment Expo here Wednesday, ESA president Doug Lowenstein emphasized how videogame technology and the industry benefits the country beyond gameplay. Throughout his speech, Lowenstein cited the research report, which was commissioned by ESA and conducted by Georgetown University visiting professor J. Gregory Sidak and Brookings Institution senior fellow Robert W. Crandall.
Lowenstein said what happens with the console launches this year isn’t as important as what happens between now and 2010 in the industry, when the industry is positioned for accelerated growth as the number of people ages 10-30 in the U.S. grows to 75 million.
“The real issue is how this year positions the industry for the future,” Lowenstein said.
Although the gaming industry is under attack across the country by lawmakers and some parents groups over concerns about videogames’ affect on behavior, Lowenstein talked up how gamers and gaming technology is being used in the fields of medicine, science and even military equipment.
Lowenstein called games “rock and roll music for the digital generation” and said more and more young people are showing interest in science and math, which are needed for developing games.
“The report is noteworthy not just because it calls on government, educators and private industry to collaborate on stimulating use of videogames in schools, but because it represents the most powerful declaration to date from a mainstream part of America’s academic and policy literati that videogames are vital to America’s future,” he said.
