Data & Statistics

Attention UPA! Untapped Potentials Ahead!

Follow below some interesting (and significant) data and statistics about the video game industry, including some of the untapped potential users and market niches aimed by the INDENTRO approach to video games:

Looking ahead of the curve (and arriving earlier...) Throughout history, initial popular reactions to radical technological innovations have tended to be more negative than positive (Johnson, 2005; Kurzweil, 1999) in terms of stirring different levels of scepticism, resistance, and criticisms (often due to narrow or biased views, lack of understanding, and resistance to change). This phenomenon has happened with the advent of the telephone, TV, movies, and more recently, the Internet. For those who still remember, many people actually doubted that the Internet could be a powerful and multi-useful media, as many visionaries initially claimed. The inaccuracy of those doubts is now quite clear.

Like a growing number of visionaries, I also see video games —perceived as the first technological precursors of popular virtual reality simulators—as being the natural followers of the revolutionary advent of the Internet, gradually bringing into the foreground of our daily life a second wave of radical transformations in the way we use and interact with technology. In fact, many critics in the game industry claim that in terms of their future potentials, video games today can be compared to the movies in the 1920s. This time though, game designers have the chance to create video games as powerful experiential tools aimed to promote specific kinds of human development through their intrinsic technological, artistic, social and interactive potentials. I invite you to think about video games today as perhaps representing the initial steps for the emergence of basic and popular versions of Holodecks (based on the Star Trek series), or even as precursors of the intriguing concept of using downloadable sockets containing virtual reality environments based on players’ customized needs and interests, as powerfully illustrated in The Matrix movie.

During my research, I also started to wonder why video games have not been already purposefully used for such developmental purposes, since the opportunities seem to be quite significant. The most plausible answers seem to be a basic cultural bias, skepticism and disbelief in these possibilities, which is related to a lack of awareness about integral-developmental research and practices, including a lack of knowledge of frameworks (such as the INDENTRO framework) that could support their transformative design. Since video games are the new “emergent media on the block”, I really do not see a plausible (and even historical) reason for designers and studios to not start creating integral-developmental video games

If communication media of all kinds (e.g., movies, music, theater, architecture, web, books, biofeedback interfaces, meditative technologies) have been historically used with great amount of efficiency, success (and profitability)—either by artists, healers, trainers, coaches, guides and various types of organizations (institutional, governmental, spiritual)—to invoke higher aspirations and promote human development in various dimensions (e.g., self-help, behavioral change, personal improvement, wellness, spiritual awareness), then I ask: Why not video games?

The Widespread Influence of Video Games in our Culture and Society

As part of my academic research, I surprisingly realized that the influence of video games in our culture and society is much bigger than I had imagined.

The Wild #s of the Video Game Industry

• “From all the entertainment media existent today [music, TV, movies, web, books, cartoons, theater], the video game industry is the fastest growing and one of the most popular, pervasive and profitable segments in the already ‘trillion-dollar-a-year’ entertainment industry” (Bryant & Vorderer, 2006).
  
  
• Today, video games have already surpassed the growth of both music and movie industries altogether (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2007; Discovery Channel, 2007).
  
  
• From 1996 to 2008, computer and video games sales in the US grew from 2.6 billion into 11.7 billion dollars per year (more than four times than industry software sales), as well as from 73.8 to 298.2 millions of units sold (Entertainment Software Association, 2007).
  
  
• In the year of 2007, “U.S. sales of video games, which includes portable and console hardware, software and accessories, generated revenues of almost $18 billion, a 43 percent increase over the $12.5 billion generated in 2006” (NPD group, 2007); reaching $37.5 billion in worldwide sales revenues (PwC, 2007). These numbers keep increasing on a steady pace.
  
  
• In the year of 2005 in the US, "more than eight in ten (83%) young people [had] a video game console at home, and a majority (56%) [had] two or more. About half (49%) [had] one in their bedroom, and just over half (55%) [had] a handheld video game player". (Roberts, Foehr & Rideout, 2005, p.36)
• In 2008, it was estimated that 42% of homes had a video game console in the US (ESA, 2009), with 40% of video game players being female, and 60% male (being 34% of women being age 18 year or older, in contrast with 18% of boys being age 17 or under)10. Having started mainly as a male oriented industry, video games have been gradually becoming gender balanced, mostly due to a proliferation of new casual genres, deeper and broader social features, online and mobile platforms. ­
  
  
• In 2008, it was estimated that 68% of American heads of households were playing computer or video games, with 63% of parents seeing games as a positive part of their children’s lives, and 77% believing in the usability of parental controls (ESA, 2009), which has acted as a significant “security valve” for preventing potentially harmful influences of certain games.
  
  
• As time goes by, video games are becoming an entertainment medium for all ages, with genres and products strategically customized for specific populations. Today, “25% of Americans over 50 [already] play video games, an increase from 9% in 1999” (ESA, 2009). In terms of time, adult gamers have been playing computer or video games for an average of already 12 years (males, 12; females, 10) (ESA, 2009). By the year of 2007, an approximate number of “46% of all gamer parents [have already been playing video games] for 10 years or more … in average of 21 hours a month” (ESA, 2007). That means 2500 plus hours of play!

These astounding numbers show that video game play and “practice” in terms of time range, engagement, and commitment has been quite significant. Due to this fact, I consider video games to be extremely apt for incorporation of applications aimed to catalyze and integrate different kinds of human development, since these practices also tend to request similar degree of commitment, attention, and gradual growth over time. Although being already highly (and increasingly) pervasive in the US and worldwide, the active influences of video games in terms of their educational and developmental potentials in terms of individuals, culture and society have only recently started to be taken into serious consideration.

At the moment, a series of current and emergent applications related to education, arts, health, behaviors, training, simulations, exercises, development, social and cultural issues have been already explored by many video game designers and institutions, both in commercial, organizational, business, military, and academic areas. Investments in "serious games", advergaming, exergaming, and edutainment have skyrocketed in the past years. This new trend has been growing quite rapidly, in strong and steady ways.

• Inded, investments in “game-based learning” had already reached the amount of $125,000,000 in 2006 (Blunt, 2006).

On one hand, take:

1. The impressive numbers of current male and female adult gamers described in the statistics above
2. The extent of time that they have been playing video games
3. The average age of a gamer today (35 years-old)
4. The average age of the "biggest gamer buyer" (37-years old)

On the other hand, add into these numbers the similarly impressive statistics from the Welness, Self-Improvement and Green (Eco, Sustainability) industries described in some of the paragraphs below.

The Wellness and Self-Improvement Industries

• According to Marketdata Enterprises, a group that tracks major cultural trends, the Self-improvement business is expected to hit $12 billion in the U.S. by 2008.
  
  
• According to Paul Zane Pilzer - world-renowned economist, entrepreneur and writer, the "Wellness Revolution" is gradually becoming the "Next Trillion Dollar Industry".

In 2002, his book The Wellness Revolution helped to define this industry and outline an emerging $200 billion growth for the next years. In 2008, wellness has grown to $500 billion and according to him, "it's still just getting started, offering even greater entrepreneurial opportunities". The industries of Self-help, Personal Improvement, and Wellness are responsible today for a growing popular interest and multi-billionaire profits coming from diverse related activities. Among them, a growing number of institutions, teachers and experts have been continuously sharing their messages through various kinds of media: Books, audio books, work books, CDs, DVDs, movie, TV, music, talk shows, websites, biofeedback interfaces, therapeutic and meditative technologies.

In addition, an increasing number of people have participated in countless workshops, seminars, courses, classes, academic tracks, and looked after a myriad of preventive techniques and wellness media products related to holistic health and integration of mind, body, heart and spirit. 

As the days go by, more and more people all around the world have been benefiting from using these various self-improvement and wellness media designed to promote inner awareness, holistic health, growth and transformation in many areas of their lives.

The Green (Eco, Sustainability) Industry

• Ethical Markets Media (USA and Brazil) and The Climate Prosperity Alliance launched in 2009 their Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard® which tracks private investment in companies growing the green economy globally. This new, never before reported number, showing $1,248,740,645,993.00 (over $1.248 trillion) in total investment since 2007, indicates how investors and entrepreneurs are leading governments in promoting sustai nable growth.

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