MMORPG.com’s Richard Aihoshi has had his ear to the ground in the world of F2P not just here in NA, but around the world. Today, he discusses some of the numbers that have come to light as well as the upcoming ChinaJoy game show.
US lagging behind UK in virtual goods uptake
A few days ago, I saw some rather interesting information on virtual goods sales in the United Kingdom last year. According to a report of apparently unknown origin that was published by Asian News International, the market size in 2009 topped 500 million pounds, which is around $800 million US. What’s especially intriguing is that the US, with roughly five times the population, totaled only about $1 billion.
On a per capita basis, this means the average UK resident spent about four times as much on virtual goods as his or her American counterpart. What’s missing in terms of a more complete picture is data as to what proportion of the respective populations bought anything at all. I’d also be very curious to know how they stack up beside purchasers in China and Korea. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find data that would enable making such comparisons with a decent level of confidence.
