Game on
Gaming is "no longer a niche" according to EA CEO, John Riccitiello, who claims there are now over a billion gamers worldwide, with that number growing in "leaps and bounds."
In a video interview on America's PBS Nightly business report, Riccitiello reckons his estimate may even be a tad conservative, given the influx of new gamers who play mobile phone games, MMORPGs, and grow crops and fight the Mafia on Facebook.
"With the advent of new digital media landscape, we've seen a torrent of new consumers," he said adding "we have five times the audience we've ever had, and it's growing in leaps and bounds."
Riccitiello said consoles had done much to extend gaming to a wider audience, claiming that there were now some 200 million consoles worldwide, and that as hardware prices dropped, games sales were booming.
"We've seen a torrent of new consumers come into our business," he said.
The EA top dog said digital gaming was also growing at an astounding rate, with over 40 per cent of gaming now being served up directly online instead of out of a box. "We're embracing both packaged and digital gaming" he added.
