Online Gaming Doubles in Europe in One Year

The online gaming sector in Europe is showing remarkable levels of growth, according to the latest research from Nielsen//NetRatings. In January 2003, 5.9 million Europeans visited an online games site on the Internet - more than double the 2.8 million surfers who visited sites in this sector in January last year.

The online games played by European web surfers range from simple card games through multi-player arcade games to large-scale role playing games like EverQuest. There are also sites like neopets.com, which combines game play with community elements and advertising opportunities for sponsors.

The leading European markets for online gaming are Germany and France. However in the UK, Europe's second largest online market, only 1.1 million people are gaming online. The Netherlands outstrips even the US in terms of gaming penetration.

What has driven this surge in online gaming? 'Partly it's been an improvement in gaming technology'says Internet Analyst Tom Ewing, 'The sector as a whole has been strengthened by the sales of current gaming consoles, which include broadband and online gaming in their development plans. Events like the forthcoming launch of X-Box Live in Europe, for instance, act to establish the concept of online gaming. There's a knock-on effect beyond specific brands.'

But the key factor driving the penetration of online gaming in Europe is the uptake of broadband connections over the last year. 'What we've seen is a big rise in broadband take-up, and online gaming is one of the sectors these high-speed connections are best suited for. It's notable that France and the Netherlands - two of the top three markets in terms of broadband penetration - are also so prominent in online gaming terms. The growth of online gaming is the first sign that the long-awaited European broadband boom may actually be here.'

The financial attractions of online gaming are also apparent: stickiness of online gaming sites (the amount of time surfers spend online) can be very high. In the Netherlands, for instance, the average visitor to online gaming sites spends over 2 hours a month on them. Compared to other categories such as News and Information sites, which attract surfers for just 13 minutes per month, online gaming sites are good value for advertisers. 'Online games are by definition Internet-only content, and so should make the transition to a subscription-based business model more easily' says Ewing.

In terms of the audience profile, men are over-represented, with on average 2.5 times as many men as woman visiting online gaming sites. The Netherlands is an exception, with only slightly less women than men, which suggests that as online gaming becomes more established in a market, gender differences start to break down. In terms of age groups, the sites have the most appeal for 12-24 year olds, who are around twice as likely as other age ranges to play games online. But older surfers are far from absent, especially in more established markets. In France, for instance, 13% of all surfers aged 35+ visit an online gaming site.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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