US Virtual Goods Market to Surpass $2 Billion in 2011

SAN FRANCISCO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--A new report released today by research firm Inside Network concludes that the total US market size for virtual goods will reach $2.1 billion in 2011, up from $1.6 billion in 2010 and $1.1 billion in 2009.

“Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market 2010 - 2011”

The report, "Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market 2010 - 2011" is the latest original research study in the Inside Virtual Goods series, co-authored by Justin Smith and Charles Hudson.

"If 2010 was the year that virtual goods made a splash in western markets, 2011 will be the year that these markets begin to mature as the collective opportunity across social games, online games, virtual worlds, consoles, and mobile games reaches the $2 billion dollar mark," Justin Smith, founder of research firm Inside Network, says.

"Disney acquired Playdom for up to $750 million this year, Electronic Arts acquired Playfish for up to $400 million last fall, and hundreds of millions of dollars in venture investments have been injected into virtual goods so far – virtual goods are seriously impacting businesses across all types of media," says Charles Hudson, former VP of Business Development at Serious Business.

Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market 2010 - 2011 concludes that next year’s virtual goods market in the United States will have nearly doubled from its 2009 size.

Smith and Hudson’s research, based on interviews with dozens of top executives and entrepreneurs in virtual goods and gaming, also examines growth in specific verticals contributing to the overall US virtual goods market, and looks closely at this year’s market trends, including the widespread adoption of Facebook Credits and the overall investment landscape.

Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market 2010 – 2011 focuses on the following areas:

1. Social Networks, Applications, and Games

2. Casual MMOs and Virtual Worlds

3. Hardcore MMOs and Free-to-Play Online Games

4. Console Games

5. Emerging Areas: Mobile Games and More

The US virtual goods market became an industry to watch in 2009, and continued to demonstrate incredible growth throughout 2010. Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market 2010 – 2011 shows how 2011 will be an even more important year as virtual goods touches new industries and reaches broader audiences than ever before.

For more details on the report, please visit:

http://www.insidevirtualgoods.com