Zpryme Research and Consulting realizes the tremendous potential in the electronic gaming industry. Interactive entertainment is not just for kids any longer. With the tremendous continued increase and exploitation of computational power in terms of CPUs and GPUs, the possibilities are truly limitless. Designers and creative professionals are able to cater to a larger demographic of consumers. Images and concepts as to what “games” are is continuously evolving.

Our firm has a deeper understanding of the industry’s driving forces, and a keen eye for technological advancements which will continue to define the industry in the near and distant future. For example, the recent success, and outright domination by the Nintendo Wii in the console market (a considerable portion of the US $18 billion annual figure for 2007) is due to a simple formula: cheap and innovative. While the competition (Sony’s Playstation 3 and Microsoft’s XBOX 360) focused on raw power, packaging the latest hardware, Ninetndo focused on uniqueness and creativity to distinguish itself. The most important aspect of their strategy was how users interact with the virtual environment. Input devices will continue to play a key role in driving the market, as the traditional gamepad and button triggering are no longer the limit. Motion sensing and total-immersion technologies such as headsets will see a strong revival, redefining the entire experience.

A recent survey comprised of 2,000 gamers, found that the U.S. games market is diversifying. The age group among male players has expanded significantly into the 25-40 age group. For casual online puzzle-style and simple mobile cell phone games, the gender divide is more or less equal between males and females. Females have been shown to be significantly attracted to playing certain online multi-user video games that offer a more communal experience. According to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), almost 41% of PC gamers are women. Any notions of the video game world as being male-oriented are quickly diminishing. Given the large percentages of female gamers, the "traditionally male" games are now considered cross-gendered.

The North American console video game market grew 43 percent in 2007, according to new numbers released by the NPD Group. Overall industry sales totaled a record $17.94 billion--compared to 2006's take of $12.53 billion--with software making up $8.64 billion of the pie.

Sales of different types of games vary widely between these markets due to local preferences. Japanese consumers tend to purchase console games over computer games. The South Korean market shows a preference for     Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) such as the recent worldwide phenomenon, World of Warcraft.

Although not as popular in the United States, there are thousands of PC and console Internet cafés sprouting all over the world. In such places, games can typically be played for an hourly charge. Going to the movie theater will not be the only place to take the family for weekend night entertainment.