Gamers to number 1 billion in Asia by 2016: Ovum

In its Digital Games Outlook 2011-2016, the analyst company reports that revenue from games in Asia-Pacific will grow at an annual compound rate of 18 per cent to reach the $30.3 billion number from today's $11.2 billion.

Asia, which accounts for just over half of global sales today, will generate more than 60 per cent in 2016, with growth in the number of casual gamers pushing the population of players to 1 billion overall and 900 million for mobile games.

“The region will drive the digital games market globally," said Neha Dharia, Ovum’s consumer telecoms analyst. "The most significant retail sales contribution will come from the massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) sector, while the highest amount of growth in the Asia-Pacific market will come from mobile gaming.”