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Technology Stocks : eidos--maker of Tomb Raider -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Marc Newman who wrote (1617)	2/17/1999 1:19:00 PM
From: AJ Berger	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1773

Gaming Software Industry: 35% unit sales growth in '98 Wednesday, February 17, 1999 - 09:24 CST IDSA: Video and Computer Games Experience Double-Digit Growth Source: Interactive Digital Software Association The Interactive Digital Software Association, the trade association representing the U.S. video and PC game industry, said Wednesday that sales of video and computer games jumped 35 percent in 1998 to 181 million units, the equivalent of almost two games for every household in America. Based on data compiled by the NPD Group's Interactive Entertainment Software Service, Lowenstein said that video game sales experienced the greatest surge, topping 1997 unit sales by 35 million, a 37 percent increase. PC game unit sales also registered an impressive 12 million units, an 18 percent increase over last year. On a dollar basis, interactive entertainment software sales reached a record-breaking $5.5 billion in 1998, with video game sales reaching $3.7 billion, and computer game sales reaching $1.8 billion. This 25 percent increase over 1997 sales made it the third consecutive year that that industry experienced double-digit growth. According to the NPD Group, video and PC game sales increased from $3.2 billion to $3.7 billion between 1995 and 1996, and from $3.7 billion to $4.4 billion between 1996 and 1997. Lowenstein also noted that the industry growth represents more than economic statistics on paper -- it directly affects thousands of Americans for whom it provides jobs. In fact, a report released last year by the IDSA, in conjunction with Coopers and Lybrand, showed that the industry directly employs at least 50,000 workers in the United States and 17,000 more internationally. Reported by: David Laprad