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To: Marc Newman who wrote (9755)	2/17/1999 8:25:00 AM
From: JGreg	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14266

Picked this up from "chipsteak" on the other thread: by: chipsteak ( BW)(DC-ISDA) Video/PC Games Show Double-Digit Growth; Fastest-Growing Segment of the U.S. Entertainment Industry Continues to Boom Business/Entertainment Editors & High-Tech Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 1999--The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), 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. "If you put these 181 million games end to end, they would reach around the Earth one-and-a-half times, or more than 34,000 miles," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the IDSA. "This graphically dramatizes the fact that video and computer games are mass-market entertainment on a global scale. "Men and women, girls and boys, young and old, hunters and flying aces, football enthusiasts and strategy buffs -- all have a role in the growth of the interactive entertainment industry," Lowenstein added. Based on data compiled by the NPD Group's Interactive Entertainment Software Service, Lowenstein said that video game sales (including portable games) experienced the greatest surge, topping 1997 unit sales by 35 million (37 percent). PC game unit sales also registered an impressive 12 million (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. "We expect the industry to continue to grow at double-digit rates in 1999," said Lowenstein. "With more technological advances each year, the introduction of new titles and platforms, and mass-market acceptance of video and PC games, it is clear that the industry is still scoring big." The IDSA is the U.S. association exclusively dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish video and computer games for video game consoles, personal computers and the Internet. IDSA members collectively account for more than 85 percent of the $5.5 billion in entertainment software sold in the United States in 1998, and billions more in export sales of U.S.-made entertainment software. The IDSA offers services to entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning and operating the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show, business and consumer research, government relations, and First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts.