Alex Yue contributed this news item.
The Entertainment Software Association has released a report discussing the growth of the videogame industry—and things are looking good.
According to the ESA, videogames are a major factor in the United States economy. This is easy to see when you consider that the games industry employs 24,000 people in the United States. The average salary of these employees was $92,300 in 2006. The demand for videogames has been growing at an annual rate of 17% a year.
Videogame sales for this year are predicted to top $18 billion, andaccording to the ESA’s chief executive officer, Michael Gallagher, “These companies and their colleagues across the nation are making entertainment software one of the fastest growing industries in the United States.”
What does this mean for the average gamer? Well, one can only assume that videogames will become more widely accepted and garner more attention from the mainstream media. It also means that college campuses can expect a jump in the number of people majoring in computer science and graphic design.
Read: New Report Shows Just How Fast Video Game Industry Is Growing
A European World of Warcraft player apparently sold his Night Elf rogue with the coveted Twin Blades of Azzinoth for €7,000, or around $9,500.
The legendary swords drop from the infamous Illidan Stormrage in an end-game dungeon. They’re incredibly rare, so much so that only two people in the world have them. Supply and demand dictate that such items would be worth a ton; in this case, the buyer was willing to pay nearly $10k for the whole account, which included a bunch of other good gear.
The buyer immediately transferred to a new server and began PvPing. You can view his WoW Armory profile here.
There’s some speculation that due to the amount of publicity this story received, Blizzard stepped in with the banhammer for Shaks. Fool needs to learn to keep his mouth shut — talk about a waste of cash.
Read: WoW Account Sold for 7,000 Euro
Read: Rogue with Twin Blades of Azzinoth sells account for almost $10,000
Note: The above picture depicts a warrior with the blades. Shush!
The EU Commission announced it has set aside €1.5 million for game development grants as part of Media 2007, the EU’s media support program.
Developers will be able to apply for grants to make games for consoles (handhelds included), PCs, and mobile phones. The financial support comes in the form of “direct aid” — it’s not a loan, and doesn’t need to be repaid.
Now for the fine print.
The minimum amount that can be applied for is 10,000 Euro per project, the maximum is about 60.000 Euro. But prototypes for PC, handheld and consoles can receive up to 100,000 Euro, and the grant can cover up to the half of the budget - with up to 60% for games concepts that focus on the cultural heritage and diversity of Europe. To qualify for these grants projects must be presented by companies which have at least successfully developed one product since January 1, 2005, and whose head offices are located in Europe, or other states that participate in Media 2007.
The program is strongly reminiscent of other cultural support initiatives around the world. It also represents one more step toward recognizing games as “art” around the world. That alone is worth the price of admission.
