Aussie games industry now worth A$1.57 billion a year

The last time the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) unveiled sales figures for the local industry it showed that Australia was on a strong growth curve. That strength seems to have continued through the first half of 2008, with figures for the '07-'08 financial year revealing that Australia recorded A$1.5 billion ($1.5 billion) in hardware, software, and peripherals sales, an increase of 52.9 percent over the previous year.

Game hardware in particular had impressive growth, with figures from data trackers GfK Australia showing sales growth of 74 percent from the previous financial year (Australian financial years run from July 1 to June 30). Software sales grew by 55 percent.

IEAA CEO Ron Curry says the strong growth shows that games are now being enjoyed by more Australians. "It is clear that interactive entertainment is now firmly entrenched as a mainstream activity. More people of all ages and all walks of life are now choosing video and computer games as a regular form of home entertainment," he said.