DFC Intelligence releases new market forecasts for games industry

DFC Intelligence, a market research firm focused on interactive entertainment, announced today that it has released its latest forecast. In the new report, DFC predicts that worldwide sales of PC games, console games, and portable games combined will increase to $31.6 billion in 2009, up from $23.2 billion in 2003.

In April, DFC released a scenario forecasting a 2006 launch for the "big three" hardware systems from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. But the current report changes direction-- now, DFC's scenario reflects a 2005 launch for the Xbox 2, ahead of Sony's and Nintendo's consoles. The report also presents forecasts for the performance of the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS. DFC president David Cole expects the systems to drive an increase in the portable game market, from $3.9 billion worldwide in 2003 to $11.1 billion in 2007.