100 Mln online gaming industry in ME

Dubai continues to position itself as a major hub for online and video games industry in the Middle East and worldwide. With more than $100 million in revenues from the online gaming industry in the Middle East, experts revealed that the UAE has a big share in this industry especially after it was ranked 5th largest in the Middle East for internet usage. The online gaming industry is at its highest among the rest and experts are expecting this number to double in the coming few years. Moreover, the worldwide online gaming market is projected to grow to $20 billion by the end of 2012. Experts in the game industry in the Middle East and game developers had revealed lately that the ME online gamers community are now considered the fastest growing among others globally and that the industry is witnessing a phenomenal growth. Moreover, demographics show that the gaming industry in the Middle East will continue to boom for many years to come due to the unprecedented number of gamers whom are increasing every day in addition to the increase in the number of internet users which is estimated at 70 million users in the ME and are expected to reach 150 million in 2015. The increase in the number of internet users is connected to the increase in the number of gamers, as most of the gamers prefer online games more than video games where they can compete with local, regional and international gamers whenever they want and wherever they are. This trend has been taking a new dimension for the past five years, and youth - whom are 60 per cent of the Arab population, are getting more attracted and attached to online games. Facebook for example features thousands of games where you can play with your friends or any other competitors on the social network, while statistics reveal that there are 2.89 million Arabic gamers playing on Facebook every month while the total number of Facebook users reached 24 million. Nexon - a worldwide leader in online games - is to debut in the Middle East through participating in the upcoming edition of the Dubai World Game Expo which is part of the Big Entertainment Show in Dubai - the United Arab Emirates. They are looking forward to explore the Middle East platforms through BES hoping that they will also meet some service providers whom can bridge the gap between Nexon and online games consumers. Istanbul-headquartered social gaming company Peak Games is the 3rd largest social gaming firm which focuses on the Middle East Region and has 9.7 million daily active users worldwide on Facebook, compared with 56 million for Zynga and 12 million for King. From gulftoday