Games industry to grow by 50 per cent

Yves Guillemot, CEO of publisher Ubisoft, has declared that the global games industry will grow by over 50 per cent by the end of 2010.

During his keynote speech at today's Edinburgh Interactive Festival, the outspoken chief said: "The market is booming and will grow by over 50 per cent over the next four years, with lots of new consumers coming,” he said. “But we have to plan now to ensure that we keep those consumers interested in games going forward.

"Our next challenge is to build on that growth and make sure that those guys coming into the market get the right software.”

Guillemot went on to say an upsurge in the games industry needs three key strategies: to offer triple A games to the hardcore players; provide family-friendly products and capitalise on opportunities the Internet provides in terms of community and user-generated content.