NPD reports U.S. online subscriptions exceed US$ 1 billion yearly

Recent data released by the NPD Group suggest online gaming subscriptions in the U.S. turn in over US$ 1 billion a year. Worldwide phenomenon World of Warcraft and popular website Pogo.com help boost the industry’s revenue. See the full article for details.

Testifying to the massive reach of subscription-based online gaming, the NPD Group came up with numbers and revealed that the online game subscriptions market exceeds US$ 1 billion annually. According to data gathered between October 2007 and March 2008, 11 million gamers are subscribers.

As many would expect, Blizzard‘s World of Warcraft topped the list of MMOs with the most subscribers. Aside from the usual suspects RuneScape and Lord of the Rings Online which came second and third respectively, Final Fantasy XI made its way to the fourth spot. City of Heroes trailed the rest.

Gaming websites contribute to the industry, spearheaded by Pogo.com and followed by Realarcade.com. Most players who visit these sites are reportedly females over 35 years old, while males below 35 dominate the MMO scene.

Via GameIndustry