Video game market | France

1.1 Presentation

The video game market covers all leisure activities based on software, computer peripherals and/or applications, allowing interaction in a virtual environment in accordance with a set of predefined rules. The history of video games dates back to 1958, when an American researcher imagined a tennis simulation using oscilloscopes from a nuclear research laboratory. Four years later, in 1962, a MIT student created the first computer game, called'SpaceWar', which was quickly integrated into most of the computers on the market. The first games playable on a television screen appeared in 1967, and the first arcade terminals in 1967. The 1970s saw the development of home consoles, the pioneer remaining Atari's Home Pong. In 1979, Activision, the world's leading third-party publisher of video games, appeared. In 1989, the Japanese Nintendo invented the first handheld system, called'Gameboy'. Since then, hardware manufacturers have been engaged in a race to miniaturize consoles and increase their capacities (power, backwards compatibility, autonomy, etc.), while software developers and publishers are focusing on the democratization of video games and the expansion of the target audience.

The video game market is based on a network of companies that develop games for different types of media such as game consoles or computers.

Dominated by international developers and publishers, the French video game market nevertheless features a few French nuggets, such as Ubisoft or Gameloft. The most established players are competing in creativity to offer gamers the latest innovations in terms of hardware and software, while the most promising segments remain those of virtual reality, dematerialization and mobile gaming. In addition, the sector is subject to stricter regulations on age and risk classification, not to mention addiction. Still dominated by the "console" ecosystem, and to a certain extent by "PC gaming", this market now sees the growth of mobile or online gaming as virtual goods, which should drive its growth in the coming years.