g-f(2)66 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE: WSJ, The coronavirus pandemic has been an undeniable boon for the game industry

Extra-condensed knowledge

• The coronavirus pandemic has been an undeniable boon for the game industry.
• Restrictions that have kept many at home and shut down other forms of entertainment have resulted in a banner year for the sector. 
• Six of the largest game publishers are expected to post combined total revenue of $24 billion for the calendar year, up 19% from last year, according to consensus estimates compiled by FactSet. In 2019, the same group’s combined revenue fell nearly 3%.

Genioux knowledge fact condensed as an image

The “genioux facts” Knowledge Big Picture (g-f KBP) charts

Condensed knowledge  

• WSJ, Videogames’ Immunity Boost Might Linger. The coronavirus pandemic has been an undeniable boon for the game industry.
• Restrictions that have kept many at home and shut down other forms of entertainment have resulted in a banner year for the sector. 
• Six of the largest game publishers are expected to post combined total revenue of $24 billion for the calendar year, up 19% from last year, according to consensus estimates compiled by FactSet. In 2019, the same group’s combined revenue fell nearly 3%.
• That number doesn’t include sales of the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles, which went on sale in early November and are still very hard to come by due to soaring demand. 
• Other game-hardware makers also have been capitalizing on the rush.
• Turtle Beach, which makes accessories such as specialty headphones for gamers, has recorded a 71% year-over-year sales gain to $227 million for the nine-month period ended September. 
• Newly public Corsair Gaming, which makes gaming PCs and laptops and other related accessories, logged a 54% revenue jump to about $1.2 billion for the same period.
• For game makers, the current sales boom has been especially remarkable considering the impact the pandemic has had on their development cycles.
• Several major games got delayed in 2020 due to the challenges imposed by remote working. That included the annual entry to Activision Blizzard’s blockbuster “Call of Duty” franchise. 
• Analysts estimate Activision’s publishing business, which comprises mainly the “Call of Duty” franchise, will show a 74% surge in net bookings for 2020, to nearly $3.9 billion, according to FactSet.
• The speed of national reopening will factor heavily into the industry’s performance for 2021. But as more entertainment options open up and as more workers return to the office, the game industry will need to contend with not being the only game in town.

Category 2: The Big Picture of the Digital Age

[genioux fact produced, deduced or extracted from WSJ]

Type of essential knowledge of this “genioux fact”: Essential Deduced and Extracted Knowledge (EDEK).

Type of validity of the "genioux fact". 

• Inherited from sources + Supported by the knowledge of one or more experts.

Authors of the genioux fact

Fernando Machuca

References

Videogames’ Immunity Boost Might Linger, Dan Gallagher, Updated Jan. 4, 2021 1:43 pm ET, The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dan Gallagher

Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Dan Gallagher has covered technology for Heard on the Street since 2013. He has been writing about technology and business for two decades — well before smartphones got smart. Dan previously spent ten years at MarketWatch, where he built a data news team and served as technology editor. He is based in San Francisco.