Report: Global MMO spending to top $12 billion in 2012

Number-crunching services SuperData Research and Newzoo released reports today forecasting strong growth in the MMO industry. According to the analysts, worldwide spending on MMOs will top $12 billion this year, and that's not all: The companies also predict that this number will increase to a whopping $17.5 billion in 2015.

Other facts released in the reports:

• Yearly MMO market growth increased by 14% in the U.S. and 24% in Germany.

• The number of MMOs in the field has doubled since the start of 2011.

• Twenty-three of the 50 million U.S. MMO gamers spend money on subscriptions or microtransactions, a 3% increase from 2011. The yearly average amount spent is $127.

• More German players spend money on MMOs than in the U.S. -- 13% more, to be exact.

• Free-to-play revenues in the U.S. now account for 50% of the market, up from 39% in 2010.

• Science-fiction MMOs make up to three times as much money as their fantasy counterparts.

SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen says that the race for gamers' wallets is only getting started: "The current market saturation forces MMO publishers to compete over a finite gamer population."

[Source: SuperData Research/Newzoo press release]