There are enthusiasts from almost every country imaginable.
These games are expected to continue to grow well beyond a multi-billion dollar economy.
And their foothold in Chicago passed without so much as a wimper.
And no, it's not the 2016 Olympic games I'm referring to.
Give up?
How about some additional stats:
- Including hardware and accessories, the sales of games for 2009 tallied to $19.66 billion.
- 65% of Americans actively participate in these games.
- This industry directly employs over 80,000 employees, with a projection of 250,000 jobs within the next year.
This is the video game industry. And Chicago's footprint in this continuously growing industry is shrinking. Midway Games of Chicago in no more after 22 years.
Midway Games was headquartered in Chicago, and produced some of the industries most well-known games: Space Invaders, Mortal Kombat, Ms. Pac-Man,Spy Hunter, Tron and NBA Jam. Midway Games employed over 550 employees with over $200 Million in revenue in 2008. Competitiveness in the industry, and non-winning strategies of management focused on acquisitions that did not prove to be fruitful, contributed to the ultimate demise of the company.
The company sought developers across the US, in Seattle, San Diego and as far away as Australia. As Chicagoans, we must ask: why is there a need to import creativity? Are we developing the talent, both creatively and business-wise to compete in today's-- and the future's-- global industries? And for what talent there is, are we giving that talent the visibility they need to those Chicago establishments looking for them?
California's Warner Brother's Interactive Division has bought Midway's assets and debts and has since shuttered most of the offices and acquistions.
Chicago has the desire and the resources to continue to be a globally competitive city. But we have to dig deeper and look further ahead to make sure we leverage what we have and can compete in what coming Nexxt. Losing people and businesses is not the way we want to play this game.
Data compiled from http://www.grabstats.com/ and http://www.playthings.com/
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