Online Games Equal The Economic Impact Of... Namibia?
from the not-quite-Bulgaria dept
Remember that study a few years back saying that the average EverQuest player could earn the equivalent wage of a person in Bulgaria by selling the fruits of his labors on eBay? Well, the same guy appears to have done a more in-depth study about the "GDP" of the online gaming world and found that it doesn't quite stack up to Bulgaria, but has about the economic impact of Namibia -- though, this ignores the cost of subscribing to the service, which might cut into the GDP quite a bit. The article claims that the next country on the list that could be passed is Jamaica, but according to the CIA World Factbook, it looks like Namibia is already a few notches ahead of Jamaica. Plus, the study actually seems to be looking at GDP per capita (as opposed to overall), in which case the findings make even less sense. The article claims a GDP per capita in the gaming world of about $2,000. According to the World Facts and Figures list, Namibia's GDP per capita is about $7,100. Jamaica is about $3,800. When you get down to $2,000, you're talking about the Federated States of Micronesia.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
