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Tencent, Sony Lead Global Game Revenues In 2016
Market research firm Newzoo has compiled a list of the 25 companies who make the most money from games, and the results both what you expected and a bit surprising.
Newzoo's ranking takes into account only game revenue, which removes hardware such as consoles and PC parts from the equation, but does include subscription fees, such as those from PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. The ranking is based companies' financial earnings reports from throughout 2016, though it uses the calendar year instead of the fiscal year (which ends next week as opposed to the actual end of the year). Additonally, as Newzoo states, "For companies that do not split out their game revenues, the analysis includes estimates, which may or may not be indicated explicitly." The top-earning companies under these stipulations are as follows:
1. Tencent
2. Sony
3. Activision Blizzard
4. Microsoft
5. Apple
6. Electronic Arts
7. NetEase
8. Google
9. Bandai Namco
10. Nintendo
11. Square Enix
12. Warner Bros.
13. Ubisoft
14. Take-Two Interactive
15. Nexon
16. Mixi
17. Konami
18. GungHo Entertainment
19. Disney
20. DeNA
21. Sega
22. NCSoft
23. Facebook
24. Zynga
25. Colopl
It should be no surprise that Tencent leads the pack, since they own League of Legends developer Riot, as well as a number of other popular online games, including Crossfire and Clash Royale. Second and third place belong to Sony and Activision Blizzard, which makes sense, considering Sony's more global presence in games over Microsoft (especially in Japan) and Activision's conquering of several fronts with popular shooters and sports games.
Nintendo doesn't fair as well, though 2016 admittedly was not a banner year for them, with the decline of the Wii U and the limited number of high-selling games on the 3DS. Some of the most surprising points are Take-Two's lower-than-expected ranking, considering the high popularity of Grand Theft Auto V and other games in its catalog. And while we may like to think of them as being removed from the game scene at this point, Konami is still making quite of a bit of revenue from its game division.
[Source: Newzoo]
Our Take
This is yet another reminder that games are a global phenomenon, because I haven't heard of a couple of names on this list, like Mixi, Colopl, or NetEase. Although I'm guessing that at some point, I've encountered or played something they're a part of. Let's see... nope, haven't played anything by NetEase. But they licence Blizzard games for use in China. That counts, right?
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