Rationalizing play
pp. 21-41
in: Andrew Feenberg, Norm Friesen (eds), (Re)inventing the internet, Berlin, Springer, 2012Abstract
One of the fastest growing leisure activities of the new century, digital gaming has quickly developed from a marginalized children's pastime into a multi-billion dollar global industry. According to recent estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers (2008), the global digital games market generated $41.9 billion in sales in 2007, and is expected to surpass $68 billion by 2012 (Bond, 2008). Industry analysis firm comScore estimates that approximately 217 million people worldwide played online games in 2007–a number that continues to multiply as broadband Internet access spreads across the globe (Castronova, 2005).