Sales of digital content exceeds $1 billion

Mirroring comments from prominent CEOs such as John Riccitiello and Yoichi Wada, social and microtransaction games like Mafia Wars and Battlefield Heroes are expected to crest $1 million by the end of 2009. According to a recent consumer report, this major shift in revenue reflects a shift in focus from the more hardcore community of gamers to casual games that anyone can jump in and play.

There are a few interesting facts in the report, such as women comprising of 60% of social gamers or Facebook being the dominant platform for social games revenue. Many potential gamers will not visit a dedicated games site such as Kongregate, but if a game is put in front of them, they will play it happily and contribute to the revenue. You can check out the results of the research paper at Financial Times.

[via GamePro]