Online games to "explode" in Singapore in three years

Online games to "explode" in Singapore in three years

Agence France-Presse
Singapore

The online games industry in Singapore is projected to
"explode" within the next three years from its current base of
342,000 enthusiasts, a report said Sunday.

The money it generates is also projected to soar by more than
700 percent to S$14 million (US$7.8 million) from S$1.7 million
now, the Straits Times said.

It cited industry players as saying the "online gaming
community, already huge at about 342,000, is going to explode
within the next three years."

Ryan Lim, the manager of the only games portal in the city-
state, said its membership expanded 500 percent to 120,000 people
from 20,000 in just one year of operations, the report said.

"I don't think we are seeing the full picture of the scene
yet. Each title attracts anything from 12,000 to 15,000
subscribers and there are easily 50 titles around from Taiwan,
Korea and the United States," he said.

The expected explosion is worrying counselors and
psychiatrists in affluent Singapore about its effects on young
people.

Some players spend more than 30 hours a week playing games on
their computers and there is a danger they would no longer
realize the difference between reality and fantasy, psychologists
said.

"Being caught with gaming is rather anti-social. I have seen
young people so engrossed with their games, the world can
collapse around them for all they care," said Ooi Giok Ling, a
senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies.

Munidasa Winslow, a consultant psychiatrist at the Institute
of Mental Health, cited the example of a man who had lost his job
because he was stressed after playing too much time playing games
on his computer.