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.