A new report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers expects an accelerating growth in the global entertainment and media industries that will propel the sales from $1.3 trillion in 2004 to $1.8 trillion in 2009 (average growth of 7.3%). Of this, the global video game market will reach $55 billion in total software revenues by 2009, with the U.S. video game market making up $15.1 billion of this amount.

To reach this $55 billion sales prediction for the global video game industry, the market would have to grow at an average rate of 16.5% from its 2004 level of $25.4 billion. PWC defines the video game industry to include software, subscriptions and advertising, while excluding hardware and accessories.

Asia-Pacific will see substantial growth of 18% annual growth to raise its video game sales to $23.1 billion in 2009. The United States will see annual growth of 12.9% to reach PWC’s $15.1 billion prediction for the market. EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) will see the largest growth with an annual average of19.1% to increase its 2004 total of $6.0 billion to $14.3 billion in 2009.

While the market is growing, the pieces of the industry are beginning to shift. The PC game market will decrease from $771 million in 2004 to $655 million in 2009, and that is with the strong support from Latin America which is still seeing moderate growth. Console mobiles are showing substantial growth prior to the next-gen fixed console launch and will continue to remain strong. Outside of the more standard game market, mobile games on cellphones will see significant growth thanks to new innovations, with the U.S. along growing from $281 million in 2004 to $2.1 billion in 2009.

The 50 page full report can be purchased from PWC for $95.

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