Videogame makers are today's fastest growing entertainment companies, with the industry growing to $60 billion from $30 billion five years earlier.

Judge as of August 2011. The claim has two parts: (a) the global videogame industry was about $60 billion, up from about $30 billion five years earlier (around 2006), and (b) videogame makers were the fastest-growing entertainment companies. True: industry estimates of the time (e.g. PwC, DFC Intelligence, Gartner) put revenue near $60 billion (roughly $55 to 65 billion) and near $30 billion around 2006, and games growth exceeded that of other entertainment sectors (film, music, TV). Mostly true: games were the fastest-growing sector, but one of the figures is moderately off (e.g. doubling from $35 billion, or about $50 to 70 billion now). Mixed: one part holds and the other does not. Mostly false: the growth was much less than a doubling, or other sectors grew faster, though games did grow strongly. False: both parts are contradicted.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Factbox: A look at the $65 billion videogames industry NBC News · 3 June 2011

   “Size of global game market revenue: $65 billion, up from $62.7 billion in 2010”

2. E2 DFC predicts bright future for games, dim one for Xbox 360 - Engadget Engadget · 19 September 2007

   “the total worldwide market for video games could grow to a staggering $47 billion by 2009 (from $33 billion in 2006)”

3. E3 Analyst: Win, Place or Show: Does it Really Matter? Game Developer · 28 September 2006

   “as well as predicting a rise in market growth from $29 billion in 2005 to around $42 to $44 billion by 2011”

4. E4 Video game industry to hit $70 billion by 2015, but growth will slow VentureBeat · 22 January 2024

   “It estimates that games were a $60.4 billion business in 2009.”

5. E5 Fostering the Business of Games EDj Economic Development Journal (IEDC) · June 2008

   “will grow from $31.6 billion in 2006 to $ 48.9 billion in 2011, growing at a 9.1 percent compound annual rate.”

6. E6 Report: Games will see strong growth over next three years GamesBeat · 30 June 2009

   “Games are the fastest growing entertainment market with a bright digital content future. In 2008, worldwide hardware and software sales were $44 billion, while US hardware and software sales were $19.5 billion.”

7. E7 Fostering the Business of Games EDj Economic Development Journal (IEDC) · June 2008

   “In the entertainment world, the game industry revenues surpassed film years ago and recently edged out music to be the dominant entertainment medium of today.”

Independent estimates from that time put the global game market at $62.7 billion in 2010 and $65 billion in 2011 (E1), and at $60.4 billion in 2009 (E4). All of these fall within the claimed range of about $60 billion. For around 2006, the estimates are $31.6 billion (E5), $33 billion (E2) and $29 billion for 2005 (E3), which fits the claim of roughly $30 billion five years earlier, so revenue about doubled. A 2009 report calls games "the fastest growing entertainment market" (E6), and E7 says game revenues had passed film and music, which supports the second part of the claim.