LONDON, 2 September 2003 — Global consumer electronics and computer gaming giant Sony has said that it expects to have 75% of the over $100 million gaming market in the Middle East this year. A senior company official also said that the Middle East is currently the fastest growing gaming market in the world, having witnessed a phenomenal growth surge in computer and console gaming across all ages and demographic groups in the past three years.
Announcing this at a press conference organized on the sidelines of Sony Computer Entertainment’s “PlayStation Experience” and European Computer Trade show, in Earls Court Exhibition Center, London, Sony Gulf FZE Managing Director Yasuhide Yokota said that the gaming market in the Mideast was on a high-growth curve, fueled by the introduction of new and sophisticated gaming concepts in the past three years.
“An indication of the huge potential that Sony sees in the Middle East market is that we will soon be hosting one of our most ambitious market initiatives yet - the Middle East PlayStation Experience — at the GITEX Computer Shopper in Dubai later this year,” added Yokota.
Modeled along the lines of the hugely popular European PlayStation Experiences taking place over the next few months, the Middle East PlayStation Experience will be the largest gaming event ever held in the region. Scheduled for Oct. 18-24 in Dubai, the event will bring together under one roof the entire vertical section of the very active and loyal PlayStation gaming community in the Middle East.
“The Middle East PlayStation Experience will be unique in that this is the first such exposition to be held in the region. The average gaming enthusiast in the region is as evolved as those in any other part in the world. However, they have not experienced the impact of major gaming expositions that happen around the world. The Middle East PlayStation Experience is our attempt to bring to the region the best that PlayStation has to offer, both in terms of hardware and the latest software,” he added.