$1.38 Billion Invested in 87 Virtual Goods-Related Companies in 2009

NEW YORK, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Market research firm and event producer Engage Digital Media, via its www.VirtualGoodsNews.com blog, released today the 2009 Virtual Goods Investment Report, tracking virtual goods-related investments during 2009. The report details more than $1.38 billion invested in 87 virtual goods-related companies.

Virtual Goods are generating companies billions in revenues worldwide and have been described as the perfect business: charging real money on social networks, in social games or in virtual worlds for digital products that may not exist in the real world. The report comes in advance of the Virtual Goods Conference at Engage! Expo, taking place February 16-17, 2010 in New York City. The conference will provide an in-depth look at virtual goods business opportunities.

The amount invested in 2009 represents more than three times the amount invested in 2008 when $408 million was invested. The total number of companies receiving investment money also increased year-over-year: 87 in 2009 compared with 34 in 2008, an increase of more than 100 percent. Of the $1.38 billion invested for the year $398.3 million is acquisition related.

"Virtual goods was the hot tech story of 2009, driving investment that crossed over into game development, virtual currency, payment services, and social networks," said Christopher Sherman, CEO of Engage Digital Media. "In the fourth quarter alone 30 companies raised an astounding $944 million, more than double the amount raised in all four quarters of 2008. Also noteworthy was the number of acquisitions in the space - 18 of the course of the year - with half of those taking place in the 4th quarter."

The performance of the goods in 2009 is extraordinary given that the year was one of economic hardship in most industries.  The report is available for free at http://www.engagedigitalmedia.com/research/ and details individual companies, the amount invested, list of investors, market segment and more.

About Engage Digital Media

Engage Digital Media is a leading producer of trade events and media that focus on social games, microtransactions, virtual worlds and user engagement. More information about Engage Digital Media can be found at http://www.EngageDigitalMedia.com .

SOURCE Engage Digital Media