Game Companies Boost Hawaii Economy

Video games are a growing business in Hawaii. The state's entertainment software industry added over $23 million to the state's economy in 2009, according to a report released today by the Entertainment Software Association.

The Hawaii findings were only a small part of a national survey that concluded that the computer and video game industry added nearly $5 billion to the American economy last year.

According to the report, there are five "Interactive Entertainment Software Locations" in the Aloha State, and they directly employ 165 people (plus an additional 397 people indirectly). All are classified as developers rather than publishers.

The ESA also points out that Hawaii's interactive entertainment software industry saw real annual growth of 10 percent in 2009, whereas the state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) only rose 1.43 percent, and the information sector actually shrunk a little (0.19 percent).

Nationally, the entertainment software industry's real annual growth rate from 2005 to 2009 exceeded 10 percent, more than seven times the growth rate of the U.S. economy as a whole, according to the report.

Can you name Hawaii's five "Interactive Entertainment Software Locations"?

You can read the full report, "Video Games in the 21st Century: The 2010 Report," or download the Hawaii highlights as PDF files.