Alright, the headline is a bit deceiving but it got your attention. Success! According to Forbes, Europe has the world’s largest potential for the videogame industry, but is at the same time the least mature. Forbes referred to a research made by IDG showing that Europe generated 17.9 billion dollars in 2007 - less than the US with 18.8 million dollars.

The reason for this, according to Forbes, is that Europeans tend to be more casual gamers, wanting more effortless games to play e.g. on the subway and trains. Gamers in the US on the other hand, are more hardcore gamers that are “spending hours at a stretch at a console to play long, epic tales.”

Because of the more serious gaming in the US, game developers and creators have spent more time on that market, thus making the Europeans buy more “spontaneous” and old games. The PlayStation 2 grabbed 47% of the market share in Europe, followed by Nintendo DS in second place with 25%. The Wii had only a 7% share and the Xbox 360 got 5%.

Here are the best-selling games in Europe (the UK, France and Germany)

• Brain Training
• FIFA 2008
• Wii Play
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
• New Super Mario Bros
• Need for Speed: Pro Street
• Assassin’s Creed
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Big Brain Academy
• The Simpsons Game

Well that’s a fascinating list. Although it would have been even more fascinating if they added the remaining 47 countries of Europe before they came to conclusions. If we stop splitting hairs though, it shows that hardcore gaming isn’t as accepted in Europe as it is across the pond. 2008 is a very fun year for gamers, and if IDG decides to make another research in a year, I hope the outcome will be different.