Computer graphics market to exceed $142 billion by 2016

While the PC industry might not be in all that good shape, the computer graphics industry is position where it is expected to exceed $142 billion by 2016, according to Jon Peddie Research.

The computer graphics industry has enjoyed massive success since it was established in the late 1970s, and it is now showing signs of renewed vigor and potential, some of which is down to a boost from mobile and post-PC devices.

The computer graphics hardware market was worth $93 billion in 2010, and this is expected to break $107 billion in 2013, with software growing slight faster than hardware.

Last year the computer graphics software market was worth $14 billion (a figure which goes not include services, maintenance and other aspects) and this is expected to grow to $17 billion by 2013.

"The sharp curtailment of household and corporate spending during the recession has resulted in a renewed desire among consumers and businesses to begin increasing spending on the latest graphics software and hardware platforms," wrote Dr. Jon Peddie,  a 30 veteran of the graphics industry and president of Jon Peddie Research.

"We will see the development of traditional segments like CAD/CAM expand as new design approaches in automotive, aerospace, and architecture are adopted. Visualization, a market that has been almost dormant for the past few years, is now poised for significant growth due to the availability of more powerful and less expensive visualization technologies."

While the hardware segment has, overall, experienced growth, one sector that has experienced a slide is gaming PC sales, which has seen a decline of 3.16 percent over the past year. The largest growth has been in workstations and monitors, with the mobile graphics segment coming in a strong third.