The RISE of the Gaming industry

WESLEY DIPHOKO wesley.diphoko@inl.co.za

THE lockdown has taken gaming to a new level. There are now as many gamers as there are people who watch TV. And this means that brands have a huge potential to reach new customers.

The gaming industry saw a sudden growth in 2020 with usage reaching 87% of global internet users between Q4 2019 and Q2 2020. It is anticipated that the industry will be worth $250 billion by 2025.

Traditionally, gaming has been a predominantly male domain but as at Q2 2020, 92% of females in the 16-24 age group were playing games. Gaming in the 55-64 age group also increased, from 57% to 67%.

Smartphones are also contributing to the increase as users no longer have to buy an expensive device to play.

Gaming giants are no longer each other’s biggest competition. Instead, the industry is widening and includes the social media and e-commerce behemoths who are making gaming a strategic priority. Roughly 2.5 billion people play games, even if many of these don’t count themselves as gamers, and so it’s little surprise that Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple are making big bets on gaming.

The pandemic has given the gaming industry an additional boost, as people turn to gaming to help pass the time in lockdown. In Australia, sales of gaming consoles soared by 285.6% in one week during March last year.

Virtual reality is a branch of gaming that has been making inroads beyond entertainment. Its use in fitness programmes has been growing – for example, letting cyclists do the Tour de France route virtually on a stationary bike. The use of gaming technology is also on the rise in the health sector, as an aid for physical rehabilitation, for example.

In this issue of IOL Tech, we have some good news about a young South African who will take part in a global gaming competition. We also share advice for those who are keen to take their gaming space to another level.

Wesley Diphoko