According to a recently released report by Newzoo – an international full service market research and consulting firm, focused on the gaming industry – Asia and other growth regions will take 51 per cent of the global market in 2017.
As per a study conducted for the global market in 2013, US, Western Europe and Oceania account for 51 per cent of the $75.5 billion market, with Asia, Eastern Europe, LATAM & MEA making up the remaining 49 per cent.
So, what’s going to change the majority in the other’s favour by 2017 one may ask, let’s take a closer look.
The main reason for the shift is the continuous growth in this region, with a 12.5 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), fuelled by increasing internet and smartphone penetration.
The current distribution of all game revenues from various avenues include 40 per cent on the computer screen, followed by 31 per cent by entertainment screens. The PC screen will continue its dominance led by massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, but the entertainment screen’s contribution will decline to 24 per cent and personal screens pitching in with 22 per cent of all revenues in 2017.
For increased revenues, the gamers too will need to spend more time, which in turn will raise the proposition of monetising from the game better. The arrival of smartphones and tablets as gaming devices has made it easier for gamers to spend more time playing games.
The growth of gaming on smartphones is clearly evident with nearly $17 billion or 23 per cent of the total gaming revenue coming in from that segment in 2013. This is expected to surpass $35 billion or 34 per cent by 2017. The total number of gamers is expected to increase from 1.33 billion in 2013 to 1.82 billion by 2017. With Asia, Eastern Europe, MEA and LATAM growing at 42 per cent combined.
With globalisation of the games market really picking up pace, as platforms and business models become more aligned across all regions of the world. Free-to-play and eSports have moved from East to West, and at the same time, the East is opening up to Western IP and game devices. Mobile gaming has become the truly global playground for developers.