The Covid-19 pandemic continues fuelling impressive growth of the entire gaming industry, with millions of people spending more money on games and gaming equipment.
According to data presented by 123scommesse.it, global gaming PC shipments are expected to hit over 65-million this year. The increasing trend is set to continue in the following years, with the number of sold units rising to nearly 73-million in 2025.
Although the gaming PC industry witnessed supply chain issues in the first half of 2020, global shipments of gaming notebooks, desktop PCs, and monitors jumped by nearly 30% YoY to 55-million units in 2020, revealed the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Gaming Tracker.
Statistics show that gaming PC shipments are expected to jump by another 10-million in 2021. By 2025, this figure is forecast to grow by another 12%.
As the market’s largest segment, gaming notebooks are expected to hit 42,8% market share and 27,9-million sold units this year, up from 24-million a year ago.
The IDC data indicate the following years are set to witness increasing demand for these devices, with global shipments rising to 33,7-million by 2025, a 40% increase in five years.
Gaming monitor shipments are expected to witness an impressive 64% growth in five years, with the number of sold units rising from 14,3-million in 2020 to 23,5-million in 2025.
Gaming desktop PCs are forecast to account for around 26% of shipments in the global gaming PC market this year, with 17,5-million sold units. However, statistics show this figure is expected to drop to 15,7-million in the next four years.
Even before the pandemic, the global gaming PC market witnessed impressive revenue growth, with the figure reaching close to $40-billion in 2020, a 60% jump in five years.
As the market’s largest segment, high-end gaming computers generated $18,5-billion in revenue last year, 72% more than five years ago.
Entry-level gaming PC sales jumped by 15% in this period, with revenue rising to $7,3-billion in 2020.
Statistics show that mid-range gaming PCs witnessed the most significant growth, with revenues surging by 76% between 2015 and 2020. Last year, this segment of the gaming PC market generated $13,4-billion in revenue, up from $7,6-billion in 2015.
A survey by LoopMe and International Data Corporation (IDC) further indicates that there has been a sharp increase in mobile gameplay since the pandemic began – 63% of respondents reported an increase in gameplay time, more-so in countries hard hit by Covid-19 – with an estimated 75% of the net rise in mobile gaming activity to remain after the “new normal” is established in the next two years.
IDC partnered with LoopMe to field and analyze a survey of mobile gamers in six countries, asking respondents about their existing gaming activities, as well as their intentions regarding future gameplay time commitments after the pandemic is largely in-hand in their native countries. The language-localised survey was fielded to approximately 3 850 smartphone users in the US, the UK, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and Singapore in April, and the results were analyzed in May 2021. These countries were selected, in part, to get a mix of high Covid-19 impact countries and low Covid-19 impact countries. Data were normalized to account for population and gender splits by country.
“Two of the clearest and most important signals we found in the survey results were that mobile gaming activity tended to increase more in the countries with the highest Covid-19 death rates, and that gamers in these same countries expected a larger pullback in gaming once the pandemic has subsided compared to gamers in countries that have had low Covid-19 death rates,” says Lewis Ward, director of gaming and VR/AR research at IDC. “This latter change, which should propagate globally in the next 12 to 24 months, will likely have important implications for game developers and publishers, as well as for those involved in mobile game advertising.”
Highlights of the new study include:
- In the six countries surveyed, more than two in three smartphone owners reported playing mobile games in recent months
- 63% of respondents increased their mobile gameplay time after the pandemic began
- A correlation was found between increased mobile gameplay time commitments and local pandemic effects (specifically, the per capita Covid-19 death rate)
- Three in four mobile gamers reported playing to be entertained or just to pass the time; 4% said they were playing to engage in “safe” virtual social interactions that are supported by live multiplayer games especially; more broadly, it appears live multiplayer mobile games outperformed in 2020
- 6% of today’s mobile gamer community didn’t play prior to the pandemic; these new gamers appeared to skew male and a few years younger in age than the broader base of pre-pandemic mobile gamers
- After the pandemic is largely over (presumably late 2022 in most countries), it appears that 25% of the net increase in mobile gaming activity induced by the pandemic will dissipate and 75% of the net rise will remain indefinitely; this “new normal” will vary substantively by country, however, partly based on the severity of the local pandemic
- Largely due to pandemic effects, the worldwide base of gamers that played on a smartphone or slate tablet monthly jumped 12% in 2020 compared to 2019, to roughly 2.25 billion last year
- A majority of mobile gamers make critical buying decisions for their households
Hardware, peripherals gain
Throughout 2020, the global pandemic has created new opportunities for many consumer technologies and gaming PCs and monitors have arguably been among the greatest beneficiaries.
As consumers spent more hours at home and fewer dollars outside, shipments of gaming PCs and monitors grew 26,8% year-over-year in 2020 to 55-million units, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Gaming Tracker.
The growth rate and unit volume were the fastest and largest numbers recorded since IDC began tracking this market in 2016.
Aside from the sheer volume, 2020 brought other milestones that could alter future trends. North America and Western Europe combined overtook Asia/Pacific (including Japan) as the largest market for the first time, largely due to lockdown-induced demand.
Gaming notebooks remained the biggest volume driver through a year marked by home restrictions. Despite being affected by display panel shortages through much of the year, gaming notebooks grew a record 26,9% in 2020 as consumers appreciated their versatility for both work and play.
In parallel with PCs, gaming monitors also reached new heights in 2020, growing more than 77% compared to 2019 with shipments reaching 14,3-million units.
Looking ahead, IDC expects the gaming market to remain a bright spot after the overall PC market returns to more normal replacement cycles after the pandemic.
While gaming desktops will continue to fade in favor of notebooks, their demise will be more than made up for by notebooks and monitors. For example, IDC expects gaming monitor volume will exceed that of gaming desktops for the first time in 2021.
Even as gaming desktops increasingly fall out of favor, except for the DIY and hardcore gaming segments, growing monitor attach rates to gaming notebooks means the gaming monitor market is expected to see a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 10%. IDC expects this momentum to carry forward as global volumes reach 72,9-million in 2025 with a CAGR of 5,8%.
“Unfortunately, the supply of gaming PCs has tumbled recently and while crypto-mining may be partially to blame, the sheer demand for these products and growth in the player base is more likely the root cause of the shortages,” says Jitesh Ubrani research manager for IDC’s Worldwide Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers. “New GPUs, new games, added support for ray-tracing, and the growth in demand have also led to an increase in average selling prices during 2020 and will likely remain at these elevated levels in 2021.”
Jay Chou, research manager for IDC’s Worldwide PC Monitor Tracker, adds; “Much like the notebook market, monitors also faced panel component shortages and surging demand
“OEMs have to be wise about where to allocate scarce resources and it makes sense to meet gaming display demand as commercial buying and office occupancy in many markets remains weak. IDC expects gaming monitors to capture an increasingly larger share of the total monitor market in the years ahead.”
Heinrich Pretorius, Dell EMC Consumer Product Specialist at Drive Control Corporation (DCC), points out there has been a growth in the accessories and peripherals that make working from home (WFH) easier.
This has a knock-on effect for PC gaming peripherals and accessories, which are also enjoying a jolt in adoption. “We have definitely seen an upsurge in demand; more and more users want peripherals and accessories that increase productivity and simplify daily work. Interestingly, users are also opting for high-end products that fall in the gaming bracket,” he says.
“Gaming notebooks, monitors and other accessories are no longer just used for gaming. People are making that extra investment in high-end technology that offer multiple uses and productivity gains. It’s an interesting trend is that is definitely benefiting gaming manufacturers and their channel partners.”
Gerhard Pretorius, retail manager at DCC echoes this sentiment. “The retail market is enjoying a similar uptake. Our retail partners are seeing users purchasing high-end gaming earphones, mouse and keyboards for WFH.
“Furthermore, bigger monitors have also become more popular which definitely talks to users’ need to establish home environments that are geared towards productivity and usability.”
Unlike many other industries, the PC gaming marketplace has continued to grow during the pandemic, with statistics indicating that gaming notebooks represent the market’s largest segment at 22,3-million sold units and a 44,9% market share in 2020. By 2024, this segment is expected to reach almost 50% market share and 30,2-million sold units globally.
“In South Africa we’re seeing a similar trend, more and more people are turning to gaming. For many it makes sense as it’s an activity that they can pursue within the safety of their homes,” comments Hein Pretorius.
“Retailers are seeing a similar uptake and will undoubtedly have to mobilise to keep up with the demand for gaming technology. It’s a trend that is not going anywhere soon,” Gerhard Pretorius concludes.