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Why is gaming so big?
More and more people are buying and playing computer games. Video game references are normal in films and on TV and in general conversation. An England player celebrated a goal in the world cup with a gesture from Fortnite. Gaming is now firmly in the mainstream in the same way as film and television. The global gaming market is projected to reach $171.96 billion by 2025, growing faster than the broad entertainment market.
eSports
The competitive arm of gaming has grown enormously in the last decade. The prize pool for the 2017 International, the Dota 2 tournament, was $11 million. With winnings that big, maybe you should stop dismissing your child’s gaming habit as a waste of time. The biggest teams are sponsored by even bigger brands, like Alienware and Monster Energy. eSports professionals view their chair, mouse and keyboard in the same way that professional footballers view their boots. A high-end gaming chair can cost as much $350. There are even very serious plans to get eSports recognised as an Olympics sports genre ready for 2024. $100 billion was made by the gaming industry in 2017 and $693 million of that came from eSports.
China
It seems strange to single out a particular country, but China has played a huge part in the growth of games. China’s game market is growing extremely quickly, with growth of 250% in just two years. 11.1 billion eSports videos were streamed in China in 2016. In terms of the supply side, Tencent is China’s largest digital company and is worth $500 billion. A large part of its revenue comes from gaming - it owns the developer of Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, two of the world’s biggest games. Additionally, Tencent also owns Riot, the company behind League of Legends, and has stakes in Activision Blizzard.
Mobile
The platform that has seen the biggest growth is mobile. In 2017, 24% of the total gaming market was made up of PC users and 25% by console gaming. Mobile gaming took up 43% of the total market share - $50.4 billion of revenue This was already very impressive, then it was projected that mobile gaming would be over half of the entire gaming market, making more than PC and console gaming, combined. If you compare this to mobile gaming in 2012, which only made up 18% of the total market, it is clear that mobile has had an enormous impact on the gaming industry.
Variety
New games of all genres are appearing and are appealing to all manner of demographics. You can play shooters, puzzle games, strategy games, racing games and online casino games, on the platform of your choice. Why not look at casino startup bonuses and join in the fun?
Conclusion
Gaming is here, and it is here to stay. The industry employs millions of developers, programmers, artists, managers and journalists across the world. Millions tune in to watch the big eSports finals and billions spend their money on buying games and in-game content. Mobile is leading the way but both PC and console gaming is growing, with many fantastic new games being released every month.
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