The global gaming market is expected to rise from $152 billion in 2019 to $196 billion by 2022. Undoubtedly, gaming has become a significant source of revenue for many companies in most westernized countries. Hence, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada making to the top 10 list of the global gaming markets is no surprise.
Recently, multiple Asian countries have risen to the top, including number one with China. Let’s have a look at the giants in the industry, including India – the flourishing market globally.
United States of America
The U.S. has topped the list of top global gaming markets, with a total of $36.9 billion in 2019, and is likely to widen the gap in 2020 due to the new console age starting with the PS5 and XBOX.
Microsoft and PC are popular in the West, with sports games dominating the casual market. Surprisingly, most of the revenue comes from two places: loot boxes and EA, which often coincide with each other. With over 273M people online, gaming is a primary source of entertainment but falls short on television. It’s hard to find anyone in America who doesn’t have a phone or a gaming system. Although Microsoft platforms are the main source of gaming in North America, Nintendo has gained the popularity it once held in the 90s, meaning more revenue for Japan.Â
India
Once most of India went online a few years ago, gaming revenue skyrocketed for the country. Although no official number for India has been released for the 2019 year, but in 2019 the gaming market in India was estimated $890 million, which would make the country one of the fastest-growing emerging gaming market in the world.
Even so, they are hardly mentioned in top lists, and this may be because of the bizarre gambling laws in the country. Online gambling accounts for the vast majority of this figure, and you can visit this site to see one of the more popular casinos in the area. With more and more of the population having access to the internet, this figure is likely to rise.
China
The Republic of China is closing trailing behind the US with estimated market size of a whopping $36.5 billion in 2019. Despite the fact China has banned most access to the internet and many sources to buy and sell video games, the Chinese people have still found a way to connect and play with others online. Recently, the Chinese government also banned new gaming titles, yet, their gaming revue is rumoured to reach 41B. Mobile gaming, PC, and MMO games account for most of the popularity of gaming in China, with browser games coming in fourth.
Japan
It’s hard to speak about gaming and not mention Japan. Despite their population being significantly smaller than the United States and China, they come in 4th, or on most lists 3rd in the world for gaming revenue with $18.6 billion. Home of the legendary Nintendo, Sega, Namco Bandai, Sony, and Konami companies, Japan has an active arcade scene with building that span multiple floors.Â
Japan in itself is a technologically advanced country, where most of the countries residents have a cellphone, making gaming more accessible than any other country in the world. The only issue of the Japanese gaming market is that it’s difficult for foreign companies to break into the market, so 90% of the revenue comes from local Japanese companies. If at any point, they decided to translate more games, they may make more than the United States market.
South Korea
Starcraft isn’t the only thing that put South Korea on the map; it was also its decades of hosting esports, along with the wide variety of MMOs. Korea ranks 4th with $6.1 billion in total revenue in 2019. South Korea has made online gaming very accessible to all its inhabitants due to its super-fast internet, esports television stations, and the popularity of League of Legends means having a lot of people to play with.Â
South Korea has the highest smartphone penetration rate in Asia and number 11 in the world. 53% of the population play mobile games at least once a month. RPGs are the most popular for mobile gaming players, with an amazing 90% being from that genre. Console gaming is on the out for most of the world, but that remains true in Korea as well. It’s possible that South Korea could top the Japanese market in the next few years.
