Germany stands out as the most developed market in terms of eSports, while all other countries have recently witnessed huge figures due to increased investments by broadcasters and publishers
The Gamescom (rendered graphically as gamescom) is a video game trade fair held annually in Cologne North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is organized by the “Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware” (in English: Federal Association of Interactive Entertainment Software). The convention is used by the main video game developers to showcase their upcoming titles in the short term and possibly also the hardware connected to them.
Gamescom is the largest European event dedicated to video games (in terms of number of visitors and space for exhibitors). During the fifth edition there were 340,000 visitors, more than 6,000 specialized journalists and 635 exhibitors from 88 different countries, each with their own stand. Always organized in August, the fair has replaced the Games Convention in Leipzig since 2009.
video games have been on the market for a long time now: in the field of entertainment, the video game industry has surpassed both the record and film industries.
An epochal event in the history of Japanese video games was the debut of Space Invader in 1979. What made it very popular and made it successful was the horizontal position of the screen facing upwards towards the user. In 1983, when the advent of the first computers for family use, such as Nintendo and other models, allowed video games to enter homes, the culture of video games spread more and more.
In Japan there are also gaming schools: the beginning of spring is the time for new beginnings for young people in Japan. In the next few days, the school year will end for several million students across the country and, after a short break, lessons will resume at the beginning of April in all schools across the country. Among these in particular there is one in the centre of Tokyo which in the last year has aroused a lot of interest and curiosity, since the curriculum offered is absolutely one of a kind. On the other hand, to understand it you just need to look at the name of the school, which is called E-Sports High School.
When it comes to gaming, North America is the region that has the second largest gaming industry and highest revenue in the world. According to data published by Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report 2020, this region earned $36.9 billion in revenue, with an estimated audience of 191 million players.
The United States is the region’s largest market, with a total of 67% of all North American players located within its borders. Other countries included in this region are Canada and Mexico, which together account for 17% and 10% of all North American players, respectively.
During the months of lockdown, the video game market experienced significant growth, especially in the United States. Data released by market research firm NDP Group indicates that three out of four Americans play video games. Overall, these are 244 million people, 32 million more than in 2018. 39% of this sample is made up of “light gamers”, i.e. players who dedicate less than five hours a week to video games; moderate gamers, who play from 5 to 15 hours a week, are 32%, while so-called heavy or hardcore gamers, who spend over 15 hours a week with a pad in their hands, are 20%.
The Latin American market, particularly in South America, has seen tremendous growth in the video game industry. As demographic consumer tastes evolve and expand, the region is occupying an increasingly strong position within the global gaming market.
According to SuperData Research, the global video game industry is worth approximately $105 billion. But video games aren’t just a bunch of kids playing in their bedrooms, they’re also a huge global eSports market. Although the North American market is the most powerful of all, the eSports industry is becoming less and less centered around it. Latin America, for example, which represents only 4% of the global audience, has a card to play. This is especially true because the South American eSports market is the fastest growing.
Latin America has 110 million gamers across all categories, which is as many potential prospects for the eSports industry. The continent even ranks fourth behind China, Europe and North America in terms of the number of players. Among the countries with the largest market share in South America are Brazil (30%), followed by Mexico (19%), Colombia and Argentina.
In these traditionally football-dominated countries, e-sports is the second most popular sport. In 2016 alone, the video game market in Latin America grew by 20%. Much of this momentum is located in mobile games, with a growth rate of 56% year over year. Furthermore, unlike other emerging markets, Latin America is also experiencing growth in terms of console sales, with a 9% increase in sales. Finally, mobile and PC games each account for $1.4 billion in revenue. This shows the potential of this continent in terms of eSports competitions!
It should be noted that, if the Latin American continent wants to one day dethrone its northern neighbor, it would have to overcome some of its shortcomings. Indeed, retailers and wholesalers in South American countries often receive new video games late, and most of them are not produced on the continent. Additionally, many games that are popular in the United States are not popular in Latin America. Another big issue is the price of games and consoles. Video game stores must transfer their expenses from various taxes to the prices of the products they try to sell. As a result, there are variations in the prices of games and consoles ranging from 25% to 250%!
Also thanks to Covid, it is as if from 2017 to today it is as if the turnover had almost doubled thanks to Covid. Some post-covid analysts are scaling back the growth but the figure remains impressive. Especially if we go into detail because mobile games, classified as social and casual games, are driving the growth of the sector in terms of turnover volumes. And this is the first discontinuity compared to the past. In the ranking of the companies that make the most money from video games, we find PlayStation at the top, which dominates the console market. Ps5 has surpassed 40 million since launch. Sony, for example, earned the equivalent of about $27 billion from games in fiscal 2022, nearly double that of most of the remaining companies in last year’s top 8. Behind it is the Chinese Tencent which, however, does not only make video games for a living: approximately 31% of Tencent’s total revenue is linked to gaming. The same goes for US Microsoft, owner of Xbox, which recorded a turnover of around 16 billion dollars in its latest annual report. With the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, everything is called into question a bit. Also because apart from Nintendo which is the only one that makes a living from video games (Playstation is part of the multinational Sony) everyone else does something else for a living.
The global subscription gaming market is set to grow. Grand View Research (GVR) predicts that the smartphone segment will show the highest CAGR (16.8) for the period 2023-2030. Total revenue for the subscription market will reach a whopping $24.1 billion in 2030.
Video games in Italy?
Video games have always been part of popular culture in Italy. It doesn’t matter if you are in the heart of Rome or in the peaceful Tuscan countryside, you will find passionate players of all ages. Games have become an intergenerational meeting point, an opportunity to bring families and friends together. Their impact on Italian culture is evident, and this is demonstrated by the fact that even traditional arcades continue to attract a loyal audience. The video game industry has also established solid roots in Italy. Large development studios and publishing houses produce successful games, contributing to the country’s economy. Furthermore, Italian institutions are recognizing the cultural and economic value of video games, offering support and promoting initiatives for the development of made in Italy games.
The video game industry has also established solid roots in Italy. Large development studios and publishing houses produce successful games, contributing to the country’s economy. Furthermore, Italian institutions are recognizing the cultural and economic value of video games, offering support and promoting initiatives for the development of made in Italy games.
The video game industry in Italy is growing more and more
Although it started late compared to other European countries, the video game industry in Italy is constantly growing, as demonstrated by the census data of IIDEA (Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association). The number of professionals linked to the production of video games in our country grew from 2021 to 2022 by 50%, going from 1600 to 2400 individuals. What is changing above all is the structure of the industry, which is increasingly moving from start-ups and micro-enterprises, which have fewer than ten people in their workforce, to more organized companies with over ten employees and with many skills also at a business level .
The evolution of Italian video games
In recent years, the growth of the Italian video game industry is therefore evident, which even compared to just five years ago has grown enormously, both in terms of quantity and quality of professionals dedicated to the creation of new video games. Italy as a country started late compared to other European nations where there is already a well-established video game industry, but fortunately it is catching up by making great strides forward year after year.
An example of this recovery is the introduction of the tax credit in 2021 by the Ministry of Culture. This system is described, on the official IIDEA website, as “the measure that recognizes a tax credit equal to 25% of the eligible production costs of a video game, up to the maximum annual amount of 1 million Euros per company or by group of companies”. A first incentive from the Italian government, which for a long time ignored the Italian gaming industry.
However, what should speak above all is the quality of the video games produced in our country, which are increasingly standing out not only for excellent indie productions, but also for more structured and broader projects.
Among the important indies we have for example the winner of this year’s Italian Video Game Awards tERRORbane by BitNine Studio, a title which thanks to its original formula, in which bugs become an integral part of the game, and its comedy has managed to conquer a general public, including according to what was said by Andrea Leoni, one of the game’s developers, it has achieved enormous success on the Asian market, particularly in China and Japan. Vampire Survivors, an indie created by an Italian developer, was a highly played title all over the world, so much so that even Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, spent dozens of hours playing it so much so that he defined it as one of his favorite titles of 2022 .