SA gamers spend in the billions of Rand

The South African gaming market is relatively small when measured against large markets such as the US and Europe; however, the passionate SA gaming community spent a whopping R1.3 billion on games, gaming accessories, PCs and hardware in 2011, with an estimation of spend exceeding R1.7-billion by 2016.

According to a PWC report and forecast, the 2016 gaming spend will be split between the mobile gaming market (21%), the console and handheld market (56%), and the PC game market (6%). Online games (15%), and advertising accounting for the remaining 2%.

As for 2013, the gaming spend is estimated at R1.41 billion, up from the R1.33 billion in 2012.

The 2013 market should generate R784 million in console and handheld games, R123 million in the PC games market, and R168 million in online gaming, with R312 million going towards mobile gaming.

The report also offers up some points on the SA gaming industry:

Smartphones and tablets, aided by an intuitive touch interface and improved graphic capabilities are fast becoming the device of choice for casual game players.
Increased broadband penetration and the growing digital distribution of content will drive growth in the online game market.
The growth of micro-transactions, together with an increase in social gaming, is providing a boom for the industry and is challenging traditional subscription revenue models.
The PC games market continues to be challenged as consumers turn their attention to newer technologies.
Piracy of PC games, which is prevalent in the industry in South Africa, continues to hamper the growth in this segment.
Online gaming and advertising on social network sites like Facebook is growing rapidly and attracting users who were not traditionally interested in gaming.
Total spending on video games is projected to grow at a 6.4% compound annual growth rate from R1.3 billion in 2011 to R1.8 billion in 2016.