With nowhere to go and few chances to interact in person is should not be a surprise that online gaming saw a big year in 2020. PCByte says 2020 was a unique growth year for the industry – the COVID-19 lockdowns and stay-at-home protocols spurred enormous interest in gaming amongst Aussies.
During the height of the pandemic, most people remained home. As they weren’t commuting and socializing was limited, many of them had a lot more free time on their hands. With boredom on the rise, people started seeking new hobbies to keep themselves entertained.
The gaming industry was one of the few industries that benefited from people staying home, with many people turning to games for stress relief, entertainment and social connection. According to PCByte, some people use the extra time at home to get into gaming, while many gamers significantly increased their gaming time.
These groups of people started investing in the best gaming laptops and the best gaming PCs to compete with their peers, resulting in a spike in demand for gaming PC products. Gaming is, after all, an engaging hobby where once someone gets into it, they continue to purchase new equipment as they look to have the best gaming PC or laptop for their needs.
With the global games market predicted to generate $175.8 billion in 2021 and surpass $200 billion in 2023, PCByte expects to see growth in demand for gaming laptops and PC products continue past the pandemic.
The pandemic also saw record numbers of people both streaming their games and watching others play. Streaming presents gamers with potentially lucrative opportunities and continues to grow in popularity as more people join streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch. YouTube now boasts over 40 million gaming channels, while Twitch has almost 10 million.
As streaming requires special equipment, like cameras and microphones, there has been a surge in demand for these products. In addition, PCByte says the games are getting better and so is the technology, which in turn requires gamers to update their equipment if they want to have the best gaming laptop or PC.
Despite consumers returning to offices and schools around the world, PCByte says industry growth has continued, with streaming and esports gaining traction. As a result, PCByte is confident the gains made by the gaming industry will continue and predicts significant growth in the long term.
