Review of online gaming in Europe
News on 11 Mar 2014
News on 11 Mar 2014
The Hamburg-based research group Ystats has been attracting attention with its new survey “Europe Online Gaming Market 2014” which, although more general than specific to gambling, still makes for interesting reading.
Ystats has concluded that European internet users – and especially those in West and Central Europe – spend significantly more time playing online games that is the case in other parts of the world…and that the devices of choice are increasingly mobile – smartphones and tablets – and socially oriented.
Users in the United Kingdom – 20 percent of the population play digital games via the internet – top the list of gamers when it comes to spending on digital game content, but Germany has the highest average monthly spend per paying user.
In the UK tablets were apparently the device of choice for gamers on the go last year, with over half those owning a tablet playing games.
Ystats found that in Germany consoles and PCs are still more popular for gaming, but mobile and social platforms are gaining ground. In 2013 downloads generated the highest revenue on the online gaming market. Mobile game sales rose, with games for mobile devices making the largest contribution.
In France, the digital gaming market grew by over 10 percent in 2013, as the share of digital gaming in the total gaming market increased. Last year PCs were most frequently used for gaming, followed by smartphones.
Belgian gamers are also turning increasingly to mobile devices, boosting an already impressive gaming market, with a similar pattern emerging in Spain, although in Italy the mobile revolution has not yet overtaken desktops as the device of choice for gamers.
Gaming by internet users in Turkey and Poland grew dramatically in 2013. In Turkey, over 20 million people play games online regularly, with social games being the largest contributors to this number.
Eastern European countries had a higher share of users who play networked games than was the case in Western Europe, with Croatia the fastest growing.
Ystats found that the online gaming market in Russia is booming; with a 20 percent growth last year…and that there is still considerable potential from mobile and social usage. Researchers say that the number of mobile gamers in the vast country is likely to reach over 60 million by 2016, divided almost equally between PC and console users and those who prefer mobile devices.
