Gaming: the opportunity is now
93 percent of Mexican centennials under the age of 20 identify themselves as “gamers,” according to data from The CIU. By Alonso Fajardo
In short, video games ceased to be “children’s stuff” to become an industry in which adult consumers coexist, capable of paying exorbitant amounts to live various experiences in the gaming world.
We know very well that the pandemic is considered a turning point in people’s lives, but also in various industries; a moment in history that caused, among other things, a dependence on digitization that continues to grow to this day.
To begin with, it is enough to take into account what We Are Social and Meltwater point out in their Digital 2023 report, which confirms that the number of people connected to the Internet already exceeds five billion, of which 4.7 billion are adhered to social networks.
Taking these figures into account, it is clear that the progress of the so-called “digital age” does not stop, but quite the opposite and it seems that there is no going back, especially if we consider that the digital experience is also evolving as this the market demands it.
“Werevertumorro and Miguel Layún are, today, two of the greatest promoters of eSports in Mexico, an industry that is growing”, Gerardo Sordo, CEO and Founder of BrandMe.
Gaming in pandemic
The health emergency not only affected the health of millions of people around the world, as well as the global economy. Similarly, it meant significant growth in various industries, and the video game industry is one of the ones that benefited the most from the confinement that was proclaimed in March 2020.
In the so-called “twin year”, it is estimated that the industry reached a value of 198 thousand 500 million dollars, a figure that by 2027 is expected to increase by 141 thousand 600 million dollars.
In Mexico, in 2020, the market reached a total of 81 million gamers, which represent 63 percent of the population according to data from a study carried out by Rebold.
“Due to the pandemic, people had to start consuming more entertainment from home, many began to catch up on streaming movies and series, but over time the options were running out, which is why gaming boomed. and more and more people dabbled in this entertainment. The incursion into this industry led to sales of all kinds, from specialized computer equipment to peripherals and accessories such as ergonomic chairs, mice, keyboards, headsets or microphones”, explains Humberto Díaz, regional manager of the gaming product line for Dell Technologies Latin America.
Although it is true that video games already represented a very important sector for brands, it was probably, as a result of the pandemic and the boom in content creators or streamers that they have begun to draw up various strategies in order to reach an audience that is growing.
An opportunity of gold?
Of course, given the growth of an industry, both in numbers and in popularity, brands need to be alert and especially when it is young people who, in some way, drive this boom.
Data from The Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU) reveal that, in Mexico, 93 percent of young people from the so-called Generation Z (under 20 years of age) register as video game users, which is why it is expected that, in the face of In the coming years, the industry will grow even more.
“Mexico is already one of the most important markets worldwide in gaming, because we are increasingly occupying more spaces in international competitions,” Raúl Aguilar, CEO of Monou Entertainment.
“Mexico is already considered one of the most relevant markets worldwide in gaming. Because of our market value, because we are occupying more and more spaces in international competitions, because we have content creators with millions of followers, and of course; because we are geographically close to different gaming publishers with our neighbor to the north. Becoming a professional gamer or becoming a massive digital creator are the paths that are likely to receive the most reflectors. In conclusion, the industry turned to enable more spaces and opportunities for interaction between players”, says Raúl Aguilar, CEO of Monou Entertainment.
Now, despite the fact that the industry has an important consumer base, the market in Mexico still seems new, although with great expectations, and that is where brands could make a difference and promote that legion of young people who want to become creators and/or streamers.
In the words of the content creator and standupper known as “El Cojo Feliz”, the support of brands is important for those who want to make a living from video games. “I think that more events need to be held. Each fandom has its respective league and having these new forms of entertainment is important for the industry in Mexico. Hopefully one day we will see the final of an eSports tournament with a full auditorium”.
In the end, the video game market is presented as a great bet both for its potential and, of course, for its content; Innovation and new technologies play an essential role in the positioning of this industry, which is why it is predicted that in Mexico and other parts of the world there will be a greater concentration of gamers in the coming years.
new habits of consumption
Over the years, added to the arrival of new technologies, people’s habits have changed radically, but it was as a result of the pandemic that what is now known as the “boom” of digitization occurred, a a process that had already been taking place for a few years, but that during the global health emergency had an even greater boom in various parts of the world, Mexico included, as well as in industries.
Just to mention a few examples, activities such as shopping, listening to music, and even movies and television are very different today. In this sense, streaming video platforms, although they do not have the same popularity as television, are gradually gaining followers thanks to the content offered to their user base.
After the consolidation of the pandemic, it is estimated that between 2020 and 2021, around one billion users accumulated on the different streaming video platforms that today dominate the market; Of those billion, in Mexico, at the end of 2022, there were already 12.5 million streaming subscribers, where Netflix appears as the only leader, well above Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max.
However, streaming also became a tool for streamers or creators who decided to move to platforms like Twitch, YouTube Gaming and, at the time, Facebook Gaming, although the latter recently announced its exit from the market.
“Today, eSports and content creators for gamers are being part of the key entertainment of the new generations”, Humberto Díaz, Regional Manager of Gaming Product Line for Dell Latinoamerican Technologies.
“Digital content was a cornerstone for the strengthening of the industry. According to a report by Stream Hatchet, in 2019 the global consumption of platforms such as Twitch, Facebook Gaming and YouTube was 14 billion hours, by 2020 the figure reached 27.8 billion hours and by the end of 2022 the figure is of 29.5 billion”, affirms Humberto Díaz, regional manager of the gaming product line for Dell Technologies Latin America.
Reality dictates that, in terms of gaming and content, in Mexico the issue of eSports is nothing new, but various competitions have already been held and there is even a team sponsored by Adidas, the same one that has Miguel Layún and Rodolfo Landeros.
“Different clans of gamers have already existed for many years, such as the forums that were made from Nintendo 64 or, even, from the Supernintendo, when game clubs were set up in cyber cafes and this type of space, but I consider that Miguel Layún is one of the greatest promoters for the fact of putting together an eSports team with transcendence”, reveals Gerardo Sordo, CEO and Founder of BrandMe when explaining how the eSports phenomenon has begun to gain ground in Mexico and about its evolution throughout of the years.
Undoubtedly, in terms of digitization and streaming content, reality dictates that a new market has opened up for brands that can be explored and exploited from various trenches or positioning perspectives.
“Increasingly, more and more brands are approaching to explore the possibilities of venturing into these new technologies and thus appeal to new audience segments; the possibilities are endless and the best thing is that they get into this sector and immerse themselves in it as soon as possible so that the competition does not get ahead of them and win this dynamic and profitable market”, suggests Raúl Aguilar, CEO of Monou Entertainment.
The future, in short, belongs to young people and they are the ones who are most attached to digital issues, from the use of smartphones to the complex handling of different consoles that deliver new experiences pointing to different trends, such as the metaverse, the virtual reality, etc.
In the end, we are talking about an industry that goes hand in hand with technology and its great advances, and that is the reason why video games represent one of the sectors with the greatest impact for brands.
