Videogame consoles rise with AR/VR gaming, e-sports | Global Sources

by Melanie Victoriano (Content Editor)

Image source: Getty

There have been nine generations of videogame consoles, according to gaming experts. The first generation began with the first videogame console, the Magnavox Odyssey – on which a ping-pong style game was played – released in North America in 1972. The ninth and most recent generation is that of the Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox series X/S, both released in 2020.

PS5 and Xbox X/S may be all the rage now, but in the 40-year span before they came to be, generations of gamers grew up with and formed attachments to now old videogame consoles like the Atari 2600, Mattel Intellivision, Nintendo Game Boy, and Sega Saturn.

There are 3.24 billion gamers worldwide today, about a third of the world’s population, according to Statista. These individuals are drawn to this pastime because as something that can be done at home, gaming is relatively inexpensive compared to other recreational activities, according to market research firm Insider Intelligence.

China has the largest number of gamers in the world, with 655 million, followed by the United States, with 244 million. Japan, Korea, and Germany round out the top five gaming markets. Southeast Asia is the fastest-growing gaming region.

As a game platform, videogame consoles are still king among young and avid gamers, despite the increasing popularity of mobile phones. Research by data analytics company Morning Consult showed that 61 percent of “young gamers,” defined as those under 35 years of age, and 53 percent of “avid gamers,” or those who play at least seven hours of videogames a week, play games on a console.

Consoles are preferred by many gamers over personal computers because they are easy to set up and maintain and do not need hardware upgrades. Console gaming also generally requires minimal technical skills.

The three main types of console are home consoles like the PS5 and Xbox; handhelds or portable consoles, like the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo 3DS; and hybrids, like the Nintendo Switch. Home consoles are the largest segment, with a market share of nearly 55 percent, according to 360 Research Reports.

In terms of sales, Sony and Nintendo occupy the top spots. Sony’s PlayStation 2 is the top-selling console of all time, with 157.68 million units sold since its launch in 2000 up to 2013, when it was discontinued.

While newer consoles with immersive and realistic games dominate, there is still a niche for consoles that hark back to the early days of gaming.  The reason is not just nostalgia. According to a report by market observer GameGavel, games in older consoles are appealing because of their simplicity and lack of monetization compared with newer games.

There is a segment of gamers who do not like games with complex storylines and complicated gameplay that may take several days’ worth of time to complete. As well, there are gamers who frown upon monetization within a game, where a player gains access to extra content only with in-game currency. This is a trend observed in older gamers -- those outside the age group of the core gaming market who are between 18 and 30 years old. According to a study by market research firm Quantic Foundry, older gamers tend to gravitate toward more casual and less competitive games.

Older models and current generation consoles each have aficionados which help maintain the high demand.

The videogame console market is on the rise. Major drivers of growth for the sector include the rising demand for Augmented Reality (AR)- and Virtual Reality (VR)- based gaming and the emergence of international e-sports tournaments. A report by industry observer Techjury stated that 48 percent of gaming studios are now working on AR/VR games. It also noted that e-sports are gaining traction because of the big draw of the prize money in tournaments. More than $177 million worth of prize money, for example, has been awarded in Dota 2 tournaments recently, according to TechJury.

Valued at $58.93 billion in 2021, the videogame consoles sector is expected to grow at 8.87 percent CAGR from 2022 to 2028 to reach $97.85 billion by the end of the forecast period, according to research by industry analyst Skyquest.

China has been the videogame console manufacturing center since the 1990s, with as much as 96 percent of all consoles – the majority of which are branded models for shipment to all parts of the world – produced there.

Since 2015, China has also developed videogame consoles for distribution in its domestic market.

The products in this gallery have been handpicked by our market analyst for representing current trends in videogame consoles made in China, excluding models manufactured for top videogame console brands.