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Why Business Can No Longer Ignore Gaming In Africa

MyPR: Why Business Can No Longer Ignore Gaming In Africa:

Johannesburg, 29 July 2021: Barry Louzada is Managing Director of esports and gaming content specialist platform, Mettlestate. Here, Barry shares a few compelling insights as to why business needs to take note of gaming as a serious business opportunity – and soon.

“Everybody has become a gamer. Ask anyone what games they started paying during lockdown and I’ll bet you they have an answer – from committed gamers who have tried out new releases, to their parents who have discovered mobile gaming. During this pandemic, gaming has increased globally in every sense – from the number of people playing to revenue figures. And Africa is no exception.

“In SA the total video games revenue, which was worth just R2.0 billion in 2014, rose to R3.5 billion in 2018 and is predicted to increase at a 9.2% CAGR to R5.4 billion in 2023.* This figure is probably even higher now.

“Compared to global figures, as a continent, Africa may have some catching up to do, but in many ways, it’s an audience that is untapped. The scope for growth in Africa is immense, with countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya all showing significant growth figures in the past few years.

“Esports is also growing on the continent, and mobile esports is gaining critical mass in Africa. The introduction of 5G has – and will – further hasten the uptake of mobile gaming and mobile esports, with major companies already investing in tournaments.

“In addition to more players coming on board, one of the biggest things that COVID-19 has done in the gaming community is open the door for non-endemic brands – or brands traditionally or organically not associated with gaming – to capitalise on gaming platforms for exposure.

“With mobile gaming becoming a major catalyst for inclusion – of more players, broader audiences and undeniable opportunities – the stakes are getting higher; prize money is increasing, and popularity is on a rapid rise. In tournaments like the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational overseas, big sponsors like Verizon are stepping up. In Africa, there is space for similar partnerships to come – and there is no better time to get started than now.

“As technology and mobile devices improve, opportunities to connect with gamers are increasing. The stats don’t lie, and we see this from our own first-hand experience. On Mettlestate, for example, over 90% of the traffic we see is from mobile phones, and we are already seeing some big brands taking notice – like mobile providers, sports brands, food brands and more. And as we move forward, it is only a matter of time before Africa becomes another gaming epicentre.

“Because gaming is so flexible, there is nothing stopping brands from leveraging the captive audiences they attract across the board. The numbers are huge, and viewership is wholly engaged. There is also space for brands to own their own tournaments, creating an exclusive home for themselves online. Content creation is the gift that keeps on giving, particularly if the content is relevant.

“The common misconception in Africa seems to be the cost factor. Exorbitant amounts of money are not on the table in African gaming just yet. We are not yet in a space where prize pools are in the millions. Business can come on board for comparatively economical investments at this stage. And connecting with gaming audiences can be more affordable – and more impactful – than buying a billboard or using more traditional advertising platforms.

“Ultimately, business is missing out on opportunities on a massive scale. As a statistical benchmark, the simple reality is that 80% of gamers on the Mettlestate platform alone are not consuming traditional media – like newspapers, TV, billboards or radio. This is an audience that exclusively engages online, and even Facebook has lost popularity with this ever-growing demographic.

“There is a world of opportunity that brands are, by and large, overlooking in a sports arena that is growing by the minute, globally and definitely in Africa. It is only a matter of time before the scales tip, and someone dominates the space.

Check out Mettlestate on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitch channels for regular esports updates, tournaments and news.

*PWC AEMO Entertainment and Media Outlook

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Did you know this about Johannesburg? The Rand Afrikaans University was founded in 1966. Its first campus was on the erstwhile premises of South African Breweries in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Later it moved to its new campus in Auckland Park. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) and the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University.

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Top Star Drive-In: The Cinema on the Mountain of Gold

The Ferreira Dump began growing in the late 1800s, composed of the crushed rock and chemical residue left over after early, inefficient mining processes had extracted as much gold as the technology of the time allowed. By the 1960s, it was a flat-topped, man-made mesa overlooking the city. In a stroke of entrepreneurial genius, the surface was tarred and the Top Star Drive-In was opened. It quickly became a South African institution. Its appeal was not just the movies, but the unparalleled view: as the sun set, the massive white screen would flicker to life against a backdrop of the glowing skyscrapers of the Central Business District, separated from the viewer only by the elevated M2 highway.

In the decades before television arrived in South Africa (1976), the Top Star was a primary social hub. It was a democratic space in an undemocratic time; while the city below was strictly segregated, the “car” served as a private bubble that allowed a degree of social freedom not found in traditional theaters. For many Johannesburgers, the Top Star was a site of nostalgic rites of passage—first dates, family outings where children were piled into the back of station wagons with blankets and flasks of tea, and the Saturday “car market” where the parking lot transformed into a sprawling hub for buying and selling second-hand vehicles.