North America Gaming Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

North America Gaming Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The North American gaming market is expected to register a CAGR of 11.8% during the forecast period. The rise in the people of the region's affordability and the strong economic backbone coupled with the latest technologies drive the market's growth. Moreover, free-to-play and mobile games are boosting the market growth in the region.

• The gaming market in North America saw unprecedented growth in recent years due to increased mobile penetration and the availability of new consoles in the North American market. United States is one of the largest gaming industry markets and has the most extensive library of games available to its citizens.
• Canada's gaming enterprises, technologies, products, and expertise are witnessing an increasing demand. Several key factors, such as technological innovations, consumer preferences for new products, shifts in public perception, and innovation, drive the expansion of the Canadian gaming industry. This translated into interest from international companies wanting to make a strong foothold in Canada.
• Adopting Gaming Platforms, such as E-sports, drives the North American region's market. Also, the region is witnessing considerable activity from startups that further propel market growth. For instance, 'The Forge Arena,' made by Phoenix Rising Studio, is a Canadian startup looking to become a new player in eSports.
• Restraining factors like digital privacy hinder the online gaming sector. Digital piracy is the illicit copying or dissemination of copyrighted information through the Internet. It has a negative impact on the creative sectors, including gaming. Online piracy has an economic consequence, putting consumers at risk of financial loss. It also exposes users to security threats, such as identity theft and exposing children to improper information.
• With the outbreak of COVID-19, home entertainment played a significant role for gamers during the lockdown. During the pandemic, video gamers in United States reported spending 45% more time playing video games amid the quarantine than in the previous week. Moreover, Esports gained further traction after the pandemic as there was an increase of 14% in the first-time download of Twitch, a live streaming platform for gamers after the epidemic.

• Accessibility is one of the primary reasons for the adoption of mobile gaming, and most smartphones are loaded with games. The growing popularity of mobile games is due to technological developments and enhancements, such as AR, VR, cloud gaming, and 5G.
• Because of its immersive and interactive technologies, augmented reality is becoming ideal for mobile gaming. Furthermore, mobile games are the most popular AR genre in app stores. Apart from previously launched AR mobile games that are still popular, such as Pokémon Go and Ingress, vendors in the North American market are creating numerous new contributions to the category.
• According to Ericsson, 5G connectivity is expected to drive the growth of the North American gaming market in the coming years, as the newer mobile technology with higher data speeds, ultra-low latency, and increased availability, among other benefits. 5G subscriptions are forecast to increase drastically in North America from 2019 to 2027, from over 1.07 million to around 399.99 million subscriptions. The region has the highest adoption rate of smart devices. As smart devices, especially smartphones, play a significant role in the development of the market, the region offers a huge opportunity for the growth of the market studied over the forecast period.
• Furthermore, regional telecom companies are aggressively making efforts to attract customers to use their 5G network. Hence, these regional vendors invest and innovate the software and platform to develop gaming applications by leveraging the upcoming 5G technology.

• In United States, gaming hardware, such as consoles, is expected to hold significant demand in the market. This demand for console games is not limited to hardcore gamers who spend a substantial amount of time gaming and generate a significant share of the gaming industry.
• Gaming consoles have witnessed a steady rise in demand, owing to the continual rise in gamers and technological advancements in United States over the last few years. The number of time users spend on gaming has been increasing as the number of games and the variety is increasingly diversified. Unique content is also being created continuously.
• In addition, the gaming consoles provide an advanced graphical output that is unmatched by other alternative platforms. The report by Entertainment Software Association stated that 63% of gamers in United States made their purchase decision majorly based on the quality of graphics. The gaming consoles benefitted from their ability to support 4K content.
• Video gaming is no longer a hobby exclusively for the young. As generations have grown up with video gaming as a common part of life, the average gamer's age has risen. According to a survey conducted by Entertainment Software Association this year poll, 36% of video game players are between 18 and 34, with 6% being 65 and older. Time spent playing video games last year; Americans aged 15 to 19 spent 1.44 hours a day on gaming or leisurely computer use on average. The 45 to 54-year-old age group was the one that spent the least amount of time gaming. During a typical day, members of this age group spent only 0.28 hours playing on the computer.
• The key players in the market are introducing new technologies which propel the market growth in the market. For instance, in June this year, Microsoft Corporation released an Xbox app for smart TVs that enables consumers to stream Xbox video games even if they do not own consoles.
• Gaming consoles survived the revolution created by smartphones, as the games compatible with such consoles cannot be practically supported in smartphones with limited battery life. Although increased smartphone ownership was witnessed in the past decade, console manufacturers continuously try to add an edge to their gaming experience.

The North American gaming market is highly fragmented due to intense rivalry in the market due to the increasing demand for online games and the increasing penetration of mobile applications. Players in the market are innovating and releasing next-generation gaming solutions to capture high market share and also adopting strategies, such as partnerships and acquisitions to enhance their product offerings and gain sustainable competitive advantage.

January 2022. Microsoft Corp. announced a plan to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc., a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher. This acquisition would likely accelerate the growth in Microsoft's gaming business across mobile, PC, console, and cloud and provide building blocks for the metaverse.

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