Games Industry Africa / Newzoo: data on gaming population in Africa in 2021

[DarkDetective]

Source: https://gamesindustryafrica.com/2022/01/17/state-of-the-african-games-industry-2022/
Via: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...uth-africa-games-revenue-reached-290m-in-2021

Games Industry Africa has published a report about gaming population of Sub-Saharan Africa in 2021.
The report focuses on five territories: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

Market size
Total player population: 105 million
Total payer population: 37 million
Total consumer spending: $ 589 million

+--------------+---------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+-------+
|   Country    |Platform |   Players    |    Payers    |Consumer spending| ARPPU |
+--------------+---------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+-------+
|              | Mobile  | 22.4 million |  8.5 million | $ 258.9 million | $  30 |
|              | PC      |  6.1 million |  2.6 million | $  17.6 million | $   7 |
| South Africa | Console |  5.9 million |  3.0 million | $  13.0 million | $   4 |
|              |         |              |              |                 |       |
|              | Total   | 23.9 million | 10.3 million | $ 289.5 million | $  28 |
+--------------+---------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+-------+
|              | Mobile  | 44.4 million | 14.4 million | $ 168.7 million | $  12 |
|              | PC      |  1.3 million |  0.5 million | $   9.1 million | $ ~18 |
|   Nigeria    | Console |  0.8 million |  0.4 million | $   6.8 million | $ ~17 |
|              |         |              |              |                 |       |
|              | Total   | 46.5 million | 15.1 million | $ 184.6 million | $  12 |
+--------------+---------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+-------+
|              | Mobile  |  7.9 million |  2.6 million | $  38.1 million | $  15 |
|              | PC      |  0.2 million |  0.1 million | $   2.1 million | $ ~21 |
|    Ghana     | Console |  0.1 million |  0.1 million | $   1.5 million | $ ~15 |
|              |         |              |              |                 |       |
|              | Total   |  8.3 million |  2.7 million | $  41.7 million | $  15 |
+--------------+---------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+-------+
|              | Mobile  | 11.3 million |  3.7 million | $  34.1 million | $   9 |
|              | PC      |  0.4 million |  0.2 million | $   2.3 million | $ ~12 |
|    Kenya     | Console |  0.3 million |  0.1 million | $   1.7 million | $ ~17 |
|              |         |              |              |                 |       |
|              | Total   | 11.8 million |  3.8 million | $  38.1 million | $  10 |
+--------------+---------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+-------+
|              | Mobile  | 14.3 million |  4.6 million | $  31.6 million | $   7 |
|              | PC      |  0.5 million |  0.2 million | $   2.1 million | $ ~11 |
|   Ethiopia   | Console |  0.3 million |  0.2 million | $   1.6 million | $  ~8 |
|              |         |              |              |                 |       |
|              | Total   | 15.0 million |  4.9 million | $  35.2 million | $   7 |
+--------------+---------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+-------+

ARPPU = Average Revenue Per Paying User
$ ~8 means there weren't enough significant numbers to reliably calculate ARPPU, but the result of the function is $8.


Market penetration
40% of South Africans play video games
23% of Nigerians play video games
27% of Ghanans play video games
22% of Kenyans play video games
13% of Ethiopians play video games


Start-up activity and tech hubs in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

More details can be found in the report.

 

[daclynk]

finally happy to see how the industry is here in Africa.

@DarkDetective for this thread.

 

[Lelouch0612]

Thanks @DarkDetective for the thread. It is very much appreciated.

 

[memoryCardFull]

Interesting thread, thank you

 

[Ryuichi Naruhodo]

Thanks DarkDetective for the Thread , Thanks also for bringing up the Good Informative site too that covers Gaming industry in Africa

 

[kwaogh]

Definitely watching this thread. @DarkDetective. In Ghana myself and it is interesting to see these stats. Growing up as a gamer was quite an adventure in itself with very limited access and having to sometimes walk long distances

 

[kwaogh]

Anecdotal: Most people play things like FIFA and Mortal Kombat as those were very popular in the 90s on the SNES. On the console side, it is very much a Playstation market now since the PS2 days as Nintendo never really bothered to do anything in the market. Sony at least has official Sony stores which sell overpriced playstations but at least there is some access and brand awareness as a result. This means that people who travel to Europe or the US are more likely to buy those. Switch is probably doing better than previous Nintendo consoles though as I see more companies importing and attempting to sell them.

Mobile gaming is probably the biggest though. Even old people play things like Candy Crush.

 

[sheamus]

worth noting Ethiopia's GPD grew from 29.93 billion(2010) to 107.6 billion in 2020. sadly a lot of that growth goes to the core and capital of Ethiopia.
hopefully, the civil war can end soon so the country can stabilize and continue its growth with more investment in the rural areas.

sidenote my wife is from Ethiopia and she was shocked and horrified at how much time and money I spent on games. hopefully, gaming can see more growth in the nation

 

[Lord Azrael]

Very interesting, not a market I'm used to getting info on

 

[kimbo99]

Nice to see Nigeria showing off as the giant of Africa!

Looks like I may have to show up with a console to give to my cousins and extended family, next time I visit.

 

[Kenka]

That is the kind of thread that makes this forum different, and more valuable. Thank you DarkDetective.

 

[Ghostsonplanets]

Excellent to see more information on regions that usually aren't covered by gaming press. Thanks DarkDetective for making this thread!

 

[AruanaRiva]

Thanks for that detailed info. It is really nice seeing more light shine on Africa continent regarding gaming there.

 

[unaccounted]

South Africa represent!

Gaming is tough for most of us here, as the majority of possible gamers live below the poverty line, and more important things like getting your next meal is #1. Not as bad as other African countries, but it does play a factor. We had all the latest and greatest arcade games even during the height of the Apartheid years. So sad for their demise (edit: arcades that is). The guys that ran these companies are my true heroes, for this is where my love for gaming started. And even during those dark years, arcades were awash with all the colours of this... so-called Rainbow Nation. At least where I lived.

Stuff like Mobile will definately dominate, as the price of admission is really great for the average Safrican. Add to that Free-to-play and Bob's your uncle. In general, gaming on console and PC is really expensive (at least from my POV), but console gaming is really the killer here. The hardware and the software is blatantly overpriced. I feel for my fellow Latin American gamers, as they have to go through the same. The sacrifices one has to make for console gaming is really painful sometimes. I do not know the inner workings of these companies, but even with local presence, some of the prices are just too much.

We also have to suffer from network issues, as the prices for our networks is most of the time just impractical. Plus the lack of local servers for most games means you play with high pings. FTTH is hetting along nicely, but we need more affordable packages for the average family/gamer.

I'm not too clued up about our developer community, and feel ashamed that I do not know any ZA published game offhand. As for famous gamer 'celebs': also clueless.

Even with our bitter past, a gamer is a gamer is a gamer. No matter where. No matter when. I remember when I got some neighbourhood kids to try out the Wii for the first time. Man, that was one of the most satisfying and lasting memories of gaming. It became a regular event when they used to come and "visit".

There is great potential here and elsewhere on this beautiful continent, but unfortunately the socio-economic situation for most is just too hard. That's why mobile gaming is a godsend.

 

[DCSales]

Wow! Here’s something I never thought I’d see. Thanks!

The African market is much bigger than I would’ve expected!

 

[Cobalt]

I remember reading the news early last year about the Series X/S doing good numbers in South Africa. Wonder if the momentum has continued there.

 

[sheamus]

I remember reading the news early last year about the Series X/S doing good numbers in South Africa. Wonder if the momentum has continued there.

For anyone who’s been in the country’s gaming scene for any number of years this is probably not too much of a surprise. South African loves the PlayStation and it’s why the next-gen PlayStation 5 is all but sold out right now while Xbox Series X|S stock is rather easy to find. but that's from 11th December 2020

 

[kwaogh]

South Africa represent!

Gaming is tough for most of us here, as the majority of possible gamers live below the poverty line, and more important things like getting your next meal is #1. Not as bad as other African countries, but it does play a factor. We had all the latest and greatest arcade games even during the height of the Apartheid years. So sad for their demise (edit: arcades that is). The guys that ran these companies are my true heroes, for this is where my love for gaming started. And even during those dark years, arcades were awash with all the colours of this... so-called Rainbow Nation. At least where I lived.

Stuff like Mobile will definately dominate, as the price of admission is really great for the average Safrican. Add to that Free-to-play and Bob's your uncle. In general, gaming on console and PC is really expensive (at least from my POV), but console gaming is really the killer here. The hardware and the software is blatantly overpriced. I feel for my fellow Latin American gamers, as they have to go through the same. The sacrifices one has to make for console gaming is really painful sometimes. I do not know the inner workings of these companies, but even with local presence, some of the prices are just too much.

We also have to suffer from network issues, as the prices for our networks is most of the time just impractical. Plus the lack of local servers for most games means you play with high pings. FTTH is hetting along nicely, but we need more affordable packages for the average family/gamer.

I'm not too clued up about our developer community, and feel ashamed that I do not know any ZA published game offhand. As for famous gamer 'celebs': also clueless.

Even with our bitter past, a gamer is a gamer is a gamer. No matter where. No matter when. I remember when I got some neighbourhood kids to try out the Wii for the first time. Man, that was one of the most satisfying and lasting memories of gaming. It became a regular event when they used to come and "visit".

There is great potential here and elsewhere on this beautiful continent, but unfortunately the socio-economic situation for most is just too hard. That's why mobile gaming is a godsend.

Very nice! We started playing in the late 80s here with the Commodore though the only game I remember was Pssst or something like that (was very young). Arcades were few but I clearly remember in the early 90s my uncle taking us to one where they had Outrun and Vigilante. I could not even believe what I was seeing lol. Things became more accessible with knockoff famicoms with 1000 in 1 cartridges and that is how most people got exposed to mario, contra, tecmo soccer and the other NES regulars. I remember our first system which came with Captain Skyhawk, Trog, Duck Tales, Bucky O'hare, Monsters in my Pocket and Power Blade (Fun times!!!). For me those are still the golden years but definitely enjoyed the subsequent generations as well

 

[DarkDetective]

South Africa represent!

Gaming is tough for most of us here, as the majority of possible gamers live below the poverty line, and more important things like getting your next meal is #1. Not as bad as other African countries, but it does play a factor. We had all the latest and greatest arcade games even during the height of the Apartheid years. So sad for their demise (edit: arcades that is). The guys that ran these companies are my true heroes, for this is where my love for gaming started. And even during those dark years, arcades were awash with all the colours of this... so-called Rainbow Nation. At least where I lived.

Stuff like Mobile will definately dominate, as the price of admission is really great for the average Safrican. Add to that Free-to-play and Bob's your uncle. In general, gaming on console and PC is really expensive (at least from my POV), but console gaming is really the killer here. The hardware and the software is blatantly overpriced. I feel for my fellow Latin American gamers, as they have to go through the same. The sacrifices one has to make for console gaming is really painful sometimes. I do not know the inner workings of these companies, but even with local presence, some of the prices are just too much.

We also have to suffer from network issues, as the prices for our networks is most of the time just impractical. Plus the lack of local servers for most games means you play with high pings. FTTH is hetting along nicely, but we need more affordable packages for the average family/gamer.

I'm not too clued up about our developer community, and feel ashamed that I do not know any ZA published game offhand. As for famous gamer 'celebs': also clueless.

Even with our bitter past, a gamer is a gamer is a gamer. No matter where. No matter when. I remember when I got some neighbourhood kids to try out the Wii for the first time. Man, that was one of the most satisfying and lasting memories of gaming. It became a regular event when they used to come and "visit".

There is great potential here and elsewhere on this beautiful continent, but unfortunately the socio-economic situation for most is just too hard. That's why mobile gaming is a godsend.

Thanks a lot for your illustration of the situation in South Africa. It seems quite dire, and to think that the environment is even worse in the other countries that were covered in the report (looking at audience size, market penetration, and ARPPU). If Africa can somehow get out of this slump, and create some economical stability at some point, I expect something similar to happen as in China: they'll skip mass-adoption of PC and console titles and move to mobile domination directly, also for esports and other hardcore experiences. But of course, there are a lot of macro conditions that need to improve before an entertainment/leisure activity like video gaming can thrive.