So just how big is the video games market here in Southeast Asia? The answer is its enormous. The significance of video games here in Southeast Asia is evidenced by the sheer fact that this region tops the world by a long way in percentage of gamers and time spent online playing.
The Philippines with almost 96% of internet users playing video games, is the world’s leading country for most gamers. Indonesia at 95%, comes in a very close 2nd. And what’s even more special about Indonesia, is that around 25% of Indonesia’s population is not online. Indonesia, a country with close to 300 million, this equates to close on 75 million people ‘not’ online. And that just shows the potential for continued growth.
Comparing Southeast Asia to other global regions again demonstrates how impressive this region is, the USA sits at around 68%, the UK at 60%. The worldwide average sits at around 82%.
For time spent playing, that goes to Saudi Arabia, regarded as the country that spends more time engaging, at 1 hr 58 min, closely followed by Thailand, with 1 hr, 43 min. Philippines also records one of the world’s highest rates of time spent playing, at 1 hr 29 min on average.
The video game market in Asia is massive, and it’s expected to continue developing and growing. A key factor in this is the rapid rise of people coming online. This is because of increased mobile device usage, improvements in technology especially in regional areas. Another important factor is culture. Unlike western countries where people are active and playing sport, in Southeast Asia, it’s acceptable to sit for hours on the mobile device. Although the UK sits at around 60%, for children under 15 years, it sits at 91%, dropping to 88% for 16-24 years and then down to 60% above 24 years. The figures in Southeast Asia remain constant. Southeast Asia is amongst the worlds fastest growing. And of all the gamers, close on two-thirds are also engaged in esports.
Throw in Japan’s global reputation for their recognized quality in the video game market, all demonstrates the influence and value of the Southeast and Asian region in general.
