{"id":196717,"date":"2021-07-30T18:35:02","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T16:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/why-business-can-no-longer-ignore-gaming-in-africa\/"},"modified":"2021-07-30T18:35:02","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T16:35:02","slug":"why-business-can-no-longer-ignore-gaming-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/why-business-can-no-longer-ignore-gaming-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Business Can No Longer Ignore Gaming In Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/myjhb.co.za\/why-business-can-no-longer-ignore-gaming-in-africa\/\">Why Business Can No Longer Ignore Gaming In Africa<\/a>: <input type=\"hidden\" class=\"simple-love-fix\" data-id=\"4340\" value=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>MyPR: <strong>Why Business Can No Longer Ignore Gaming In Africa<\/strong>: <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-105352 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Stock-image-sourced-and-supplied-by-Mettlestate-for-your-editorial-use-_-girl-gamer-300x191.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" \/>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 \u2013 and soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody has become a gamer. Ask anyone what games they started paying during lockdown and I\u2019ll bet you they have an answer &#8211; 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 \u2013 from the number of people playing to revenue figures. And Africa is no exception.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompared to global figures, as a continent, Africa may have some catching up to do, but in many ways, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEsports is also growing on the continent, and mobile esports is gaining critical mass in Africa. The introduction of 5G has &#8211; and will &#8211; further hasten the uptake of mobile gaming and mobile esports, with major companies already investing in tournaments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 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 \u2013 or brands traditionally or organically not associated with gaming \u2013 to capitalise on gaming platforms for exposure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith mobile gaming becoming a major catalyst for inclusion \u2013 of more players, broader audiences and undeniable opportunities \u2013 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 \u2013 and there is no better time to get started than now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs technology and mobile devices improve, opportunities to connect with gamers are increasing. The stats don\u2019t 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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 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 \u2013 and more impactful \u2013 than buying a billboard or using more traditional advertising platforms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUltimately, 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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere 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.<\/p>\n<p>Check out Mettlestate on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitch channels for regular esports updates, tournaments and news.<\/p>\n<p>*PWC AEMO Entertainment and Media Outlook<\/p>\n<p>CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.<\/p>\n<p> &#8211; <small>MyPR<\/small><\/p>\n<p> CLICK HERE to submit your news to www.MyPR.co.za.<\/p>\n<p> Click here to submit your Johannesburg, Gauteng News &#8211; free.<\/p>\n<p> <strong>Have you tried:<\/strong> Whale and Dolphin Watching in Algoa Bay?<\/p>\n<p> <strong>Did you know this about Johannesburg?<\/strong> 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. <\/p>\n<p><small><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/myjhb.co.za\/why-business-can-no-longer-ignore-gaming-in-africa\/\">MyJHB<\/a><\/small><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/myjhb.co.za\" rel=\"noopener\">MyJHB<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Join the fun:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/add-your-event\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Add Your event<\/a> | <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mypr.co.za\/submit\" rel=\"noopener\">Submit a Press Release<\/a> | <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/directory\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Add your listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3332],"tags":[18545,428,3545,11049,4357],"class_list":{"0":"post-196717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-johannesburg-south-africa","7":"tag-business","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-gaming","10":"tag-ignore","11":"tag-longer","12":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}