The number of players in sub-Saharan Africa increased from 77 million in 2015 to 186 million in 2021.
Le Monde with AFP
They rest the controllers and are tapped in the hand to sign the end of a good part: Africa, where the number of players has more than doubled in recent years, has last “Eldorado” tunes for L Lucrative video game industry.
Largest continent market with 40% of its gaming-friendly population, South Africa brings together for Wednesday, February 23 at the Cap about 2,500 followers, developers, studios and investors for the fourth edition of the Africa Games Week , Grand Mass of the sector on the continent to which some participate online.
“The future of all this industry, and even more, is in Africa. We have an Eldorado”, estimates with AFP Teddy Kossoko, Central African founder of the studio Masseka Games based in Europe but who creates games telling African history.
Bridae by infrastructure and a sometimes defaulting network, as well as an electricity supply not always safe, Africa is traditionally far behind the rest of the world in this area. And most of the games on the market come from the United States, Europe and Japan: African content is negligible, regrets Alexander Poone, founder of the South African Studio Dream Shards.
However, the sector has been skyrocketing in recent years, the number of players in sub-Saharan Africa from 77 million in 2015 to 186 million in 2021, according to a study of the Dutch specialist firm Newzoo.
“Last untapped market”
And the market promises to be lucrative since 63 million of these players choose paid games, using digital currencies. Almost all of them (95%) play on mobile phones, also reflecting better Internet access at affordable prices.
“In the coming years we will attend a peak growth”, predicts Nick Hall, co-founder of the Africa Games Week. Africa is home to the “last untapped market of consumers” and, like India and China, the continent has the potential to exceed the billion players, he considers.
Today, many game publishers are calling for local content, continues Mr. Hall. And to take advantage of the African boom, developers should apply to work with game creators from the continent, he recommends.
In Kenya, the creative company Usiku Games manufactures content where the usual combatants borrowed from manga are replaced by African characters. “We have created a mobile game in which you fly an airplane and, instead of releaseing bombs to try to destroy things, you let go of seeds and try planting trees,” says Jay Shapiro, founder of society.
The country of East Africa aims to increase its forest area from 7 to 10% by the end of the year. According to Mr. Shapiro, the game contributes to the realization of this project. At the end, players are congratulated for the number of virtual trees planted and they can turn them into real trees against a gift of a Kenyan shilling (0.008 euro) per unit.