Over the recent years, online gaming has consistently grown. While this trend has been prominent in India, PC gaming has emerged as a fast-growing segment in the last few years. The HP India Gaming Landscape Report 2021 highlights the growing preference for PC gaming with 88% of gamers surveyed believing that PCs offers a better gaming experience than a smartphone. More importantly, 37% of the surveyed mobile gamers wish to migrate to PC gaming for a better gaming experience. This trend is significantly evident across South India, especially in cities such as Kochi, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, and Chennai. The report also highlights a growing preference for gaming as a career option, with women showing a stronger affinity towards it.
Enclosed are the key gaming trends observed across South India.
Gaming as a Career Option
In South India, gaming has emerged as a career option with 83% respondents considering gaming as a viable career option. Women lead Men with 84% in expressing a desire to pursue gaming as a career, followed by 82% of male respondents.
Gamers across Coimbatore (94%), Hyderabad (90%) and Kochi (89%) have displayed a higher affinity for gaming as a career option.
Gaming as a stress buster
According to the HP study, 94% respondents across South India agree that gaming helps reduce stress and induce positive feelings. Women are leading this tectonic shift in perceptions around gaming in recent times, calling it out as a key to relieve stress, improve cognitive skills and mental wellbeing.
94% of female respondents believe that gaming is the best source of relaxation and recreation, as compared to male respondents (92%). Additionally, 93% of female respondents believe gaming helps reduce work/ study pressure, as against 92% male respondents. 96% female respondents also feel that gaming helps reduce stress and induces positive feelings, as against 94% male respondents.
As per the survey, Hyderabad (99%), Chennai (97%) and Coimbatore (94%) are more accepting in gaming as a stress reliever.
Nitish Singal, Head, Personal Systems (Consumer), HP India said, ” In the last 18 months, the pandemic has caused lot of stress for us but it’s heartening to see gaming helping people to manage their stress and help them connect with their friends and families remotely. Across demography, users are taking gaming more seriously and considering it as a viable professional avenue. We’re excited to see this positive sentiment for PC gaming industry and believe we are at an interesting growth phase for the PC market in India.”
Consumer purchasing trends for PCs- Gamers in South India spend more on a gaming pc than rest of India
The survey report reveals 52% gamers from South India are willing to invest more than Rs 1 Lakh in a Gaming PC. Interestingly, Women (61%) in South India lead over men (49%) to spend in their preference of buying a PC costing over a Lakh.
Gamers from Kochi and Bengaluru are most willing to spend above INR 1,00,000; whereas gamers from Chennai, Hyderabad, and Coimbatore prefer spending between INR 50,000- INR 1,00,000 on gaming PCs.
Gaming as a socializing tool
In the age of social distancing, gaming has in fact, provided an engaging distraction for people seeking social interaction. 93% Respondents believe that gaming helps in socializing with peers in the community and make new friends.
The survey unfolds how Tier-II South cities more accepting in gaming as a socializing tool than Bengaluru (88%) and Chennai (92).
The HP India Gaming Landscape Report 2021 establishes PC gaming as a mainstream activity in South India and underscores the role of a PC in society, especially during the pandemic. Not only is it a preferred tool for enhancing social connect and relieving stress, but also as a viable career option.
Methodology
In total, 1,500 respondents completed the survey between March and April 2021, across 25 Metros, Tier-1, and Tier-2 cities across India. Interviews were conducted with a mix of male (72%) and female (28%) respondents between the ages of 15-40 years, representing SEC A1, A2 and B1 segments. All respondents were PC and/or mobile phone users, comprising action and adventure games on PCs and smartphones.
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