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by Klaus Schachinger, Euro on Sunday
Demons, monsters and knights fight in virtual worlds, a mix of fantasy from the Middle Ages and Tolkien’s epic “Lord of the Rings”. The world of “League of Legends” is particularly in demand among fans of computer games in the present plagued with Corona. About 43 percent of PC gamers worldwide played mega-sales developed by Tencent’s subsidiary Riot Games in March. At the top, “League of Legends” has up to eight million players online at the same time worldwide. The title of French computer game company Ubisoft “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege”, inspired by the novels of bestselling author Tom Clancy, hit just under 20 percent on the coveted list of PC games, a little off, second.
Solid growth, robust condition
Due to restricted social contacts around the world, the business with computer games improves even more. It is a market that turned almost $ 149 billion in 2019. Experts from US market researcher Newzoo estimate that annual growth between 2018 and 2022 will be more than eight percent each. In China and the United States, nearly half of global revenue was raised at $ 37 billion and $ 36 billion in 2019, respectively. Smartphone titles are particularly popular in populous Asia. This is probably the reason why almost 46 percent of global gaming revenue is earned via mobile phone. Consoles from Sony (Playstation), Microsoft (Xbox) and Nintendo (Switch) account for 30 percent of global sales.
The robust condition of the industry. pay for investors. While the broad Wall Street S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100, the biggest tech share price barometer, have lost 17-10 percent since the February 20 turmoil, gaming leader Tencent was able to keep its market value. Shares of US competitors Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts even rose.
After all, the outlook for the industry is good.. Even people who previously ignored cell phones and gaming computers are now discovering new opportunities. On the list of frequently loaded programs for Apple iPhones, card game One advanced from 49th to 5th in March.
The ranking of titles on the online gaming platform Twitch shows what professional gamers are looking for. Big favorites on the most popular platform for gamers are strategy games in fantasy worlds or in the war against terrorists and enemy armies. Like Activision Blizzard’s “Call of Duty”: According to Newzoo, over 96 million hours were played online worldwide in March. This includes the online times of those who were active or watching the game. With this record time, the first-person shooter ranked 15th and ranked second on Twitch statistics behind “League of Legends.” Number 1 ticked 123 million hours.
Global billion dollar eSports business
Amazon’s Twitch, like the video platform of Google’s alphabet subsidiary, YouTube, is also a popular arena for e-sports. This means professionally organized video game tournaments at the national, regional and global levels for players and teams. Just like in sports, millions of fans are delighted online. The final takes place in large venues with equally spectacular shows like rock concerts.
For “League of Legends” tournaments they are organized in America, Europe and Asia. In 2019, the World Cup was played in Berlin, Madrid and Paris. In the final in France, the hall sold out with more than 20,000 spectators. More than 44 million fans tuned in online during World Cup tournaments. The teams play for several million dollars in prizes.
Professionally organized similar eSports There are other games too, like “FIFA”, the realistic soccer simulation from Electronic Arts. Globally, E-Sport 2019 generated just over $ 990 million. According to Newzoo’s estimates, the current year is expected to exceed $ 1.1 billion.
E-sports sponsors provide the bulk of the profit at 56 percent. However, because public tournaments are likely to be canceled due to Corona, the growth of the industry depends on the firmness of the sponsors. A movement of events in the online world could, in certain circumstances, be better received by fans and therefore also by donors than, for example, ghost games in football.
The two game developers Tencent and Activision Blizzard, both also strong in electronic sports, have permanent positions in the top ten in the industry. Tech giants Sony with Playstation and Microsoft with XBox are also at the top thanks to the popularity of their consoles. Apple and the subsidiary of the alphabet Google are also at the top thanks to their dominant mobile phone operating systems and numerous gaming applications. The expansion of the cloud gaming industry expected by experts in the medium term offers the two companies additional potential.
The kick for shareholders
Electronic Arts (EA) is measured at eye level with Activision Blizzard. Starting with their popular soccer simulation “FIFA”, Californians have developed the “FIFA Ultimate” version suitable for electronic sports. Players can assemble their team for tournaments. EA has a similar portfolio for United States professional sports, namely soccer (NFL), basketball (NBA), and ice hockey (NHL). Every season there is an updated version with all the teams, players and individual skills of the stars in real sports.
At EA, online sales provide two-thirds of revenue. In the current environment with canceled sporting events in Europe and the United States, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts expect up to a fifth more in revenue from live services in the fiscal year that started in April, totaling $ 1.5 billion. Wall Street analysts have just updated the stocks.
Investor information
Tencent
Games more social web
The large Chinese technology group, which operates the popular WeChat social web application in China with nearly 1.2 billion active users, is the world’s # 1 game developer. Games and WeChat offer a lot of oomph in the crown environment. For 2020 and 2021, analysts expect earnings growth of 20 percent each. The quarterly balance arrives on May 13.
15 million users in the first three days: “Warzone,” the multiplayer version of “Call of Duty,” got off to a better start than Epic Games’ “Fortnite.” The competitor had long destabilized ratings in multiplayer business. When Activison Blizzard released its quarterly balance sheet on May 6, Warzone could have delivered up to $ 200 million in sales. A version for mobile devices brings imagination.
Players brought their teams together on the latest versions of “FIFA” soccer game software and for all professional sports leagues in the United States. Therefore, electronic arts should give crown-related sporting event cancellations a further boost in business. In the current business year (through March 2021), analysts expect up to a fifth more sales in the largest online gaming area, which also include “Star Wars” versions.
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Image sources: Sascha Schuermann / Getty Images
