Online gaming increasing on mobile devices and social networks in emerging markets of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. A new publication by Hamburg-based secondary research organization yStats.com, “EMEA Online Gaming Market 2014”, reports a trend of gamers away from consoles and pre-installed PC games toward online and mobile games. This move to mobile and social is especially pronounced in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa compared to Western Europe, where a high percentage of gamers still play on their console or PC, but even there the trend is apparent as smartphone and tablet penetration continues.

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Press Release
Hamburg, March 10th, 2014
Online gaming increasing on mobile devices and social networks in emerging
markets of Europe, Africa and the Middle East
A new publication by Hamburg-based secondary research organization yStats.com, “EMEA
Online Gaming Market 2014”, reports a trend of gamers away from consoles and pre-
installed PC games toward online and mobile games. This move to mobile and social is
especially pronounced in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and
Africa compared to Western Europe, where a high percentage of gamers still play on their
console or PC, but even there the trend is apparent as smartphone and tablet penetration
continues.
In Europe, the UK led spending rates on digital game content, while Germany was the leading
country by average monthly revenue per paying user. Online gaming is a vast market in the UK as
nearly 20% of the population of the UK use the Internet to play video games. The online game
market there has further growth potential because of the mobile trend. Tablets were the first choice
of over a third of mobile device owners to play games in 2013 in the UK, while half of all tablet
owners played games. In Germany, consoles and PC are still popular for gaming, but mobile and
social platforms are gaining importance. Downloads generated the highest revenue on the online
gaming market in Germany in 2013. Mobile game sales also grow. The most popular types of
games played in Germany are strategy, casual and action games.
In France, digital games are expected to grow and take a large share of the total video games
market, while physical games sales decline. The revenues of the digital gaming market in France
grew by over 10% in 2013, while the share of digital gaming on the total gaming market increased.
Computer was the device most frequently used for gaming in France last year, followed by
smartphone. In Belgium, the largest group of gamers played social or casual games, with the
mobile gaming audience also being significant. A similar pattern was observed in Spain, and in
Italy the PC and consoles are still used more for games than smartphones and tablets.
The emerging markets Turkey and Poland were ahead of Western European countries in terms of
the share of online gamers on Internet users in 2013. Eastern European countries also had a
higher share of users who play networked games than in Western Europe, with Croatia in the lead.
In Poland, computer games remained a major segment of the gaming market in 2013, but social,
mobile games and online MMOs are catching up. In Turkey, over 20 million people play games
online regularly, with social games being the largest contributors to this number.
In Russia, the online gaming market is booming, with still more growth expected from the mobile
and social platforms. The online gaming market grew by over 20% in Russia, with MMO being the
largest segment, followed by social. The number of mobile gamers in Russia is forecasted to
increase annually to reach over 60 million in 2016, with around the same number playing online
games other than on mobile devices.
In the Middle East, a quarter of Internet users in the UAE play or download video games or
computer games online, almost double the share in 2010. Moreover, over 10% of mobile users in
the UAE download games on mobile. In Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the most visited gaming
websites have a monthly audience reach of over 10% of Internet users in those countries.

2. yStats.com GmbH & Co. KG • Behringstrasse 28a • D-22765 Hamburg • Phone +49 (0) 40 39 90 68 50 • Fax +49 (0) 40 39 90 68 51
press@ystats.com • www.ystats.com • www.twitter.com/ystats • www.linkedin.com/company/ystats • www.facebook.com/ystats
WE DELIVER THE FACTS YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS
RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Online gaming revenues in South Africa are forecasted to grow by a small-double digit percentage
between 2013 and 2017. Mobile gaming outperforms pure online gaming by far in South Africa,
with the revenues differing by several times. In other African countries, such as Ghana, Nigeria,
Kenya and Senegal, online and mobile gaming is also gaining popularity, with a small double-digit
share of Internet users engaging in this activity on their mobile devices and PCs.
For further information, see:
http://ystats.com/uploads/report_abstracts/1068.pdf
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About yStats.com
yStats.com has been committed to research up-to-date, objective and demand-based data on markets and competitors for top
managers from various industries since 2005. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the firm has a strong international focus and is
specialized in secondary market research. In addition to offering reports on markets and competitors, yStats.com also carries out client-
specific research. Clients include leading global enterprises from various industries including B2C E-Commerce, electronic payment
systems, mail order and direct marketing, logistics, as well as banking and consulting.