The survey interviewed 14,825 people in Brazil, in 26 states and the Federal District, in January this year, and found that 58.3% of gamers believe that the electronic games sector in the country offers good career opportunities.
Among the areas of work that gamers are most optimistic about job opportunities include game content creation (68.3%), game publishing or marketing (68%), game programming (66%), effects game visuals (65.7%) and game art, illustration or animation (65%).
“The desire to work in the games market is not something new, especially for those who are starting their professional journey. The evolution of the production chain over the years has brought more possibilities for those who want to join. Working with games goes beyond development, marketing or sales. There are spaces for e-athletes, skills that have been improved as game designers/UX and gamification specialists are increasingly valued in the domestic market,” comments Guilherme Camargo, partner at SX Group and professor at ESPM's postgraduate course.
“The first edition of the PGB took place in 2013 with the objective of understanding the profile of the players. In the initial reading, consoles reigned and we saw smartphones gain space, preference and relevance in the market year after year. This evolution brought new business models and an increasingly representative female audience with greater diversity for less privileged social classes. We observed the growth of eSports and followed all aspects of behavioral changes before, during and after the pandemic,” says Camargo.
The survey, which completes 10 years in 2023, points out that 82.1% consider that playing is one of their main forms of entertainment. Furthermore, 70.1% of the population in Brazil claims to play some type of game. Compared to 2022, the data shows a drop of 4.4 percentage points. In recent years, women have dominated the consumption of electronic games, mainly due to their strong presence on smartphones and preference for casual games. Now, men take the lead, representing 53.8% against 46.2% of women.
Hardcore gamers
“One of the main aspects for this change is related to the increased interest and investment of major publishers in the creation and release of their games on the smartphone platform. This also brought greater involvement in the competitive scene, attracting players known as 'hardcore gamers', who are mostly men, to smartphones, which was a predominantly female territory," says Camargo.
Regarding the age group, the data reinforce that there is no right age to play and that the activity is already present in practically all age groups. The largest audience is between 25 and 29 years old, with 16.2%. Young people aged 20 to 24 represent 15.1%; adults aged 30 to 34 make up 16.1% of Brazilian players and people aged 35 to 39 represent 15.5%. Brazilians aged 45 years or older also have the habit of playing in match volume, with 15.8% in the sum.
As for the ethnicity of Brazilian gamers, as seen in previous editions, the majority are black (54.1%) when added to those who claim to be black (12.7%) or brown (41.4%), while people who declare white represent 42.2% of electronic game players in Brazil.
Regarding social class, the PGB 2023 shows that most Brazilian gamers still belong to the middle class (B2, C1 and C2), with 65.7%. Upper-middle class people (B1) represent 11.7% of the public; from class A represent 12.3% and the base of the pyramid (classes D and E) represent 10.4%.
Mobile soars as favorite platform
Mobile devices are also the platform on which Brazilian players play most frequently: 30.5% play every day on their cell phones — on consoles and computers, playing daily is a habit for 12.2% and 14.1%, respectively. Despite this, it is on consoles and computers that the longest sessions happen: playing from 1 to 3 hours is common for 38% of gamers on consoles and for 32.9% of gamers on computers, while 31.1% of gamers of smartphones play this same duration.
The main difference is that home consoles now appear as the second favorite platform, with a 20.5% audience preference. Computers, which occupied this position in the previous edition, are the third preference of the community, with 19.4% in the sum between desktops and notebooks.
“The smartphone gained relevance in 2016, when it took the lead and became one of the most popular platforms among gamers in Brazil. This growth brought new audience perspectives that could, from then on, have access and consume electronic games, consequently moving the games industry and democratizing the consumption of games in the country,” analyzes Carlos Silva, partner at Go Gamers.
Regardless of the platform, PGB 2023 strikes a balance between casual and committed gaming. According to the survey, 19.9% of players play 2 to 4 hours a week, followed by 18.8% who invest 8 to 20 hours of their time with games over 7 days. Between both cutouts, there are 16.1% who dedicate 6 to 8 hours and 15.9% who play 4 to 6 hours a week, and also 15.9% who play for less than 2 hours a week.
The evolution of the business model
According to the study, 24.8% claim to have spent up to R$100 (US$ 19.4) and 29.2% spent between R$101 (US$ 19.6) and R$500 (US$ 96.9) on games last year; 12.7% spent between R$501 (US$ 97.1) and R$1,000 (US$ 194) and 12.9% spent more than R$1,000. There is a cut of 20.4% that did not spend on games. But that doesn't mean this latest installment won't play. With the wide variety of free to play games available on the market, PGB 2023 finds that 39% of gamers prefer to download only games of this type.
The Brazilian gamer public also devotes part of its spending to other paid game content formats, such as virtual currencies (31.2%); game expansions (29.6%) and enhancement items (27.5%), but 31.8% say they do not spend on any option. The vast majority (42.8%) also do not pay for online services compared to the Xbox Game Pass subscriber public (21.2%) and PlayStation Plus (20.6%), for example.
Regarding the consumption of equipment for games, in the last year, 20.9% say they spent less than R$ 500 (US$ 96.9); 18.4% spent from R$ 500 to R$ 1,250 (US$ 242) on equipment and the vast majority (27.4%) claim not to have spent. Finally, regarding products related to the segment, 37.6% dedicate their money to T-shirts/clothing; 28.4% with household items and 20.5% with fashion accessories, while 35.2% say they do not spend on it.
“A good part of the monetization of electronic games is done through a fremium model, in which there is the sale of virtual items, subscriptions, cancellation of advertising and among other forms of consumption. Games are increasingly being sold as services and not as a product, which was the main business model in the past decade,” adds Mauro Berimbau, Consultant at Go Gamers and professor at ESPM.
Relevance of eSports
eSports have become one of the most relevant ecosystems for the consumer of electronic games in Brazil, with an expressive knowledge of 82.9% among gamers in the country. The practice of electronic sports is still exercised by 48.8% of them, according to PGB 2023.
Within eSports, there is the collection of money related to electronic games, such as competition prizes. Although 72.1% of the public stated that they had not received money in this modality, 14.2% collected it in bets with friends; 13.6% on betting platforms and 8.6% participating in amateur competitions.
“The evolution and growth of eSports has gained relevance with each new reading of the PGB since 2016. During the pandemic period (2020-2022), consumption in this category increased significantly, strengthening this ecosystem and consolidating new consumption profiles: the player who practice in an amateur or competitive way and there is also the spectator public, who watches, cheers and consumes the various sports that exist,” says Silva.
Source: Forbes
