Middle East & Africa Gaming Controller Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Regional Analysis By Product, Compatibility, Connectivity, Distribution, and End-User

The MEA gaming controller market is expected to grow from US$ 102.1 million in 2019 to US$ 124.0 million by 2027; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 2.8 % from 2020 to 2027. The emergence of high-tech gaming products accelerates the market growth. The trend of virtual reality and voice control is becoming popular among advanced games. For instance, Starship Commander, is an upcoming virtual reality game on SteamVR and Oculus that uses gamer’s voice. Similarly, Untethered by Numinous Games runs on Daydream virtual-reality platform by Google, adding visuals with voice and hand controller. In context to developments in gaming market across MEA, gaming consoles are coming back integrated with advanced features. With 2 in 5 gamers and 1 in 4 internet users, many gamers use gaming consoles. In the support of growing consoles, emergence of new console generation in the gaming industry is another factor, which would play a significant role in boosting the adoption of different controllers. In 2019, eighth-generation games consoles, PlayStation 4 by Sony and Xbox One by Microsoft, have been rolled-out in the MEA market that has performed exceptionally well for their developers. Thus, the introduction of virtual reality, voice-controlled devices, and advanced gaming consoles in the market is expected to boost the scope of gaming controller across MEA in the coming years, which would drive the MEA gaming controller market during forecast period.

In MEA, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, and Kuwait are the main countries facing the economic effects due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It is becoming clear with the outbreak spreading through the above-mentioned countries that a few can avoid its effects, posing major challenges for all sectors. The outbreak has led to more people staying indoors across the region, thereby, have led to the high adoption of online and video games across the region. At the peak of the outbreak, due to lockdowns and social distancing in the region, gaming in the Middle East was more than doubled between March and April 2020. Twitch registered a total of 65,582 streams during the time span, which enables users to broadcast their gameplay live to fans around the world. This rise in gaming across the region created high demand for gaming controllers. However, owing to the temporary closure of high economic activities, the region experienced a shortage in the supply of gaming controllers due to restrictions on its manufacturing and supply chain. Thus, the above-mentioned factors are hindering the gaming controller market.

Based on end-user, the personal segment led the MEA gaming controller market in 2019. Personal users of gaming controllers refer to professional and casual gamers who play video games on their personal laptops, PCs, and gaming consoles on regular intervals. The rising number of gamers across the MEA coupled with their adoption of gaming consoles and controllers is fueling the market growth for this segment. Advantages of gaming controller such as more comfortable, more convenient, and greater immersion in gaming are also expected to propel its demand from personal end user, which would drive the growth of the MEA gaming controller market during the forecast period.

The overall MEA gaming controller market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources. To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast for the MEA gaming controller market with respect to all the segments pertaining to the region. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data, as well as to gain more analytical insights into the topic. The participants of this process include industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the MEA gaming controller market. Guillemot Corporation S.A., Logitech, Mad Catz Global Limited, Microsoft Corporation, Nitendo, and Razer Inc. are among the players operating in the MEA gaming controller market.