Demand for gaming gadgets is growing in Russia
Source：Vedomosti
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Moscow
Update Time：2024/07/14
Russians have stocked up on gaming gadgets for the May holidays. In April and early May, sales of gaming laptops increased in units by 60% compared to the same period in 2023, a representative of Yandex Market said. During the same period in the re:Store sales of computers, laptops and gaming peripherals increased by 12%, a representative of this company confirmed the trend. The growth in demand for such a category of devices by 31% in annual terms was also confirmed by a representative of the analytical service "Check Index" of the company "Platform OFD". The absolute values of the site are not disclosed.
Sales of gaming consoles have also soared: demand increased by 51%, and the average check increased by 12% to 25,050 rubles, said the representative of the "Check Index". The most popular were PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. According to re:Store, sales of portable game consoles in April and early May increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, keyboards – by 28%, PlayStation 5 games – by 20%, controllers for game consoles – by 15%, and stationary game consoles – by another 5%.
Russians do not change their consumer habits and sales of gaming laptops traditionally rise during holidays such as New Year and May weekend, confirms Konstantin Sakhnov, co-founder of Vengeance Games studio. However, the demand for everything related to games is growing steadily in Russia from year to year.
In particular, according to the M.Video-Eldorado group, in the first quarter of 2024, sales of gaming computers on the Russian market increased in money by 38% to 16 billion rubles and by 12% in units to 160,000 units compared to the same period in 2023.
According to Sakhnov, gaming laptops from MSI are traditionally popular: they stand out for their high power and are aimed specifically at gamers. Huawei is preferred by those who want a laptop to be more mobile and combine work and gaming capabilities, he continues. At the same time, despite the imposition of sanctions, Huawei's position in the Russian market has strengthened, Sakhnov notes. According to him, Lenovo and Samsung have become difficult to access, but parallel imports and the willingness of many companies to work around sanctions fully satisfy the needs of the Russian market.
"At the end of May, I expect a drop in demand for gaming laptops," says Sakhnov. – Sales will decrease, as many bought "hardware" for the May holidays. But there will be no significant rollbacks."
User costs for gaming subscriptions are also increasing. Sales of subscriptions to games and gaming services on Wildberries Digital increased by 430% in April – early May 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier, a representative of the marketplace said. He did not name the absolute values. From January to March 2024, 49 billion rubles were spent on video games on PCs and consoles in Russia, Vedomosti wrote in April, citing data from a survey by the online gaming school XYZ School (part of Ultimate Education). According to the company, there are about 25 million gamers in Russia. The most popular games were Helldivers 2, Baldur's Gate 3 and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.
The beginning of spring this year turned out to be colder in the central regions of the country than last year, which affected consumer preferences, the expert of the OFD Platform notes. The users who stayed at home during the May holidays preferred to entertain themselves without leaving the computer, he explains. Indeed, cold weather could have played a role, agrees Denis Kuskov, CEO of Telecom Daily. However, the demand for such goods is steadily growing, so the trend is likely to continue in the near future, he believes.
According to tradition, a decrease in sales may occur only in the summer months, the expert concluded.
Source: https://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2024/05/06/1035603-spros-na-igrovie-gadzheti-i-elektroniku-dlya-razvlechenii-viros