Africa-Press – Eritrea. Gaming has become an integral part of our culture and is now more of a social activity than ever before. As a result, the way people are gaming is changing with regard to the way they engage with the activity and what they spend money on.
The origins of social gaming lie in social networks where people play games like Farmville and Mafia Wars. The aim of the games is to promote connecting people who may or may not be offline friends and family.
The more social aspect of gaming became particularly strong during the pandemic when people engaged more online because face-to-face social activity was restricted. This led to a rise in the popularity of social gaming with an emphasis on connecting with others.
Overall, social gaming is generational, with Millennials and members of Gen Z more likely to participate than their predecessors. This is a good indicator that this type of gaming is helping to change the way people build connections with each other and will continue to shape personal engagement in the future.
The evolution of engagement is not the only influence that social gaming is having. It’s also affecting peoples’ spending habits. Of people who regularly participate in social gaming, around 62% say they are likely to play games that involve a subscription. In addition, around 64% of social gamers are likely to subscribe to new streaming services.
This last figure is linked to the generational aspect of social gaming. Millennials are encouraging the use of the streaming services to their Gen Z children. So, for this latest generation of consumers, it’s often not a case of ceasing the use of traditional TV services, it’s a case of never having used a traditional TV service in the first place. Streaming is the way they view.
Seven in ten members of Gen Z watch the content they stream on a smartphone. The growth in the proliferation of smartphones is also central to the social gaming industry, including the rise of social casinos.
These social casinos provide a specific type of social gaming experience that mimics traditional online and mobile casinos but without the involvement of real money. Instead, players have the opportunity to win “coins” they can use to continue playing the games.
The growth in the global social casino market has steadied somewhat since the end of the pandemic. However, it’s still expected to be worth $8.2 billion by 2026. So, it’s clear that social casinos, or sweeps casinos as they are also commonly known, are here to stay.
The top-performing areas in the social casino games market are North America and Europe. These areas are likely to consider leading the way as the global market is affected by factors such as economic growth, ecommerce, and technology. However, other areas like Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa also recognise the potential of social gaming, and there are opportunities in countries within these regions.
Kenya is an example of this, with the country being recognised by the World Bank as having made political and economic reforms that have led to sustained economic growth. There are still investment, transparency, and accountability challenges to be met, but there is potential for the growth of social casinos, and social gaming overall, to increase in the country, and in other African countries.
A further factor that could have a positive impact on the future of social gaming in Kenya is the median age for the population, which is currently 19.6 years. As we have already shown, people of this age are more likely to engage with social gaming as a means of engaging and creating connections.
Source: The Star
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