Simon Spreckley definitely thinks so. The 40 year old video game maker makes a case for gamers in Africa, citing the fact that the penetration of mobile devices in Africa is huge.
Simon also opines that people usually have more than one mobile phone device. So for developers, it is a very encouraging sign, as they can infuse multiplayer tactics into the games. They’ve also decided that, rather than focusing on PC, they’ve made a jump to tailor made games for mobile.
Simon’s opinion was further corroborated by Sidick Bakayoko, founder of Paradise Game. Bakayoko believes that there is a lot of potential for Africa since the continent is primarily mobile. This phenomenon is owed, in no small part, to the fact that there is an emergence of a number of low cost smart phones, making purchase a lot easy.
Africa is gradually jumping on the bandwagon. More and more people now participate in online gaming. Apparently, the use of electronic payments have greatly improved the patronage of African gaming products.
The only factor standing in the way, is the exorbitant price charged for data services. Most notably in Nigeria, where data is so costly, games have to be pre-loaded onto the mobile phones.
A way forward is the initiative by Google in June 2018, which allows game developers from African countries, make money from their creations, by selling them on its play store.
The expected result would be that, more and more people will have access to these mobile games. The gaming industry is currently worth $310 million and it is expected to peak at $642 million in 2021.
Exciting times ahead for gamers.
