According to the NPD Group’s market analytics research, the PC gaming gear and accessories industry had another strong year. Continued Covid-related restrictions forced more people to seek alternative ways to work, play, and socialize, resulting in a more than 25% revenue rise. These higher revenues also contributed to a surge in overall digital content consumption and PC gaming time.
Consumer expenditure on gaming hardware and accessories increased to more than $5.74 billion in 2021, according to the research. The significant revenue growth comes on the heels of a tremendous 62 percent increase in 2020, totaling $4.5 billion, over the previous year’s data.
The research breaks down the growth by product category, with higher demand for desktop computers, laptops, and microphones leading the way. In terms of volume growth, PC microphones and monitors once again led the list, echoing trends from the 2020s predicted gains.
Covid-19 limitations, regulations, and precautions continue to drive hardware revenue growth, requiring users to explore new ways to work, interact, and entertain from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
NPD reported a 5% rise in digital content consumption over the previous year, bringing the total for 2021 to $7.9 billion. The rise in digital material also revealed an overall increase in PC gaming time, with data climbing one hour from the average of 7.7 hours per week in 2020 to 7.7 hours per week in 2021.
NPD’s 2022 projection expects a drop in the gaming and hardware trend line, rather than continuing this massive growth pattern. This drop can be ascribed to the exceptionally high volumes transported between the reporting periods of 2020 and 2021.
It’s fair to foresee a decline in total demand for PC hardware and accessories as users return to life outside, based on present market saturation and (hopefully) eliminated Covid-based restrictions.
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