EMEA gaming desktop and notebook shipments are down by -1.2% Y-o-Y to 1.9 million units, IDC reports-- but the analyst expects full-year 2019 shipments to reach 8.6m, a 1.5% increase, before growing to 11.1m by end 2023 with a CAGR of 6.8%.
IDC classifies gaming PCs as desktops or notebooks carrying a premium- or performance-grade GPU, including midrange and high-end offerings from Nvidia and AMD. The analyst excludes professional-grade GPUs such as the Quadro or Radeon Pro from the gaming PC definition.
W. Europe sees flat gaming PC results in Q2 2019, as shipments are down by a negligible -0.1% Y-o-Y. "Relatively strong" performance in countries including France and Italy offsets ongoing softness in confidence confidence brought about by political uncertainties such as Brexit. That said, gaming PC demand still outperforms the overall consumer market, and should further pick up in H2 2019 as more games make use of demanding technologies such as ray tracing.
Meanwhile the CEMA region sees a negative Q2 2019 as shipments are down by -3.5%, marking a 4th consecutive quarter of decline. Such results come despite the MEA PC gaming market posting an 8.4% Y-o-Y increase, the result of gradual recovery in the Turkish PC market. However the Eastern subregion continues to face weak consumer demand leading to high inventories, as well as weak and unpredictable local currencies, political instability in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and soaring consumer loans in Russia. As a result, CEE gaming PC shipments are down by -9.3% Y-o-Y.
IDC predicts growth will return to positive across all EMEA regions by end 2019, as economic and market pressures stabilise and the gaming community expands. We should also see fiercer competition in the short term, with vendors trying to leverage the growing gaming trend, and the strong demand will offset the overall negative consumer PC market. The entire EMEA region should also see stronger growth in premium GPUs, even as performance GPUs continue to make the bulk of the market. ASP declines, as well as more games demanding higher level specs, will make premium GPUs more attractive.
Furthermore, IDC points out vendors need to create expansive ecosystems comprising peripherals, services and community development if they want to attract gamers and retain market share.
Go Despite a Rocky Start to 2019, EMEA Outlook for PC Gaming Is Bright, Says IDC
