IN THE EVER-CHANGING archipelago of the Philippines, one rapidly increasing trend has caught the hearts and minds of people of all ages: online gaming.
With the advancement of technology and the broad availability of the Internet, Filipinos have embraced the realm of online gaming with unprecedented zeal.
Photo Courtesy: Predator Gaming | Facebook
In addition, the gaming landscape has seen significant changes. It has created a dynamic landscape characterized by innovation, inclusion and extraordinary technical achievements.
Data supplied by Acer executives and shared by Philstar showed that the Philippines is the leading market for gaming devices in the Asia-Pacific region.
This was announced during the Asia-Pacific Predator League’s annual press conference, where executives from the region gathered to discuss the brand’s 2023 results.
Photo Courtesy: Predator Gaming | Facebook
According to Acer, the Philippines ranked first in gaming devices; and plays around ranks one and two in the various markets they serve.
“In 2023, the entire PC market declined because of the baseline effect coming from pandemic-induced demand from 2020, to 2021, with a tail-end effect in 2022. Pero in 2023, it was the correction year,” said Sue Ong-Lim, Acer Philippines’ managing director.
“Overall, in Asia Pacific, there was a 15% decline. But that was more on the consumer PC side. When it comes to gaming, there was a single-digit growth in the Philippines. It proves that robust pa rin yung demand for gaming devices,” she added.
Photo Courtesy: Predator Gaming | Facebook
“What we’ve seen is that people, especially students… they don’t just use gaming devices solely for gaming. They also use it for leisure and for school. It’s a combination of different use-cases,” she explained.
Aside from that, the Asia-Pacific Predator League, an Acer e-sports competition, and the country’s hosting of the regional tournament, Filipinos indeed had an impact on sales.
Photo Courtesy: Predator Gaming | Facebook
“Specific to the Philippine market, there’s a direct contribution of the Predator League leading to conversion to sales. The Philippine qualifying rounds last year saw 47% of the market share for Predator,” noted Ong-Lim.
“The gaming community is its own community in the Philippines. They are very intense amongst the gamers in Asia-Pacific. It was evident when the Filipino teams were called out, the cheer from the fans was loud. It’s a very passionate community,” observed Ong-Lim.
The Asia-Pacific Predator League finished with two Filipino e-sports teams declared champions—Dota2 and Valorant—demonstrating that they are more than capable of competing on the world stage.
