Singaporeans spend more time watching eSports than traditional TV
Singaporeans love eSports and spend a total of 7.44 hours each week playing video games, the highest in the Asia Pacific.
Gamers in Singapore are considering video gaming as a possible professional career.
This is according to the latest ‘State of Online Gaming’ report on worldwide consumers’ gaming behaviors and expectations from Limelight Networks, which also found Singaporeans play consecutively for an average of 1.56 hours, the longest duration in the world.
Singaporean gamers enjoy watching people play on YouTube and Twitch, as the report found more than 66% of gamers watched others play online each week, with almost 10% watching for more than seven hours.
That means Singaporeans spent more time watching gaming content online each week than watching traditional sports on television or watching traditional sports programming online.
For gaming platforms, the report said they must keep a lookout for performance and security, two themes which gamers said were the most critical aspects of playing video games. 51% of respondents said they would not continue to use a gaming platform that previously suffered a breach.
“Online gaming has taken off exponentially in recent years, be it playing themselves or watching other gamers,” said Jaheer Abbas, the regional director for South East Asia and India at Limelight Networks.
“As this raises expectations for performance and security, it is of utmost importance that gaming platforms not only focus on creating engaging content but also ensure they deliver highest-quality online experiences that keep gamers playing longer and coming back for more.”
The report also found with the rise of eSports in Southeast Asia, gamers in Singapore are considering video gaming as a possible professional career, with 38% saying they would quit their jobs and become professional gamers if they could support themselves by doing so.
The Singapore Sports Hub recently partnered with Team Flash to build an eSports training facility to develop local emerging talent in the sport.
The facility is part of a talent development plan for 2019 in view of Singapore national eSports team’s participation, in the 2019 SEA Games in Philippines and the next Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China.
The report surveyed 4,500 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States, age 18 and older who play video games at least once a week.
You can read the full report here.