Growing up in Nigeria in the 2000s, I was fortunate enough to witness the rise of the video gaming culture firsthand.
The influence of video games on the youth was rubberstamped by the rise of “game centres” across different states of the country. It was common to see groups of teenagers and pre-teens crammed in tiny shops, huddled around screens, engrossed in intense gaming sessions. Some of which, they had funded with their lunch allowances, depriving themselves of nutritious meals.
With the passing of time and the sustained presence of these game centres, it was clear that video games had come to stay; with the culture becoming deeply rooted and passed from generation to generation.
The popularity of video games has continued to surge, with footballing games like FIFA (Now called FC) and Pro Evolution Soccer (Renamed eFootball) commanding huge fan loyalty. These games are enjoyed over an array of platforms, with the most popular being PlayStation consoles and mobile phones. The proliferation of video games in urban Nigerian communities has surged, thanks to the widespread availability of smartphones and internet connectivity improvements.
As with every other sector, Nigerians can be found playing crucial roles in the growth of the gaming industry. Nigerian-owned game development studios are rapidly charting unprecedented paths and delivering quality games to boot. Since mobile gaming has proven to be the undisputed platform for Nigerian gamers, as it offers accessibility and affordability, a vast majority of these developers focus on creating games for this platform. These games are typically relatable thereby enabling them to enjoy immense popularity within and outside the shores of the country.
Whilst games from Nigerian developers may be gaining recognition, there is still a long way to go in terms of widespread acceptance and support for the industry.
The lack of infrastructure, inadequate funding and government support remain barriers to the full realization of the potential of the industry. These, and more, have led to developers finding innovative ways to overcome these challenges and create quality games, but on the flip side, it has hindered their ability to expand their genres and develop more games that cater to customer preference.
IGN Africa revealed that Call of Duty Mobile, Free Fall, and PUBG Mobile were deemed the most impactful games of the year in the community from a poll it conducted. From the results of the poll, it is evident that multiplayer competitive games and online battle royale games are highly popular among the Nigerian gaming community, something our indigenous developers have not been able to tap into. So, in the event of the industry attracting investor funding (a crucial barrier to growth) as seen in other sectors such as technology and music, what sort of games should Nigerian developers focus on creating?
In a bid to gain further insight into the complex world of video gaming for data-driven decision-making, this writer dug into the world’s largest video game digital distribution platform ad storefront, Steam, by connecting Python to the Steam API to export invaluable gaming data.
Following a clean-up of the data and the visualisation thereof in Power BI, some interesting facts came to light. And for those wondering, Steam is a video distribution service and storefront with over 30,000 games and 132 million active monthly users, and this research was done in conjunction with industry bigwig, Andrew McKerrow.
The data findings reveal that action games are the most popular genre globally with the highest gameplay time of approximately 1.15 million hours within the data lifecycle spanning 2010 – 2022. Not only do action games have the highest amount of gameplay time, but they also have the most owners, with an estimated 2.2 billion owners.
This data suggests that Nigerian developers should consider prioritising the development of action games to cater to a wider audience as soon as funding ceases to be a constraint.
Although action games may enjoy the highest gameplay time and number of users globally, they do not necessarily generate the highest revenue. That title belongs to role-playing games (RPG). RPG games tend to have a loyal and dedicated fanbase willing to invest their time and money in them, and that loyalty is aided by a competitive average price of $12. This instructive data suggests that Nigerian developers will have to be price-conscious and enhance their already impressive storytelling and world-building abilities to create captivating RPG games.
Perfecting this will not only attract a dedicated fanbase but will also bolster their brands for household recognition in the ilk of Valve, Ubisoft, PUBG Corporation, and other successful developers in the global industry.
Alternatively, developers could consider games that combine elements of action and RPG to sate the needs of players of both genres. This admittedly must be executed meticulously as the finicky nature of gamers means that things could go wrong fast, however, if executed perfectly and it gets accepted by the community then the developers would have uncovered a goldmine.
In all, gaming has become a part of our culture and daily lives, and with the improvements in internet connectivity recorded within the country, indigenous developers have the opportunity to consolidate their presence in the industry. This can be achieved by creating high-quality games that reflect the desires and preferences of the Nigerian gaming community. Be it action games, RPGs, or battle royales, catering to the specific interests and tastes of the gaming community will be key to their continued success and growth.
- Okiki Ifeoluwa Ogunkoya is a London-based data analyst
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