Since the tech ecosystem became the oil and gas for the cargo pant CEO set, its family of subindustries; agritech, fintech, heathtech, crypto, etc has become more mainstream in Nigeria and the continent at large. But there is one that has remained elusive, unable to break even, unable to reach the masses – gaming. Data and research show that the gaming industry is bigger than the music and film industries combined. Yet in Nigeria and on the continent at large, mainstream progress has been slow. But in the latest edition of his substack, Ngozi Dozie, the co-founder and managing director of Carbon shares his reasons to be excited about the gaming industry and offers his insight on why the industry should be given an actual fighting chance. At Startup Lagos (where we also champion the gaming industry) we have combed through the newsletter for insightful bits for those looking to invest or just get into the groove. See what Dozie offers below: The numbers don’t lie Gaming is a global business, and the numbers are undeniable. Everyone’s tired of hearing that the gaming industry is bigger than the music and film industries combined. It’s happened elsewhere, and it’s going to happen in Africa. Find the right buttons The truth is that there is a complexity to the creation of games, where you have to keep the player sufficiently motivated yet challenged. In a standard app, one button will typically have a function, e.g. send money, whereas in a gaming app, it may have multiple use cases, especially when combined with other buttons or in different contexts Why mainstream progress has been slow Africa is underserved. There aren’t enough quality games to meet consumer expectations. Ten years ago, 95% of songs played in nightclubs were American. Today, you must bribe a DJ to play an American song in a Nigerian club. I’m seeing this trend capture multiple African regions. Just recently I signed up to play Whot, produced by Maliyo Games. This is a card game that I played as a child, and I thought it was in the dustbin of history, but now I am playing like there is no tomorrow; who needs Spelling Bee or Wordle when you can go back in time with games that you grew up with? The real problem This generation hasn’t been free to express interest in gaming. Saying you want to go into gaming is akin to telling your parents, “I want a career in chain-smoking.” Many parents don’t appreciate it—I was one of them. But the opportunities in gaming, or even using gaming as a methodology, are immense.
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