R 1.3 billion.

That’s how much South African consumers spent in 2011 on games, gaming accessories, PCs, peripherals, PC hardware and the 2.9 million console and handheld games they bought.

And when gamers around the world bought the latest instalment in the Call of Duty franchise, they helped the game knock Hollywood’s record-breakers out of the park. Call of Duty reached the landmark of US$1 billion in sales in just 15 days – beating blockbuster film Avatar.

You may be a little surprised that 16-year old geeks have so much spending power. But then you’ll probably be more surprised to learn that the average gamer isn’t a teenager with a PlayStation controller in their back pocket.

According to worldwide statistics, the average gamer is 30 years old, and has been gaming for 12 years (talk about loyalty!). They have children, they have serious jobs and they shop for corn flakes at their local Pick n Pay. And almost a third of them are women. But they also have a penchant for MMOGS (massively multiplayer online games), virtual worlds and strategic games.

In South Africa, consumers are increasingly using their smartphones to get a fix of their favourite games on the move. In fact, mobile gaming represents a healthy 20% of the gaming market share (right behind consoles and handheld games at 60%).

And as bandwidth increases and Internet connectivity becomes cheaper, online gaming is steadily growing. Right now, there are 240,806 gamers playing DOTA2 online worldwide.

There are 137 local teams registered to play in Telkom’s Do Gaming DOTA2 online league. And there are thousands more playing online every day in League of Legends, Battlefield 3, StarCraft II and FIFA 2013 internationally.

Not surprising then that South African gamers are expected to spend almost R1.4 billion on their hobby this year.

So you get the picture: gamers are a force to be reckoned with. As a community, they have serious clout. They’re also a lucrative investment.

The question is, are they on your side, spending their money with you?

Simply put, if a brand isn’t at rAge 2013 [that stands for really AWESOME gaming expo] you’re barely a pixel on the gamers’ screen.

Because that’s where gamers and tech-savvy consumers have converged – in their thousands  for the last eleven years; to indulge their fetish for games, technology, and pop culture trends, as well as the hottest new gadgets.

Last year’s expo saw over 29,000 gaming fanatics through its doors (that’s 29% more than in 2011, and 46% more than in 2010). Almost 2,600 of them packed sleeping bags, so they could catch a few z’s during the 53-hour long NAG LAN @ rAge event, a continuous gaming session on a local area network housed within the Coca-Cola Dome. It’s the largest annual LAN in the southern hemisphere.

For exhibitors, rAge is the perfect opportunity to have that most unique of interactions with thousands of gamers, face to face.  The investment required to participate won’t break the bank either as exhibitors can secure a stand from as little as R6,655. What makes the deal even sweeter are the trimmings – the PR and media coverage, the brand awareness and the sales that come standard with this, the ultimate gaming and computer expo.

This year’s rAge will take place from 4 – 6 October 2013, at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg. If rAge’s Facebook page is anything to go by, the gaming community is positively fizzing with anticipation.

Dates:
4 October – 6 October 2013

Show times:
Friday: 10:00-18:00 | Saturday: 09:00-18:00 | Sunday: 10:00-16:00

Day ticket:
R70 per person

Weekend ticket:
R120 per person

Kids under 6:
Free

NAG LAN ticket:
R400

Venue:
The Coca-Cola Dome,  Northgate

Website:
www.rageexpo.co.za