Worldwide Gaming PCs and Monitor Shipments Will Total Nearly 44 Million in 2019, According to IDC

19 Dec 2019

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., December 19, 2019 – Global shipments of gaming desktop and notebook PCs reached 10 million units in the third quarter of 2019 (3Q19), an increase of 10.1% year over year. Shipments of gaming monitors grew 76.4% year over year to 2.2 million units in 3Q19, according to the latest results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Gaming Tracker.

In addition to growing demand, shipments of gaming PCs and monitors were boosted by several external factors, chief of which was the fear of additional U.S. tariffs on imported notebooks and displays, leading to the channel taking on additional inventory to avoid potential price increases. Fears of further Intel processor shortages, which have flared up and down in recent quarters, also was a factor.

"AMD's latest lineup of GPUs and CPUs has helped reinvigorate the market, providing gaming solutions at both the high-end and the middle of the market and has generally provided more horsepower compared to the competition across multiple price points," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers "In doing so, AMD has also helped bolster the DIY segment which had been in decline since as recently as the first quarter of 2019, and we expect the chip maker to continue to gain ground in the short term."

Looking ahead, the market for gaming desktops will remain roughly flat through 2023 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.2% as China and Western Europe increasingly move toward gaming notebooks. However, IDC expects global premium gaming desktops will remain a viable market as the form factor offering the best experience. Growth in gaming notebooks will outpace desktops with a 7.4% CAGR as the gaming audience increasingly prefers more mobile solutions, particularly thin and light gaming notebooks. Meanwhile, the increasing demand for faster frame rates in conjunction with higher resolutions will help drive demand for gaming monitors. As such, IDC expects the gaming monitor market to grow to 12.2 million units in 2023 with a CAGR of 11.8%.

"Several factors influence IDC's view of a solid future for gaming monitors, both in the short and longer term," said Jay Chou, research manager for IDC's Personal Computing Device Tracker. "Aside from tariff concerns, recent overcapacity in the display component industry has lowered costs and helped to expand the selection of larger-screened gaming models. Additional factors in the longer term, such as cloud-based gaming, could also benefit monitors as the resulting gaming device expansion would need more robust displays."

IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Gaming Tracker gathers data in more than 50 countries and provides detailed, timely, and accurate information on the global gaming PC and display market. The program provides insightful analysis, quarterly market share data, and a five-year forecast that can be broken down by key geographies.

For more information, or to subscribe to the research, please contact Kathy Nagamine at 650-350-6423 or knagamine@idc.com.