eSports boom fuels PC demand in PH

THE booming eSports scene in the Philippines has fueled the recent rise in demand for personal computers (PC) here.

JB Aquino, marketing and communications lead for Acer Philippines, said that although the eSports scene is not as big as compared to other countries, it has however grown considerably in the Philippines.

“Five percent of our annual revenues come from gaming. This is already huge considering that we only introduced our gaming series last year,” Aquino said during a roundtable discussion with local media earlier this week.

eSports, also known as competitive video gaming or professional video gaming, are a form of competition facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games.

One of Acer’s product lines is the Predator Gaming laptop series, launched in 2016, which provides Filipino gamers with robust and refined computers engineered with the latest hardware and software for a unique gaming experience.

Aquino said the Philippine gaming PC market is projected to grow 1.5 to two times annually in the next few years, driven by the fast-developing eSports industry in the country, among others.

Gaming PC demand

He added that demand for gaming PCs is much bigger in the cities of Cebu and Davao compared to Manila, where mid to high-end units are readily available.

Aquino said outside Metro Manila, gamers are more laid back and have higher disposable income, which allows them to purchase big-ticket gaming PC units.

The price of gaming PCs start at around P90,000 to P150,000, but this still come without monitors.

Some professional gamers may invest between P170,000 and P180,000, depending on the configuration, for the complete package — which includes a CPU, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and a headset.

The TNC Pro Team, a group of professional Dota 2 gamers based in the Philippines, usually buys desktop gaming PCs for bootcamps where they train their players.

Gaming laptops, on the other hand, are for casual and hardcore players who are always on the go.

The local eSports community recently saw major developments unfold last year as the Philippines hosted for the first time ESL One Manila in April which featured eight of the world’s best teams battling it out for a $250,000 prize pool.

Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, in a statement, said he believes eSports and game development in the country are gaining momentum toward being a source of honor and employment opportunities for Filipinos.

“I believe that if we strengthen academic-industry linkages and work with our schools to develop the skills and creativity of future Filipino game developers, we will be able to grow this industry more,” he said.