Guess Who Are The Biggest Digital Games Spenders In Southeast Asia

Time and again, the gaming industry has proven itself to be a multi-billion dollar business with professional gamers earning an annual income that can rival CEOs in big corporations, just by playing computer games.

Amateur and professional gamers alike would naturally contribute to the industry as well, buying the most advanced computers and high-tech gears to take their passion to the next level.

Malaysian gamers battling it out in a 'Dota 2' tournament.

So, guess who takes the cake for raking in the most revenue for the gaming industry in Southeast Asia?

Malaysians.

All those late-night LAN parties paid off!

According to the report by The Malaysian Reserve, a research by Newzoo revealed that Malaysian gamers generated a whopping USD589.4 million (RM2.45 billion) in profits this year alone!

This amount did not come from personal computer (PC) gamers alone, local programmers, game developers and studios in Malaysia have also been a huge driving force in the industry.

Newzoo gaming consultant Tom Wijman said that half of the revenue in Malaysia actually came from downloaded mobile games, 35 per cent from boxed and downloaded PC games and 14 per cent from console games.

We bet you're secretly playing 'Candy Crush' late at night too.

This is most likely due to the convenience and accessibility of mobile games that even non-gamers would enjoy, compared to PCs or consoles.

The gaming industry is growing at such a rapid pace that Newzoo predicts an annual growth rate of 25 per cent for Southeast Asia leading up to 2020, and Malaysia may even follow suit next year.

Can you just imagine how much money the industry will be making by then?

So parents, don't pour cold water on your children's "addiction" to gaming just yet. But make sure they still study hard and work for it lah.