Despite Brazil’s growing gaming market, the presence of gaming consoles remains relatively subtle.
Brazil’s gaming market has been rapidly increasing since 2018, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 when people were forced to stay home. The growth led to Brazil having the largest gaming market in Latin America and the 10th largest in the world in terms of revenue.
Despite Brazil’s growing passion for gaming, not many choose to play on the console or PC. Most of Brazil’s gamers are focused on mobile gaming, as almost 50% of the market’s revenue comes from mobile users. Meanwhile, console users account for only 29%. This is a big difference compared to other countries, especially the US where more than half of the total households have reported owning at least one gaming console.
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Why is this so? The truth is, Brazil’s favour for mobile gaming has not entirely been voluntary. In fact, the phenomenon is inevitable due to the country’s economy. To begin with, Brazil’s minimum wage is approximately R$1,412 per month, which is about 282 US Dollars. This is less than a quarter of the minimum wage in the US – $1,218 per month.
Moreover, the price of gaming consoles and PC’s themselves are ridiculously high in Brazil. A brand new Playstation 5 is priced at about R$4,000, or $800 in Brazil, whereas the same product looks so much cheaper in the US, where it is usually priced between $400-500. In terms of PC components, a standard RTX 3060 in Brazil costs about $960 but only costs about $300 in the US.
This means that while Brazilians earn less than one-fourths of what Americans make on average, the price of electronic products are about 2 to 3 times more expensive. That’s a pretty big difference, and this is not even including the fact that people also need to buy a copy of each game. It’s no surprise that most middle-class people in Brazil do not bother buying a console or PC.
The main reason why Brazil’s tech industry is so intimidating is because almost every electronic good is imported with high tariffs, naturally resulting in high consumer prices. This is not just an issue with gaming equipment either. Reports say that Brazil is one of the most expensive countries to buy a phone.
However, this does not mean that it is the end for Brazil’s console market. Experts say that the market is slowly but steadily growing. Although there are still miles to go for it to be in full bloom, there may be one day when consoles are enjoyed by Brazilian gamers more than they are now.
