Videogames are losing the 'War for Attention,' analyst says

The contest for human attention is reshaping digital economies, and games are losing ground, analyst Matthew Ball argues. Eight mature markets—the US, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Germany, France, Canada and Italy—accounted for over 60% of pre‑COVID consumer spending, but Ball says many of them are 'losing in the War for Attention.' Surveys show fewer people in half of those countries now describe themselves as regular players than before the height of COVID lockdowns.

Ball cites a 2.5–4 point fall in the US player share, roughly one in six adult players lost in Canada from 2018 to 2022, a 15% drop in South Korea versus the 2017–19 average, and more than a 5% decline in Italy since 2019. The UK’s big 2020 gain has already shed about a third, while France has held near 52% since 2016, Germany is up about 4% on 2019, and Japan shows an 11% increase since 2019—though that represents only around 6 million new players.

videogames, attention economy, matthew ball, player share, regular players, covid lockdowns, pre-covid spending, united states, south korea, italy