Headsets, mice and gamepads: PC gamers love special accessories

• More than 12 million Germans buy special accessories made just for gaming
• Headsets, mice and gamepads are the most popular items
• Multiplayer games and eSports are driving the special game accessories trend

Berlin, 11 February 2016 – PC gamers in Germany love to use accessories that are specially designed for gaming. More than one third of internet users (35 per cent, or over 12 million Germans) who play games on their PCs or laptops have already purchased special accessories, including special gaming keyboards and headsets optimised for online games. This was the conclusion of a survey of internet users 14 years of age and older conducted by market research institute GfK on behalf of the BIU, the German Games Industry Association. Male internet users who play games on their PCs or laptops, in particular, are fond of using special hardware. Approximately half of them (48 per cent) have purchased devices specially tailored to the needs of PC players. By way of comparison: just 18 per cent of female gamers have purchased special gaming accessories. ‘The same way football players need football boots, PC gamers play better with keyboards and mice that are customised for their needs,’ says BIU Managing Director Dr Maximilian Schenk. ‘The growing trend toward eSports and cooperative online gaming is fuelling the market for gaming accessories. Additional hardware for gamers, such as optimised headsets and keyboards, is an important market with excellent prospects for growth.’

Headsets are the most popular game accessory

The most popular accessory among PC gamers is headsets. Nearly half of all players (47 per cent) who have already purchased special accessories for PC and laptop gaming use headsets developed for online gaming to communicate with their teams. Optimised devices are particularly important to players: four out of ten game accessory buyers (41 per cent) prefer mice that are developed especially for gamers, with extra-precise sensors and additional buttons. 31 per cent have already additionally purchased a gamepad, and 29 per cent have bought a keyboard. The popularity of game accessories is in line with the trend toward eSports and cooperative online gaming: high-quality headsets are particularly necessary for online multiplayer games like ‘Starcraft’, ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘World of Tanks’ – because the only way one team can beat the others is if its members can communicate with each other. Gaming headsets have to be particularly high quality, because they need to be able to play back both the players’ voices in chat and the game’s sound effects. Gaming mice and keyboards are also very different from the types of devices used for office work; for example, gaming keyboards generally include mechanical switches for extremely precise keystrokes. Additionally, these models usually feature a keyboard layout with additional keys that can be programmed with specific functions.

Note on market data

Market research and opinion polling institute GfK surveyed more than 2,000 German-speaking internet users who are 14 years of age and older regarding whether they had ever purchased additional gaming hardware, and if so, which type. All data is representative.

About the BIU

BIU – Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware (German Games Industry Association) is the association of the German computer and video games industry. Its 26 members are developers, publishers and providers of digital games, and they represent over 85 per cent of the German market. The BIU is, for example, the sponsor of gamescom. As an expert partner for media and for political and social institutions, the BIU answers all questions on the topic of digital games.

Press contact

Martin Puppe
BIU – Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware e. V.
Charlottenstrasse 62
10117 Berlin
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)30 2408779 20
Fax: +49 (0)30 2408779 11
Email: puppe@biu-online.de
Twitter: @game_eV
Facebook.com/BIUeV

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