More PC and IT companies including Acer, HP, Dell, Samsung Electronics, and Micro-Star International (MSI) have been strengthening their deployments in the gaming monitor market driven by the growth momentum and high rewards in the sector, according to industry sources.
Defying the declining trend of the global monitor industry, sales of gaming monitor models, or those models having a refresh rate of over 100Hz, have been brisk in recent years, growing from 1.3 million units in 2016 to 2.5-2.6 million units in 2017 and likely to reach four million units in 2018, said the sources.
While shipments of gaming models currently account for about 2% of global monitor shipments, PC and IT product vendors have stepped up efforts for a bigger share of the market as the margins generated from gaming models are three times as high as those of general models, said the sources.
Asustek Computer is currently the top vendor in the segment with its gaming monitor shipments likely to reach 680,000-700,000 units in 2018, up from 600,000 units in 2017 and 400,000 units in 2016, estimated the sources.
Other vendors are playing catch-up, with Acer taking the second position in 2017 by shipping a total of 390,000-400,000 units. Using a competitive pricing strategy, Acer is expected to ramp up its shipments to 620,000 units in 2018, effectively narrowing the shipment gap against Asustek.
Samsung is likely to ship 350,000 units in 2018, outracing BenQ to take the third place in the segment, indicated the sources.
Notably, MSI is trying to duplicate its gaming notebook success in the gaming monitor sector with plans to unveil up to more than 20 gaming monitor models before year-end 2018, said the sources, adding that MSI aims to make it to the top-five rankings in 2019.
Gigabyte Technology, which is now competing fiercely with Asustek, Acer and MSI in the gaming notebook market, will further enrich the portfolio of its Aorus-brand gaming lineup by releasing its first gaming monitors at the forthcoming WirForce 2018, revealed the sources.
Competition in the gaming monitor market is heating up
Photo: Monica Chen, Digitimes, August 2018
Article translated by Steve Shen
