The gaming monitor market is staring down the double barrels of its first downturn. Shipment volumes are expected to slide to 20.5 million units for 2022 – a 10% decline year-on-year, according to IT industry market research outfit TrendForce. The report highlights several key culprits, like rising inflation and interest rates affecting consumer electronics markets in general, plus the delay in high-end graphics card refreshes leading to postponed gaming monitor upgrades.
TrendForce produced the above chart to illustrate the strong growth of gaming monitors since it initiated coverage in 2019. You can see the strong growth from 2019, 2020, through 2021 has been interrupted by this first downturn (estimated figures for 2022, as the year isn’t over yet). However, according to the analysts, the 10%+ downturn projected for the year won’t mortally wound the segment. In 2023, gaming monitors are expected to become a growth segment again for several reasons.
TrendForce says curved gaming monitors will continue to grow in popularity through 2023. The swing from flat to curved monitor shipments isn’t weighty; in 2021, curved gaming monitors accounted for 41% of shipments, with the percentage set to rise to 44% this year and 46% in 2023. The source report says that the rise of ultra-wide products has partly driven the growth in curved monitor sales. However, some might say that flat screen sales aren’t as good as they could be because gaming monitor makers are releasing more curved screens with attractive price/performance ratios and other key features.
Gaming monitor panel type information reveals that VA (Vertical Alignment) panels are currently the most popular at 48%, followed closely by IPS (In-Plane Switching) at 43%, and trailed by TN (Twisted Nematic) at 9%. However, TN panel shipments are expected to slide to just 4% in 2022. Meanwhile, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) panel gaming monitors are starting to proliferate this year, and from a slow start (0.4% in 2022), TrendForce reckons they could reach 2% in 2023.
In 2023, one of the features of the gaming monitor market will be its continued diversification, which will partly help propel sales forward. Specifically, the market researchers think gaming monitors could eat into the traditional monitor market as gaming-capable 100Hz+ displays attract people who were going to make do with entry-level displays and replace aging 75Hz eSports screens. At the other end of the market, premium consumers may be attracted to upgrade by new OLED, QD-OLED, and Mini LED technology displays becoming easier to find in various sizes/resolutions.
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